Energy Drinks

One thing I might not every understand is teenagers and energy drinks. They feel the need to get them on any trip they ever take. Every youth group trip I have ever been apart of as a leader there is always some kid that has to have his energy drinks. The extra sugar helps get them through the day I guess. I personally just rather drink some lemonade. It tastes way better. I bring all this up because I have successfully gotten through the first day of a trip to CIY where I am the youth minister. It is a blessing to have a day of travel and have no major issues, not losing any kids or losing a receipt or falling on my face. I feel like this trip has a lot of potential to be amazing. I know lots of people have been praying and I have been praying. I pray that God is about to do some amazing things this week in the kids lives and mine. Tomorrow we will be going to Six Flags and I hope at least one kid throws up. I'm a little crazy I know.

More to come....

Shaquille Now Is The Time

Think of a man, a big man, a man who has always been an entertainer, and at the same time a skilled basketball player. This man would be none other than Shaquille O’Neal. Shaq has been my favorite athlete since I was six years old. I have been a fan of this man for 17 years. Shaq has had an amazing career. He will go down as the most dominate basketball player of all time. He has 4 championship rings, 3 Finals MVPs, 1 regular season MVP, 3 time all-star game MVP, and the awards go on and on. Shaq is one of the greatest basketball players ever. My question is what else does he have to prove? My answer, nothing. Shaq has accomplished so much in his career. My feeling is that he just needs to retire. I know he feels he’s got something left in the tank, but why play on a team that most likely has no chance to win the title. I don’t want my favorite athlete of all time to embarrass himself. I still believe Shaq could accomplish something in his career, but he’s not going to win a title unless he plays for the Lakers or the Heat, and they don’t want him. Shaq if you want to keep on playing that’s great, but all the greats have to hang them up sometime. I feel like now is your time. It will be said to see you go, but I’m prepared.

More to come...

Big Rocks Hurt

When I was a kid my brother and I were playing Nintendo. The original Nintendo. We were playing this Ronald McDonald game. It was packed full of fun. That really has nothing to do with the story. While it was my brother’s turn he did something in the game that I thought was stupid, so I told him he was stupid. To my misfortune my Dad heard me say this. My dad called me upstairs and said if I called my brother stupid again he would whip me with the belt. Well being the dumb five or six year old I was I called Jared stupid again, and guess what…… My dad heard me. My dad who is a man that sticks to his guns did just as he said he would, he took the belt to the back of my thighs. Being a tough guy I want to say it didn’t hurt, that I could handle it. Yeah right! It stinking hurts to get a belt across the back of your thighs. You know what happen after that? I didn’t call my brother stupid anymore. I was unkind to my brother and I was disobedient to my dad, who told me not to do something and I did it anyway. My dad punished me for what I did.

Deuteronomy 21:18-21
18 If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son who does not obey his father and mother and will not listen to them when they discipline him, 19 his father and mother shall take hold of him and bring him to the elders at the gate of his town. 20 They shall say to the elders, "This son of ours is stubborn and rebellious. He will not obey us. He is a profligate and a drunkard." 21 Then all the men of his town shall stone him to death. You must purge the evil from among you. All Israel will hear of it and be afraid.

I’m sure glad I don’t live under this rule anymore. I would have been dead a long time ago. This makes me realize God takes it seriously when we are rebellious or disobedient to our parents. I wasn’t always happy with the rules my parents gave me, but I had no right to go against what they said. They were the authority figures over me. God does not tolerate when we go against our parents. I see a lot of kids today being rebellious and not listening to mom and dad. Maybe we need to go back to this rule. Maybe when kids start smarting off to their parents we should just take them out back and throw baseball sized rocks at them until they get the idea that what they are doing is wrong. Just a thought.

More to come….

Christ>America

The fourth of July is a day in America to remember what men and women have done to give this country its freedom it has. Well an usually thing happened this 4th of July this year. It fell on a Sunday. So church was made out to be very patriotic. As an American I appreciate my freedoms that I have in this country and I’m extremely thankful for the men and women who serve this country, but I think American especially American Christians feel that America is God’s chosen nation. As for as I remember God has had only one chosen nation and that was under the old covenant. Every video that we watched had a theme that America is a blessed nation and it is because this country was based on Jesus, and Christianity. I don’t believe this at all. America is great but it is not God’s chosen nation. There are other countries that have tons of resources just like America but are extremely pagan, and weren’t based on Christ. I don’t want Christians to get the idea that worshiping the country they live is ok, because its not. Sure America is a good place, but not worth worshiping in anyway shape or form. Our ultimate freedom comes through Christ.
More to come…