Neil The Real Deal Holyfield

The New Year

2012-01-01T13:29:00.002-06:00

For the past couple weeks I've been able to relax from school and sit and consider where I am, where I want to be and and where God is leading me. This final school year at crown has been some of the most challenging times with new relationships and all together a different flavor of business. I guess one of the greatest lessons I continue to learn as life progresses is that following Christ is holistic, in faith and in ministry.
I'm almost finished reading 'Not a Fan' by Kyle Idlemam. The latter half of the book in challenging believers to not be a fan of Christ (enthusiastic admirer)but to be drawn into a deeper sense of following Christ. His key verse that is continually expository and broken down Luke 9:23 where Jesus talks about the conditional "anyone who comes after me" must do three things, deny themselves, pick up their cross, follow Him. There is such deep meaning to be found in this small passage that Idleman picks apart shows to be the double edge sword that reveals a fan and affirms a follower. So far its a great read, and if you take it seriously it will do some serious surgery on your heart and reveal weather you are a fan or follower of Jesus.

Early this fall I was presented with a slot to lead the team from Crown college to Hamtramck Michigan, a small city of only 2 square miles within Detroit. Its a very diverse area and actually the only place in the united states that has a public "call to prayer" for the religion of Islam. The ministry there is part of the Christian & Missionary Alliance and is called Acts 29 which is derived from the 28 chapters in the NT book of Acts as we are the church, the next chapter of Acts.
Crown Ice Team to Hamtramck has 9 members including myself as the student leader and currently I am searching for a coach which would be a faculty member from Crown to help me in making leadership decisions. I will work to keep the blog posted on fundraising opportunities we have coming up along with updates on how you can support our team and the ministry of Acts 29.
Immediately I would wish that you could support us in prayer for team unity because we all have busy schedules and that our hearts would be grown and prepared for what God is going to teach us.
for more information on our team and other ice trips from crown check out the link provided, there is also a place to give online if you wish to take that rout.

When I think of our team as we are still getting to know each other, one story that has been coming to mind comes from Joshua 22 where the tribes have been spreading and continuing to follow the laws of Moses and Joshua gives a commendation in verse 5 that I really enjoy and hold important aspects of what our team needs to cling to-"Only be very careful to observe the commandment and the law which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, to love the LORD your God and walk in all His ways and keep His commandments and hold fast to Him and serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul."

Crown Ice Team to Hamtramck

Deeper Life Week

2011-02-08T21:05:00.002-06:00

Its been a while since I last posted, I'll see if I can do something about that.

Over Christmas break I got the opportunity to go up to Camp of the Woods in Ontario Canada. Winter-camp was awesome, met some legit high school students and camp leaders passionate about Christ and transforming the youth of the area. I'm hoping to be able to make it up to Canada this summer for at least a week to serve at COTW. It was so legit with great fellowship and tons of snow, in the face a few times. It was called Reality Check- which was all about checking in with everyone and seeing where everyone is at spiritually- to see where we have slid in faith or even lost focus on Christ. IT was awesome reconnecting with them and i cant wait for summer.

This past week was deeper life week at Crown, last semester I found out why its called deeper life week through my Alliance History and Distinctions class. The founder of the C&MA started the Alliance when he broke from a Presbyterian Church in New York because of their rejection of specific people groups. From there Simpson started this church, not in hopes to create another denomination but to bring the focus of the Church back to Christ. Through this he created the Four Fold Gospel which is: Christ our Savior, Sanctify, Healer and coming king. The most important thought was Jesus Christ and his all satisfying work on the cross; plus nothing else. This life of following Christ know as the "deeper life" served as what it meant for a Christ followers to experience Christ in daily living.

Deeper Life was so Legit, our speaker Trance Nichols spoke on 'the facebook effect' but it was more about relating it to living a more Christ centered life and what that looked like. Each night had a message that permeated as the sermon went on highlighting a spiritual discipline. The authority and power of the word of God, the responsibility of all to give our lives to obey the commands of Christ in missions nad living. These two were just parts of the spirit moving in the hearts of those here at crown.

the most impactful night for me was on Wednesday when i missed the regular chapel time and came for teardown to work and the chapel was still full at 8:05 when chapel should have been over at 7:50 so i came in, sat, and listened. Basically what i missed was Terrance sharing his testimony of God's work in him, but i caught the end of it. He referred to an experience that he had as a kid that i related to him with and when he had the strength to mention it i felt a connection with him as a brother who has been through the same thing and, like me, has been freed from the pain of that situation. As i sat and thanked God for the moment God brought to mind for me the fact i had just shared my testimony and shared my favorite verse at the beginning of baseball practice. It was Col. 1:13,14 where "we" have have been delivered from a dominion of darkness and transfurred to the kindom of his beloved son" as god worked on my heart it became heavy on my heart that The freedom from the bondage of sin through Jesus is a stronger bond that that shared freedom that I had with Terrance. IT amazed me how God enlarged my vision, allowing me to see that the freedom that i share with every bother and sister in Christ is stronger than any experience or any other deliverance.

From there God continued to work on my heart relating to how we should care for and be watchful of our own actions for the sake of a brother. Because we share in this freedom, I don't want to hinder the work of God in their life. It reminded me of the Francis Chan Sermon at the "Think" conference where he pointed to Paul, in Romans 9, praying that he would consider himself cursed for the sake of his brother. What love is that? to hope be broken so that you would pray that God would take me instead of allowing them to live in their death(Eph 2:1) any longer. How Legit is that? To God be the Glory, how his mercies are new each day.

Praise to him alone. May you be encouraged and uplifted.

Right now Things are starting to take shape for this summer, Pray that God will lead and bring me further into that "deeper life" in Christ alone.

Amazing Life 2010

2010-07-10T04:10:00.003-06:00

For the first time in it's history the church in Letovice was able to hold an independant English Camp. Before the camp out team arrived in letovice for 3 days of training where we met with the Letovice team from the youth group. the two teams clicked together from the beginning. We began with focusing on different aspects of englsih camp and making sure we were all on the same page with evening programs. The title for the camp was Amazing Life which went into detial highlighting the most amazing life in history- Jesus. This year was far easier in terms of tramslators as well having 3 of our best translators back who were not there the year befor.

God worked two miracles before camp even got started with Josh Anderson who was not able to join the team at the airport due to severe sickness was able to come later in the week with no extra charge, which was a direct answer to prayer. In addition to that our main technical person and guitar player on the Czech team, Nick- the youth leader's(Pavlik) brother, had been denied for the time off from work when asking earlier and apprached his boss one more time before camp and God also moved in that situation in to allow him to come to go to camp.

From Letovice we left with the students and went to camp riding all on the same bus. Some of he students had to ride by car becuase all in all we had 95 people at the camp with around half not knowing Christ personally. I spent a lot of time with one person from the Czech team named Ondrig who was next to me in my cabin and also was in my english class.

As for now I have to go from pavel's house but i will give more extensive updates from camp. Please pray for our team to have integrety and take this time durig follow up to reach out to the students more. Pray for Kendra Havlickeck with her soar sholder and that we all have energy becuase everyone missed out on some sleep last night because it was the last night of camp without a curfew. I will update again soon with great stories from camp. Also add some pictures, thanks fro your prayers!

Isiah 12

Whats happening next:

2010 Czech Retreat!

2010-05-20T17:49:00.004-06:00

This past weekend we had our 2010 Czech team Retreat! it was a great time for everyone to spend a few days getting to know each other better as a team. We started the first night by working on English class things and getting everyone squared away as much as we can so that we can have the absolute best quality English lessons possible.
This year I have a level 6 class and will be teaching my own class. My helper/partner Laura and I have been working to make our class the most exciting and, well quality comes with experience. I'm confident once we get everyone comfortable they will be talking and learning like we're all old friends. This year's theme is 'Amazing Life' in which we will be teaching on the most amazing life ever, Jesus. I'm excited for that idea, I think for the message of Christ Crucified for the sins of the world to be sent, we need to start with Jesus. The fundamental doctrine of true theology along with being our savior, our heal, our redeemer and our coming king (C&MA 4 fold gospel).
We spent a lot of time doing activities that will bring us together and help us to understand our roles on the team. My sophomore year at Crown I took Gospel of John and was responsible, along with a team, to exegeses John 17 and present it to the class. Chris Gee used this same scripture to call us to unity as Christ prayed for us to have in this passage. The structure in this chapter is amazing as Jesus first prays for himself saying that he has completed everything the father has requested and the time of his glorification has come. In the large center Jesus prays for the disciples that they knowing the gospel of Jesus will be protected by the name of Jesus and are no longer people of the world but are now God's people. Next is the powerful prayer that that is so humbling by Jesus saying that the disciples would be anointed and be the same as Jesus into the world, they would be into the world.
Next is where Jesus Prays for unity and this was the point that Christopher made in our meeting nad I did to the class that Jesus is praying that we all would be "one with one another, just as you are in me," verse 21a says. At the end of the verse it says, "that the world may know that you sent me." then again it is reiterated in the next verse in Jesus praying that they may be brought to complete unity so that God is glorified and that the world will know. Then in this last section of Jesus' last prayer, he prays that all believers will have the love of the father in them, the love that God has for Jesus.
This love reminds me of 1 John 3:16 :This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers,"in correlation for John 3:16 ""For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,[f] that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." This passage brings it all together and assures us of are purpose.
Pray for unity for our team and that our focus will be on Christ.

This is a few members of the Czech youth group at a surprise party event having a good time.

Camp Finale and Follow Up

2009-08-25T22:03:00.008-06:00

First-
English Camp Was Amazing!
Second-
Follow up was AMAZING!

This year camp was unlike any other; the theme was different (& more solid than ever), the camp was longer, we talked about the Bible more than ever and the letovice church has an amazing team.
In reference to the last post, the hike was amazing! we went to a tunnel system that was build before WWII that was so well fortified that there was a great struggle to overtake it. It was a stronghold for a while against communist forces but ended up surrendering. It was really cool to see the mountain side as well and get out hiking. I spent time getting to know some Czechs that i hadn't connected with all week. I met a guy named Komile from Boskovice. Boskovice sounds like an awesome place that i would like to visit sometime, we talked about all sorts of things including music (which we found out how awesome he was as a musician during the talent show the following night)and also about our backgrounds. That was on the way back but on the way to the tunnel i kinda jumped from group to group because i keep a fast pace (always training for football) crossing through a lot of farm land and small villages along the way where i greet random people doing yard work or just strolling around. Hiking in Czech is always an adventure, there are a lot of hills in Czech and some are much larger than you would ever expect but it does provide for awesome things to see. when we were at the tunnel entrance we had English class where we played one of my favorite games. it has a few different names and i cant really remember any of them. Its the game where you write or draw at the top of the paper and pass it, then the next person does the opposite of the last person trying to explain the image or draw what is written. From there you fold over the previous person's entry and pass it on. This activity is always a blast and my English class loved it.
We also got to tour the inside of the tunnel system seeing how strong it was built and how many little tricks they had to toss grenades out on other people or shoot at attacking vehicles. Well, now if i am ever going to build a massive underground tunnel system that wont easily be destroyed, i'll contact the Czechs. Its pretty sweet how they were able to connect it with tunnels that were over a mile away to distribute supplies and such. Now that I think of it i feel like humming 'A mighty fortress is our God'

Other than the hike, camp was awesome. I love how much energy there was with everyone getting excited about the weirdest of games. Almost every year I get the chance to show some Czechs how to throw an american football which is pretty awesome and surprising at how quickly some learn. The evening program was awesome too, we continued to discuss the stories of the Old Testament and ask questions about God and what his relationship is to man. It was awesome when we got to the life of Jesus. One of my favorite stories from the Bible is when there is a storm and Jesus is sleeping. the Disciples wake up Jesus because they don't know what to do and Jesus speaks to the winds and tells them to stop and the waves to be still. The next nigh we talked about the death and resurrection of Jesus and how it was a fulfillment of what God promised to Abraham so long ago. We did the life house skit which is always a powerful example of how distracting this world can be and how we can be separated from God but at the same time be reconciled back to him. It moved many to tears, God's grace is so very good.
From there everyone was dismissed to go and listen.. it was so amazing to sit and look at the stars and listen to God. from there it was an awesome time where some were continuing conversations and asking questions and others were enjoying the fire. I love the atmosphere around the fire, its always a time when things start to settle down.. not always but usually they settle down. At the same time it was awesome to see how active the youth group was in sharing Christ with their friends. It was really encouraging to the entire american team as we talked about it after camp. Its amazing that even when we see such great things happen, our hearts are even more broken for those who havn't seen or even tasted the truth of Jesus Christ.

2009-08-04T17:00:00.002-06:00

English Camp is in full swing! As for English class I am teaching a level six class out of 8. I would defiantly have to say this is the most advanced class I have ever had, I having difficulty finding ways to make it harder but its working out great thus far. Yesterday I dressed up like the German soccer player Bastian Schweinsteiger and took a press conference from the class. It was a great time making up random information that I didn’t know about him and talking about how skilled I was. From there they had to write a sports column with the information they collected. I would have to say it was one of the best activities ever! The discussions groups are also solid, we had a little difficulty finding a balance between which languages to use but everyone is benefiting from active discussion. I really appreciate how much energy the Letovice youth group has, it’s easy to build on and get everyone involved. The games are rocking, the sports are rocking and discussion of God began the second night.

Tomorrow is the hike, so I must get some rest. Pray for our team with broken bodies, it seems a lot of us are suffering from something.

Team Transformed

2009-07-31T14:31:00.002-06:00

We left Malenovice today with the conclusion of training last night where we commissioned each team. Last night we had a few powerful moments as we took communion and discussed purpose as a team and where God is leading each one of us individually. We also got the chance to perform the Lifehouse skit in front of an audience and through that skit the message of Jesus was powerfully to those in training. I'm excited to see how it touches the hearts of the nonbelievers at camp.

This morning was a pretty early start where I got to meet a random friend of mine from Frydlant where we have a few crazy stories of how we met and a few more instances. We spent about four or five hours on trains and a buss as we made our way to camp. The night before really caused us to take a deep look at the big picture God has for us but today we were changed in a different way.

We took an hour to spend time alone with God and I dont think there was a single person from the team left untransformed. I spent it soaking some Psalms and also preparing for my devotional. When we came back together we had a time of sharing where God spoke clearly about wrongs that needed to be writing and it was a definate time of spiritual clensing. Some of it was released bitterness and unrest that had been held back for months which left our team refreshed. It was amazing to see the transparent moments where team members were willing to be vulnerable so we could become stronger. God is moving in our hearts as a team and I'm so excited for camp to start tomorrow.

How fitting that my devo out of 1 Peter delt with having a clear conscience, being clear minded and self controlled. So that we can be prepared to defend Christ at any time, so we can be not only physically clean but spiritually baptized and so we can clearly connect with God. (1 Peter 3:15-16,21; 4:7)

Pray for students as they arrive tomorrow and relationships begin to form. Pray for the Letovice team that they can be fully prepared, along with enough rest tonight for everyone and throughout the week.

thank you for your prayers.

Blessings

Birthday Blitz!

2009-07-29T17:50:00.003-06:00

My birthday arrived here in a Czech about an hour ago and I’m about to get some rest for the second day of training. Usually I don’t think of it as arriving but it won’t hit America for a few more hours. Our traveling was not so much complicated, but more long than anything. We were in “travel mode” for roughly 30 hours as we enjoyed a six hour layover in New York and spent the first night on the airplane then waiting for three hours in Prague. We have had one day of training and are looking forward to how God will continue to grow our team in tomorrow’s training. Today, during a couple hour break some of us went to a stream that was near the hotel, we enjoyed getting wet and Andy brought his professional camera and got some sweet shots. It was relaxing after the strenuous travel and a few hours of training.

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.”

~ Romans 8:1-2

This section of scripture has been hitting me hard for the last week and I’m still thinking about how I can make it real in my life. First thing that caught my eye was the bit “in Christ Jesus,” which is the real twist in this verse. The verse shows that it is conditional in which the preceding is only true if you are In Christ Jesus. Now what does it mean to be “in Christ Jesus?” From my understanding it is a reflection of where you draw your life from, if you have died to self and it is Christ living in you. This is one of the most popular phrases in the New Testament which shows how powerful it really is. Also it leads directly into verse two which presents the gospel in a way that I haven’t seen it in where it is a matter of laws. Before Jesus there was the law of sin and death which ruled but how is a law broken? Well, by a greater law. Verse two gets to it and says that “In Christ Jesus” is that law that overpowers the lesser law bringing salvation. This law gives those in Christ power over the darkness, Death was the most powerful weapon that Satan had and now there is no evil that can keep us from God if we are in Christ Jesus. Praise Jesus.

As far as camp goes there are a few things that we aren’t sure about. It looks like there is a larger group than usual of students who have never attended the Letovice camp before. We have been in prayer a lot as a team and I have really enjoyed how much we are dedicated to God leading this trip. We have our second day of training tomorrow and I pray that the lord will fill us and encourage us. Same as every other year we are going to be at a new camp but we have heard good things about this one. Please pray for energy for our team focus on God over the next few days. Pray James Three over our team that we will be taming our tongue and use them to praise the Lord instead of tear us down.

the Lords Guidance

2009-07-21T23:18:00.006-06:00

The English camp in 2008 was a very difficult time for me because i was under the impression the entire trip that this was my last time spent in Czech for a while. So my reaction was to give everything I had, and even a little bit I didn't have to serve those around me and be the light of Jesus. I was praying before and throughout the trip about the future for a few reasons and didn't expect how God would speak to me and lead.

We were waiting in line to check our bags in and a man camp up to our group from Delta admitting that they had overbooked the flight and was willing to make a deal. He said that if we stay they will pay for hotel and food and will give us a voucher for future flights. At the time i didn't really make the connection but it sounded like a sweet deal so I went for it. The voucher was able to cover the entire air fair for the trip this year and made it clear that God had more plans for me in Czech. God had given it to me and the best thing i could possibly think of doing is to give it back to him.

We were also rerouted through Brussels, Begum where we had a tight connection in which we missed because of a late arrival so we ended up spending a night there while have a chance to explore for an evening. God was continually showing me that money and other issues are not going to stand in the way of what he wants to do. Through circumstances I thought I knew the way but through circumstances and prayer God showed the way.

Also with the last post, i started it in November and just actually posted it a few days ago.

top of the world .. well 5256 ft.

2008-09-07T22:38:00.010-06:00

Its been almost a year since I last posted, rather embarrassing but I think its a new chance to keep up with this blog. For those who don't know this past year was my third trip to the Czech republic. God moved in awesome ways in our team and also in the lives of the students in the Letovice youth group. For me personally this was the hardest year to leave, because I was very unsure about next year and whether I will return or not. During camp and follow up I gave everything i had, and then some. To be most effective for Christ I had to deny my own wants to serve those of the team. I'm looking forward to this year but I'm praying that I will have the same passion. Its would be easy to let my pride get the best of me and not offer my best in this trip.

Looking back..English camp last year was an amazing example of how powerfully God is using the youth group in Letovice. As I think of the two camps before I say how the sheer numbers had grown greatly from around 65 at the my first camp to just over 100 in this camp. Along with the numbers it was amazing to see the passion that the members of the youth group had for

reaching their friends so that they can come to repentance in Jesus. The first thing I noticed last year and the most vivid memory was the view from our camp at Portášky, it made it easy to meet with God with the undeniable creation mentioned in Romans 1. Along with the view we had from camp we ventured to the top of the highest point the Czech Republic, Snezka, which is on the Poland border. I had never experienced a peak quite like this where there were such a dynamic view of the Czech hills and large faces of rock. The hiking was much more challenging which i enjoyed and spending time with some awesome guys who were much better conditioned than me. One guy I was able to have a two hour conversation with whom it was very difficult to have a conversation with the first couple nights of camp!
Camp it self was a blast, there is so much energy in the youth group which made every game and every activity a blast. Whether it was out in the field playing Frisbee or relaxing picking blueberries (which I grew a fiery passion for) there was never a dull moment. The spirit of God was moving powerfully through the camp, all week spiritual questions about God and who Jesus was were being asked some nights there were two or three discussions going on during discussion groups. The last night Jesus' death and resurrection were a few of student accepting Christ. For some it was coming to the knowledge of the existence of God. During those conversations I was challenged as well with some questions about Jesus that I didn't know, and at the same time God was able to work through my incompleteness. Camp came to a close and we traveled back to Letovice where we got to Join their church for Sunday worship and other activities. We were able to tell them some about the camp and anso encourage them with with stories of how God moved. We also traveled to some nearbye caves and also to Prague with the students who could come along. The last evening we watched a movie and spent our last moments with some of the students. For all it was an emotional time to firm some friendships as they would exchange e-mails and ICQ addresses.

Thank you so much for your prays that Jesus would call them out of the darkness and into his light.

Training in the fog

2008-07-24T15:02:00.002-06:00

the past 3 days have been training at malenovice on the mountianside by the city of fredlont. We have been on a tight schedule for training but having some free time to relax and think about what we are about to do. today we had a panel that talked about czech culture and some history. I learned about what happened militarely to the land. there was the munich pact which ment that France and Germany basically gave Czechloslovakia to Germany (if im understanding correctly). Remembering back to last year when we visited poland and went to the city of Krakov on our way to Auschwitz and one thing that i thuaght if was how warstruck Krakov was. How for ever 30 new buidings there was one that you ould tell was really and didnt get bombed. it was really powerful, and along with that there was the clock tower in the center square that looked like it was rebuilt using old bricks and new bricks together. I thaught that was a cool sybole of moving on. Now i thaught about both situations, Krakov was bombed and in result of that had physical wreckage everywhere but Czech with cites like Prague were a different story. Prague seems virtually untouched but the wrechage wasnt in building it was broken spirits and national pride because they were given away. Then at the same time the nation would be so different today and english camps might now exist. but this history lesson really got to me.

Sometimes i feel so unworthy to spread the gospel with the weght of sin. Carying the most precious cargo has so much weight behind it with it and i feel like such a broken vessle. But the amazing thing is that God uses this broken vessle to carry the preches cargo because it makes it that much greater in seeing that the vessle is not going on its own power.It makes me fearful of God as well, beause although he is going to be with me i need to be careful becasue of the perception of other. God is good and i cant wait to see him use this vessle.

it is very late and we are traveling to camp tomorrow, so pray for safety and that camp goes well. its very close to the highest point in czech called and sounds like shlowska or something. Team unity is really starting to tke form, i like our dynamics to this group and im excited to see God work through people iv never seen. This is when we will get tested as a team, so please pray that we can stay unified.

thank you so much for your pratyer support, we all apreciate it!

29 hours away

2008-07-20T01:25:00.003-06:00

we are at the cusp! its all coming together. the past few weeks have been good. getting everything ready for english class(which will be great!) and everything els that goes with leaving the country for a while.
Every year it has seemed to be getting bigger, my first year the camp total was around 55 and lat year it was 70 some and this year its at 100! God has really been working through the letovice church in a powerful way. pray that they keep on growing!
So all of monday and tuesday basically we are going to be traveling, making 8 or so transit exchanges. I know my travel team will make it because we stick together :)

This year im going to be taking on a different roll with the team. things will be different being a leader. I want to be more prayerful through the trip than i have in the past, along with taking time to listen. i want so badly to grow deeper in my love for him thought the trip. a verse that has been hitting me deeply laity has been romans 15:13 "May the God of hope give you joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may be filled with hope by the power of the holy spirit."

your prayers are so important :) please keep praying, as it gets closer and closer the draw to break down will get stronger and stronger.

honor Christ with your thinking :)

2008-07-08T10:07:00.001-06:00

man i have been getting kicked in the pants this summer, in a waaaay good way though.

iv been learning some thick stuff laitly about faith in God and his omnipresence.
the last few weeks at Cn'C have been thick but amazing growing experiences. two weeks ago we talked about the all know God. Its crazy how we try and justify things in our mind even though we know the truth. with him as an all knowing being and what he thinks about what im thinking. haha i like the concept of thinking about what im thinking about. there are so many things that i do so unconsciously and dont weigh out the impact it has on me. The bible says to be in a constant state of prayer but the cool thing is that not being in a constant state of prayer is being ignorant that God is there. even if we choose to deny or not even think about God he is always thinking and know about us. Thomas used the analogy of a mtn dew can and that represented us. God was over us and we were filled up with the holy spirit because we were with God. But when Adam and Eve made the shift to selfishmness they put themselfs ablove God and put out the fact that he was supreme and started living for themselfs. Thomas then filled it back up with a two liter representing us accepting christ and the spirit being with us. it made me think of the table that bark gold would do with the circle and the chair in it. God is ether in or out of the bubble and he is eather in the chari of off the chair. (who are you living for) A big point of the mntn dew part is that the can cant do anything by itself. it needs to rely on being filled to do anything. same with us. God is always there but its weather we choose to be filled by him we will never fulfill our true purpose.

honor Christ with your thinking :)

2008-04-15T20:03:00.003-06:00

Tonight we had our senior concert for piano and we had one senior pianist. She was so amazing, i was not feeling too well but through my grainy head ache i could hear he amazing melodies. it was broken up into four parts, first was 3 song by Bach, then 3 songs by Beethoven and the last two parts a various composers.
Besides the fact that she was playing these ridicules hard pieces, she was able to do the every part accept the Bach part from memory. No sheet music or anything.
In the program she gave the glory to God and talked about how she has been sick and almost had to quit but God allowed her to continue.

She brought down the house.

FINALLY!

2008-04-10T22:13:00.002-06:00

i will share more about my situation later but iv been working the last two hours on finally getting this thing back up and running.
it was very difficult because of i cant access my home e-mail from school.

yes im back.. after almost a year :D

more pics for your enjoyment

2007-05-27T22:10:00.001-06:00

my friend paul here^^
greg strock over there with some africans.
me and luke in a field. and me and heather at church.

baseball.. bad to worse

2007-05-27T21:34:00.000-06:00

So laitly if you havn't been talking with me you don't know about this but this year i chose to be a 3 sport man. at first it went decently, i played football and did well in football even though all the players and parents thaught i should have gotten more playing time (more than pitty at the end of a game) but i still had a great time playing on JV and totally dominated. the season ended with a heartbreaking loss at sections where the only touchdowns were off interceptions and a blocked punt. Soon there after i had was inspired to start wrestling, i knew it would be a lot of work but i was willing to try and knew it would pay off. i ended up loosing 20 pounds that i didn't know i had and becoming one of the favorites on JV to watch (going 3-0 my 2nd through 4th match). then i got a skin desease on my face that took me out for a good month and by the and of that the season was almost over. But when i finally got to wrestle i couldnt because i had in F in school. that was pretty lame but i had to deal with it. I really wish i would have started a lot earlier because i think with my work ethic i could have been a state champion.. maybe thats a little off but who knows. then came baseball, as of now our team is done and we still have a banquet coming up. we took a trip to arizona as a team for spring training and it was fun, i did very poorly hitting because i hadnt seen a curve ball in over a year and thats mainly what i was missing. all in all i wish that i would have never gone and used that money somewere els. the season went ok but ever since the first few games there was buzz with the parents about playing time. I was one of the major people that was getting the raw end of this. i never got to play and now that the season is over i got to bat 6 time (3 on senior day where i got two walks and a base hit) but it was really pathedic how it was never a situation where i could prove myself and get a spot the next day. then came the subsection playoffs. probubly the most depressing part of the season, the day befor playoffs the coach calls me over the day before the game and tells me that i cant dress because we could only dress 18 players and i was 19. Despite i was the undoubtedly hardest worker on the team and was the only one still cheering when no one els would, they still chose me. im really interested in seeing what they say about me at the banquet.

thanks for listenining to me vent :D

English camp!

2007-05-04T16:27:00.000-06:00

So over the past couple days i have been keeping up with some friends from Czech, this years team is great and right now we have 4 members that are there right now and recruiting students for the english camp, we made a video that explained some of the things we did and how last years camp went so well and i herd great things from marketa, a friend there that the gang came and recruited at her school. I really hope that they got a bunch of kids to come this year and also new members to the youth group(Letovice).

mmmm stuck in blueberry patch

i really dont make sence when i talk...somrtimes

2007-05-04T16:19:00.000-06:00

so today i was out with zak doing who knows what and i caught myself about 5 times starting to talk and it seemed i knew exactly what was going on but then suddenly i drew blank and i really had no idea where i was going with whatever i was talking about and it didnt make any sence to me and zak sure enough didn't know where i was going with what i was saying.

moral of the story, think before i speak... finnish thaughts.

We have A LOT to catch up on..

2007-04-24T13:35:00.000-06:00

So It would be difficult to explain to you my whole life from birth thus far.
Mainly because i don't remember it for the most part. 

I believe In a God and I believe Jesus was the the son of God and he died to justify my sin so that i may go to heaven someday.

Growing up I had a lot of Christian influences from both of my parents and both of my brothers. My whole life I have always had it impressed upon me that God was always there and he answers prayers and you can talk to him whenever you want and also that he made everything.
When I started to grow older I made the connection that God is just in church and I can just live my life and be fine if I don’t get into too much trouble. For a long time did just that and set aside God as a part of my life like a sport or an activity. Around 7th and 8th grade I greatly deepened my faith by being more than just a good kid. I actually know why I had all these rules and that I really wasn’t about what you cant do at all.
God showed me through reading the Bible and prayer that I need to be a shining light and spread Gods love and become a witness to others. Since then and before then life has most defiantly had struggles and tough times with temptations that would draw me away from God. With certain things that might have pulled me away from closeness with him the temptation was taken away and I wasn’t even faced with the decision. I am continuing daily growing closer with God and removing myself from situations where I might be tempted to do things where I would not be glorifying God.
I cant stress enough how important it has been in learning that if i needed help in anything that God would be there to comfort me and that if I wanted help i had to ask him for it.All the things in my life that I tend to cling to will fail me sooner or later, all these things the world will go away but the one thing that will always be constant is Jesus.

Some major events that have happened recently...
I am finishing up on my last year of high school and plan on attending Crown collage next year.
In July planning on making a return trip to the Czech Republic  to teach an English camp and develop relationships with students there.  Also to help a youth group there in a town called letovice(sounds like 'little pizza')
I am working on learning some of the Czech language so i can better communicate with them. Very difficult by the way but i am trying my best.

I have two dogs and two Brothers along with a cat.
Parents: Got great ones.
Color: orange
Time of year: Snowy
bible verse: Ephesians 2:8 "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not you own doing: it is a gift of God"


Pictures of me and my adventures:

It is well with my soul

2007-04-24T12:36:00.000-06:00

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!