a revelation

About a week and a half ago, I was at a winter retreat with the youth group I work at. I am a small group leader for freshman guys, and I was their counselor for the weekend. Needless to say, it was a ton of fun. During the retreat, I had a sort of vision from the LORD concerning my ministry. I have known for about two years that the LORD has called me into youth ministry. I had always thought that this was a call into conventional youth ministry, where I would be a full time youth pastor at a church, and everything would be great. However, at this retreat, God showed me a different vision. He revealed to me that I am to be a part of a non profit, para-church organization, to minister to the outcast kids (skaters, potheads, goths, geeks, etc). I was filled with images of this ministry, and I felt led to do it in the Appleton area. I was blown away, because this was not something I had ever thought of/ planned on. After the retreat, I called Leah and told her about what transpired. She told me that something like that had happened in Appleton already, where a ministry had bought an indoor mall and made a skatepark, paintball area, and concert hall deal. She said that it had lost funding, but while it was going, it was one of the biggest youth movements in the midwest. She knew the founder's daughter, and she said that when it lost funding, he said that he believed this ministry was not done, and that he believed it would start up again. I was excited when she told me this, and began to wonder if this was something I should be involved in. I have been praying about it for a while. Today, we were told that we would have a guest speaker in our foundations of youth ministry class. I got in there, and the speaker introduced himself. His name was Dave Lehman, from Appleton, Wisconsin, and he was the very same founder of that youth movement! He had come to Trinity, and was speaking IN MY CLASS!! The Holy Spirit shook me, and I was completely amazed. I talked with him afterward and explained my story, and he was amazed as well. I gave him my number, and we are hopefully going to be in contact. Praise be to God!

A prayer

Dear Heavenly Father,
Please change me. I know that I have not been as close to you as I should lately. How could I be? I didn't have time for you. I was too busy to be filled with your spirit, I was too interested in other things, I was too selfish. Please forgive me. I know that you have showed me many things, and are preparing me to minister to your people, and I want that more than anything. I'm just not ready. Help me to know you more intimately, to seek you purposely, and to know your will for my life. Break me, Lord. Crack this useless, man made shell that I have created, and mold me into the man you have created me to be.


In Christ's name I pray, Amen.

All offensive posting for the new millenium

Isa ruhu-lah 'alaihis-salat was-salom
nastagh-firuka ya Hakam
Ya Dhal-Jalali wal-Ikram
Isa ruhu-lah 'alaihis-salat was'salam
ya Halim, ya Qahhar
ya Muntaqim, ya Ghaffar!
la Ilaha ilallahu, Allahu Akbar

translates to:

we ask for Your forgiveness, O Judge
O Lord of Majesty and Generosity
Jesus Christ, peace, we pray, be upon you
The Patient One, The All Compelling Subduer
The Avenger, The Ever Forgiving
there is nothing worthy of worship except God, God is the greatest!


What an incredible prayer. Want to know something? It's an arabic prayer from the Qur'an.

We ask for your forgiveness, O Judge, for we have wrongfully judged others.