Glorifying God

2007-09-22T18:24:00.000-07:00

my name is not nick.

i happen to see it as a cryin' shame for someone to have a perfectly serviceable blog, but to have it languish inactive for almost 4 months. i also have an inordinate amount of time on my hands right now and am slowly working my way through a long list of shameful things i can remedy. updating nick's blog is on the top of that list.

so here's the summary of what's happened in nick's life in the last 4 months:

june highlights
...nick met his lovely (some might say ravishing) girlfriend's parents for the first time. he was a bit nervous, but stood up to the scrutiny admirably, fitting in some male-bonding fishing, a eureka springs excursion, and a ride the ducks trip.
...while mowing said girlfriend's lawn (as he tends to do to prove his undying devotion), he found 4 tiny kittens and without further ado claimed the black and white one for his own, naming him ransom pendragon.

july highlights
...nick & kate roadtripped to colorado to meet more of kate's family. her sister-in-law promptly got him inebriated then plyed him with questions about his intentions toward kate. he again stood up to the pressure, showing himself to be a man. they went camping in some of the most gorgeous country on earth and then visited the garden of the gods.
...nick took that ever-present girlfriend out for their six month anniversary (of dating) and made it the most memorable date up to that point by professing his love for her.
...nick made his harvest debut as little jimmy, supporting mr. science in educating the little vbs-ers in the scientific ways of the world. those little tykes will never be the same.

august highlights
...nick finished his last month working at doulos with mixed emotions. his buddy rob bought a house and they moved in together, which helped nick not feel too cast adrift on the sea of life. he's currently enjoying the challenge of turning his bedroom into his own space by painting the walls and building furniture... their friend, jen moved in to the basement apartment with them, so they're one co-ed happy family.

september highlights
...nick looked about for a job, finding a few options, but finally hitting the mother lode of opportunities at artfolk, a shop that specializes in making dulcimers, but also does all sorts of other woodworking-like things. the owner, art, is excited to be training nick in a number of things including sign-making and sweet harp-making. hopefully this job will evolve into something nick can continue expanding into a career. it fits with his love of making things with his hands perfectly and art is a wonderful older gentleman who is already a mentor figure in nick's life.
...nick was in a car accident that totaled his explorer, but was thankfully uninjured. he is currently carhunting, and would love to find a toyota tacoma within his price range but is also open to other options.

there you have it! the highs, the lows and the mediums of nick's life over the past few months.

in case you haven't figured it out yet, that ravishing girlfriend... well, that's me. he doesn't know i hacked into his blog, but i don't think he'll mind.

i love you, slinkydooda!

Pirates of the... Buffalo?

2007-06-03T20:43:00.000-07:00

So if you have read Kates Blog about our little camping trip and all the canoing that has been done. I thought that I'd share some pictures myself of our trip.

here is the lovely Kate (or Katilina Kate as the Pirate name that I gave her) and me (Captain Black Swagart - i think it sounds pretty cool) isn't she so pretty?

While the "fiasco" with Erica happened, nate and myself decided to climb up on some rocks to remove ourselves from the situation - i kinda tend to shy away when it comes to females and bathing suit issues.

here's me doing a tripple-half-gainer with a "salty-dog" twist!!! or just jumping!

Here's all of us at the end of our canoe trip, we had a blast all-in-all! i really didn't like all of the college, fraternity and sorority people that were on the water, it's hard for me to have fun when people are cussing and getting drunk. i still had fun, i have "uptight" moments where i realize that i'm not in control of what is going on around me and there seemed to be a lot going on that I didn't have control of; time- me getting back to doulos by six so that i could be on coverage, the college kids and their "lewdness" and just all that i had to get done (and felt like i negleted to do) back at doulos. well it's late and I don't have a whole lot more to talk about, i'm still trying to blog more and put more pictures on my blog, wish me luck!

Facebook only works if you know your own face!!!

2007-05-22T21:17:00.000-07:00

So for those who are into the hip new things will know that i am not!! but a good friend of mine (jason paxson) recomended facebook to me, and thus far I'm hooked! but heres something really good b/c it shows my total lack of knowledge on how to use this new found contraption! I went on my laptop and went to see if I had any new friends, well it said i did, my friends jason and jonathan... well heres the kicker, b/c of all the stuff that facebook offers on the home page i didn't notice that it was actually my girlfriends account and that when i added jason and jon i put (jokingly of course) that jason and i hooked up and that it smelled like poo diapers, and not only that but that jon was my extended family, only to realize that it was "kate" that did such things, which would look kindof odd on the end of jason and jon (b/c they don't know her!) so theres my fun thing for the day! Praise Jesus!

Humility

2007-05-08T10:28:00.000-07:00

I was just reading my good friend (probably one of my best friends) tims blog - and it made me realize that authenticity is what i've been needing in my life.
So here goes some authenticity! i have really been struggling with my relationships in Manhattan. i took kate there a couple of months ago so that she could meet my family (part of it) and not really having "high expectations" about the weekend, I was let down. i didn't realize the impact that bringing my girlfriend (especially to those who have seen one side of a broken relationship) would have. a friend of mine confronted me about our relationship and the rest of my "time off" was spent in partial anger, and partial shame (as though i had let my friends down) .
The only reason i say this is b/c resently i talked to another good friend who was questioning the relationship. it made me realize that i have not done well at all to communicate my life in branson, especially my relationship with kate.
how does a sophomore in college communicate growth, especially when he goes home to everyone treating him like they did when he was in high school? that is not an arrogent statement like, "look at me, i'm so much more mature!" which any growth that i have recieved has been purely God!!!! right now, i'm just venting.
i just wanted everyone to know - which includes my manhattan friends, that i love you guys and i'm so sorry for loosing connection with you guys. it's wounded me down into my heart. i pray that whatever time, space, or growth was lost the holy spirit would fill the gaps. Glory to the Holy Spirit!!

I may be in a Coma, but I'm not dead!

2007-05-02T22:47:00.000-07:00

(my good friends Timnus and Jean' Vie've)
So, I'm one of the worst people at updating blogs. I love having it, it's just where I'm at, I don't take the time on doing it (it seems like in ministry everything that you'd like to do is "extracirrucular" and you feel like a kid whose in tons of activities and you don't want to "do" another thing!) well, that's how I feel anyway! So a lot has happened, Kate and I are dating, we went to Manhattan, KS to meet my friends (which I don't know how well that went) I went to Eluthera, Bahamas for a missions trip (awesome) my friends, Nate and Sandy got married, Kate and I broke up, and then got back together (that's a different story) my parents came down to visit me, and finally I'm going to apply (or already am) for College of the Ozarks. wow, that sums up the last 4 months? so anyway, I know that theres tons more to write about - one being my good buddy tim has a blog also - but just know that I'm doing good and I am going to make a effort (maybe even a goal) to keep this blog updated for all 5 or six of you that actually read this. Also know that Kate Corley is an amazing woman of God and I like her a whole lot!
I'm going to put a picture of Tim and Jen so you know what my good friends look like - oh I almost forgot, Tim and Jen, Kate and myself went on a double date last Friday and it was a blast (Kate will give you more details if you want) but I wish I had pictures, but Kate probably does.

Kate, Tim and I and we are at starbucks

2007-01-23T18:55:00.000-08:00

I am sitting with Kate (my girlfriend!!) and Tim (my heterosexual life parterner) and we are chillin' at starbucks!!! here are some pictures so you can see how pretty she is!! I know I haven't been great about updating my blog, but then again, I'm not really sure how many people are reading it!!!

here are my friends (in no particular order), Tim, Maren, Erica, Kate, Rob and I. It was really funny b/c kate wanted a picture of everybody but of course we couldn't do that unless we had somebody else take it for us, so we got some random guy to take the picture!!! We were going to see "Stranger than fiction" and we found out that we were a bit "short" on cash for all of us to get a ticket!!! So I ended up going to my car and getting all my change (pennies and all) so that everyone of us could have a movie ticket!!! Kate is pretty cute, I really like the picture on the top!!! She looks very outdoorsy!

thoughts from an airport terminal

2006-12-25T08:32:00.000-08:00

I'm sitting in the Springfield airport waiting for my flight at 1:18pm (it's only 10:35am right now) and it'll be another 12 hours and 25 min until I am in North Dakota!! I just spent $4.25 for a meat and cheeze stick snack, cashews and a bottle of water (which didn't fill me up in the least sense). I've also got two great friends back at Doulos that are not going to see their families today. I don't say this to complain, although I am a bit.
"Pity Me!" are probably my earthly motives, "look at all the junk that I have to deal with!"
I was talking with Tim about how Christmas is meaning more for myself (and it continually is!) and not just a "Once a year I'll give to the Salvation Army" sort of thing, Did Christ originally come to this earth that we would have time off from work for a couple days a year to spend with our families. No, He didn't, He came for something far deeper than Easter Eggs and Tenenbaums? He came "that we might have life and life to the full!"
A present means nothing, unless there is a comunity behind it, a story, someone knowing someone else in an intimate way. And this is just part of the life that Christ intended for our lives!
I feel like I could go on forever on ideals of what how far we have lost comunity, I could also talk about all the inconviences that I am having to deal with, but truth is, it's kind of exciting that I get to spend a lot of hours in an airport terminal(s). I get to spend Christmas with Him whom has created all the seasons and whom all things belong!! praise Jesus!

Popularity is an illusion

2006-12-10T09:11:00.000-08:00

So today in one single moment I marked my fate for life! Today we had a special communion at Harvest. They had four tables up at the front and four couples who would go around and invite people to commune with them (only for a couple minutes) and then they (the people being invited) would leave and someone else would be invited (it may sound a bit complex but it wasn't too much). After we'd go up there we would put name tags on (so people knew who had already been served) and we would right what name we'd like to fit us. So I go up there, already self analysing and grasping for the grace of God, and I commune and I write my name Authentic wich is beautiful and only seals my what I wrote next. I was trying to be cool (as cool as a Lord of the Rings fan can be) but I wanted to write some name (not necisarily understanding what I'm writing) so that I sound a bit deep and maybe possibly be thought of as "wizard like" (not really, but I thought it cool in my head) and what I wrote actually doesn't mean a thing in any real language, but it sounded like a Hebrew word (after I thought about it for a while) but I couldn't tell where I had heard that before. So as I am going on throught the service and the fellowship time, I remembered where I had heard the word that I wrote, it sounded a lot like what Hosea is told to call one of his childeren which means "God will not have compassion on you," and what's worst of all, there are a few men at Harvest that actually know what the words mean. This embaracement only makes me think, so often I (we) do the dumbest things because it looks good. It's times like this that I realize how "unhip" I am to what I always blow up in my mind to be. Now here I have a choice, I can say (like I did in the 6th grade) "I'm going to stop being such a dork" but the truth is this is the way that I am, and Christ loves me this way!!! my spiritual walk has nothing to do with how "together I seem to have things" or more "how I do in the popularity circle" but that has nothing to do with santification, Christ did not come to the world to make people little "Fonzy's" running around acting all cool! lets be who God made us to be!! Praise Jesus!

In a prison of moisture!

2006-11-30T17:58:00.000-08:00

So today everyone went home early from work b/c it's sleeting here. It kind of sticks a bit because right now I can't work out and I feel sluggish. I am debating on whether I should go work out or not (being that I've already missed my class at College of the Ozarks) and whether or not I should risk driving in icey conditions? I think I could handle it, but I think that I'll follow orders and stay put. Yesterday, pretty much all day (at least until 6:30-7pm) I was feeling kind of "crappy" to put it in better terms, I was not with great standing with a person, and it just seemed like one of those days where regaurdless of things going wrong or right, you just don't feel you are in right standing with everyone (including God!). It's days like this that Brennan Manning really just drive it home for me, for it seems like any theology that discusses how righteous and holy we need to be, just drive a wedge between God and I, but like a boy who has fallen off his bike, he doesn't need "an adult" to tell him to pick himself up and don't cry, but a mother with comfort and unconditional love. Praise Jesus our Lord and Saviour!

Hello I'm the Prodigal Son of the Blog world

2006-11-21T13:13:00.000-08:00

I have struggled lately (lately meaning this last 6 years) with balancing relationships and tasks. I was talking to my friend Derek this morning about pilgrimage and how I wish that I could find time to do all the rad things that come into my mind (like take a couple of years to discover my heritage, or fish for a summer in Alaska) Praise God I long to do these things still and I hope that I always long to do them, I hope that I long for adventure even when I'm 60,000,000 years old! Praise God for the adventure he has me on now. There is no other place that I'd rather be than in the intimacy of Christ!

The Problem of Pain

2006-04-14T13:32:00.000-07:00

I have been reading C.S. Lewis' "the Problem of Pain" and I have been profoundly suprised by the chapter that talks about Human wickedness. It seems that in my life I have (only recently) been brought to true humility towards my depravity and God's grace! and this is the pinicle of the Christian faith. When I was younger, i had a knowledge of my sin towards God. and even now, that's all it seems to be, just knowledge. How often do we truly wrestle with our lack, our finite, our mortality. Yes, death always seems to show us how we won't always live a long time and seeing the news we can easily say "what a wicked place we live in!" but go through the day unchanged. I pray that we would see the need, and long after the Holy Spirit to give us right wisdom of who we really are, Fallen, depraved and this will only lead us to Glorify God all the more, because seeing what we truely were made for, how we have fallen short and God's great redemption will only lead us to worship a Holy God.

Holy Spirit, same spirit of our LORD Jesus Christ, allow us to be changed this Easter allow us to see how Beautiful You really are and let us worship YOU! We love YOU LORD, or at least we want to love YOU more!!! YOU deserve far more than we can give you, but You gladly except what little we have! Praise JESUS!!

I can do it on my own!

2006-01-31T19:20:00.000-08:00

(I want to say that I am sorry that I have not writen in a while)

So I came to the realization about fasting today, usually when I fast, I tend to set a standard (often way higher than I could even obtain) and only to set my self up for failure. It dawned on me today (and might I add that it frustrates me just to think about my selfishness) why don't I seek the counsel of a godly man and ask him to help me do this ("No way," I say to myself, "I can do it on my own!") but to walk we need to crawl. And I hate to impose my standards on people, but we need this. Spiritual Discipline is a must to grow closer to our Father!!!! do not by any mean fast that you may show yourself "incredible Christian!" but we still need this, but if we are going to need someone to show us how to be able to do these things!!! Praise Jesus, if we do not trust godly men and women then we have bigger problems going on... we cannot do things on our own, it's DANGEROUS TO THINK SO!!!! trust me! anyway, praise Jesus, make us new... give us patience, Lord because we are not quick fix beings, but ones who will take years (intense years) to become what you want us to become! We love You Jesus!

2005-12-15T13:31:00.000-08:00

Nuts, Snoopy had the greatest ideas...

Me and my sis

2005-12-06T16:31:00.000-08:00

honesty!

2005-11-06T11:07:00.000-08:00

Jesus talks about faithfullness verus dishonesty
"If you are faithful with little you will be faithfull with much, if you are dishonest with little you will be dishonest with much."

I was chewing on the word dishonesty, what does it mean? I feel that there are differences between lying and dishonesty. Lying appears to be an act (cingular) where as dishonesty appears to be deeper. Dishonesty in my opinion is where we lie not only to others but to ourselves... oh what a tangled web! that is why we need to be faithfull with the little things.

So what does it mean to be faithful with little things? faithfullness (one twist on it) is allowing Christ (The Light) to shine upon every area of our lives! knowing this should not be frighnening to us, but freeing!!! we are not like cockroaches whom when the light shines we scatter, we are children born in the light and darkness is not our home!

Praise Jesus, allow the Light to shine in every area of my life!

Heaven: Are We There Yet?

2005-10-21T15:53:00.000-07:00

If missions exists because worship doesn't, and if what I experience here on earth is worship (pure and simple) of God the Father, then think how much grander heaven will be. the glimps of God's glory that we get here on earth - the are only "little bits of power" that we can't comprehend, Lord will we be able to stand in your presence? worship should only lead into more worship which leads inot a never ending (eternal) life of love and worship!

sorry it's taking so long!

2005-10-09T11:03:00.000-07:00

I am finally getting to post again!! I do wish that my posts were not so far and in between. It is amazing what God will do if we just listen to him, or just as good, to "Be still and know He is God." Every time that I give a little walking room for sin, I often feel like as soon as I have a "good quiet" time with God or if I sing hooky Worship songs that everything will be "right as rain". God has broken me of this (or is breaking me) He is not a God, whom after you offend, does he desire for you to bring some meat (boiled in blood and served with fries) to appeaze Him. But He wants to look us in the eye, and for us to "Know He is God" the amazing part about this is I often times am afraid to look at Him, but there is freedom when I do. Praise Be to Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior!!!

Glory to the Father

2005-09-22T05:33:00.000-07:00

What a blessing to awake in the morning, and know and feel the Lord is God. That it is not about us in any way, shape or form.

One thing that I have grown to love God more in is that at times I feel that I need to defend God when others blatently reject Him. I tend to act all shocked and appauled by their actions, when God isn't. God has given me more of a sadness, a heartbreak for those that wish to not follow after Him. I feel that this is what speaks to those who are hurt, because this speaks, but a glimps of God's heart.

Lord, take away my debating heart... let me be teachable, that I may be loveable.

Living above the standard

2005-09-18T00:23:00.000-07:00

What standards do we live by? Do we hold others to a standard that we ourselves do not live by? If we do, we are plain and simply hypocrites!!! Paul rebukes Peter in Galatians for refusing to eat with Gentiles. I learned today that this act (those who aren't Jewish having to become one for the sake of salvation) nullifies that act of forgiveness in Christ and denies Gentile as Gentiles are acceptable to God through faith in Christ. Peter was in the wrong for a number of different reasons, but the main one was that he (Peter) was holding Gentiles to a standard that he himself did not live by (that is Jewish tradition). So, what standards are we living by? What standards are we expecting others to live by? I am having troubles with this right now. Working at a Residential Care Facillity, I want to be able to live a life that that will set the example of love and not just legalistic rules. I am sorry if this is hard to follow, I am just having a hard time to convey with these kids how much I love them, and there is nothing here that I ask them to do that I would not do myself. Jesus, teach me how to be this! Reveal the sins of the spirit, for those are the ones that will kill us!

Sculpture!!

2005-09-03T08:04:00.000-07:00

My best friend told me last night that I sometimes do not let myself become changed and grow because of the way I view American Christians and how I "don't want to be normal" like them. I found a sense of freedom in what she said. If I am going to be changed for the glory of God, I have to allow myself to travel down avenues that I don't typically like, knowing that it does not make me a normal Christan but brings me closer to Him and others. Allow Him to change you into the very being that He wants you to be. Jesus is not a God of our own initiative or standards, nor a God of pure imaginitive thought, but a God of truth. Let us find out what our falicies about God are today and be brought to truth, that we may be free, free to grow!

How are we doing?

2005-08-29T16:38:00.000-07:00

What do we find as the mst importannt thing in life?
If we were to meet Jesus, face to face, what would He tell us? Would He say, "It's best to be pentecostal, for they have the most fervor for me"? or "Baptists are my favorite because they aren't showy, and are more zealous for my cause"? What about the tatooed, the peirced and the all around dumpy looking people? Do we segregate in our minds those who, "are working for Christ," and those who aren't by our agenda or His? Is it more important to focus on us, and love each other, than to look to His glory? Do we believe in the Power of God? Do we speak in tounges? Do we love? Do we have faith? Do we have hope? Do we live our lives like a business? or like hippies in a commune? Shaloam? what causes division amongst us? What is at our hearts desire? And what is allowing us to segregate community and brotherhood? Praise and worship? Hymnals? Televangelists? I pray that my heart and yours would be tested that we may be soley Christs, He would be our master, that we would forsake individualism, hedenism, the love of money, pride of being poor, freedom, and seek Christ soley!
Let us chase after this Beauty with out caution, with out interference! Like a groom running to catch his Beauty int the wild lets chase after Him! forsakeing everything that hinders us (I am guilty of everything too!) and run the race marked out for us!

Hebrews 12: 1 & 2
Therefore since we have so great cloud of witnesses (read about those in chapter 11!) surrounding us, let us also lay aside ever encumberance and the sin which so easily entagles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector of faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, a nd has sat down at the right hand of the Throne of God.

Hallelujah, Glory be to our Great God!

Seeds!

2005-08-12T09:36:00.000-07:00

Mark 4:9 "And He was saying, 'He who has an ear, let him hear."

What an invitation! At times I take the parable of the seeds and the sower as God being this clumsey, happenstance farmer who only gets some of the seeds into good soil. But it is not the case. He leaves the parable with an invite in understanding. (Note as he tells the disiples "The mysteries of the Kingdom," just like the crowed, they too don't understand) - which leaves us full dependency on the Holy Spirit to listen and to glorify our Father!

Not being able to sleep!

2005-08-08T00:18:00.000-07:00

Lord Jesus Christ!
So many times I could, and have asked for your salvation from this sinful body, and I ever still come to the same conclusion... you already have! Tonight, I was carelessly giving my mind to other things other thoughts that were only accusations and lies. But by Your grace, Evie read me The Ragman, and love lavished both of us and I was able to step out of myself and truely love!!! I pray for more opportunities to see you more closely!

Those of you reading this, if you get a chance to read The Ragman, do it!!! It's a series of short stories, and so far, it is good!!!! Good night, I'm finally going to bed!!

Living in His grace

2005-08-04T06:18:00.000-07:00

There are very few peoplewho realise what God would make of them if they abandoned themselves into his hands,and let themselves be formed by his grace. (St Ignatius)

I highly recomend going on to my links (Sacred Space) and spend time with Jesus this morning. I have been hit with how hard this year will be, being away from Evie mostly but also being away from my friends and family too. Yes, I know that I will expand my family and friends with those that i will get to meet and be with in Branson, but that does not lessen my longing to be here, and to take care of Evie, and to fellowship with my friends. The quote that I set up there is something that I highly recomend doing, abandon yourself into God's grace! Take it from somebody who spent a little over 3 years not doing that, it will catch up with you in the end!!!

let's jump into this Ocean that we call God!

Let's meet with Him!

2005-07-26T08:45:00.000-07:00

Exodus 33:7-11
Now Moses used to take the tent and pitch it outside the camp, far off from the camp; he called it the tent of meeting. And everyone who sought the LORD would go out to the tent of meeting, which was outside the camp. Whenever Moses went out to the tent, all the people would rise and stand, each of them, at the entrance of their tents and watch Moses until he had gone into the tent. When Moses entered the tent, the pillar of cloud would descend and stand at the entrance of the tent, and the LORD would speak with Moses. When all the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance of the tent, all the people would rise and bow down, all of them, at the entrance of their tent. Thus the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend.

I pray for meeting this morning! I want somehow to derive some profound message with this passage, like everyone else, but know that in truth what we need is just meeting with our friend. Plain and simple. Let’s know today and feel, what is true; that God wants to meet with us, that He desires for us to seek Him out (we always let Him seek us!); and that God is closer than we think, if we claim to have Jesus Christ as our Lord, then He dwells with in us and we have that “meeting” tent in our Lord. Like a woman, longing to be discovered, longing to unveil her beauty, so the God of the Universe longs to unveil absolute Beauty to us, let’s seek Him out

Praise the Name of Jesus

2005-07-24T09:53:00.000-07:00

““Who are you?” asked Shasta.
“Myself,” said the Voice, very deep and low so that the earth shook: and again, “Myself,” loud and clear and gay: and then the third time “Myself,” whispered so softly you could hardly hear it, yet it seemed to come from all around you as if the leaves rustled with it.
Shasta was no longer afraid that the Voice would belong to something that would eat him, nor that it was a voice of a ghost. But a new and different sort of trembling came over him. Yet he felt glad too.”

The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis

Evie and I read this the other day right before we had gone to Bible study and we were just so impressed with God! I love coming to the point where God is it!!! That is what we were made for, there is nothing else, and if we claim there is then we have lost our direction.

Today praise the God of the Universe, the Mighty Creator, our Salvation, and without finding a reason, other than He being the “I AM,” worship Him! Praise Jesus!

Becoming the Men we were ment to be!

2005-07-18T07:45:00.000-07:00

Praise Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, let His name be glorified in our lives!
This past year has been full of twists and turns for me and those I care about and love! I shall be headed to a place where, hopefully, I will be strengthened in my love for God, my girlfriend, my family; that I may look a little more like the man God's ordained me to become; and to have a rights of passage into what we call "manhood".

I am both excited, solomn and scared all at the same time! I am remembering what John Piper said as we watched a video of him speaking yesterday at church. He said, "God is most glorified, when we are most satisfied with Him!" and although I am leaving behind someone I care about dearly, and a place I have called home for years, I think about how satisfied I actually am with God and the work that He has predestined for me to do!!! Let this mark the first of my journal enteries about my journey into the Heart of God!!