If Seeing is Believing, then Believing is Not Like Faith

I think we all need to remember in our lives what it says in Hebrews 11:1. That living the Christian life is not about playing it safe and living a life of comfort. It's about living a life that's holy and pleasing to the Father. It's about taking risks that may hurt us, but in the end, can only draw us closer to Him in our lives. Sometimes, our earthen vessels have to be put in the fire and last time I checked, fire hurts sometimes. But in the end, we come out the way the Father would have us to be...and that is more like Christ.

I am more and more fascinated by the life of John the Baptist in the scriptures. Jesus said that he was the greatest man ever to be born of a woman. John the baptize was a wild man and a man of risk and of great faith. The man ate locus and drank honey and had camel skins as clothes. Last time I checked, Gucci and Armani didn't have a special deal on Camel Skin three piece suits and Locus wasn't on the menu at Wolfgang Puck's restaurant. This man was a man of great faith and totally depended on the Lord. He totally depended on the Lord for everything in his life.

I pray constantly that I would be a man of wild passion and of wild faith for Him in my life. That I would not just sit on the sidelines of this life, but that I would get in the game of life and play it with all my heart. I pray that when I do get knocked down, that I will keep getting back up and press on towards the prize that awaits me. That I will follow hard after Him!

When will we as a depraved generation completely rely on the Lord and not on our own abilities? When we will be fully obedient to what he's called us to in our lives? When will we realize that no matter how many degrees or high honors we have in life, that we are nothing without Him in our lives? When will we realize than in a world of iPods, Starbucks and google, that God is the only one that will satisfy our desires? When will we realize that true joy comes from who you are in Christ and not from who you are in the eyes of humanity?



You play it safe that's why you're running away
You play it safe because you think it's okay
- Play it Safe by Dizmas

Forgiveness is Divine

This saying is so true in every aspect of it. After learning so much about grace in my own life, God brought me to the next facet of grace, which is forgiveness. I know for myself personally it's easier for me to forgive others than it is for me to forgive myself. I am so hard on myself and when I do that, I end up doing worse and being more sinful in doing that.

I was sitting today and God just revealed to me how I do this time and time again. Today I forgave myself of a lot of things I have done to myself and to others that have been in my life. That was the most freeing thing I've experienced in a while.

I've also learned how to let go of others that mean a lot to me in my life. I let go of them because I love them and only God knows what they need in their lives. I just pray that the Lord will bless them and that they will continue to stay on the straight and narrow. I truly love everyone that I've shared life with and experienced things with in life. Thank you God for everything in my life. I'm so thankful.

Today I've been really thinking about the idea of what was written in the song "How Deep The Father's Love For Us:"


Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer


We as believers (especially Americans) think we are entitled to so much. We can have anything to our liking. You can have you computer designed to your specifications, you can have you car with or without a DVD player...you can even have your thick steak cooked anyway you want with any side you want. The sad thing is we have the same mentality with the friends we want to have or how we want to have them. We sometimes want certain people to be our friends and expect for them to be a certain way.
These past couple of weeks I've been struggling with the fact that I may not save a lot of money while I'm here in this beautiful city that I love so very much. Then I got to thinking about "Why should I gain from His reward?" Who says I should save anything from this trip? Who says people should be the kind of friend I want them to be? Certainly not the Lord.
My point is that the greatest reward that we can gain from this was said in the Cateqisms "What is the chief end of man? To glorify God and enjoy Him forever." The ultimate reward as a believer is to be able to glorify the Lord and enjoy Him and experience Him. Human beings are going to do what they are going to do, but the Lord will never fail us. He has always been the friend, father, Lord and King that I've always needed in my life. The people he puts in my life are there either for a reason or for a season. The ones that are there for a reason, I need to hold on to them until the Lord shows me it's time to let go. Until next time peeps.


Caleb and Lindsey have two children named Jonas and Meredith. I love them both so much. Today, Meredith reached out to me for me to hold her, which made my day and week. I got to hold her for a long time and it was such a joy to do so. I get so much joy from the Lord in the midst of Children. I also learn more from them than I do from adults sometimes. The messages they teach us are so simple and yet so true.

Here's one of my favorite comedy groups called Flight of the Conchords. If you like dry humor, you'll love this:

I hope you enjoy this song and who knows...you may even buy the song and this may apply to you right now. If it does, I encourage you to never run away from struggles and suffering, but to face them head on and give them to the Lord. The Lord doesn't bring us to things without seeing us through them. I constantly have to remind myself that the Lord never promised a life without suffering, but He promised that He is good and that He is with us. To that, I say Amen Jesus, my Lord, my God, my Savior, my friend, and most importantly, my King.




God, my God, I cry out
Your beloved needs You now
God, be near, calm my fear
And take my doubt

Your kindness is what pulls me up
Your love is all that draws me in

I will lift my eyes to the Maker
Of the mountains I can’t climb
I will lift my eyes to the Calmer
Of the oceans raging wild
I will lift my eyes to the Healer
Of the hurt I hold inside
I will lift my eyes, lift my eyes to You

God, my God, let Mercy sing
Her melody over me
God, right here all I bring
Is all of me

‘Cause You are and You were and You will be forever
The Lover I need to save me
‘Cause You fashioned the earth and You hold it together, God
So hold me now

- I Will Lift My Eyes by Bebo Norman

This next picture goes out to a special woman in my life, even though this note is about 4 days late:


I love you mom. God knew what he was doing when he blessed me with a mother like you. You've sacrificed so much so that Mike and I can have our dreams come true. You've been the example of how a parent should be for their children. I know I've embarrassed you a little with this note, but I want the world to know how much you mean to me.

The Camino De Santiago

As I sit here in the cafeteria of my residencia, I am reflecting on the 75 miles of backpacking with my team the Camino De Santiago de Compostela through the beautiful green pastures filled with sheep, cows and horses in the area of Galicia in Northern Spain. From beginning in Lugo to the end in Santiago de Compostela and every town along the way was a lesson learned.
The Camino of Santiago, known in English as the walk of St. James, is the path in which James, the disciple of Jesus, walked through Europe sharing the good news with people he came in contact with. Since the discovery of his body in Santiago, the Camino has been used by Catholics as a way of penitents of sins. Priests would tell their people to walk a certain part of the trail for remission of sins. Today, the trail is used commercially and some people still do the trail as a spiritual journey for a week or for the whole trail, which takes 36 days to do.
I specifically think about the highlights of the adventure, the people I met along the way or that I got to know and the sights that I have seen along the way and am just amazed by the love of the Creator of the universe.
Out of the six days there, my most memorable were the first, second and last day of hiking and they were probably the most physically draining of the days. The first day we ended up almost going in circles and walked for 8 hours of the day instead of only 4 hours. We were on a path for about 3 hours that if we had continued to stay on it, we would have ended up back in Lugo. We walked on a stretch of highway with the sun beating down on our bodies and nowhere to get water for miles. This being my first backpacking experience, I prayed "Lord, there's no way I can do this for 4 more days. In my weakness Lord, be my strength and help me to delight in that."
We finally got to the destination of Friole and my calves were the sorest they've ever been and I was thirsty and exhausted. Matt told me he thought they had killed me as I layed in the fetal position in the Pensíon. Here, we met a lovely old couple from Western France who had the same experience we did on the first day as well. Along with that, the husband injured his foot so they were having to take a taxi the next day to Melide to get it looked at. The wife was so delightful and fun to talk to.
The second day we hiked 15 miles to Sobrado Dos Monxes, where we stayed at a MONASTERY! It was amazing to stay in a place that was rich in thousands of years of history and such a place of wonder. The man that checked us in there was so nice and caring. Heck, everyone in Sobrado was nice and caring. The last day was rough and humbling as it rained all day in our final push to Santiago. It was rainy, windy, and cold all day and boy was I ever in a bad mood all that day. It was one of those days where I wish that I wasn't so convicted by God to not use four letter words. I could have easily said every wirty dord in the book that day. However, the last hour push to the city was nothing but blue skies as we reached the Cathedral of the Apostle James.
So what did I learn from this experience? All I know is that this experience has left me different than I was before I left. I have learned what it means to grant grace to others because now I've learned to grant grace towards myself when I screw up. I almost forgot that there's nothing I can do to be saved and that I am only saved by the grace of God in my own life. I was just walking today to our team meeting and I realized I forgot my camera. Instead of beating up on myself, the Lord said "there's nothing you can do about it now. Don't beat yourself up and just know that my grace is sufficient for you. You have never been able to earn my love and you never will. All I ask is that you accept my gift of grace and love...that's all."
Think about this trip, I am also reminded of the 23rd Psalm when it says

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want
He maketh me lie down in green pastures
He leads me beside still waters
He restores my soul

This journey truly has been one of spirituality for me. I will take everything I have learned from this experience and with it, my life will never be the same ever again. Thank you, Lord, for this moment that you blessed me with. I will never forget it ever in my whole life. I'm thankful for grace and mercy and for your love that you have freely given to me. I know there's nothing I can do to deserve it, but I joyfully accept it with all my heart. Thank you for showing me the way to show grace to others is to first show grace to myself.

Random lyrics that were in my head on the trip


He uses love like a bullet from a gun
She's careful like a surgeon
Everywhere he goes, they all know to run
But she can't help but love him.
- The L.A. Song by Dave Barnes


I am alive in this moment
In this moment, I am found
I am alive in this moment
In this moment, I belong
- In This Moment by Starfield


Life is beautiful
But it's complicated
We barely make it
We don't need to understand
There are miracles, miracles
- Life is Beautiful by Vega4

I will lift my eyes to the maker of the mountains I can't climb
I will lift my eyes to the calmer of the oceans raging wild
I will lift my eyes to the healer of the hurt I hold inside
I will lift my eyes, lift my eyes to you
- I Will Lift My Eyes by Bebo Norman

Now it's picture time:

This is a picture of the cathedral at Lugo, our starting point

This is a church in the distance along the way

More pictures coming soon....

So after 75 miles of hiking in Northern Spain, I am back. It was a great time of walking through beautiful pastures of green and small towns with good people, good food, and good times. I have learned so much on this trip that I would have never learned being in a busy city and having such a busy life here in Barca. I also got to really know my team on a deeper and more meaningful way. They're going to be my family for the next two years and I'm looking forward to getting to know them more and more.

I think the most important thing I have learned from this trip is just how valuable grace is in my life. I wouldn't be able to do anything to deserve the love that Christ has for me. It's only by grace that I have been saved. I have also learned to not be so concerned with human opinion, but rather who I am in Christ. I have been reinforced with the lesson that not everybody is going to like me and that's fine. I am also so thankful for the ones that do understand me and love me for who I truly am. I don't need to spend time trying to make people understand me or love me, that I just need to live the way God has me to live and he'll put people in my life that will be meaningful and challenging. (Disclaimer: I love my teammates as a whole a great deal and what they believe, I value in them as a person. Just wanted to be sure that they knew that... ;) )

More comments about the Camino coming soon...




Life is beautiful, but it's complicated
We barely make it
We don't need to understand
There are miracles, miracles

Well I went to get my residency today and I got the paper that says I have a place to live here, but I went to the gov't building and they said I wasn't in the system. How can I not be in the system and yet have a visa? Interesting...lol. Pray about that for me peeps because that has to work out if I am going to work here.

Last night I went out to dinner with a bunch of people from my residencia. We all had a good time being rowdy and laughing, yet enjoying life with each other. Pray for all of them and that God will bless them in their school.

Tonight, Matt, Charles, Chuck and I are going to see a movie which I hope to be the movie of the year...that's right...Spiderman 3. Matt and I were talking about the fact that it's either going to be an awesome movie or a complete flop. I guess we'll see tonight if it is going to be.

I was talking with one of the watchman here today and I noticed he used a verb tense which people don't use around here. I immediately knew where he was from and asked him. Sure enough, he's from Argentina! HOW AWESOME IS THAT?! The only negative thing he has going for him is that he's a River fan...I can live with that though.

Things are rockin here though...Thanks for the prayers and encouragement guys...Keep them coming.

Here's Anberlin in their song "Paperthin Hymns" off of the Never Take Friendship Personal album:

Shawn McDonald (AKA Shawn McAwesome) and the song "Free" off of the Ripen Album....Will you enjoy? I think you will... ;)

My spanish classes have been going well. I have two Swiss guys, 4 French girls, and one Brazilian in my class...they're all pretty cool people. The Swiss guys are relaxed and very easy going...my kind of people.

My roommate bought me ice cream two days ago. It was a double chocolate thing...Really good.

I'm beginning to feel apart of the family here at my resi. Pray for that the Lord will bless them on their exams, which are in June. They only have one exam in each of their classes for the whole semester...YIKES!

I've been doing a lot of walking here, which is great but tiring at the end of the day.

I will be gone all next week on a hiking trip called El Camino de Santiago De Compostela. We will hike about 15 miles a day for five days, which will be fun. Here's some of the things I will get to see:





Hiking in Europe...Never done that before.