nonFictionality

When we encounter the unexpected, a story begins…

Archive for the tag “God”

08 May 2012
5 Comments

Neglecting Prayer

Every week I sit down to bring something to this space that will impact someone.  I try to write in a way that people will be encouraged and thoughts will be provoked.  I seek to make others more keenly aware of the God’s love for them and the hope that is found in His arms.

But it doesn’t always work.

Sometimes I can’t always find words to bring to the page.

More times than not, I stare at my computer screen for hours.  There are moments that I hate the blinking of the cursor on the page of the blank word document.

I’ve thought about giving up plenty of times.

I start to question myself.  I start wondering why in the world I cannot come up with a single idea to write about that will change at least one person’s life.

I get angry at myself because words aren’t coming to me and I’m left again, trying to scrounge something up last minute for another post for yet another week.
It’s in these times of frustration that I forget about one important thing; prayer.  When I neglect it, I find that my frustration towards things that I love builds.  My writing starts to suffer.  My relationships with others suffer.  And my anxiety, frustration, and anger come to a boiling point because everything else around me is suffering.  All because I neglected prayer.

It might not make sense.  You might be asking, “How can one little thing like prayer affect so many areas of your life?”  The reality is: prayer affects every facet of our beings.  When we pray, we are spending time with God.  And, when we don’t pray, that relationship with God is being neglected.

As I begin to realize my neglect of prayer during these times, I turn to God’s Word.  I spend time in it.  I take time to hang out and get to know my Father on a new level.  I talk with Him.  I praise Him for all that He is doing and all that He has already done.  I admire His creation.  In the business of life, I find time to spend time with Him.  It seems simple but it is needed so much.  The reality is that there is not a time where God is not here with me, so I try to spend time with Him as possible.  I don’t have to go somewhere special to pray, I can pray as I sit at my desk and work.  I can pray as I drive in the car.  I can pray wherever I am.  And, so can you.

I urge you today to follow Paul’s advice in his letter to the city of Thessalonica.  

“Never stop praying.”

-1 Thessalonians 5:11


Pray and grow your relationship with the God that created you.  Don’t stop!  Let Him fill you and all of your relationships with the joy and the beauty that only He can bring.

-Josh

Thank you for taking the time to read! It really means a lot! Please feel free to leave a comment below, I’d love to hear your thoughts! Also, if you’d like to hear more of my thoughts on God, dating, life, leading youth, and beach living you can follow me on Twitter here.

Posted in Uncategorized and tagged , , ,
12 Apr 2012
2 Comments

Sunrises, Sunsets, and God’s Purpose.

We all have one of those things in life that we treasure.  For me, growing up at near beach, I always treasure the smell of salt in the air.  But, what makes it even better is when I walk on the beach and watch the sun set over the ocean.  It is remarkable.  The way the colors twist and turn in the sky, blending together to form a beautiful picture.  Seconds later, they change again and create an equally stunning image, still beautiful, and still magnificent.

It is in those moments I realize just how much God loves me— and you.   He loves us so much that He paints a stunning image in the sky every morning and every evening, just so we can enjoy His Majesty.  He loves us so much that He provides us with something breathtaking to look at.  The sky sings Him praise in those moments.

As I thought about all of this recently, I got to thinking about how God uses all different types of atmospheric gases and particles to achieve the brilliance in each and every sunrise and sunset.  Light reflects off of each particle to give us the warm reds, vibrant pinks, and deep purples that we, or at least I, look forward to each evening (they happen in the morning too, but I rarely see these).  Each of these seemingly insignificant bits of dusts and particles of gas are playing a part in creating a masterpiece in the sky.

While His masterpiece in the sky may be beautiful, He is orchestrating His magnum opus with our lives.

We are particles, reflecting the Light so that the world can witness His glory.  We are all part of it.  You, a student, teacher, barista, receptionist, or pastor, you are a part of the bigger picture.  God wants you to reflect Light in such a way that others will be able to experience His love the same way you have experienced it.

We all come from different places, backgrounds, and struggles, but we all reflect the same Light.  We’ve all felt insignificant, but that is not the case.  God has a plan for you.
You are part of the bigger picture!

-Josh

Thank you for taking the time to read! It really means a lot! Please feel free to leave a comment below, I’d love to hear your thoughts! Also, if you’d like to hear more of my thoughts on dating, life, leading youth, and beach living you can follow me on Twitter here.

Posted in Light and Dark and tagged , , , , ,
28 Mar 2012
1 Comment

Students and Sex

Over the past few months I have had the opportunity to write on relationships for “Wilmington Faith and Values”.  I recently wrote this article and wanted to share it with you today.  As a youth leader, I feel as if it is something that needs to be addressed.  We need to show students a better story!

Students and Sex

I recently overheard a couple high school students talking about relationship struggles.  I’d heard the conversation many times before.  Somehow, in the midst of this conversation, they turned to me and wanted to know my opinion on the matter.  It caught me off guard and I waited a second before asking, “What do you think is the point of having a relationship in high school?”
Without missing a beat, the response was, “The sex!”
Those two words echoed in my heart like someone shouting in a cave.

THE SEX! The sex. the sex…

Media tells us that to be accepted in society you have to be in a relationship.  Media tells us that, to be cool you have to have sex in that relationship.
Media tells us that the more people you have sex with, the more successful you become.

The thing is, while you or I may be able to recognize all of these as empty lies, there is a generation accepting it as truth.
There is a generation okay with being lied to because it provides them with the sexual gratification that has been highly praised by their “role models” in the society.

But what do we do?
Do we turn the TV off and ignore the media?
Do we shut our children off from the world and not let them out of the house again until they are twenty-five?
Do we hand out cards saying that those who have sex before marriage are going to Hell?

No.

We shouldn’t do any of that.
We cannot ignore what is being displayed in the media.  Ignorance just welcomes naivety.
And we cannot try to scare students into Heaven by telling them that their mistakes are going to send them to Hell.

What we can do is show them a better story.
This means that we need to show them what life is like when you live it according to God’s design by giving them healthy examples of relationships and that we have to be healthy examples of relationships.  We have to teach them that their identity is not found in the relationships that society so often encourages, but that true identity is found in their Creator.  We have to ask hard questions.  It is our job to sit down and talk with them about their intentions in relationships and how they can approach dating and from a healthy perspective, the perspective that media rarely subscribes to.  We may have to have uncomfortable conversations, but they will be totally worth it if it means that they are being pulled out of the Darkness that society has cast upon their generation.
We have to run into that Darkness, grab their hand, and show them the strength, peace, and confidence that the Light provides.  We have to show them that God’s plan is better than anything they could ever dream or imagine.

-Josh

Thank you for taking the time to read! It really means a lot! Please feel free to leave a comment below, I’d love to hear your thoughts! Also, if you’d like to hear more of my thoughts on dating, life, leading youth, and beach living you can follow me on Twitter here.

Posted in Relationships and tagged , , , ,
29 Feb 2012
2 Comments

Stopping. Something I never really do.

Have you ever just stopped?

Stopped writing.

Stopped moving.

Stopped doing.

Today I stopped.

I stopped to think about my life.

And all that I live for.

I stopped to think it all over.

I don’t know why I had never really stopped before.

I stopped and I thought about the way I speak.

I stopped and I thought about whether all of the ways I communicate are done so effectively.

I stopped and I thought about all of the passions God has placed inside of me.

Because they have a purpose.

These passions.

And how they, in a way, define me.

So I stopped.

I stopped to think about my definition.

And how I do not want to strive for worldly recognition.

I do not want my name to be known.

I do not want the words that I speak to seem more important than the One on the throne.

So, I stopped.

I stopped, to declare once and for all.

That I will share a message of hope now and every moment till the day that I fall.

I want to live and make known His name.

Because I can live with not having any earthly fame.

I want to shine Light into the Darkest of places.

I want to run with all my might, ignoring the looks on the critics’ faces.

You run, I urge you to join this race too.

We’re going to charge the gates of Hell.

We’re going to pull out our family, our friends, and our students.

We’re going to show them Heaven.

And we’re going to show them that the Enemy is the one that loses.

 

So stop.

Take a second out of your day.

What has God placed inside of you?

Are you willing to run this race?

 

-Josh

We need to stop every once in a while and evaluate our purpose. I encourage you today to look at everything you are doing and everything God has placed inside of you.  I want you to stop and find your purpose.  Then I want you to continue on your journey with renewed energy, ready to fulfill that purpose with all that you’ve got.  Please feel free to share what you find.  I would consider it a great honor to be able to pray for you as you run this race.

 

 

 

 

 

Posted in Life Decisions, Poetry and tagged , , , ,
22 Feb 2012
5 Comments

The stupid mistake I’ve made in writing to my future spouse…

Last week I shared with you a letter I wrote my future wife and got a lot of feedback.  Every once in a while, I like to share a letter like that with you.  And it seems like a lot of you write to your future spouses as well.  I think that’s great, and I love writing to my wife as well.  But, if I’m being honest, I don’t love it that much anymore.

Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy thinking about what my future wife will be like.

I imagine her voice.

I imagine dates we will go on.

I run through scenarios of how I will one day ask her to be my wife.

I imagine all of the creative ideas she will come up with for my birthday and I sincerely hope she will catch on to the fact that I would hate a surprise party.

I’ve tried keeping a journal just for her.

I’ve prayed for her.

I say that I’m becoming the man that she has been dreaming of.

I’ve done all of that.

But, at some point not too long ago I realized that I have been stupid.  Wait a minute before you get defensive.  Because I’m not saying that those of you who write to your future spouse are stupid.  I’m not saying that those of you who daydream about what lies ahead of you are stupid.  I’m not saying that any of that is stupid, because I think it is awesome to think about your future spouse and to dream of the future.   All I’m saying is that I’ve been stupid.  I feel like that’s okay to admit.

I’ve been stupid in getting so distracted searching for and dreaming “the one”.  And it is so easy to do this.  It is so easy of me to dream about my one-day wife.  I can dream about our dates, our wedding, and our life.  But I can become so consumed in this that I put it as my sole focus.  When this happens, I begin to say, “I’m doing everything right now for her.”

That shouldn’t be the case. Ever.

It wasn’t long ago that I realized how flawed my thinking had become.  It wasn’t long ago that I realized that I had begun to place her on an altar.  The crazy thing it, I haven’t even met her yet!  I haven’t even met her and I already struggle with putting her in the place of God.  And, if you are not careful, I believe the same can happen to you.

It’s so hard not to think about all of these things all of the time, especially for a guy who would rather watch a romantic comedy than a horror film.  But, I think that, if we are going to be all that we are meant to be and if we are to embrace all that God has in store of us we have to do a few things.

  1. We have to put God first.  You may have heard this before.  And you may have brushed it off before.  But, it is important.  We have to seek God above all else and, when the time comes, “the one” will be there.  This does not excuse us from effort, but it does mean that we don’t have to be thinking about them all of the time.
  2. We have to find joy in the things around us.  I remind myself of this all of the time.  I have to tell myself that, while there is so much joy and happiness to be had down the road, there is joy to be embraced now!  I make it a goal every single day to embrace this joy.
  3. We have to thank God for all that He has given us.  I do this first in my prayer time.  From the small things to the big things, I thank God for it all.  I do this to remind myself that God has provided and is still providing.  So, before I ask Him for anything, I thank Him for all that He has given.  This has radically changed the time I spend with Jesus.  And it has been such a great change!
  4. We have to hang out with our friends.  This is important.  You’ve got to have friends.  Even now in a season of singleness, you need friends.  They will be there for you now when things get tough and when you celebrate.  They’ll be there when you start dating someone and even, and I hate to say this, when you break up with that someone who you thought was “the one”. Only to find out that they’re someone else’s “one” and that your “one” is still out there somewhere.

I know that those seem very simple.  But they are things that I’ve been learning that I wanted to share with you so that you won’t make the same mistake I did.  So, continue to write, continue to dream, continue to love.  Just don’t let your letters, your dreams, and your one day love take the place of God.

-Josh

Thank you again for reading.  It really means more than you know! I hope that all that God has revealed to me will help you.  Have an incredible (insert time of the day in which you are reading this)!

Posted in Relationships and tagged , ,

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