Great Influences

I'm accumulating a group of people who I would like to learn more about, if you have any suggestions, please let me know!

Thanks Everyone!!!

Jesus (Our Savior, Redeemer, and Friend; to list a Minuit number of names he has!)

St. Augustine (whose Famous confessions led incredible numbers of Christians to express their lives by journaling)

St. Macrina (who helped transform Eastern Christian ministries through prayer and good works)

St. Benedict (who when became Ruler gave structure and direction to many Christians)

St. Francis and St. Clare (who continue to remind us that life is more important than accumulating wealth and possessions.)

And, I can't forget John Wesley the Founder of the Methodist Church.

Who has helped influence your life?

I'm cleaning up my blog as if anyone actually reads this thing anyways.  But not only am I cleaning up my blog, I'm cleaning up my life!

What do you usually do when you clean?  

Answer: Throw away trash and things you don't ever use and/or put away everything your not using at the present moment into storage places where you can't see it.

So I was thinking...

How would one clean up his/her life?

If you were to throw away all your garbage and/or trash; like addictions, grudges, evil thoughts, selfishness, greed, and then your actual materialistic things like all those things you never use anymore or could really just go without.  Or, like one of our youth parents always says, "do you really need it, or do you really just want it?"

Now for putting away everything your not using.  Well if you have to put things away, maybe we should all take a look at the things that sit in the back of our closets or even on our entertainment centers, etc... and what are some of those things.  Are they things that we really needed or are they for the most part things we really "wanted"?  

So I guess, what do you really need in this life?

The bible says the first and greatest commandment is to love God with all your heart, mind and soul.  (Matt. 22:37 NIV) 

Well if your doing that, what are things.  Do you really need things to love God with all your heart, mind and soul.  And I guess the thing that gets me the most is most of the things I have are more of a hindrance to loving God then to loving God with my whole heart, mind and soul.

Anyways, these are just some thoughts.  If you share a similar view maybe we could hold each other accountable with our "wants" and "needs".  

May God Bless each and everyone of us!!!

Vote Early/Avoid the Long Lines/Here's How!

http://www.govote.org/

(this website will show you where you can go ahead and vote at.)

So do it!

Make a wise choice, based on the issues at hand and ask yourself; who would Jesus vote for?

Old Testament Story: Moses and his father-in-law

A Great Story from the Old Testament on Listening, and "Organizational Structure"

Moses took his seat to serve as judge for the people, and they stood around him from morning till evening.
When his father-in-law saw all that Moses was doing for the people, he said, "What is this you are doing for the people? Why do you alone sit judge, while all these people stand around you from morning till evening?"
Moses answered him, "Because the people come to me to seek God's will. Whenever they have a dispute, it is brought to me, and I decide between the parties and inform them of God's decrees and laws."
Moses' father-in-law replied, "What you are doing is not good. You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone. Listen now to me and I will give you some advice, and may God be with you. You must be the people's representative before God and bring their disputes to him. Teach them the decrees and laws, and show them the way to live and the duties they are to perform. But select capable men from all the people-me who fear God, trustworthy men who hate dishonest gain-and appoint them as officials over thousands, hundreds, fifties and tens. Have them serve as judges for the people at all times, but have them bring every difficult case to you; the simple cases they can decide themselves. That will make your load lighter, because they will share it with you. If you do this and God so commands, you will be able to stand the strain, and all these people will go home satisfied."
Moses listened to his father-in-law and did everything he said.

Exodus 18:13-24 (NLT)

Let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled.

1 Thessalonians 5:6 (NLT)

I think this stories shows us that we can't do it all by ourselves, and that God doesn't want us to. We all want to do our best, but how much more better could we be doing if we added people to our team who God has appointed and gifted with amazing skills and resources?

What do you think?

"Merchant to Minister" Book insert: "Revivals"

Revivals

C.H. Spurgeon said, "It is an act of the adversary to turn us Christians from being soul-winners into bread-winners." I am afraid that is exactly what the devil has done. When we come to the Lord's day and realize the many beautiful Churches of Christendom--the beautiful music, the great organs that peal forth God's praise, and the many Christians assembled together in Christ's name, and the many thousands of well-educated ministers standing behind the sacred desks, and add to this picture the thousands of smaller churches, many well organized and capable, yet many Lord's Days pass in the majority of these Churches without a soul being saved.
And when you think of why Jesus came into the world, "To seek and save the lost," we can't help but ask the question: What has happened to us? It seems the devil is satisfied for us to be bread-winners and pleasure seekers--he doesn't want us to wake up to the truth. Of course, he fights revivals for he knows that is how the Church grows and prospers. Dr. F. B. Meyer said that "there has never been a great religious revival without social and political reforms." We might point out that the abolition of slavery followed a revival. The end of child labor came after the Wesleys and Whitefield preached their flaming message of revival. Also flowing like many streams from revivals came the YMCA, the Salvation Army, world missionary societies, and charitable institutions. Material blessings as well as the health of the people were fruits of revivals and of refreshment from the Lord. Psalms 85:13, "Righteousness shall go before Him; and shall set us in the way of his steps."
When the Lord our God moves through a land in a revival blessing, He lays out a way for his people to walk in--when they walk in His way the revival comes and Heaven opens--the blessings come. Revivals open the gates of Heaven.

Revive Us Again

We praise Thee, O God! for the Son of Thy love,
For Jesus who died, and is now gone above.

All glory and praise to the Lamb that was slain,
Who has borne all our sins, and has cleansed every stain.

Revive us again: fill each heart with Thy love;
May each soul be rekindled with fire from above.

Hallelujah! Thine the glory, Hallelujah! amen;
Hallelujah! Thine the glory, revive us again.

William P. MacKay John J. Hushband

Grandpa's 80th Suprise Party

http://w88.photobucket.com/pbwidget.swf?pbwurl=http://w88.photobucket.com/albums/k163/daveo808/db151fd4.pbw" height="300" width="400">

Facebook Devotional for Sept. 8th-15th

Week of: Sept. 8th-15th

Weekly Bible Verse: Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the suffering of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. 1 Peter 4:12-13

Tip of the Week:Don't get upset when things don't go your way. As a youth pastor things will rarely go the way you have planned them too. Don't be discouraged, but know that through the "painful trials" of your mess up's, akward moments, and random issues and problems; God has given you the strength and courage to get through!

Challenge for the Week: See where you can participate in the suffering of Christ this week, and rejoice!

Prayer for the Week: Amazing Father, even though life throws us curve balls, give us the strength and courage to rejoice no matter if we knocked it out of the park or swung and missed and foolishly fell on our face. Help us to give you praise always, and if we don't get anything else done this week, that we can grow closer to knowing you. Amen

I-Tunes Song for the Week:When Our Hearts Sing by Rush of Fools

I started a facebook group for Youth Pastors and Youth Workers several months ago. My goal is to connect youth workers from around Fl. to each other to share their frustrations, goals, ideas, etc... The group has 61 members as of today, and has been really helpful in connecting and reconnecting youth workers all over Fl.

Not to long ago, Denvil had an idea about a weekly bible verse and tip of the week. I thought that was a great idea and have been doing one ever since. I just got done with this weeks and just had to post it on my blog. I really enjoyed putting this Devo., if you will, together. Check it out. We really do need to time that we can be alone with our creator. And check out the song. If you don't have itunes or can't afford the $.99 song, let me know and I will get it for you. It really is a Great Song!!!!

***********************Weekly Updates***********************
Week of: June 2- June 8

Weekly Bible Verse:

Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the Lord your God has commanded you. -Deut. 5:12

Tip of the Week:

As we head into the summer, our schedules as youth workers get beyond our control!! With Mission trips, Summer Camps, and All nighters, just to name a few; not to mention those busy afternoons that you just have to go grab ice cream with one of those kids that keeps saying, "remember, you owe me one." Those precious moments you have alone with God will quickly fly by, unless you make it a priority...no a Necessasity, for time with our Creator!

I realized something the other day, while I was speaking to our students. They were being rude and talking while I was talking, so I told them, "I only ask for 30 minutes a week....for you to be quiet and hear God speak...." Then it dawned on me, I bet God is trying to tell me the same thing! As our summers get into full swing, I want to challenge all of you not to forget about your precious time with our Almighty, Powerful, Glorious, God!!!

God want to be apart of your life in all that you do, don't forget about him over the summer!

Challenge for the Week: Find time with God!!! (30 minutes a day, 5 days this week.)

Prayer for the Week:

Awesome God, we thank you for the work you did here on this earth! We thank you for the work you have trusted and blessed us with as youth workers! As our busy schedules role on, don't let us leave you out. Help us to find time to be with you and make that time special. Thank you God for giving us rest! In Your most Amazing name we pray, amen.

I-Tunes Song for the Week:

Come and Listen by: David Crowder Band Album: A Collision

Best Quote Ever!

Chris McCandless wrote in a letter:

"You are wrong if you think Joy emanates only or principally from human relationships.  God has placed it all around us.  It is in everything we might experience.  We just have to have the courage to turn against our habitual lifestyle and engage in unconventional living."

IStockPhoto...A YP's Dream!!!

www.istockphoto.com

http://www.istockphoto.com is probably the greatest Youth Pastor Art tool Ever!

I just got an istock account and It's amazing how easy it is to download cool pictures that really can spice up your bland webpages, flyers, brochures, power points, etc...

I usually don't like to spend money on things that I don't really need, like photo's and what not; but the images (Illustrations) on istockphoto are really contemporary and just jump off the page at you. Young people today are all about images, and I really think that these images will grab the young people's attention a little better then my Microsoft Word clip art ever will. haha

Anyways, I thought I'd share with you this really cool site.

It's FREE to sign up and cost anywhere from $1 to $20 a picture.

-$1 for pictures for your brochures/webpages/flyers/etc...

-$20 for pictures for your posters/banners/etc....

Check it out @ http://www.istockphoto.com

Examples:

Just Educate Yourself!

Genocide: the deliberate and systematic extermination of a national, racial, political, or cultural group.

"genocide." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. 06 May. 2008. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/genocide>.

Websites to Check Out:

http://www.savedarfur.org/

http://www.savedarfur.org/blog

http://www.24hoursfordarfur.org/

http://www.globefordarfur.org/index.php

http://www.amnesty.org/

Quotes from the founder of Methodism

John Wesley

Here is a compilation of my favorite quotes from John Wesley:

"Gaining knowledge is a good thing; but saving souls is a better." -Jackson VIII, 304.

"But for the proof of every one of these weighty truths experience is worth [a] thousand reasons." -Works XXV, 403.

"But our comfort is, He that made the heart can heal the heart." -Jackson XIII, 125.

"Whosoever will reign with Christ in heaven, must have Christ reigning in him on earth." -Jackson X, 364.

"Go on, in a full pursuit of all the mind that was in Christ, of inward and then outward holiness; so shall you be not almost but altogether a Christian." -Works III, 332.

"It (Christianity) is holiness and happiness, the image of God impressed on a created spirit, a fountain of peace and love springing up into everlasting life." -Jackson X, 75.

"As the more holy we are upon earth the more happy we must be (seeing there is an inseparable connection between holiness and happiness)." -Works II, 431.

"God's design was...not to form any new sect; but to reform the nation, particularly the Church; and to spread Scriptural holiness over the land." -Jackson, VIII, 299-300.

"The Methodist alone do not insist on your holding this or that opinion; but they think and let think. Neither do they impose any particular mode of worship; but you may continue to worship in your former manner, be it what it may." -Jackson, IV, 419.

"By perfection I mean perfect love, or loving God with all our heart, so as to rejoice evermore, to pray with out ceasing and everything to give thanks. I am convinced every believer may attain this; yet I do not say he is in a state of damnation or under the curse of God till he does attain. No, he is in a state of grace and in favour with God as long as he believes." -Works II, 227.

"By perfection I mean the humble, gentle, patient love of God and man, ruling all the tempers, words, and actions; the whole heart, and the whole life. -Letters, IV, 187.

"I desire your words may be always the picture of your heart. This is truly plain language." -Works XI, 225.

"The poor are the Christians. I am quite out of conceit with almost all those who have this world's goods." -Works XIII, 71.

"If you cannot relieve, do not grieve, the poor. Give them soft words, if nothing else." -Works XX, 176.

"And indeed our prayers are the proper test of our desires, nothing being fit to have a place in our desires which is not fit to have a place in our prayers." -Works I, 578.

"I know, were I myself to preach one whole year in one place, I should preach both myself and most of my congregation asleep. Nor can I ever believe it was ever the will of our Lord that any congregation should have one teacher only. We have found by long and constant experience that a frequent change of teachers is best." -Jackson VIII, 199.

"I am very rarely led by impressions, but generally by reason and by Scripture." -Jackson XIII, 66.

"All Scripture is inspired of God---The Spirit of God not only once inspired those who wrote it, but continually inspires, supernaturally assists, those that read it with earnest prayer." -Explanatory Notes: 2 Tim. 3:16.

"As a very little dust will disorder a clock, and the least sand will obscure our sight, so the least grain of sin which is upon the heart will hinder its right motion toward God." -Jackson XI, 438.

"Be ashamed of nothing but sin: Not of fetching wood (if time permit) or drawing water; not of cleaning your own shoes, or your neighbor's." -Jackson VIII, 310.

"I shall endeavor to show that Christianity is essentially a social religion, and that to turn it into a solitary religion is indeed to destroy it." -Jackson V, 296.

"Much money does not imply much sense; neither does a good estate infer a good understanding. As a gay coat may cover a bad heart, so fair peruke [wig] may adorn a weak head." Jackson IX, 230.

"Meanwhile redeem the time, catch the golden moments as they fly." -Letters, VII, 241.

"And God's time is always the best time." -Works II, 148.

Where I would spend my time on the A.T.; the "Sacred Groves." I think we all need our own sacred groves, for spiritual and mental renewal. Sometimes we just need to Ask, Seek and Knock, and I'm going to add one more...know!

Sacred Grove

"Rays of light stream down from the windows of heaven, warming the forest floor below. They rest upon one's being and take away the chill of darker hours. It is in quiet places and in simple ways that heaven's veil is parted for those who knock upon its door."
--- Greg Olsen

Luke 11:9 "So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. "

Rev. 3:20 "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. "

I was thinking the other day that I haven't a "God feeling" in some time. When I want to hear him, when I make time to listen, when I open up the scriptures, I never really get that "super-natural ah-ha feeling," I used to get when I felt close to God.

So this morning I was tempted somehow to open up my little New Testament Bible I received from Round Mountain United Methodist Church in Bastain, Va. when I was hiking the A.T. I don't know why I felt like opening it, I really just wanted something to read while I was using the restroom (sorry for that...lol).

So I randomly opened it up to Luke 12:22 and read the story about "Worrying". The parable talks about not worrying about your life, like the clothes you wear and the food you will eat. Jesus says "life is more than food, and the body is more than clothes." But what got me was the next verse. Luke 12:24, "Consider the ravens: they do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!"

So I thought about it a little, about all the things that Claire and I have in our house; all the luxuries, electronics, clothes, jewelry, etc... I'm not a person who likes to store up a lot of things. I would say I'm a minimalist. If I had a pack, a tent, and a good pair of sandals, I'd be good to go!

So...

I'm reading this book called "The Man Nobody Knows" by Bruce Barton. (see pic. above) which I told to pick up by my 10th grade History Teacher Mr. Reeves. He mentioned it one time and I actually went to the christian book store in Athens, Ga. and picked up a copy. I hadn't even touched the book until about a week ago, when I decided to read it, because I was tired of reading these "self-help leadership" books that all say the same things..

So I'm reading Chapter 4 this morning about Jesus' Method, and I come across this:

"On another day it was His own disciples who learned how He could compress a whole philosophy into a well directed question. They were by no means free from the frailties of ordinary human nature. They fussed about little things-arguing among themselves as to who should have pre-eminence; wondering how their bills were to be met and just where the whole enterprise was coming out." (worrying)

"He brought them up short with a question." "Which of you by being anxious can add a single day to his life?" "And if you can't do this simple thing, why worry about the rest?.."

(Here's the crazy part...remember I've been waiting for God to speak to me and give me a little "super-natural Ah-ha" feeling!)

"Consider the ravens; they don't sow or reap; they have no storehouses or barns, and yet God takes care of them. Don't' you suppose that you are of more value in His sight than a flock of birds?"

Wow, is right!!!!

I don't think God was really trying to tell me about the things I'm storing up on this earth, or about what to spend my money on, or anything like that; I just think he wanted to see me smile! :) And indeed I did!!!

It's not very often that we come across these so called "coincidences" but when we do they really are cool!!! I had to stop right there and laugh!!! God is Amazing!!! And has a great since of humor!!

So, when's the last time something like this has happened to you? Please leave me a comment! I love hearing about how God is working in people's lives, especially you!

"Time"

What do you do with yours?

Time: a limited period or interval, as between two successive events. (There were other definetions but I choose this one because it is more concrete and simplistic to what time really is.) I'm going to use this quote by Harvey Mackay who is a New York Times Best Seller to help me explain the importance of time and what it really means to us.

"Time is free, but it's pricelss. You can't own it, but you can use it. You can't keepit, but you can spend it. Once you've lost it you can never get it back."

I've tried recently to use my time more wisely. I'm starting to figure out that we really don't have a lot of time to do the things we want to do. But the question really should be; what are the things that God wants us to do? I think if were not doing the things God wants us to do, then why are we doing anything at all?

I know it's difficult to figure out what God is calling all of us to do, but I ask you, and have to ask myself as well...First, are we ready to listen? Second, How do we know when God's spoken? and Third, now that we've heard God speak, are we willing to do what he said?

Benjamin Franklin once said "You may delay, but time will not." Time is one of the few constants in our society today.

So what do we do with it? We only have one life, and we'll only be the way we are untill we decide to change things. So I ask you, only what I ask myself; what needs change? Ghandi said "you must be the change you want to see in the world," and I agree with that 100% but I also agree with Margaret Mead when she said, "A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. Indeed, it's the only thing that ever has."

Time is a period with a beginning and an end. Time is the background noise we wish could be hard rock sometimes and slow jazz other times, but the music like on an ipod is ultimately our choice. What are you listening to?

Like life, time is something we cannot fully control, but we can at least start making everyday choices that bring ourselves and others closer to our creator, and the author and grand architect of life.

Whether we wake or we sleep,

Whether we carol or weep,

The Sun with his Planets in chime,

Marketh the going of Time.

~Edward Fitzgerald

"Quotes"

"Quotes"

I was thinking about what to share tonight and thought about my book of quotes, that I like to use to help me in my daily walk. These are quotes from famous books, novels, movies, sermons, speeches, etc. that I have gathered over the past two years. I've really kept these close to my heart and haven't wanted to share them with anyone. But I got to thinking, what good is knowledge if you do not share what you have learned? So here are a few of my favorite quotes, hopefully one day I will be able to put them all up on this blog for you to take in.

"Music is the universal language of mankind." -Henry Wordsworth Longfellow

"It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer." -Albert Einstein

"Seek first to understand, then to be understood." -Stephen Covey

"Your vision is the promise of what you shall one day be; your ideal is the prophecy of what you shall at last unveil." -Robert Allen, As a Man Thinketh

"Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom." -Ecclesiastes 9:10

I hope and pray that these words of wisdom will find placement into your heart and mind. Think about them and ponder them. I don't ever think we should just read something to say we've read it, we should always read something to try to fully understand it, for if we do not really understand it, what good did it do reading it.

I have this song on my ipod and whenever I need to relax and forget about all the troubles and hardships in my life and the world, I listen to it. Check it out.

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." -Jesus in Matthew 11:28 (NIV)

Jesus I Am Resting Resting

By: David Hampton and Jean Sophia Pigott

Chorus

Jesus I am resting resting

In the joy of what Thou art

I am finding out the greatness

Of Thy loving heart

Verse 1

Jesus I am resting resting

In the joy of what Thou art

I am finding out the greatness

Of Thy loving heart

Thou hast bid me gaze upon Thee

And Thy beauty fills my soul

For by Thy transforming power

Thou hast made me whole

Verse 2

Oh how great Thy loving kindness

Vaster broader than the sea

Oh how marvelous Thy goodness

Lavished all on me

Yes I rest in Thee Beloved

Know what wealth of grace is Thine

Know Thy certainty of promise

And have made it mine

Verse 3

Simply trusting Thee Lord Jesus

I behold Thee as Thou art

And Thy love so pure so changeless

Satisfies my heart

Satisfies its deepest longings

Meets supplies its ev'ry need

Compasseth me 'round with blessings

Thine is love indeed

Verse 4

Ever lift Thy face upon me

As I work and wait for Thee

Resting 'neath Thy smile Lord Jesus

Earth's dark shadows flee

Brightness of my Father's glory

Sunshine of my Father's face

Keep me ever trusting resting

Fill me with Thy grace

I want to start this blog to help me keep up with my thoughts and feelings in my life, and what is going on in and with our world. I will start by saying that this is a in experiment and desire that I have always had of an online journal that will help others, myself and hopefully be glorifying to God. So to everyone who decides to read this please read everything, and if you have any questions or comments please leave me your best!!! Love you all and hope that this is a glorifying and learning experiment for us all. Blessings Always, DB <><