Yea....I know, its been a while

So my Senior Year here at Erskine college has been off to a crazy busy start. That would explain why I haven't written a blog post in like a month! But I have been up to some pretty cool things, so here we go:

I have really enjoyed getting to hang out with all of my friends this semester. College is the only time  in your life where you are in such close proximity to your friends at all times. So it makes it so easy to be able to enjoy quality time with your friends.

I have taken a couple of cool trips this semester. I took a crazy 10 hour drive to go to Blacksburg, VA to see my boy Cade, and get to see my favorite team Georgia Tech take on Virginia Tech. Unfortunately, Georgia Tech lost, which made for a really long and sad drive home. But it was still totally worth it, and I would do it again in a heartbeat (maybe not on a school night though.)

                        Here is a picture from my seats at the VT vs. GT game!

I have also been holding down my reputation as the Intramural Champion of Erskine. What is ironic about this, is I have never actually won an intramural championship. However, I play every single sport. Usually, I just get together a bunch of my friends to go out there and have a blast, no matter how bad we lose (and yes, we do typically lose.) Right now, Intramural Frisbee is going on right now, and my team name is A + for Effort (insert points for the creative name.) I got the name because our team consists of a lot of education majors, but also, and most importantly, because we all go out there, every single game, and try our hardest and have fun doing it. Sure, losing every game 11-2 isn't always great, but we always have a good time.

I also got to go up to Presbyterian College with my boys Josh (aka Tim) and Matt (aka Deegs) to go to a football game as well. We had an amazing tailgate with some very delicious grub. It was a good day just to kind of get away from all the business of Erskine and all the school work that goes along with it.

Speaking of that schoolwork, that is where I have been spending most of my time. I have been very busy with all of my work. From papers, to tests, to you name it. School has been the dominating part of my life so far this semester. But so far, I have been keeping on track of things, and everything is going pretty well. Below is a picture of one of my beautiful creations for the semester, my bulletin board. I am pretty proud of it, I'm not going to lie.

I believe I mentioned in my last post that I was worried about being motivated to continue to learn about special education even though I believe that I now want to pursue Youth Ministry for my career. Sure, I have struggled at times, but I have also grown a rejuvenance and passion for Special Education, and I have really loved this semester so far. I guess that may make it a little bit harder to choose my path after I graduate.

This semester has been kind of crazy, and definitely hard. But it has been good, and God has continued to bless me this semester. Sure, I have made some mistakes this semester, and some things haven't exactly gone my way, but God still loves me no matter what, and will continue to guide me and take care of me.

Matthew 11:28 "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light."

The Start of Senior Year

Wait...hold on a second. Let me read my own title again. WHAT? I am a senior now, in COLLEGE, when did that happen. It seems like just yesterday I was starting my senior year of high school. But now 4 years later, my last year of schooling has begun. There are a couple of emotions running through my mind.

First of all, I am very happy to be back. I absolutely loved this summer, and I would go back to it in a heart beat. I miss the BUMS very much. But I am also so glad to be back among all my friends here at Erskine and just be able to get the ball rolling on what is going to be an incredible senior year. I am, as always on a first day of school, a little bit nervous. I don't really know fully yet what this year is going to entail. But that also brings along some excitement of the unknown, and ready to embrace what ever God presents me with this school year. 

But most of all, I am scared. This year is going to be very interesting to me. I absolutely love Special Education, which is what my major is here at Erskine. It has always had a very special place in my heart, thanks to the influences I have had on my life. It will always have a special place in my heart. However, now, that I am also influenced by this past summer, and a desire to do youth ministry, I am worried that I may lose that passion and fire I have for doing special education. So I ask you, my blog readers, to pray for me, that I will continue to do my best in my major here at Erskine, and be able to complete this senior year and the years of teaching after that with a heart full of joy, and worry about crossing the bridge into youth ministry once it gets here.

There is going to be one bible verse that I am going to live by this school year:

1 Corinthians 10:31 "So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it ALL for the glory of God."

I am going to do my student teaching and everything else to the glory of God this school year, because I know that is what he would want me to do. I am very excited to be a senior at Erskine College!

Leaving a Legacy

I can't even begin to describe how much of an impact this summer has made my life. And now, it has come to an end. I literally can't believe it. It seems like yesterday I was just starting this internship. Yet 14 weeks ago today, I was just beginning the journey of this summer that would truly be life changing. And even though I only got paid for 10 of those 14 weeks (which was what I signed up for) I wouldn't trade back any of those 14 weeks.  And now I am about to go start my senior year of college (How crazy is that, that's a whole different blog post.) I am honestly struggling to write this blog post because I am literally at a loss for words to try and describe this summer. Ill try: Amazing, God-filled, super-blessed, incredible. I don't what else to say. It was awesome!

I have grown so close with so many of the kids in my youth group. And so many of them have impacted my life in ways that I will never forget. I never even thought that I would gain so much from this summer when I first began way back in May. I thought this summer was going to be so much more about me making an impact on the youth. And I know part of it was. But I seriously ended up making some great friends this summer in the youth group. I hope and pray to God that I did make an impact to these youth this summer. But I do know for sure that each and every one of them made an impact on my life this. But that's the hard part about ministry. You don't always get to see the fruit that is produced after you planted the seeds. I hope that I planted a seed in these youth this summer, a seed that wants to grow closer to the Lord. But I don't know for sure. Now, I do have an advantage since Bethel is my home church, so I know I will be back for frequent visits over the next year in school.

But it wasn't just the youth who made such a strong impact on my life this summer.  Probably the biggest influence came from my boss, who was also my youth minister, Chad Deetz. Chad has always had a special place in my heart. And he always will. He always seems to know what to say to me, and help me out through hard times. And even though I may not always listen to him, I know he still loves me all the same. Chad displays one of the best examples of unconditional love I have EVER seen in my life. People have made jokes all this summer about me being Chad's "mini-me". But I have constantly blown it off, as if I didn't enjoy it. But in all honestly, if I turn out to be half the man that Chad is today, I will be very happy with myself, and where I am. Chad has literally changed my life this summer. He has changed who I am, and what I want to do with my life. If it wasn't for him, I know there is no way I would feel the strong calling towards Youth Ministry that I am now ready to pursue.

Tonight, as it was my last night at youth, I taught the lesson. I talked about leaving a legacy. Everywhere we go, everything we do, we leave a little part of us.  We are leaving our mark on this world everyday. But how we do that is what makes it different among everyone. Many people in this world have left being remembered well. But just because someone is remembered as being a good person, doesn't mean that they have left a positive legacy on this world. God calls us to leave our legacy through Him.

There is a great song called Legacy, by Nichole Nordeman. It talks about how we all want to hear good job while we are hear on this Earth, or an "atta boy or atta girl" as it says in the song. But the song goes on to say that stuff doesn't really end up mattering in this world. What truly matters is that when we get to Heaven, we hear God say to us "Well done, my good and faithful servant." We need to live our lives to God so that when people remember what we are all about here on this Earth, they will remember us by the Godly lives we lived, that were dedicated to him, and loving on others here on this Earth, so that our lives may impact the lives of others.

I have definitely been impacted by many others this summer. And I hope that I made an impact on at least one youth, if not many more. I thank God so much for this amazing opportunity he blessed me with this summer. And now I know that he is really calling me into Youth Ministry. What kind of legacy are you leaving on this Earth? What will people remember you by?

Here are some pictures to recap my summer:

 Having fun during some Sing and Play on the Mission Trip!

 Hanging out at one of the Block Parties!

 Helping out with the Praise Band (which I did a lot of on the Mission Trip.)

 Having fun on the Bus Ride!

 The Man himself, Chad Deetz! Thanks for everything dude!

Our entire Youth Group having Worship on the Beach!

Our Entire Youth Group on the final day of our Mission Trip!

Thank you Bethel United Methodist Church for an amazing summer and thank you BUMS for an awesome time this summer. I am going to miss you guys like crazy, and I will be back to visit soon!

An EPIC Mission Trip!

DISCLAIMER: This blog post is going to be long. Because God did so many amazing things this past week in Vero Beach, FL. So only my most dedicated followers will read this blog.

So I just got back from the BUMS (Bethel United Methodist Students) Mission Trip to Vero Beach, FL. I am exhausted, tired, but also extremely blessed. So here is what went down. Last Saturday, we spent right around 12 hours in the car on the way down and arrived at EPIC Missions and were greeted by a delicious dinner, and then we were treated to Rita's Italian Ice. EPIC Missions is an organization that brings in mission teams from all across the nation to do God's work in the area. We were by far the largest group they have ever seen, but they did such an awesome job hosting us and making us feel right at home the entire week.

On Sunday we worshiped at Northside Christian Fellowship. This was the church that I would be in charge of overseeing the VBS. Worship was quite an experience, and I really enjoyed it. After the worship service, the church treated our entire team to a delicious lunch, which was so kind. Then we spent the rest of the afternoon decorating the church getting ready for VBS that upcoming week. After we finished decorating, we were supposed to go door to door in the local neighborhoods to hopefully round up some kids for VBS. Unfortunately, there was a bad thunderstorm and we were prevented from doing that. So we just went back to EPIC missions and enjoyed ourselves for the evening.

              Here is a picture of  our group having worship as we did every night!

Monday morning rolled around, and it was time for VBS. Unfortunately, we had a problem. We had no kids. Not a single child showed up for VBS. I was literally crushed, heartbroken, and didn't really know what to do. But we weren't gonna let that stop us. So we went door to door and gathered up some kids for VBS for the rest of the week. On Monday afternoon, we went to the Gifford Youth Center, which is where our other VBS was going on, and just hang out with the kids. It was such a blast.

                                          Here is a picture of one of the VBS sites

And another one.....

On Tuesday, we arrived back at Northside, ready for kids to show up. 9 am rolled around, and again no kids. So myself, my youth minister Chad, and one of my youth Sam, got together and prayed. No sooner then as we finished praying, I looked up, and there stood a woman with 2 young girls. I really dont think I have ever been more excited in my entire life. I literally jumped for joy. It was so amazing, and it was such a God moment. So we ran our VBS for those two girls, and it was awesome. On Tuesday afternoon, we got to go to an amazing place called the Harvest which is a grocery store with much cheaper prices to help those in need. It was so cool to be able to help them out and serve there for an entire day.

Tuesday night we went down to enjoy God's beautiful creation at the beach. It was beautiful.

Wednesday rolled around, and we became even more blessed at VBS at Northside. We had 6 children on this day. It was so amazing, and VBS continued to go very well. It was so great to see all the youth who had worked so hard to prepare for this trip actually get a chance to show off what they had been working so hard for. God continued to bless our VBS. On Wednesday afternoon, we had our first block party at EPIC Missions, the place that hosted us. It went well, and we had somewhere around 60 people come out. It was a lot of fun, and I know some lives were touched. At our block parties, the praise band played, we had free food for everyone, as well as snow cones, popcorn, and games. As well as this year, the Youth Choir presented their musical Flashback, which was a very unique but powerful way to witness to people. Wednesday night, we had our senior night, in which we honor all of our seniors by giving anyone who wants a chance to say something to them in front of the whole group. Its a great way to honor the seniors of the youth group.

Here is a picture of our youth choir doing their musical at one of the Block Parties. 

On Thursday, our last and final day of VBS, we had 9 kids. Such an awesome thing. God went from there being 0 kids at our VBS to 9 kids. Sure, its not a lot. But it was so amazing. And I loved it. It was such a great day at VBS, and it was hard to say goodbye to the kids we had spent time with this week. Thursday afternoon we had our second block party at Northside Christian Fellowship. We once again had a pretty good crowd at the block party It was a lot of fun.

Thursday night, we got to share in one of my most favorite things to do ever. Its called the Heart Ceremony. This is a time in which you get a paper heart and you go around to one another and tear off a piece of your heart and give it to people and you share with them why they will always have a place in your heart. It is such a cool event, and has become such a staple on the mission trip. It is just a great opportunity to share and grow in your relationships with others. But this heart ceremony was a special one for me. I had a great conversation with my youth minister during this time. He has been strongly encouraging me for quite some time to become a youth minister. But now, I think I finally had the breakthrough I have been looking for.

I had a great time this past week, and this entire summer. I have loved working with youth so much. So now, comes a hard decision in  my life. I love special ed, but I also love youth ministry. But I am definitely thinking I want to work with youth now after this week and summer. So I plan to still teach for a little while, for 3 years or so after I graduate. But I could definitely see myself going into youth ministry at some point during my life. I absolutely love it.

On Friday, we had our fun day, in which is a good time to relax and enjoy ourselves after a long hard week of work. We jumped over to Tampa, FL to enjoy the day at Busch Gardens. It was such a good day. Then on Saturday, we hit the road back home. It was such an amazing week, and I was so glad I got to be a part of it.

Determining God's will for your life can be hard to do. And its something that I have struggled with my entire life. But this week really helped me figure things out. Here are a couple of scriptures that have been on my heart this week:

Proverbs 3:5-6"Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."

This verse is great because it shows that as long as you trust in God, and depend on him, he will guide you. And the second verse:

Matthew 4:19-20 "Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men." So at once, they left their nets and followed him.

This was our verse for the entire week. God is calling us to minister to others. But not only that, but to drop everything we have, and do his work. That doesn't mean that we need to quit everything we are doing, but instead, do everything for the glory of God. This was an eye opening verse for me. I'm now, from this moment on, letting God control where my life is headed. It's in his control. If God wants me to be a special ed teacher, then so be it. Or if God is calling me to be a Youth Minister, then so be it. Hear I am Lord, Send me.

One Week

You know, One Week of time is actually a good bit of time. Sure, it doesn't seem like it in the long scheme of things, but it really is. A lot can change in one week. But the reason one week of time is important to me right now, is because that is exactly how long until I leave with my youth group on our mission trip. 

It's kind of an unusual feeling. It has always seemed that the mission trip has always been so far away since the beginning of the summer. It was always that thought in my mind that would come eventually, but not too soon. And what's crazier even about that, is I only have 10 official days of work left after we return from the mission trip. But now is not the time to worry or focus on that, it is time to get all those last minute preparations ready for the mission trip. I am very excited about this opportunity. I know it is going to be so great next Saturday morning, at 5 am, when we load up the buses for a 12 hour drive down to Vero Beach, FL. I am excited about it for many reasons. One, I can't wait to see the youth I have been working with do their work that they have been preparing for for the past 2 months. I am also excited because I always loved the mission trip when I was a part of this youth group, and I can't wait to have those experiences again. But I am also a little nervous. 

Its always a fear of mine that I am going to be rejected. Sharing your faith in the Gospel can be a hard thing, especially if the people you are sharing it with do not accept it. I am also scared a little bit because I am going to be in charge. We do Vacation Bible School at two different locations. Obviously, Chad, cannot be at both locations at once. So, on the first day, he is going to the second location with the other Intern, Emily. This is because there are going to be a lot more little kids at the second location, so he is needed there to help manage the almost guaranteed chaos. So knowing that I am going to be the person that everyone comes to if there is a problem at the first location is a little scary.

So I write this blog to ask for prayer from my faithful blog readers. Pray for a few things: 1) Pray for the people down in Vero Beach, FL, that they will receive our love and accept us with open arms. 2) Pray for the students in the youth group that they will be able to go with confidence into Vero Beach, FL and share their faith, their love for Jesus Christ, and their experiences so that they may help others come to know and love Jesus as much as they do. 3) Finally, pray for myself, Chad, Emily, and all of the other adults that are going on this mission trip that we me have the strength and patience to do as God instructs us to do by setting a good example for the students, as well as just allowing us to sit back and watch the amazing things God will do through these students.

Matthew 28:18-20: "Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

This is the only verse that ever comes to mind when I think of doing mission work, mainly because I first heard it when I was on a mission trip myself to St. Lucia. God instructs us to go and make fellow disciples, so that we can share in the love and fellowship of Jesus Christ. And that no matter what we go through, God is going to be with us through it all, no matter what. One Week. That's all I have left till I leave for what is going to be one of the greatest weeks of my entire life. I can't wait.

This is a picture from the last mission trip I went on with the BUMS, in 2009 to New Orleans. 

The Most Relaxing Week of my Entire Life!

So, in case you didn't know this, I have the best boss in the entire world. His name is Chad Deetz, and he was my youth minister growing up. But now he is my boss, and he is amazing. Now many of you are probably asking "Why is Chad Deetz so amazing?" Well here is why. He was so nice to give me this entire week off so that I could relax and get rejuvenated for the rest of the summer. Chad Deetz, you are the man!

So to enjoy my week of the 4th, I came down to Pawleys Island, SC to hang out with one of my best friends Matthew Deegan. And I also got to see my friends Shelbee and Rachel from Erskine this past week as well. This week has been so awesome. I have actually done a whole lot of nothing, which is what has made it so great. This week has just been very relaxing and restful. Lots of swimming in the pool, grilling out, and just chilling and enjoying myself. It has been so nice. And it really has gotten me excited and rested up to have a ton of enthusiasm for the rest of the summer. I am very thankful for this past week to rest. But what is even better, is my week is not over yet. Tomorrow, I head up to Lexington, SC to visit my brother, sister-in-law, and most importantly, my niece. It has been over 2 months since I have seen them, and I cannot wait any longer. It is going to be good to get to spend some quality time with some of my family. So I am very excited about the rest of this week as well. And then, on Sunday (which is my birthday, woo-hoo) its back to work again. But I am glad about that too, because i have missed it a lot.

Matthew 11:28- Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

Did you know that the word rest (or some form of it) can be found in the bible over 500 times? I think that is pretty awesome! It's obvious that God meant for us to be restful at times. After all, he did put an entire day into our week (the Sabbath) for us to rest. In the society we live in today, it is all about go, go, go, and we always have to be productive. But that's not how God meant it to me. God also meant for us to rest and relax. I also have a song lyric for you:

"Sunday was a day of rest, now its one more day for progress. And we can't slow down, cause more is best, its all an endless process."

--Mayberry by Rascal Flatts

We think we dont have time to rest on the Sabbath. But it is necessary. I also found this lyric appropriate since the man of Mayberry, Andy Griffith, passed away this past week. That is a  sad day in American Television. I hope everyone enjoyed their 4th of July!

This was the pool where I spent most of my week! It was glorious!

Camp Hope....the Pride of all the States

So today, I got to go to the happiest place on Earth. And no, I'm actually not talking about Disney World. I'm talking about Camp Hope. Now, I'm sure that many of you probably don't even know what Camp Hope is. But it is the coolest, best, most wonderful and loving place in this entire world, and I am convinced of that. Camp Hope is a place located on Lake Hartwell in Clemson, SC at the Clemson University Outdoor Lab. It is a Camp that is for people with Cognitive Disabilities any where from age 8 until (I believe the oldest camper who comes is somewhere around age 70.) I have worked at this camp for the past two summers, and I have absolutely loved it. It is also a great way for me to get work in my major as well, as I get to work with people with disabilities. There are many activities at Camp, such as swimming in the lake or pool, as well as the water slide, arts and crafts, drama, archery, canoeing, and all kinds of different fun things to do.

I got to visit there today because my brother, Brian, is a camper there, and has been going there for somewhere around 10 summers. So I volunteered (because I really, really wanted to) to go pick up my brother from Camp today. I pulled in, next to his cabin, and literally, my car was surrounded by people, that's how much love exists in this place. Not only did I get to see so many of my favorite campers, but as well as some of my greatest friends that are counselors at Camp Hope. I was greeted with many hugs, handshakes, and high fives. It was great. I had a smiled glued on my face that was a mile wide. I absolutely love this place! And as great as it was to see everybody, it also made me quite sad. I really miss working there a lot. But I also love my job at Bethel this summer, and I know that's where God wants me to be this summer. But I am hoping that I do get to return for at least one more summer at Camp Hope next summer.

There is really only one good word to describe Camp Hope, and that word is LOVE, which I have already mentioned many times throughout this blog post. And, it just so happens that the theme for this summer is LOVE IS LOUDER! It fits Camp Hope so perfectly, and it reminded me of this passage of scripture:

1 Corinthians 13:4-13: "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs .Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trust, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. But when there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.


Camp Hope is the most beautiful place on Earth. And I don't just mean physically beautiful, but beautiful because of the people who work there. All of the Campers, Counselors, and full-time Staff are all so great. I really miss working at Camp Hope a lot, but it will always have a solid place in my heart.

 Here is my all time favorite picture I have ever taken at Camp Hope. This is the sunset on the lake on the last night of my first summer there!