i had to give a sermon O_0?

so as my internship here in OCM is drawing near the end, one of my last "assignments" was to preach at youth service...and yeah, i'll admit it...it was pretty fun. sharing with people of the things that i have learned/know has always been something i LOVE to do. getting this opportunity was a LOT more fun than i had anticipated and i definitely don't dread it as much as i did when i first got this assignment.

so yeah...just wanted to leave that thought there...in case i ever wonder if i actually like preaching if given the chance again...haha

if you wana hear a clip...lemme know and i can send it to you?

thats all for now..i really should/need to get some sleep

pieces

prayer warrior

Dear Grandma,

it was quite hard and confusing last week when i first heard that you were gone. i wasn't exactly sure if i should be in sorrow or be joyful. whether i should be in tears or smiling. if i should have been angry or be happy. but to hear of the things that were said about you over the last couple of days, to see the many that have come to "pay their respects", to see how you've continued to bless your family, even through your death...its inevitable to say that i'm beyond overjoyed that God has brought you back in His arms, finally. to know that you're in the safest and best place you could be...and you're finally able to enjoy the treasures you have stored in heaven. 

Thank you for loving me, even when you didn't really get to know me. Thank you for your prayers, even though you didn't know what was going on in my life. Thank you for displaying the faith you had in God, and the way you lived out your life as an example to your family, friends, and the church. most importantly, thank you for showing what it means to be a warrior, a [prayer] warrior for God.

I believe that He loves you where you are
I believe that you've seen the hands of God
I believe that you'll know it when
You're back in His arms again

I believe that He never let you go
I believe that He's wanting you to know
I believe that He'll lead you 'til
you're back in His arms again 

And I know that He's callin'
He's callin' you Home

One life, one love, one way Home
And when you rise and when you fall
He will see you through it all
He is waiting, you are called,
back in His arms again. - Mark Schultz

with love from Him, in Him, and through Him

your grandson,

boaz

p.s. can't wait to see you again some day =]

where to start?

oh man...its been quite some time since i've made a public post...

theres just so much that has occurred that i couldn't get myself to write anything out despite all the good things that has come over this past month. but now that i've had a chance to think things through, i have a few things that i'd like to share with all of you.

1. one of the things i've realized is that God has been awesomely good to me...and the random posting of the song didn't end up being so random afterall. i've found that within this chaos and confusion that i've gone through, it is most certainly true that God was sovereign and unchanging. and because of that, i've found that i have even MORE reasons to be grateful for all the GOOD things that God is doing in my life now, and all the AWESOME things that He's gona do in my life to come.
2. i LOVE serving in ministry. i have no idea how/why, but i get extremely excited when i know i have the oppourtunity to serve along brothers and sisters for the sake of God's mission and in bringing His kingdom to our communities.
3. lastly, i've come to realize again that God loves to work in the weirdest ways. even in the midst of my weakness, God is able use me and teach me lessons that are beyond valuable to my growth spiritually, even extending it to my growth emotionally, mentally, and physically. why? because i worship a God who isn't unable to sympathize with my weaknesses, but i have one who has been tempted in every way, just as i am—yet was without sin (Heb. 4:15)
   

so yeah, thats kinda my month in a nut shell...there's a lot more i could write, but im being lazy...haha...i'll write more some other time.

but before i go, here's another song i wana share with you...

Bless the Lord (Son of Man) - Tye Tribbet & G.A.

Son of man, Son of righteousness
King of the earth for sinners slain

I was lost, in darkness found
You ransomed my heart and i will sing

(You are )my Strength, (You are)my Deliverer
The One who rescued me
(You are) my Hope, (You are)my redeemer
Your love has set me free
(Thats why i will)

Bless the Lord oh my soul

In the splendor of Your Majesty
from deep within my spirit sings, holy holy


pieces =]

awesome song

None But Jesus - Brooke Fraser

In the quiet, in the stillness
I know that You are God
In the secret of Your presence
I know there I am restored

When You call I won’t refuse
Each new day again I’ll choose

There is no one else for me
None but Jesus
Crucified to set me free
Now I live to bring Him praise

In the chaos, in confusion
I know You’re Sovereign still
In the moment of my weakness
You give me grace to do Your will

When You call I won’t delay
This my song through all my days

All my delight is in You Lord
All of my hope, all of my strength
All my delight is in You Lord Forevermore

@%#*!&%^*%&# O_0?

its been quite a while...my thoughts are beyond jumbled from random crap and stuff i've been learning this summer...so here's my attempt to clarify my mind...

• this summer went by wayyyyyyyyyyyy too fast
• being at home in september feels extremely awkward
• superficiality is the curse of our age
• brett favre looks weird in purple...but i still love watching him play
• ITS FOOTBALL SEASON!!!
  
• You don’t have to understand prayer to practice it any more than you have to understand a telephone to use it
• i can't believe we lost to cemq in basketball...
• working with JAMS has been a HUGE blessing...and its really rewarding to see/hear them get better each week
  
• i love BtB
• i miss BtB
• i miss binghamton...a LOT...not the school part...but the people there
• i miss iv @ bing
• i was really excited after reading the NSO emails
  
• joy is the keynote of all spiritual disciplines
• singing, dancing, even shouting characterize the disciplines of the spiritual life
  
• i miss singing
• i miss koinonia
• i cant believe i allowed my sister and josh to convince me to join the christmas choir -_-
  
• God has given us the disciplines of the spiritual as a means of receiving His grace
• to pray is to change
• Whatever fills our minds and hearts is the genuine expression of our prayers
• its been more than 7 months
• i dont miss sitting through a lecture in class
• i miss taking naps through a lecture in class
  
• i would love to go to hillsong college
• silent = listen
  
• Simply to refrain from talking, without a heart listening to God, is not silence
• this song is stuck in my head cuz my sister keeps playing/singing it
  
• im glad that i graduated

sorry for the randomness...but i must now go get ready for a nfl fantasy football draft...

pieces x]

im a college graduate...but im still learning...

wow...its been close to 2 weeks since i started my internship here in OCM...and yeah, WOW...to think that I've learned so much in my 5 years in college, the things i've learned over the last 2 weeks is beyond anything i could have imagined. through daily devotions, fellowship, prayer and discussions, the biggest thing i've learned these past 2 weeks is that God is ENDLESS. the things we can learn and ways we can follow and know Him better are INFINITE...THAT is the God i believe in...it literally leaves me speechless and baffles the crap out of my mind in that just when i thought i've learned a lot...God reveals Himself even more. God shows me more of Himself and how GREAT He is...and through that, i've learned how insignificant i really am. not that i'm demoralizing or blowing my self-esteem, but to realize that me, of all people, have been made in that image of a God that loves me, that cares for me, that knows and understands me in every possible shape, way, and form. however, that doesn't give us the liberty to live a life that is of this world. so then one would ask," how the heck would you do that then?"

well, something i learned this past week was actually from a passage that i wrote a song off last year. so its based off psalm 27, and at this week's prayer service at brooklyn tabernacle, Pastor Cymbala shared a short messgae on Psalm 27:4a. David wrote, "One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek..." He continued on sharing that more often times than not, people are full of desires on wanting and longing to be with God. a LOT of times we ask/tell God that we want Him in control, we want to give it all up for Him, we want this, or that, etc. those things are great, but how much of it do we follow through with? probably little to none. why? well, having a desire to do something and SEEKING to do something are 2 completely different things. BUT in the psalm, David ASKS and SEEKS after God...and until we're willing to SEEK after God, we really aren't doing anything other than saying a bunch of crap. we can have an enormous amount of desires, but not doing anything about them will get us nowhere.

getting to the SEEK part is not easy though, and more often times than not, i find myself continuously disappointing my father in heaven. but despite that, by HIS grace, i am forgiven and saved...because of HIS love, i am able to live with freedom just as i am...and with that, i have another song i would like to share that reflects on this thought...but before i do that, isn't God freaking AWESOME?!?!? doesn't that excite you to want to know Him more? i know that it does for me.

Jesus You Gave
by Boaz Tingson

many times, oh Lord, i fall away from You
and there are times, oh Lord, that i can't see Your truth
then there are times, oh Lord, i choose the world over You
and there's still times, oh Lord, that i can't fix my eyes on You

but i know now, that it's ok for me to be this way
but i know now, that its ok for me to be this way...cause

Jesus You gave Your life, to pay for all my sins
Jesus You gave Your blood, to cleanse me white as snkow
Jesus You gave Your love, so i can love again
so i thank You now, and forevermore

as promised...

a quick update...

its official..im a college graduate. grades are in and i passed...with flying colors!

also, i will be interning at ocm for the next year. excited? heck yeah!

ok..thats all...gota wake up in 3 hours to drive 6 hours to basilaylay =]

pieces

HOLY CRAP...i'm a college graduate O.o?

after 5 long years (not really now that i think about it) here i am, a college graduate, double major in music and chemistry, doing absolutely nothing. story of my life..haha..jk!

but yeah, its just a matter of time before im extremely busy again, so having this short time of rest is nice. being productive during this rest is a totally different matter though..haha.

now that i've had a lil bit of time (not really cuz i've been unpacking and moving crap for the past 2 days...but my room is freaking awesome right now) i started to think about/reflect on my past 4 years in bing and the 1 year i had in wisconsin...so here it goes: (warning...its long)

wisconsin/acf -

so my fresh year started off terrible. i came "home" to an empty house that use to be occupied by my whole family. i moved all my stuff into the master bedroom and i literally stayed in that room whenver i was home (except when i had to cook). it was extremely depressing...even though i had a full size house with 4 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, 2 door garage with 2 cars all to myself. but church wasn't a pleasant place to go, and i was running on fumes spritually. that was when i stumbled upon acf. at acf, i was given new light and served with awesome people that helped me to start growing with Christ again. so for that, i am very grateful. but, just when things were looking promising, i had to make decision on staying in wisconsin or move to new york. after praying and sorting things out, i decided to move to new york. it was bitter sweet. i knew that i had an awesome community in wisconsin. and in all honestly, i really didn't want to leave and it woulda been exteremely different had i stayed. but because of the relationship i had at that time, as well as the fact that i hated living alone, i followed my heart and emotions and took a gamble on leaving my "home" and starting a new one in new york.

new york/binghamton/intervarsity -

upon leaving wisconsin, i knew i had a long road ahead of me. coming to new york, i knew absolutely no one except my family and gf at the time. but even that was only in new york city. when i headed up to bing to begin school, it sucked big time. i did not know 1 single soul there and the whole lonely feeling came and overwhelemed me. i thought about what i could be doing in wisconsin and all the fun that i was missing. for a second, i regretted moving. BUT, i am a firm believer that things happen for a reason, even though at times i might not see/know the reason(s), i trust that God is using and working me to be the man He wants me to become. my first semester in bing was filled with loneliness, and a lot of trips back to the city. however, my 2nd semester there i started to be more active in IV and found places where i could serve. I finally found a community and things looked promising again. things went on like that for the next year and things were great, or so i thought.

winter 2006, i attended an IV conference called urbana. at urbana, we learned about missions, how God calls all His people to be a part of it. the theme of the conference was "Live a life worthy of the calling". at that conference (middle of my junior year), i felt like God spoke to me and was asking me to serve Him with the gifts He had given me. so i said "ok God, no more med school, i will follow you and live out my calling." i "changed" ( "change" cuz i ended up with a double major, but im really only doing music) my major from chemistry to music that spring semester and started a new chapter again. BUT, something hit me during this time, i was trying to balance serving God and my gf at the time, and i couldn't do it. I was stuck. After hours of talking with friends, talking with the parents, and talking to God, it was clear that i had to give something up. and obviously the answer would be to follow God, and thats what i did initially. but about a month in, i gave into my emotions and went the other way. that went on for a couple of months and one night during a talk with some of my brothers, i realized what i had done. it was like God slapping me across the face. i knew what i had to do. that summer was long, agonizing, painful, and draining emotionally, spiritually, physically, and mentally. i was running on fumes again. i was ready to quit. i wanted to run back "home" to wisconsin...BUT, God wasn't done with me. He took me on His shoulders and challenged me even at my weakest state.

fast forward 2 years...after that summer, i have never looked backed. i've set my eyes on God and God alone. and you know, its been nothing but AWESOMENESS. not saying that there wasn't any bumps on the road or times where i did looked away from God, cuz theres was plenty. but God's been awesome and He's been providing in every aspect of my life. i was able to get through my last year of school and have 2 of my better semester academically speaking in all my 5 years in college. in addition, He has used me in serving and helping grow IV @ BU and the fellowship is on its way in being a MAJOR force on campus (WAD-DUP! *blog five*). He has allowed me to reconnect with my family and given me the chance to live with them again. last but not least, He brought along a very special friend for me to walk with side by side.

so what now?

for those of you that are wondering, i sorta kinda have future plans, at least for the next year. its not totally finalized yet, but as of right now, it looks like i will be interning at OCM for a year. im gona go talk to Pastor Grace on thursday to figure things out. so i'll do another update then once i find out.

so yeah, thats college in a nut shell. i left out a LOT of details, if you wana know more, hit me up and we'll meet up in the city or something. oh one last thing, so for those that knew me in high school probably would say that i am a total introvert...but after going through college, i've realized that i am no doubt an extrovert. weird huh? the quiet/cant speak clearly guy...an extrovert...haha

Philippians 4:6-7 (New International Version)

⁶Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

SPRING BREAK!!!

4/10/09...last one...so far so good...i'll recap at the end

so as promised, im here to give a recap of my last spring break as a college student...hopefully..haha

but yeah, so the break started with a trip to the midwest (again) and id have to say it was better than i expected. though i didn't really have any expectations out of it...it definitely helped me re-patch my relationship with my brothers joe and tony. talking to them made me realize how much i had learned with them over the past couple of years and i was so grateful that they're still there for me despite my lack of keeping up our brotherhood. although things still aren't the way they use to be, we're defininitely in the process of reforming our friendships.

the second half of break consisted of me bumming at home. but with that bumming, i had a good time catching up with my sister as well. that also allowed me to continue to strengthen my relationship with her and im confident to say that our friendship has definitely grown to be much more than it ever has.

so yeah...spring break wasn't like AWESOME in terms of like what i did(although it had its moments on my trip to the midwest) but it was definitely AWESOME that i was able to deepen my relationships with my brothers and my sister.

well, thats all for now...less than a month til graduation O.o?

oh hello there!

so its been like...ages since i've last blogged. and like i said in my last entry, i wanted to wait til i have something to share to blog. and honestly, i've had many instances of it...but i just got lazy..haha...sorry =X so here is my attempt to recap two lessons i've learned in the last month and a half...

1. to fear God is to follow Him. over the past few weeks at UCCC, pastor craig has been doing a series titled "the fear of God". essentially, he spoke that the fear of God is a MAJOR part of a God follower. our fear for a God that is mighty and awesome, a God that created the stars in the sky, a God that made us in His very own image SHOULD draw us to Him. this is done through our awe, reverance, and emotion of fear towards God. we fear God because of His glory. God is like a thunderstorm...its beautiful, yet scary at the same time.

2. prayer...is exteremely important in our daily walk with Christ. its not something that we do just for the reason of doing it, but something that is done in reverance to God. on top of that, in order to truly pray faithfully, we NEED to know who we're praying to. meaning we gota read the Bible...otherwise how else would we know who God really is?

so in light of that, this past month and a half has definitely changed the way i've been living out mylife and my prayers as well. although in terms of my academics, my work ethic hasn't seen much change since last time. but my attitude when i do work has definitely changed. when i walk to class and around campus, my appreciation of God's creation has definitely changed. in the times when i pray, my prayers have felt more personal and meaningful as well.

and speaking of prayer...so i've been trying to figure out what God wants me to do after i graduate from school...and i have some sort of answer at this moment. i know that God wants me to go in to some kind of ministry, what it is exactly im still trying to figure out. but it'll definitely be something with music. as of right now, im in the process of trying to get applications for churches that i attend and from there i will see where God takes me. its quite exciting, and scary at the same time.

to fear God is to follow Him.

blog!

so i've been asked to blog...but then again i dont really know what/i dont really have anything particularly interesting to blog about...meaning, i dont wana keep blogging about my days and what not..cuz its NOT as meaningful and quite frankly, im sure its not fun to read.

so with that in mind, i would like to apologize to my fellow blog readers. i promise i will make an interesting update sooner or later, but for now, just know that my life is going well. actually, its going better than well...almost surreal...and the biggest reason is that i've finally found what it means to let God take control, but i'll blog about that some other time =]

as for now, that is all i have to say...pieces

last

last semester...its gona be...wait for it...

to go or not to go?

that is the question to be asked...

edit...1/8/09...so that was really vague. but yeah, i just trying to figure out where im going to be after i graduate (this sounds kinda funny..haha) and what im going to do. as of right now, the possibilities are still endless, but essentially i'd either stay in the city or head out to somewhere else, where you might ask? i have NO idea...could be far, could be close. (quite scary actually) but yeah, man...graduation is a LOT more stressful than i imagined...i wish i could stay in bing forever (kinda...not really..haha...but u catch my drift?)

quote of the day...so i was chatting with slim...and this is how he was trying to exapling something to me...i know he doesnt mean it the way it came out. but it was hilarious, so i thought i'd share it...plus, i dont think he reads my blog so he probably won't ever find out..hahahahaahahah

Slim:

it is worth it

God is like a woman

he is complicated

and in most cases

it takes forever to get a response from Him

forget that analogy

that was terrible

but you get my drift

wat i meant to say is that

ah scratch that

i was gonna elaborate

but i think i would of dug a deeper hole

Sent at 2:23 PM on Friday