the old has gone, and the new has come

2008 is officially over.  I challenged the play, but the officials said that the memories of 08 are memories for good and it's time to move on.  Let's talk a minute about these memories...

This time a year ago I was probably getting ready to start my second semester of my Senior year.  Oh what a year that was! By far, the best year of high school.  So many friendships and memories.  The CCS class of 2008 was by far the best graduating class on the face of the Blue Planet.  I say that with no hesitation.  In 2008 we saw our last Spirit Week, our last high school Spring Break (during which I went to New York... awesome!), Senior Trip (best week of high school), and Graduation.  There was possibly no better feeling than walking across that stage and realizing I had completed my 13 years spent at CCS.  At the same time, it was a very sobering feeling, because I knew that while I would hold on to my best of friendships for the years to come, many of those other relationships would be severed and forgotten, and while I would joyfully move on to an exciting new future, some things that I loved would never be the same.

I've always said that my youth group at Calvary Baptist Church has played one of the most significant roles in my life.  It is part of my past now.  I was both ministered to, and had great opportunities to minister to others.  Mr. Dunlap, Pastor Mark, Pastor Jeff, and all my youth leaders: I would like to say thank you so much for encouraging me to living a life closer to Jesus and for giving me the opportunity to discover my passion in worshiping the Great I AM.  All six years that I was involved in youth groups at Calvary, I was in some fashion involved in the "praise band".  Some of my most precious memories have come from the times we've played music together... from the three Winter Advances, to Trunk-O-Treat, to Christmas chapel '07 and Senior Chapel (that was the school band... but still... music.)  The capstone of my years in praise band came just 6 months ago in a small town in Pennsylvania.  We (the Vertical Praise Band) were asked to go along with Pastor Jeff to play at the youth division of the ABWE (Association of Baptists for World Evangelism) Missionary Enrichment Conference.  We were able to play several sessions for these missionary kids from all around the world.  This week blessed our lives so much as we were able to worship with people from many different countries... some who were even risking their very lives for the advancement of the Gospel.  Not to mention English accents at Hershey Park and our encounter with a certain electric guitarist.  This was by far the best experience I've ever had in a "worship leading" capacity.

The summer also included possibly the best event of my life, and I mean that with all sincerity.  Along with 15 other students and 3 leaders, our youth group went to Porto Alegre, Brasil to minister to and with Jon and Jen Trott and family.  The stories and "God moments" of this trip could go on forever, and I've written a previous entry about this trip... so I'll keep this short.  Basically on this trip, I realized why I was alive, why I breathe each breath I breathe.  My mission in life is to see the hurting healed, the broken restored, to bring the glory of the Gospel of God to lost people.  God showed me this on that trip and I will never forget it.

"Where there is pain

Let there be grace

Where there is suffering

Bring serenity

For those afraid

Help them be brave

Where there is misery

Bring expectancy

And surely we can change

Surely we can change

Something"

-DC*B

After the awesome summer that 2008 brought I experienced probably the biggest change to this point in my life... I went to college.  On August 15th I moved into Butler 304 at Morehead State University.  The first couple weeks were somewhat rough, but I've come to love my Eastern Kentucky city and all of the people I've met there.  I thank God so much for the great friends, encouragers, and mentors he's put in my life in Morehead.  I've made a lot of great new friends and I'm looking forward to the next 4... well 3.5 (hopefully) years I'll spend there.  I'm currently double-majoring in Production and Business Management... I'm not sure if it's going to stay like that, but that's the plan for now.  

Well, that pretty much wraps up the great year that 2008 was and now as I look forward to '09 I want to briefly mention some goals for the new year.  I gave up on "New Year's Resolutions" a while ago because I always seemed to give up on them by the end of January.  However, looking into the new year there are some general things I would like to see happen in my life.  First, and most importantly, I pray that when I look back at 2009 this time next year, I will have a deeper, more real, more personal, and still growing relationship with my Savior than I have today.  I would also like to read a lot more.  I think I'm starting to develop a new love for books (something I may write about later)  and I would like to see that love grow and begin to read more.  I would like to keep writing music and possibly get some recording done (of myself and others) and search for opportunities to play.  And lastly, I want to simply grow and mature as a human being and continue to develop my own convictions and beliefs based on God's Word.

I apologize for the length of this article, but if you've made it this far, thanks so much for reading, and I'd love to hear any feedback you have!  Happy New Year!

I figured I should fall in line with the rest of the blogging world and end the year with a December 31st post.  I have so much I could say about the past year but I will keep it very brief, for if I began to explore the details of the last year this post may never end.  When I think over the past year there are two things that stand out far above all else in my mind. One, graduating high school and moving on to the exciting new world of studying at Morehead State University, and two, my outstanding summer mission trip to Porto Alegre, Brasil.  It was on this trip that I realized my life calling into some form of foreign missions.

It has been extremely exciting to meet several new great friends at Morehead and also to come home and share my new experiences with my best friends from high school.  I am so blessed.  2008 has, by far, been the most exciting year of my life.  I've learned and grown more than I could've imagined and I am so thankful to my family, my friends, and mostly my God for this year and all the experiences I have had.  I'd love to touch some more on some of these events in a, soon to come, future post.  But for now, I say, "HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

It's probably about time that I tell you all about this... so here goes...  

As you can probably tell from my previous posts, I've become very involved at the BCM (Baptist Campus Ministry) at Morehead.  For those of you who may not know BCM's are organizations on college campuses that provide a place for believers to socialize, attend Bible studies, do fun activities, reach out to the campus, etc.  They are sponsored by the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC.)  So... this year, through our BCM and the Kentucky Baptist Convention (KBC-a division of the SBC) I have been provided the opportunity to spend 8 weeks of my summer participating in something called the Acts 1:8 Leadership Experience.  This summer I will spend 6 weeks in Louisville, 5 of which I will be attending leadership training classes and helping with a vast variety of local mission projects, and the 6th I will be working with the SBC's Crossover Outreach.  Following these 6 weeks, my team of 18-20 will be heading to the Dominican Republic for 2 weeks to minister there and work with Pure Water for Pure Life (a division of EDGE Outreach) to install water purifying systems for people without the luxury of pure water.

Needless to say I am very excited about the summer.  I have already met everyone that will be on the team, and I think we will all get along great!  Two of my very good friends from Morehead were also accepted so I think it will be great to spend the summer with them as well!  I know that God will be glorified this summer and I can't wait to have a part in that.  However, there are several things that need to happen to make this summer possible.  First of all, I have to raise $2500.  Thankfully, that covers everything for the 2 months I will be gone.  Also, several of my teammates have to get Passports.  Thankfully I've already been through the process and my passport is good for another couple years, but that can always be a troublesome process, especially the first time you do it.  Most importantly though, we all need to be focused through the upcoming semester and make sure that God is on the throne in all of our lives and that we are seeking Him above all else.  So I would ask you... please join in on this ministry.  Become a part of what God is doing now and what He will do this summer.  Please pray...

     -for my team and I and our leaders as we prepare for this summer.

     -for everyone we will come in contact with.

     -for the hand of God to guide us and lead us through this time in our lives.

     -for us to grow closer to our Savior through it all.  

I'll do my best to keep you all updated through the blog and I'd love it if you would stay connected with me on this journey. So if you haven't already, sign up up there at the top right of the page.  Just enter your email address and you'll get an email whenever I add a new post.  Thanks so much for your prayers!

"...everything will change, things will never be the same, for the glory of it all" -DC*B