A Mid-Summer Night's Update

Hey Everybody,

Been a little while since I've written, so I just wanted to catch you all up on what's been going on in my life lately. This summer has been incredible so far. Best way I can say it is, "Incredible." Ha. It has been unlike any summer I've been through so far on several different levels. Let's start on the ground level and work our way up . . .

This summer has been a great opportunity for God to work in my life. I have been learning so much about me, my faith, and who God is and how he works. Sometimes the hard way . . . but he is teaching and guiding me. One of the biggest things I have been wrestling with is trusting God completely. Every day is a new opportunity for us to place our worries and cares in God's hands and let him work them out for us. Unfortunately, many of us (myself included) get so caught up in our circumstances and what we can do that we don't ever give God the chance or the room to carry our load. I have noticed that many times my doubts and fears cloud my view of him. Through the course of this summer, I have been able to experience the freedom and peace that comes from placing my life (completely . . . meaning everything) in his hands. Trust me, it's worth it. Just let go, and let God.

I have also been learning what it looks like to be a more godly man. Where have all the men gone? Our world has such a twisted idea of what a man looks like. It's pretty sad . . . God has been using my situations and people in my life to break down the images I thought a man should look like. This has been tough at times because I feel like I've been doing a pretty good job at living out a godly life. I've been living as a godly man, right? It's hard to lay down my pride (our pride, as men) and humble ourselves. The thing is . . . yes, I have been striving to live a godly life, but it is a constant/continual pursuit. As long as we are human and on earth there is no finish line. There is no "Congratulations, you have now reach the status of godly man." No . . . Christ set the example, and it is one that we will never fully live up to. No matter how hard we strive. God has blessed me by bringing a beautiful, young woman into my life. God has been using this young woman, whom I am dating, to help me understand more about what it means to live as a godly man. Pretty cool! Ha.

Moving onto the good ol' area of support raising . . . ha. Well, it's still going. I am slightly over the half-way point. The process of raising support is still slower than I was hoping, but I am continuing to trust God to provide. Good news . . . I am now over 1/3 of the way to reaching my support goal!! It has been amazing to see how God continues to provide. Last weekend I had the opportunity to sit down with a few individuals and share a little bit of my life with them and they shared their lives with me. It was so encouraging to hear about what God has been doing in some of these individual's lives. Sometimes we feel it is so hard to see/feel God working in the world around us, but if we would only take a moment to slow down and be still, we would see God's hand at work. Yesterday was the first day of my last full month of support raising. The next few weeks are the final "push" for gathering contacts to partner with me financially in this ministry. Sometimes when the chips are down and our situation seems almost impossible, that is when God says, "Cool . . . my turn to run the show and amaze you." Keep trusting God to provide, no matter what you're going through. He hears our prayers. No prayer is ever uttered in vain. That's reassuring. Isn't it? Thank you, Lord.

Well, I hope summer is going well for you all. I'm praying for you. I hope that you will all continue to partner with me in prayer as well, as my support raising deadline is surely approaching. Thank you for all of your support! God bless!

And Happy 4th of July! Be smart and safe. And have a great holiday weekend. Myrtle Beach is calling my name for a few days, ha. A week with most of my family and Kearston. Sounds good to me. Catch you all when I get back . . . Peace.