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Callings

I think I’ve touched on the topic of callings before, but allow me to do so again as I think callings are very important for us to understand and discover. I’ve been reading a book called “Find Your CALLING: Discovering What You’re Meant To Do: A 21-Day Guide For Him” by Dale Partridge. I’m not going through it as a 21-day plan. I sat down last night and read from Day 01- Day 04. In Day 04 I found a conviction that I really need to focus on before I move to Day 05 and beyond. Day 04 is about asking the questions behind the questions you ask about your calling. In Dale’s book he proposes three questions behind the other questions we should ask ourselves in order to find our calling. I’m going to give them to you in a list.

Do I believe in God?

Do I want to be married?

Do I want children?

I answered yes to all of these questions. So, why do I feel convicted about this part of the journey? Well, it’s not any of those questions, but rather what he said in the next two paragraphs after the question of children. I’m not going to say exactly what he said, but I will attempt to paraphrase as best as I can.

In a nutshell he says you need to determine the clarity of not just these questions of faith, marriage, and children but your organizational clarity. Then, he say to embrace and cultivate the behaviors of your calling. Dale says, “It’s difficult to invite calling into chaos.” After he says that statement he follows up with a few more questions. I’m going to tell you the question that have me convicted in the section bellow.

“Do you wrestle to keep your house clean?” My answer here is yes.

“Do you run late to meetings or under-deliver on expectations?” I definitely under-deliver on expectations, so yes.

Those two questions are questions I hated answering yes to. I believe in God. I want to be married. I want to have children. I’m going to tell you a story. My grandfather on my dad’s side of the family is a neat freak. He won’t admit it, but he own a business where he is normally the only person working, and his shop is very well kept. I’m not saying it’s clean, but there aren’t things scattered around everywhere. His house is clean. So clean you could probably eat off the kitchen and dinning room floor, although I wouldn’t recommend you do that. To be completely honest, I’m the only grandchild that goes over when I have a day off work and spends time with him and my grandmother. My grandfather and I do not agree on certain things, two being music and tattoos, but I look up to him nonetheless. My grandfather is like a father to me. He taught me things that I haven’t forgotten. I spent most of my childhood helping my grandfather around the house and at his shop. I recall a quote I heard my grandfather use when I was young that says “We (talking about the Yarber side of my family) learn by doing.” My grandfather and his father were entrepreneurs. Unlike entrepreneurs today, these two built a company that has lasted three or four generations. It’s not a huge company, but it’s enough for my grandfather and grandmother. My grandfather fueled the entrepreneurial fire I had inside me, and it’s just now starting to burn. Not only did he fuel my entrepreneurial fire but my love for history and, in a way, science. When I was in middle school he would take my sister and I on vacation trips during the summer, and on each trip we would stop at so sort of historical site. When we wren’t on a vacation trip, he and I were normally out on the road delivering conveyor belt to coal mines and rock quarries. I met the people he did business with and saw the way he interacted with them. I believe I am called to be an entrepreneur and change the world in some way. What that is, I have no idea. I’m in love with music, but I have absolutely no musical talent that I know of. Then I’m reminded of a saying I’ve heard many times, “God doesn’t call the qualified or the talented, He qualifies and talents the called.” I like to put it this way, “God doesn’t call the big dogs, he calls the underdogs.” God calls the broken and despaired and jailbirds and sinners. We all have one calling that God has placed upon us, and that is to reach people with the gospel. You get to decide how, but that is everyone’s calling.

You need to change before calling can make its way into your life.

Education Vs. College

Education: the process of learning and training.

College: a building used for educational or religious purposes.

College forty years ago was different from college now. College forty years ago was affordable and companies paid employees with degrees more money because they had a degree. College now is expensive and places most students in debt. The job field no longer pays people more for having a degree. The employers of this day and age rely on hard work and only hire people they see potential in.

Education forty years ago is very different than education now. To gain education forty years ago you would’ve had to do one, or all, of the following; go to college, have a mentor who would teach you and not pay you, and learn by watching. Education now is found online, not in the classrooms and lecture halls of universities. YouTube, Instructables, and other online video and tutorial sites are easily accessible and you don’t have to pay! When I need to do something that I have not yet learned about, YouTube is my friend. I’m constantly upgrading and cleaning my desktop PC, YouTube shows me what goes where, what comes off by force and what has screws or rivets holding it together.

Now, you may be asking yourself, “Why are you pinning these two very similar processes against each other?” Because I failed all throughout high school. I didn’t fail high school, I knew what they, the teachers, were telling me, I just didn’t care. Algebra, where the heck am I going to use that? Little did I know I use it everyday, but that was my thinking back then. At the end of each school year when we had the SOL, Standards of Learning, tests, which are a big joke by the way, I pulled all the information I soaked up that I didn’t utilize all year back to the surface and I passed each test, yet I failed the rest of the year. History, science, and engineering were the only classes I cared about because they interested me. So, now you’re probably asking me, “Why don’t you go to college for engineering or history or science?” Because I’m not going into debt only to have a document hanging in my home office that says, “You graduated.” I have many certificates from being in the FIRST Robotics programs from my middle school years through my high school years. My teams won many medals and certificates from these robotic events. We won the design category one year because we has a scissor lift design implemented into out chassis. I hear you, “Why not go to college for robotic engineering?” Because I don’t want a wall plaque that say I graduated, I want to build something that tells not just myself, but the world that I didn’t go to college and I don’t have a degree in anything, but I did this without a college education. Ever since I graduated high school and dropped out of college three weeks after I started I have work as a retail sales associate and it has been the best thing I could’ve ever done. By working in the store I work at I have learned how not to treat the people working under you, and how to provide better customer service than the managers. Ya know, a lot of people who didn’t go to school with me do not believe I had Ds and Fs throughout school, so I think I’m going to find some old end-of-the-year report cards and post it on Instagram. The only time I ever had an A B or C in the middle of the year was because my mother had told me I couldn’t go see my favorite band in concert if I didn’t pull my grades up to at least a C. When I have any sort of free time in the day, you can find me blasting some Third Day or Audio Adrenaline or U2 wherever I am. Music drives me. Music drives me to a closer relationship with people and God. I’m a Christian, but sometimes I can’t stand Contemporary Christian Music on the radio simply because the songs are so similar. That’s why I use Spotify and follow artists who are Christians but are not labeled as Christian. A lot of my friends in the music industry are Christian people but not labeled as a Christian musician.

The thinking of many young people today is this, “A college degree is what successful people have.” Wrong. Hard work, passion, and risks are what successful people have.

College is thought to be the gateway to success, when it is really the gateway to debt. Put college on hold if you’re fresh out of high school, work at Walmart for a few years or months, then figure out if college is for you.

College Isn't For Me

College, the so called “gateway to success.” More like the gateway to debt. I’m going to tell you why a college education isn’t the best thing for some people, including me. Most of my grade-school accomplishments came out of my hands on STEM classes. Everything else I pretty much flunked. Don’t get me wrong, I love history and science, and I believe that science is just now catching up to the Bible. More on that in a different post. College is not a necessity. College is for people who want to further their education by being trained the same way they taught people to run the assembly line. One reason I excelled in my STEM classes is because my teachers/mentors taught me one-on-one and got to know me on a level that none of my other teachers bothered to. YouTube has become the new educational system for many people. Just today I learned how to build a ping pong ball machine gun. Not having a college degree can get you very far in life. You may not have your dream job, but you can chase your dreams and make your own dream job. You want to open your own business, follow entrepreneurs on YouTube and other social media platforms, learn from them! You want to learn how to sing, look it up. I'm teaching myself how to sing, not good at it by any means, but I'm learning what to do and what not to do. You want to edit videos or photos, tutorials are everywhere on the internet. Whatever it is that you want to do, look online and you can find videos and articles on how to do what you want to do. Now, some career fields do like people with certificates and degrees. Does that mean you have to conform to that? If you want to pursue it, yes. If you don’t really want to, then you don’t have to conform. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying a college degree won’t be good. Having a college degree will potentially help you get a high paying job. I will say that most people in these times do not stick to one career field. They jump between careers. Most people who get a college degree jump from one career to another and sometimes they don’t even have a job in the field they went and studied for. To those of you who have a degree, I want to say good job, you’ve done something that I didn’t put my mind to because I’m busy trying a few different things to see where I belong. To those who don’t have a degree, we are in the same lake, just on different boats. To those of you who don’t have a college degree, you run this country. People think it’s all the CEO and corporate supervisors. They are wrong! Here’s to the ones who sacrifice their life for our freedom, but here’s to you who honor them when they come into where you work. Here’s to those of us who server others even when they cuss us out over the stupidest thing. To the management teams who care about their working team, congrats, you are doing something I have seen in only two managers to ever come through the place I work at. This isn’t so much a jab at the educational system, rather a jab at the CEOs and managers who say they care and don’t. The educational system hasn’t changed one bit since the early 1900s and it more than likely will stay the same for fifty more years. To the college professors and advisers who don’t care about the student who pays your bills and to the same advisers and professors who don’t do their job, congratulations, you’re driving the next generation of engineers, electricians, carpenters, teachers, and corporate executives to quit college. I want to tell you something, we don’t need an education to start a business. I was a D & F student all through school, again the only class I excelled in was STEM, and that’s thanks to the teachers and mentors I had who cared. I’m not naming them but they know who they are. So before you drive yourself into debt, do some research and see if others are doing the same thing your are trying to do without a degree. With the money you can save from not going to college you can build a business. $50 might not seem like much, but save $50 week or month and you will have enough to pay for some aspect of your business.

Change A Life, Change A Name

Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” And he said, “Who are You, Lord?”Then the Lord said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” So he, trembling and astonished, said, “Lord, what do You want me to do?”Then the Lord said to him, “Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one. Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank. Acts 9:1-9 NKJV

From this moment on Saul’s life was changed. A lot of people say that it was at this time Jesus changed his name to Paul. That’s not the case. People in Jerusalem still knew him as Saul, but outside of that area he became known as Paul. You see, Jesus didn’t change Saul’s name to Paul because the people in Jerusalem already knew him as Saul, but people from other areas would now come to know him as Paul. Changing a name doesn’t mean people will forget your former name. Say I wanted to change my name from Austin to Franklin my family would still know me as Austin. But if I decided to move I would become known as Franklin. Now, I’m not moving or changing my name, just want to point that out. Instead of trying to change the name of someone, let’s focus on their life. Let Jesus change their name and their life, but let us lead them to Him. One of my coworkers and business partner was a partier back in his youth. People from his home county still know him as “the partier”, but people from where he is now know him as... I can’t remember what the people over here call him. Back to Saul, his story of redemption doesn’t stop at verse 9, it continues in Damascus.

Now there was a certain disciple at Damascus named Ananias; and to him the Lord said in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” So the Lord said to him, “Arise and go to the street called Straight, and inquire at the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus, for behold, he is praying. And in a vision he has seen a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him, so that he might receive his sight.” Then Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he has done to Your saints in Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name.” But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.” And Ananias went his way and entered the house; and laying his hands on him he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you came, has sent me that you may receive your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” Immediately there fell from his eyes something like scales, and he received his sight at once; and he arose and was baptized. So when he had received food, he was strengthened. Then Saul spent some days with the disciples at Damascus. Acts 9:10-19 NKJV

Here, Saul is baptized by a disciple of Christ, the same people he had been persecuting and sending to death in Jerusalem. You know, if it wasn’t for Jesus using Saul, He would’ve found someone else to use, but this message of life changing and name changing wouldn’t be as significant as it is with Saul. Saul killed many Christians in Jerusalem and he was planning to do the same in Damascus. Jesus had another plan. We could all be like Saul today, not in the persecution sense, but in the sense that we could be walking to do one thing, then have Jesus intervene and change our course, our life, our name. He already changed our name from guilty to righteous. Not only has my life changed, but my name has changed. People I went to school with still know me by what I use to go by, but people in other areas know me as something different. Jesus can change your life and your name. People will know you as a Christian in places you have no name. Your old name will continue on in you home area, but you new name in Christ will change.

“Everywhere I went people knew my name Written on my face were the scars of fame I was known for the pride deep inside of me But you knew the man I was born to be You called me when I had no life You reached me on a broken line You found me when I had no home You called me, You called me Your own Go ahead and change my name And write a new song with this broken man I want a restart, so take my old heart It’s Yours to burn your brand Go ahead and change my name Cause the old man is deep in the grave No more chains, no more shame My God I’ve been remade, change my name Everywhere I go I want the people to know I’m not hiding, got something to show Now that I’m yours, got nothing to fear I want a sign on my chest written perfectly clear”- Audio Adrenaline “Change My Name”

Committed

What commitments do you have in your life. Bills? Family? Friends? Faith? God? What are you committed to? Business? Money? Music? Your dreams? Having commitments is part of being human. We all have commitments in different aspects of our lives. Some commitments we get to choose, other are chosen for us. You can choose to commit to this bill or that bill, this friend or that friend, God or the world. You see, commitments are all around us. Our commitments define who we are. Commitments are what we are. We can commit ourselves to an addiction, to a crime, and to many other things. But, we all have a ranking list of these commitments, which one is greater than the other is determined by us. I’m going to give you my list of commitments and then attempt to tell you why they are in this order.

1- God

2- Family

2.5- My calling(s) in life

3- Community

4- Work/Business

Now, the first should be obvious why He is ranked above everything else, but if it’s not allow me to explain. God is ranked above everything because if it was not for Him I would have none of the others. Because of God I have a calling or multiple callings on my life. Because of God I have a family that I love. Because of God I have a community of people I can speak to and potentially impact. Because of God I have a job and a business idea. Second, my family. Family doesn’t just mean blood. To me, my family is made up of people that I consider close to me. Now, a lot of the people I consider family I don’t talk to on a daily basis. I don’t talk to a lot of people on a daily basis. My family is spread across the entire United States. Again, my family is not family by blood, but by God’s redemption. My family and I share a lot in common. Our love for God, music, truth, and love is what defines us as a family. It was kind of hard for me to separate my callings and family because they kid of have the same ranking to me. These callings are things God has placed on my heart and I believe He wants me to pursue them. These callings are not just on me, but my family, and that is why I could not separate them. I believe people have many callings in life, not just one. The only reason people think they have one is due to the fact that all of their callings are interconnected in way they can not understand. Christian musicians are called to do a few different things, and all Christians are for that matter. Christians are called to reach people, speak to people, tell of God’s love for them and how Jesus became our sacrifice. Christians are called to sing and shout God’s praises from the mountaintops and valleys, let His praise echo throughout all creation. Again, they are all interconnected in ways we can not comprehend. Community could be considered family. To be completely honest, community could also be considered my calling. Community is lower on my list for a reason though. Yes, I am called to change my community, but community is not just a physical set place that you can look up on a map. Community is people. If you wanted to break it down, there could be more than one billion communities that need changing. Not physical change, but spiritual change. There is no way that I could narrow the subject of community, because to me community is not just one group of people but an entire worldly population of people. My work and business can also be considered a calling.I believe it is, but I believe I have a few callings that are greater than my business. I will say, in order to pursue these callings I do need some sort of income and business is the best way I can get it. Yes, God will provide every need I have, but He will not just drop it into my lap. He provided me with a job and that’s how He provides for me. There are days when I do not want to go to work, but God gives me the strength to do so. Commitments are everything, even if you don’t think they are. Your commitments tell people what or who you care the most about.

#Committed #community #commitment #family #God #callings #business

Ice Meets Fire

I hope today finds you in the same place today has found me. I hope that today, you experience a flame, a spark, an all consuming fire that is God. I pray today the Holy Spirit finds you right where you are, right when you need to feel His fire. Today, I hope your ice covered heart will meet the fire that can melt it away. I hope that you become consumed in God's holy fire. Our God is a consuming fire, and He alone can burn up your old ways and make you new from the ashes. I pray that you will turn your life around today. If you have not let God be a part of your life, here is your invitation to join the family. Let His fire melt your iced heart. Don't be lukewarm. Be on FIRE! Become who God made you to be, start your journey down that path today! He will guide you. You have two choices today; follow the world or follow Jesus. Your choice, I'm just asking you to pick the path less traveled today. So many people have chosen the path of the world, you can choose the path that Jesus has made. It's not a quick way to success or rich or fame, it's a long, tough road to a home in a world where we belong. This world is not my home, this body is not my own, but I choose the path that leads me to my home and my new heavenly body. I hope and pray you do, too. All you have to do is confess to God that you have sinned against Him and acknowledge that Jesus Christ is His son, He dies on the cross for your sins, and rose again on the third day and saved you from an eternity separated from Him. Below are some verses to read if you want to follow the path that Jesus has made for you. Romans 3:23 Romans 3:10-18 Romans 6:23 Romans 5:8 Romans 10:19 Romans 10:13 Romans 5:1 Romans 8:1 Romans 8:38-39

Walk on Water (Rebels)

When Jesus appeared on the water to the disciples one of them had enough faith to step out. When the others didn’t have the faith to do so, Peter rebelled against fear and took a leap of faith, and walked on the water. Jesus calls us to take that same leap of faith. He wants us to keep our eyes on Him, step out with faith, and rebel against the world. We can be world changers, but first we have to be “holy rebels.” That just sounds awesome, right? Holy rebels. Rebels for the holiness and the kingdom of God. As I type this blog post I’m listening to “Land of the Rising Sun” by Ike Ndolo. One of my favorite parts of this song says,“I’m just a rebel, tired of fighting.” This verse doesn’t mean I’m tired of being a rebel for God, I’m tired of being a rebel of God. I’m tired of being rebellious against God. God calls us to be “not of this world” because we are not. John 17:6 says,”They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.” We as Christians are called to be “not of this world,” called to be rebels against the way the world chooses to go. The world is on a path of destruction. We are on a path to life. Our path is long and tough. The world’s path is short and smooth. It’s easy to follow the world and think you are following God’s path. Matthew 7:13-14 says,”Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” People think to themselves “Why would God give His people a tough path?” It’s simple, He wants our best. He wants us to push forward even in hard times. He wants us to keep the faith when we have death all around us. He wants us to be rebels when the world says there is a better way. The worlds way may seem better, but it’s not. God’s way, Jesus, is the best way. The world’s way may seem great, but God’s way is greater. He who lives in me is greater than he who lives in the world.

Broken Addiction

I’m going to tell you a story. It’s about a struggle, and how I over came that struggle. Let me try that again. This story is about my struggle, and how God helped me defeat it. Four or five years ago, I said I gave my life to God, gave Him full control. I have a confession to make. I didn’t. I said I did so everyone would think that I had it all together, so that I could impress my girlfriend at the time. It didn’t impress her and I’m glad it didn’t. I had lied not only to my and my girlfriend, but to my family. A lot of the friends that I had back then have gone now. I don’t have very many friends from high school now. Only a few that I work with. Anyway, let’s get back on track. Skip forward about three months. I break up with my girlfriend. We were more than likely going to be done a few days after I had ended if we stayed together. After that, my life kinda fell apart, but I hid it. I slipped into a pornography addiction and at times depression. I walked away from who I had said I gave my life to. Now, lets skip forward about four or five years. On April 1, 2017 I was off work and at my grandparents house. Let’s just say God showed up! I felt convicted. He told me, “If you keep this up, you are going to be disowned.” Now, let me clarify a few things. First thing, when you say you give your life to Christ, GIVE IT TO HIM! I just gave my life over to Him earlier this month. He has started a fire inside of me, and on April 16, 2017 a new creation was born. On that Easter Sunday I said to fear, “Go screw yourself because you don’t own me anymore! I’m done letting you control my life. I’m done with you.” On April 18, 2017 FEARFighter365 was born. My first actual FEARFighter365 Intagram post was created called “Distractions From Being Who I Am and Who You Are Really Meant To BE.” That’s when my fight with fear and distractions started. Here’s the second thing I want to clarify, if you say you gave your life to Christ, gave Him full control, but are still doing the things your were doing before you said it, STOP FOOLING YOURSELF! A lot of people interpret John 3:16 as the “way to gain salvation” when, in fact, it just says, “ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.“ Now hear me out before you say that I am a hypocrite. What this verse means is that those who believe will have everlasting life. Simple as that. But God wants more. This verse doesn’t say “believe in Jesus and do whatever you want, because you’ll live.” God wants us to live like Christ. God wants the love that Christ showed us to be the way we love people. God calls us for more. God wants us for more than just our own way. He has a perfect plan for us. We just need to put away our own ways and go His way. Jesus said “I am the ways, the truth, and the life.” If He is, then why are we not going His way. His way is the only way we are getting into heaven. It’s His way or the highway. I love playing with songs. If you see the reference there, you are amazing! So, back to my story I was telling. On April 18, 2017 I decided no longer am I going my way, I want His way. Is this blog the way He has planned for me? Not entirely sure. If it is, then I’m all for it. If not, then I pray that He would lead me where He wants me. I’m done letting fear drive me to pornography. I’m done letting fear be a factor in my life. We only have one Earthly life. On the other side we have a better life. Some of us don’t. I do. I hope you do. I pray you do. If you’re not sure, please listen to not only what I am about to type, but listen to God. Talk to a pastor. Talk to a minister. Talk to someone who professes to be a Christian. Talk to someone who knows God. Message me on here or go to our Facebook page. Just type in FEARFighter365 in the search bar. Follow us on Instagram. Above everything else that I have said, listen to God. He knows where you need to be better than I do.

DESIGNED

Designed, created, transformed, so many words to describe change and creating. Same words can be used to describe what God has done. God designs perfectly. God creates perfectly. God transforms our life perfectly. God created us for more than we currently are. He wants to transform us. He wants us to be transformed into who He made us to be. He wants us to be His hands and feet. He doesn’t need us, He wants us. There’s a difference between needing and wanting. God doesn’t need anything because He made everything and already has everything. He wants us, not because we are the best in His eyes, but because we were made for Him. We were created for His glory. When we are transformed by His grace and love, we are transformed for Him. When we are transformed by Him we become a ripe apple in His eye and He wants to pluck us from the tree. Sometimes we become the host of worms and insects that dwell and feed on us, and He chooses not to pluck us. Then when the insects are destroyed by His love for us, we become the ripe apple and He reaches to pluck us. There are many apples on the tree that we are connected to. Some are ripe and ready, some are maturing, and some are rotten and ready to destroy the ripe and maturing apples. Don’t let fear lead you toward the rotten apples. Don’t let fear open your outer peel and give worms access to you. Tell fear that you’re done. Tell fear that it no longer has power over you. Tell fear you are ready to fight. And when the fight gets tough, look to your strength. Look to God and he will give you strength to defeat the enemy. If you don’t look to God for strength, you’ll lose. Maybe not immediately, but sooner or later the enemy will launch a counter attack and win. Don’t let fear beat you because you didn’t look toward The Savior for strength. Look to Jesus and defeat the enemy. The enemy will return and try to attack again, just look to Jesus and He will give you strength. Fear and pain and hate and anger and shame and sin have no power over you when you turn to God and His love and grace. There is nothing that can stop you from anything when you have the power of the almighty God on your side.

Silhouettes

Silhouettes, we see them everyday of our life. Dreams, memories, images as we walk out of a dark room, these things are indicators of past, present, and future. We recognize the past silhouettes, they remind us where we've come from. We know the present silhouettes, they unfold before us. We don't understand or even begin to comprehend the future silhouettes, they haven't happened yet. All we know is that these silhouettes will come to pass, and we will overcome them all. So do not give into the shadow, only listen to the light surrounding the shadow because it is just a matter of time before the light consumes and reveals the identities behind the silhouettes. This world is incased and controlled by the prince of darkness. The Devil himself will not be able to defeat the light that is soon to come. He swallowed death and hell when He died on the cross, and then breathed life into my soul, your soul. Everyone has life because of His sacrifice, we owe Him our lives because He saved ours. The silhouettes that try to put you down and keep you locked in depression and anxiety and anger and hate and shame and fear can not overcome the love of Jesus Christ. We have found our light. Have you found yours?

The Long, Tough, and Narrow Road

I was thinking about this earlier and I can’t stop thinking about it. The road that we Christians travel is very, very hard. Hardships are alway in our path. Why is that? Because that is the world’s way of trying to knock us off the path. The path we travel is narrow. So narrow that we have no room to be distracted and take our eyes off the path, for if we look away for one second we could be off the path very quickly. There is no room for error. Error leads into the woods. Luckily, when we travel off the path there are paths that can and will leas us back. There are two paths in front of us each day. One is narrow and one is wide. One is short and one is long. One is easy and one is hard. We get to choose which one we travel. We get to choose our life style. We get to choose our life. We can make our life better or worse. Don’t let the fear of tomorrow stop you from traveling down the narrow road. Don’t let the fear of hardship get in your way. All things work together for those who love God. You just have to choose. Fight fear each day. Don’t let fear rule your life. Fear is a distraction. Fear leads you to down a dark road. Do not let it! When you go down that road, it’s hard to leave. Don’t let fear be a deciding factor in your life. The only thing you have to fear is the wrath of God. You can’t and shouldn’t let fear control you. If fear does control you, turn to Jesus. Jesus gives you the strength to fight fear and He will even free you from it! Jesus will travel the narrow road with you. He will guide you and not leave your side.

Wait, But Don’t Just WAIT

Wait but don’t WAIT. What do I mean by that? Let me explain. Wait but don’t WAIT mean to wait patiently on God’s guidance but don’t WAIT for something fall in you lap. Wait but DO! Wait on God’s guidance, but do what He has already instructed you to do. Wait but GOD! Wait for God’s guidance, but GO where he sends you. Wait, but do not fear. Wait on God’s guidance, but do not fear the future and what He is planning for you. Patience is key in everything that you are doing and will do. Be patient, but don’t be PATIENT! Patience is good, but to much patience isn’t. If you patiently wait for something to fall in front of you by not working toward it, then you are not going to go anywhere. Work is key in everything! Some work may not seem like work, but it is. Wait for God to send you the person you’ve been waiting for, but don’t wait for him to place that person in your lap. Wait for the door to open, but don’t wait for someone to push you through it. Take the step through the door. Take the leap of faith. Take the chance. What have you got to lose? If you have Jesus and believe and know that he will provide for you, you have nothing to lose. To live is Christ but to die is a huge gain for those who believe. Waiting for God doesn’t mean wait for the next job to fall into your email inbox. Waiting for God doesn’t mean wait for the person God has saved for you to come to you, when you know the person is from God, and trust me you’ll know, go to them. Don’t wait for things to happen, wait on God’s instruction and make it happen! Because if you don’t there is a very good chance someone else will not. God has a plan for each of us. He knows our next day, next hour, even our next minute. He says to wait for Him to say, “Go,” and then he expects us to step out in faith and make it happen. He doesn’t pick us up and drop us off where He wants us. He wants you to go when He says, where he says, and how he says.Wait for God, not the end goal. When we wait for the end goal we are wasting out time. When we are waiting for the end goal to happen instead of making it happen we are failing. Failing is something I no longer want to be a part of. Fear of failing has kept me from way to many opportunities, I’m not letting it keep me from anything else. Fear no longer is a factor in my life. The only thing I have to fear is the wrath of God. I don’t have to fear for tomorrow, or next week, or next month, or next year, or my next minute, because He has it all planned out two different ways. He knows what will happen. He knows. He knows. He knows. He knows whether or not my business idea will succeed or fail. He knows what I’ll be doing the tomorrow. He knows what I’ll be doing a couple of year from now. He doesn’t follow my plan. My plan changes everyday, because I see more of His plan unraveling each day. I see where this is going, but now it’s going that way. That’s OK, I’ll adjust. I’ll be better off this way. This is happening for a reason. I’m typing this blog for some reason. What that reason is I have no idea. Is this my calling? No clue. Is this temporary? No clue, I hope not, but I have no idea what God has in store for me tomorrow. Tomorrow I could put this blog away and never touch it again. I don’t know, and that is perfectly fine. I will not longer wait for the end goal, I will wait for God’s guidance and instruction, then I till make it happen. Wait but don’t WAIT.

There Is Something(Someone) Better

Have you been chasing something you think will be the best and find that when you achieve it it’s just not what you thought it was? Have you ever been disappointed in an achievement you thought would bring you joy, but it didn’t? Let me tell you what and who is better than any of these achievements. Jesus Christ. He is better. Better than having a long lasting relationship with the person you love. Better than the job promotion/offer that gives you more money. Better than anything you and this world could ever offer and obtain. It doesn’t matter if we have all the money we want, have fame, or the relationship of our dreams with our dream girl/boy. If we have all of that and worship it with everything we have, then we have literally nothing waiting for us down the line. If you worship Earthly things you are not better off than a prisoner who doesn’t know Jesus and no hope of parole. If I worship money by giving up my relationship with the one true God and his son Jesus Christ, then that is me signing my eternity away. That’s me selling my soul to Satan. That’s me not having any hope down the line. Money, fame, relationships, sex, it’s all nothing when it becomes our god. We are nothing when one if not all of these things become our god. Jesus became sin when he knew no sin. Jesus died our rightful death. He paid our debt so we could live with him in his kingdom for eternity. Ya know, for the longest time I had asked, “How do I fully, truly trust Jesus? How do I live for him? How?” The answer is simple. Fight against what is pulling you away from him. Give up your material things that have become your god, and return to him on your knees. There’s a higher calling on all of our lives. What is it? It’s different for everyone. One calling everyone has is this; “And He said unto them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.’” -Mark 16:5. We all have that one calling in our lives. You ask, “What if I don’t have the time or money or am not able to go into the world and preach the gospel?” Do it at your hometown bar. Go to Applebee’s and talk to people. Tell them about the one who has saved your life. Go to Walmart and speak to the employees, God knows a lot of them need to hear his word. Go to stores, bars, orphanages, or even your own church, talk to people, and let them hear what Jesus has done for you. I’m not sure if blogging is my calling or if I’m supposed to do something else, but ya know what, I’m attempting to reach people through here. If I’m not attempting to reach people for Jesus then I am no better the beggar who sat at the pool and didn’t take Jesus’ hand. If I don’t attempt, I’m no better than the people in the car who drove by a burning vehicle. I’m not better than someone who ignored another’s plea for help. I’m no better than a police officer turning their back on a robbery, or a doctor turning his back on a patient that can be saved. Jesus is better than anything you can obtain. He’s better than the best sex you can have, better than the best job you can get, better than the newest car, better than the biggest house, better than your pastor, better than you. Jesus is better.

Are You Who You Want To Be?

“This is your life, are you who you want to be?” -Switchfoot. The question is asked, now you answer. Are you who you want to be? Are you where you want to be? Are you at the fitness level you want to be at? No? Why? What’s holding you back? Fear? Anger? Hate? Pain? What is it? This post is all about the question “Are you who you want to be?” I’ll give you my answer. I’m not who I want to be, nor am I where I want to be. I’m stuck in a semi-stable yet very stress-filled job that I hate to go work at. I don’t have a life outside of my workplace. Am I complaining? No. Why? Because I am putting a plan into action to get out of this semi-stable, stress-filled job. Yes, the plan I have is going to have it’s own share of stress, but it’s something I LOVE and that I’m very PASSIONATE about. Am I in a place of financial stability to where I can accomplish such a endeavor? No, but that’s not stopping me. I’m still working at this stress-filled job, earning money, and saving it to go toward trademarking a logo or two, a slogan, and a business name. Once I have the trademarks complete I’ll be designing t-shirts to help raise funds for the business as well as buying the merchandise for the business. I have a plan. I’m putting it into action, something fear wouldn’t let me do out of fear that I couldn’t afford to build a new gaming PC, obtain a new-ish vehicle, and buy a house. I don’t care about any of those three things I just mention now. Why? Because Jesus Christ is enough for me. He’s enough for you, too. You just have to realize it. You can’t do anything without him. I knew I couldn’t, I tried anyway and failed. I tried on my own for two and a half years and failed. Right now, I’m tempted to sell my current gaming PC that I haven’t used consistently in about three months. It has an i7 Core 4790K processor, MSI H18-EMM motherboard, MSI GTX 960 graphics card, one 1TB hard drive, one 3TB hard drive, one 250GB solid state drive, 850W power supply, 16GB RAM.The RAM is the only thing that is not functioning properly.Everything else is perfectly fine. People have been asking me to hop in a video game and play with them, I’ve lied and said my PC is fried. In truth, I’ve been using it to design logo in Photoshop and I just have no desire to hop into a game and play with people. I want to push this business and get it started so I can start saving for a better gaming PC. Like Gary Vaynerchuk, I’m all about the process and journey, not the end goal. My business partner is the complete opposite. He is wanting the end goal. If I were the only person starting this business I probably wouldn’t be pushing this hard, but my partner is very impatient. We work well together. That's why I asked him to be my partner in this business venture. The process of building a new gaming PC is what I enjoy. I enjoy doing, not obtaining. I don’t see myself obtaining a new gaming PC for a year and a half. Not even sure what all I want in the new PC. All I know is that the case is going to be a BIG case. Think a mini refrigerator on steroids! So back to the question above. Are you who you want to be? Are you where you want to be? I can honestly say now, I am exactly where I want to be. As to who I want to be, I’m not there yet. Everyday I want to be better than I was the day before, so no I’m not who I want to be. I will not achieve that until the day I die. But that’s the glory of it. When I finally achieve being who I want to be, it’ll be the beginning of eternity. I’ll be home with a family I haven’t even had the pleasure of fully meeting. To the person reading this, I want you to know something, I want you to be part of that family. Even if you and I have not met, I want you to be there with me. All you have to do is trust and believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God, he died for your sins, drug your sins to hell, was tormented, and rose from the dead. If you believe and rust that, you are part of the family and I say welcome! Pray for me and know that I will always be praying for you.

WORK HARD

This post kinda has a story behind it. You ready? I hope so, cause I will not wait! Here it goes. I’ve had this dream to own my own business ever since I can remember. At first it was a restaurant, then a paranormal investigative service (note: there is not a lot of money to be made and I kind of marked that off when I truly came to Christ.) after that I don’t even remember, bottom line is I have been a DREAMING entrepreneur all my life. I’ve never put forth effort for the entrepreneurship dreams I had. Now, that’s changed. Myself and a co-worker or two have wanted to get out of where we currently are employed, so we have been talking about starting our own business. Now, my co-worker does not know the taxes and costs of actually starting and gaining inventory for the business. My co-worker has told me lately I needed to do something with music, so I said to myself “Open a record shop.” Now we’re kind of caught up. I’ve been writing a business plan for our shop for about two to three months now, let’s just say I’m not great at writing our plans. Let me tell you a little more about our business so you will understand why I’m “stuck.” Our shop is a mix between a record/music store, comic shop, and music venue rolled into one. You may be asking, why music venue and comics? Well, the sales of vinyl records and physical copies of musical albums are an ongoing roller coaster. You have good days and then bad days. Good quarters and bad quarters. So the addition of comics will help with sales, and the music venue probably will not benefit us at all, except maybe influencing the musician(s) to tell their friends and family about our AWESOME store. I’ll tell you another answer to the question “Why a music venue?” I’ve been trying long and hard to bring some friends of mine @neelymusic to my neck of the woods for I want to say five years. They play house and church shows all over the country, except here. That’s because a lot of people 1. have yet to hear their music, and 2. do not know the stories behind their songs. Now, I don’t know the story behind each song, but the story teller in me can make a backstory for the song. I understand the songs’ meaning. I hear what it says. I feel the emotion of not only the song but the story being told through it. A song comes to mind when I think about stories behind songs. The song is called “I’m Alive” by NEELYmusic. This song is about a person struggling with self harm and how they felt dead inside before finding Jesus Christ, it’s also about how they felt alive after finding Jesus. I will say, I’ve struggled with something similar to the person the song was inspired by, it wasn’t, isn’t, self harm. When I first heard “I’m Alive” I felt like the song was written for me. That’s why I’ve supported NEELYmusic for years and why I still continue to support them. Anyway, I got off topic with story telling and song writing. My point is, work hard for what you dream of, work hard for the glory of God, work hard for yourself! If you work hard after something you want to achieve and what God wants you to achieve, if you work hard toward it day in and day out and not get scared and stop working toward it, YOU WILL BE HAPPY! It does not have to be the biggest financial success! I want to share a list of mine I call my “WANTS” list. Here are the top three things I want: 1) a beast gaming, editing, and streaming PC, 2) a nice house, 3) a new(ish) Jeep. I want those things. Do I need those things? No. Am I happy without them? Yes. Would it be nice to have them? Absolutely! But, I DON’T CARE if I get these material things. All I care about is what I can obtain with a relationship with Jesus Christ. I care about my family. I care about music. I care for whoever sees this post and I want you to know that I am praying for you and I hope that if you have not found Jesus that you do and if you have found Jesus I hope you are praying for me and other people who are seeing this! I care about me working hard toward what I want and know that I need to achieve. I strive to become one step closer to my goal each day. Care about your work. Don’t care about it more than you care about your relationship with God. Remember God First, Family Next, Business/Work Third.

HOPE Is My Anthem

Ya want to know what has drove me to fight fear? I'll tell ya even if ya do not want to know. The hope that I have in my risen savior Jesus Christ is what drives me to fight fear. HIS hope is far better than any hope this world can offer. HIS hope of salvation, eternal life, and unconditional love drives me to fight fear. I also want to say that hard work pays off. What do I mean by that? The Bible says "Come to the father your who are weary and you will find rest." I’m not weary! I’m not ready for rest. When I’m old and not able to move I’ll be ready for rest. My grandfather pushed me to work hard, and this is really the first time I'm working hard at what I do, and it feels great! HIS hope drives me to work hard, and it should do the same for you! You may not work at the same thing I work at, but whatever your work on, WORK HARD! Good things don't happen overnight, that's another thing I'm just now figuring out and working past... Anyway, what I’m trying to say is this; HOPE that Christ is enough for you, because HE is. Hope is my anthem, but it can also be yours. I’m reminded of a song by Switchfoot that says “This skin and bones is a rental, and no one makes it out alive...” I’m also reminded of another Switchfoot song that is the inspiration for this post. This song says this, “My lungs and I were born to fight, Sometimes I’m not sure what I’m fighting for, But Death ain’t the only end in sight, ‘Cause this ain’t a battle it’s a life long war...” We fight ourselves every hour of everyday. We fight fear every hour of every day. We choose to give into fear. I say let’s choose to fight fear. Fight fear head on! When your feel fear creeping up on you, just say I’m up for a fight and I can take you because my God put your owner in his place when Jesus paid my debt on Calvary. Dear Fear, you don’t own me!

#fightfear #fearfighter #YouDon'tOwnMe #DearX #DearFear #HopeIsMyAnthem

Dear “X” (Fight Fear)

Dear pain, you don't own me. Dear anger, you don't control me. Dear shame, you don't hold me. Dear hate, you have no power. Dear fear, I'm fighting against you. Fear is just worry and worry is a distraction. Don't let fear and worry stop you from pursuing your dreams or life goals. I have for 8 years, but I'm done letting fear rule my life. It's time to stop wanting, and time to start doing! Success is just a rock throw away. What are you waiting for? Financial stability? Someone? Something? What is it? Don't wait cause that brings fear and then you push it back and never achieve it. I know, I've let "waiting" keep me from success. I’ve let fear rule my life. I’ve been a slave to fear. I’ve strayed from the path to the kingdom of God due to fear and due to my entire trust being in the fact Jesus’ blood saved me. The bible says “fear not” 365 times! So, why do we fear? I call it Satan’s Tool Belt. Fear drives a lot of people away from God, but at the same time leads them back. I’ve notice in the past eight years that fear has drawn me into the arms of lust and pornography. Fear of not being able to succeed in anything lead me into my past eight years. Fear is nothing to me anymore. I have nothing to fear but the wrath of God. Before I close this I just want to say something; Dear pain, anger, hate, shame, lust, greed, pride, FEAR, you don’t own me! Ya know what, that wasn’t enough. I want to hear YOU say it. Tell fear and pain and shame and hate and anger and anything else that might be holding you back and let them know that they do not own you because Jesus Christ paid your dept himself and you are FREE! Free from fear of tomorrow because God knows what is going to happen. He sees your tomorrow. He knows your future. He has two paths ready for you, one is straight and narrow, one is curvy, wide, and has many different branches that can and will lead you back to the straight, narrow way. I’m 21 and my life is just now starting. I don’t know what it will take me through, but I do know my destination. I just need to stick to the path that I have found and keep going. This post, name of the blog, and design was inspired by the Disciple song “Dear X, You Don’t Own Me.” https://youtu.be/AZeBpXmnZug

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