Thursday, January 31, 2008

wow! what a week

God is amazing!!! I cant say it enough.

ever since I took moved here purely by faith God has been changing and forming me.

all I want to do these days with my spare time is read the bible, pray and meditate.

I have amazing friends here that understand im crazy, odd and a little on the wierd side.

im really being set on fire here, this is something ive never experienced before in my life. ive been giving God one straight un-interrupted hour a day and it has really been paying off. God and me is tight now. tighter than ever before.

he asked me to give him every area of my life and I didnt want to. I told him I have been hurt to many times to give him my love life area. but he said untill I give that to him I will never see his true glory for my life. so after a week or so of fighting him and praying about it, its his now.

Im really glda I made this step of faith and came here. it was the hardest thing ive ever done. I left all that I knew, everyone i loved, my church, freinds, and youth group. but God has provided so much for me here and I praise him for that.

He has given me a renewed passion for youth again. every single youth kid I love, whether I know them or not.

how is everyone else doing? I want to know. I miss all my cali peeps. oh and I have a new cell phone number since I moved to minneapolis so if you dont have it email me and ill give it to you. dodge16_12@yahoo.com

Saturday, January 26, 2008

I was thinking about the superbowl the other day and that the patriots went from an ok team to a superior team pretty much over night and I came to this conclusion.

"The suggestions that the Pats are "so superior" to the rest of the league warrants the cheating to be swept under the rug are forgetting the point. Superior? How does a team of nobodies get to be "superior"? By signing Moss and Welker? Thomas? Or...by using video, espionage, and wire-tapping in ways unheard of in the league? When the "spygatye" episode occurred, several columnists from around the country began describing a whole list of "naughty" things the Pats do on a regular basis. They finally had reason to discuss them. From bugging opposing locker rooms to intercepting the radio signals. Kinda funny that the NFL found it necessary to "monitor" the radio frequencies in the AFC Title game. Kinda funny that at the same time the "superior" Patriots struggled against a hobbled Chargers team. Coincidence?

Add to that the Harrison HGH bust (and how their grandpa LBs manage to play like 24-year-olds) and their "creative" salary cap circumvention...well , then, you have a team that simply doesn't play by the rules all the way around. But when faced with these issues Pats fans resort to: "Everyone does it."

NO...they don't. That's why more talented teams (like Indy) aren't going 18-0"

Thursday, January 24, 2008

GOD IS NOWHERE

There was once a town that was the envy of all who lived outside it. The people in the town were happy, their businesses did well, and everyone was in good health. New residents arrived constantly, knowing they would be building their lives in a wonderful place. God was watching over the town.
One summer, however, things changed. Monsoons drenched the area, and most of the crops were washed away. Animals couldn't find shelter from the continual rain, and they were dying along with the crops. The people became depressed as they lost their sources of food and income--and watched their family members fall ill. The times were so bad that an atheist in the town went out one night and painted his credo on the side of a prominent building:


GOD IS NOWHERE

When the townspeople saw this, they wanted more than anything for the man to be proven wrong. But they struggled to mount a convincing counter-argument. They had no reason to think God was still with them. If He were, wouldn't the rain let up? They went on with their business, wading always through inches of water, thinking no one could help them.
One day a wise monk visited the despondent community. He knew how beautiful the town had been, and he wondered what could have happened to destroy everyone's faith. He wanted to do something to restore the people's hopeful outlook on life.
As the monk walked through the town, observing the devastation, he realized the difficulty of his task. He stopped townspeople and asked what they were thinking. They told him God had left their village, and there was no one who could help them. They had no choice but to succumb to the misery. The monk assured them their lives would get better, but his words were easy to dismiss.
Then the monk rounded a corner and saw the atheist's message painted on the side of the building. Suddenly, he saw what had to be done.
The next day, as the townspeople passed the building, they saw a slightly altered message. Only one diagonal line had been added, and yet it changed everything. The message now read:

GOD IS NOW/HERE

The change in the town was dramatic and immediate. When the people realized God was still with them, they became optimistic again. Maybe God had just been testing them, and for a while they may have failed the test. But now they knew they could withstand anything with God's help. The people realized their future was being looked after and their prayers would be answered. In no time at all, the town became prosperous again and the residents spread the word of God to every newcomer.

Monday, January 21, 2008

keep your coins, I want change

I saw this on a friends myspace, and was taken back by it. "keep your coins, I want change"? wow, those words are powerful. I've been praying for a lot of things in my life to change lately and these may be the words I needed to see for that to happen. I made a huge life change last week when I moved to Minneapolis, God is calling me to something out here, I just don't know what it is yet. I want to focus on God more than ever right now, get him number one and keep him there. I don't want anything to do with relationships with the opposite sex right now, I just want God. I want to make friends here and be a friend here. what is God calling me to do here and what is his purpose for bringing me from beautiful santa cruz to cold, cold Minneapolis. I just want his will for my life nothing less. Im praying for God to pour gas all over me and light me on fire for him. that I would blaze in this big city for him. Oh God light me on fire, I want to blaze for you. I want more of you, more of you in my life and in my soul. let me crave you in every aspect of my life. that I would have a smile on my face just because I know you love me. oh God just fill me with your love and compassion. help me reach the hurting and lost for you.

Friday, January 18, 2008

birthday

you know what I want for my birthday? ill tell ya what I want... I want to see this on sunday night on espn.

San Diego chargers 49
New England Patriots 14

now wouldnt that make for a good birthday, no more cheatriots and no more having to hear about how great everyone thinks they are. Bobby I know your with me on this one. so how about it chargers? end the Patriots season sunday afternoon.

Thursday, January 17, 2008

NCU update

take my heart and make it clean
open up my eyes to the things unseen
show me how to love like you
have loved me
break my heart for what breaks yours
everything i am for your kingdom's cause
as i walk from earth into eternity

the past couple days here at NCU have been amazing! God is stretching me in ways I never thought. the snow is cold, today was -11. I hurt myself jumping on the snow thinking it was nice and powdery(it wasnt) now my arm is all bruised up. my whole body time clock is messed up, I eat at 5 here but its like 3 to my body, so I get hungry late at night. I have yet to eat and therefor am starving at lunch time. the chapel service was amazing yesterday. they had Jeff Deyo here and he rocked the place. I guess hes pretty popular over here, ive really never heard of him other than yesterday. has anyone else heard of him? seems my peeps from back home havent. anyways my blogger wont let me upload pics anymore, I dont know why so youll have to look at the ones on my myspace. www.myspace.com/dodgersdog. thats all for now.

Monday, January 14, 2008

Brrrrr....

its so cold in Minnesota. It was 4 when I got into town, for this California boy, that's stinkin cold. it did hit zero here for about an hour(zero is not a fun temperature at all). but Minneapolis is pretty cool, there are alot of fun and interesting people here. the flight was ok, I met a pastor and we got a chance to talk before the flight so that was nice. when we got to the Vegas, I walked into the terminal and there before my eyes were slot machines. I just started laughing at the sight of slot machines in a terminal. also in Vegas I almost missed my flight, they should really tell people what gate to be at on the tickets. the flight was nothing worth talking about other than turbulence and annoying females that sat behind me. the school is nice, covered in snow but nice.

(pictures will be up soon?

ok thats all I got for now its food time.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

a special thanks

so I leave for minnesota soon, im so excited and so scared. its going to be an adventure. I already miss all of my freinds from BU and CLC.

I wanted to give a special thanks to Bobby Marchessault, hes an amazing guy and was there for me through a very hard time in my life. Its hard to find a Christian man who is real and is easy to talk to, he is both of those things. also wanted to say thanks alot to Pastor Ed, hes been my pastor for over two years and I have enjoyed him. his messages were great and challenging. Im going to miss both of you guys, I already miss both of you alot. my time in santa cruz was great, clc was is the greatest church I have ever attended. I grew and was molded in that church. Ed and Bobby you two are amazing and I will never forget you. thanks for everything.