Acts 20:24

Time for another update. Biggest changes since my last post are as follows: I'm now a proud member of the Auburn University Gospel Choir, School has picked up A LOT, and other than that life is truckin along the same path.

Two weekends ago I got to venture back to South Carolina to spend the weekend (on a spur-of-the-moment surprise journey) with all my Project amigos at Furman and Wofford. Reconnecting was absolutely wonderful and what I had been thirsting for since being back at Auburn. My boys from Project this past summer have become some of my absolute best friends. Being able to randomly appear on these campuses and instantly be immersed in conversations about God's love, entering new levels of accountability, and experiencing true brotherhood through our inheritance in Christ's blood was exactly what I had been craving from the second I left project.

I have wonderful friends here at Auburn too, but whenever I am around my friends from this summer literally in everything we talk about, we can't keep the good news of God far from our lips. This is something I've tried to apply to my daily life here at Auburn, experiencing it over the summer (and now daily through skype and phone time with my South Carolina brethren) makes me thirst for the same community here on The Plains so, so much. Intentionally trying to make every conversation I have for God's glory is hard, but unbelievably rewarding. It takes effort, it is a tangible challenge but one that if we put the effort in, God will meet us in there and carry us the rest of the way up.

Recently I've been wondering why I am so accepting of my sin, and of my salvation. In the Psalms, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Proverbs, all throughout the entire Bible the different authors and people groups are brought to their knees, faces to the floor because despair and hatred of their sin, and at the same time they dance, sing, praise, are brought to tears in reverence of their salvation and the grace we are given, DAILY. We need to be leading each other, spurring each other on in encouragement and motivation in these areas. We have to seek out our Christian Brothers and Sisters and help pull each other through the filth surrounding us and push each other towards the Lord.

So why is the same not true for modern day Christians? Why do I not CONSTANTLY rejoice and sing at the mercy I've found and how am I not CONSTANTLY disgusted by the poison of sin has in my life? The simple poise sin strikes to engulf us here at Auburn albeit anything from laziness to apathy. Becoming more appreciative and identifying the filth in my life, in all of our lives is necessary.To wrap things up I just want to write out how excited I am for the fall, for hunting season, for the prime outdoors time. Being in nature is one of my favorite ways to enjoy God's power, genius, and my favorite place to just, be still as He commands us to. The feeling of solitude surrounded by absolute majesty and silence in stillness is, God.

I am so thankful to see the leaves start falling and fell the chill at night that makes the stars seem so much sharper and brighter. Only a King infinitely wise and powerful could create such things that speak so sharply and directly to my very soul, and that is why I praise him.

Auburn Tiger bearing God's Image

Its been another week or two here on the plains and its been a great few weeks. Project Uplift has been wonderful these past few weeks, Bug and Peanut who now goes by Damieon are doing great! It has been awesome reconnecting with them and watching them grow up.

Every time we are with them I think of Gideon and Aldo and all of my other brothers in Peru. I wonder how they are, if they are still all living together, if they are still under the care of Casa Grisoles or if they have gone back to live on the streets.

It has been haunting my dreams lately that I will go back to casa grisoles this summer with my MTW internship and Gideon and Aldo will be gone. They could be back on the streets caught up in the addictions of drugs and prostitution and daily avoiding death around every corner. But, this can't be the case. Hector loves the boys at casa grisoles and I know he would stop at nothing to make sure they are not back on the streets. I think about them every day.

It makes life as a college student seem so menial, we are blessed beyond most of our knowledge. I wish I could reveal to every student at Auburn the pain the world outside our doors is in, the groans of people groups both known and unknown across the world are shut out by so so many here. Not always because of selfishness, but because of unbeknownst arrogance of the situation we are in and the state the rest of the world is in. I want to inspire others to help. It is so great to meet others who understand this passion I have, definitely a blessing from the Lord! The first football game was absolutely incredible! We smeared Arkansas State and the Auburn moral is soaring high! The game was a night game and the skies were painted so beautifully, there was no way anyone in that stadium could deny the power of God.

Looking around the stadium as it was completely full, I found myself mesmerized by a simple question, how many of these people, my "Auburn family" truly knew their utter dependence and need for Christ's redeeming blood? How many of them thought they were Christians because they went to church, campus ministries, were thought to be 'good, moral people' by their family and peers. How many were just 'bible-belt cultural christians' and how many people were actually striving to be nothing more than deeper emerged in Christ's blood in hopes of losing themselves and gaining more of our Lord. I couldn't help but want to know who would be in heaven with my and could talk about the beautiful skies the Lord painted for us that day. I know it couldn't be everyone there. Could it have been even half? I couldn't help it, my thoughts took me there, I could not help myself from wondering. Because of that wonder I want to do something, I want to succeed, to do BIG things, to reach the 87,451 people who were at the game. How though. Starting small, intentionally pursuing peers, being involved and hell being over-involved because I want to reach more people than I should be able to! That is what being an Auburn Tiger bearing God's image and in light of that acting on it is to me.

Return to the glory land

“All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible." T.E. Lawrence

Sophomore year of college. The second year at my four year home. The last half of the first half of my career as a "college student" and I still have so much I want to do. This year has been wonderful so far; classes are great, my last math class, philosophy, spanish three, english comp 2, and world history. As far as involvement this year, I am finding myself with time to breathe during the day and some nights and that is so strange to me. I always over commit myself but always find a way to give 100% to the things I do commit to, and this semester so far I am only involved in a few things: R.U.F. monday nights, ONE wednesday nights, First Presbyterian Opelika sundays, Project Uplift 5 hours a week, and my SGA involvement hasn't started yet. In light of this "light load" this semester I am finding myself with an excess of free time.

I don't know what to do with myself! It has been great for getting in the Word, doing homework, and the likes but I can't help but feel I need to be doing more. The quote I started this entry off with is what I am living by this semester. Because I do have this free time, I am going to do things. Big things. Today I had a free hour before classes so Natalie Burns and I set up a table on O-Days on the concourse and started a new club, Dumbledore's Army. Fun stuff like that is going to be a part of this free time I have but I also want to use it to plan for the bible study I'm leading of Isaiah with the roommates called "Stogie and a Study" tuesday nights.

The Lord is so powerful with his movements through this study already after only one week! One conviction I am trying to live is surrounding myself with scripture. I made this auburn sign out of pain chips and on each sign is a different Bible verse that encourages me and hopefully all who come in my room!

Everything we do is to be for his glory, our free time, our commitments, our conversations, our life. Sophomore year I am going to try to live this out.