So I have been re-reading this book, “The Vision and the Vow” and I have been thinking about what the vision challenges us to be… and how much I desire to be this way….

Excerpt:

“What is the vision?
The vision is holiness that hurts the eyes.
It makes children laugh and adults angry.
It gave up the game of minimal integrity long ago to reach for the stars.
It scorns the good and strains for the best.
It is dangerously pure.”

I sit here and I think to myself… at what cost in my own life would the status of “holiness that hurts the eyes” apply to me…. I feel like it shouldn’t be a foreign concept but at the same time I feel like I am distant from that. I love the idea of being so close to Jesus that it upsets elders that are so tied to religiosity… Not to say that I live a life of minimal integrity by any means… but I just don’t want to get to the place where I am comfortable with my level of integrity, always giving excellence in everything I do…. I don’t currently… I don’t give excellence in everything, but that is my hearts desire… Thats the first thing that’s on my mind…

the Second thing is this….

Excerpt:

“With blood and sweat and many tears, with sleepless nights and fruitless days, they pray as if it all depends on God and live as though it all depends on them.”

That last part is the Challenge I am excepting for my life…. To pray everyday as if everything I do depends on God, and living every moment, as if it all depends on me…. Because so many times, that is the case. You might be the only Bible someone ever reads…and who am I to misrepresent that. I am not sitting here putting unrealistic expectations on myself… I know that I have moments of doubt, I know that I am not(nor will ever be) perfect, but as a Christ follower I desire to be as close to the Father as I can..not just skating by to get into heaven, but living a life that people will see that I am a follower of Him….

My sister told me something that I will never forget… She told me that as a leader, and as someone that understands the heart of the Father… I need to be at a place where I love people unconditionally…. I need to put my heart there knowing it is at risk, because that is what God does with us everyday…. People are looking for people that will take a risk and love them regardless…unconditionally forgiving them despite their shortcomings….

(P.S.-My sister is one of the wisest people I know… )

I sit here and get frustrated over the most ridiculous things in the world and I yet God has to put up with me undermining his very exsistence… it puts things into perspective for me.

So to those that I have hurt, spoken harshly to, or otherwise offended for irrational reasons, I apologize…. It is just something that has been bugging me lately….

UP: The Movement is a 6th-12th grade student ministry, and they hosted a event called BIG. To say that is was big would be a disservice to what it was…. Everything there was enormous… food, entertainment, music, all of it. But that wasn’t what made it so big…. With over 500 students in attendance, we got to tackle the subject of the Bigness of God’s love. As Michael shared with the students about how much God loves them, we started to see something happen…. I saw a shift… a part of a movement towards being closer to God…. When the alter was opened up, we saw a massive amount of students chase after the love the God has for them…. It was definitely a highlight of my year. One student at a time we are winning the students of Desoto County for Jesus…. I couldn’t wait to share this with you all….Up is not a group, they are not a church…. they are a movement…end beginning of story…Photos from big are coming up later.

Lately I have been reading a lot more and I feel like this is only the beginning. I am rediscovering what it is about reading that I enjoy most… learning… Go figure…

Here’s what I’m reading right now

The ME I Want to Be – John Ortberg

This is the book that our church staff is reading right now, and I just finished it. This book is about examining your life, and really seeking out what it is that is in your life that is keeping you from becoming God’s best possible version of you. The author tackles tons of subjects, and gives biblical application to overcoming the obstacles of life. Issues such as worrying, finding your identity in Christ, Temptation, Non-existent prayer lives, dealing with difficult people, the dry seasons, and many more.

What I took from this book was that there is a lot that is screwed up in me…. but that God wants me to understand that this thing called life is a process.I’m not going to receive Christ and all of a sudden be with out sin or have immediate conviction…

The Big Nugget: My Words

The huge thing I took away from this book was the chapter 11 on prayer. I realized that I lead a life of expecting God to be ready to pray with me when I am ready, but be invisible when I am through. I was not acknowledging that the Holy Spirit is always around even when I want to pretend that He’s not. Ortberg Said:

“The goal of prayer is to live all of my life and speak all of my words in the JOYFUL awareness of the presence of God.”

That really hit me hard…. Why do I feel like I can just cater my words different when I pray than when I am speaking to someone in the flesh… The Holy Spirit is still there, and still listening.

So there are some changes I am working towards in that field…..

Overall this is a great read and I am really happy with it, and would recommend it any day.

You can find out more about the author here

next time I will be talking about the new book I am reading…. “Making Ideas Happen”

Stay Tuned

The thing is, they actually make them sound sooooo much better….

Enjoy!

Miley Cyrus
Party in the USA (METAL VERSION)

Justin Beiber
Baby (METAL VERSION)

What I love about this one is that the backup dancers doing pop/hip hop moves to metal music

And Last but not least…
Taylor Swift- You belong with me (METAL VERSION)

I am really looking forward to working with the staff….

so here is what’s gonna happen over the next two weeks….

-Packing
-planning
-hanging out with as many people I can
- And Moving

that will be my life for the next two weeks… not very exciting …. HAHA ONLY IT IS!…
I would love to spend as much time with people around me as much as possible so hit me up if you want to hang out before I leave….
-Scotty

What made you laugh today?

College Degree: check.

Career Job: ….

Ok so I have made it through the dreaded years of academia, and this summer i started a pursuit for a job. I got the opportunity to interview with a church called Life Fellowship Church. They are part of the ARC (Association of Related Churches), and they were looking for a creative guy…. After three weeks of anticipation, I can now say that I have accepted a position at Life Fellowship Church in Olive Branch Mississippi. My role there will be to create the content for the weekend experiences, and also for the branding of the church.

I am really excited about this next season of my life. It is an opportunity to get my career started, and be a part of a great team that really loves Jesus. The staff are really solid, and learning how they do things will be the most excited i have ever been about being educated… Olive Branch is located about 10-15 minutes outside of memphis in MS. It is a growing town, and has a lot of great places to eat (which might thwart my attempts at losing weight…haha). Life Fellowship has experienced a lot of growth in the past two years and they are doing better than ever. There is so much creative potential there, I can feel it!

My tentative date for moving is the 2nd or 3rd week in august… there is not an exact date though. I have to find a place to live and all that other stuff… If you know anyone awesome in that area looking for a roommate… hit me up.

To all my friends in Arkansas, I’m only two hours away… don’t freak out… but at the same time, I will miss you guys.

To my friends in memphis…. LOOK OUT! HERE I COME!!!

Keep up to date with my blog to find out more things as they come along….

(this is where you play the song “The Great Adventure” by Steven Curtis Chapman)

But it’s tuesday and this past week I found a couple of good things that made me happy….

Youtube: The Grammar Nazi…

For those who are film fans, I think that you will get a kick out of this…

For those of you that know what it is like to grow up with people that constantly correct your grammar….you will think this is hilarious…

Credit for the find goes to my sister Alyssa…. Enjoy (by the way…weak stomachs for fake blood beware…)

Music: Pandora Playlist: Jon Hopkins

This one goes out to my creative friends…. We all know that music with lyrics can get in the way of creative flow… but at the same time most music without lyrics either puts you to sleep or makes you feel like you need to be on crack to enjoy it… I found this artist and made a playlist out of it and it has been super beneficial to the creativity dept….. Go make a Pandora list for Jon Hopkins …. it makes focusing easy… made me happy… and if you don’t own Jon’s album Insides you can get it here…

iTunes: Insides by Jon Hopkins

Amazon:Insides by Jon Hopkins

I was reading a very short blog post by my friend Neil Greathouse, and something he said in it caught my attention….

He said:

“I will never stop asking questions.
I will never assume I’ve got it all figured out.
I will never get used to where I am.”

That got me thinking…. Where am I in that journey….

What am I doing to live an uncomfortable life?…What questions am I asking?… How am I growing?… What am I learning?….

I came to the conclusion that I have a lot to work out….up in my noggin….

I started asking myself questions like…

• How can I grow closer in my relationship with God?
• What am I doing with the time I am being given?

and that spurred more questions….

• What am I doing with my book of creative ideas?
• What books am I reading?
• Am I a giver to my environment, or a taker?
• …what in me….needs to change?

So I have come up with some answers, and this might be the healthiest self-evaluation I have done….

Here are a few things I have figured out….

1. I need to prioritize my God time better….I’m not struggling, but I’m not running the extra mile…. I’m more or less coasting… by getting in the Word and praying a little everyday…. but I can definitely do better… So I’m going to make a point to spend at least an hour a day in the Word….
2. In the season I am in… I am spending a lot of time this summer doing nothing… this isn’t healthy… I usually rationalize my excessive movie watching and napping with “It’s the summer, you are supposed to relax”…. that doesn’t fly after this post… I need to become more active in using my time wiser… Whether that is through building relationship with people, being creative and growing my abilities, learning more by reading books, or simply just taking time to ask more questions…
3. I have been a taker…. I need to encourage more people than I do… and contribute to living a more organized life…and I ned to get in shape…
4. I need to start creating more… It’s healthy for me… end of story…

So I don’t know why you find this interesting, but I feel the need to have some accountability on this by posting it in public…

So to keep in tune with the inspiration of this post, here are a few “I will never’s”….

After this Post:

I will never be comfortable

I will never be a taker

I will never let fear,or laziness allow me to live on idle.

Am I the only one that does self-evaluations?  hope not…

So that’s my plan…