Roots

It's funny to think about who you are, where you are in life, and HOW you got there. Who influenced you? Who turned you in a small direction that changed your life? How did you meet that person? I'm a Christian, I'm trying to let that rule my life, but I wasn't always. I was once determined that no God existed. Where was the change? Where did I go right?

I think it pretty well starts with two people, Aaron Hinds who made fun of me on the bus in the 5th grade, and was one of my best friends by 7th grade. Brandon Hall who I met in the 7th grade walking from the bus stop to my house (about one or two hundred feet), the key to starting our friendship? Yu-Gi-Oh cards. Yep. He had some out and I was way into it, so I talked to him. Also became one of my best friends.

I can't remember the exact details, but between the two of them I became good friends with Hannah Baker, and Michael Pierce. The four of us had some great times. When freshmen year rolled around we were looking at clubs to join and were greatly into anime, so we wanted to join the anime club, but I was unsure about it because I wasn't sure if my parents would approve of it and let me. Hannah encouraged me to try, what did I have to lose? If they said no, so what? That wouldn't be any different then not trying.Things were on my side and I was able to join the anime club.

This next part, I'm not sure I can explain any way other then an act of God. In anime club I had met a few new friends, and during the summer between freshmen and sophomore year I was invited by Ryan Lain to the absolute best birthday party/weekend I have to this day ever experienced. Which led us to pursue a further friendship. What's so miraculous about this is that although we were friends(and actually met in the 8th grade at lunch), Ryan and I had not spoken that much that in normal circumstances I would be someone to invite on a weekend long trip. To this day we don't know 100% why I was invited, I was just a random name that popped up on her list of invites.

Anyhow, over the next couple of years this led the close friendship of Ryan and I(and her family that I now call my own; Dorian, Kym, Kaleigh you are definitely a part of my family.) and led the key point of change in my life. One random Wednesday, during spring, after school I was invited to attend the youth group at Farragut Church of Christ. For the first time in my life I had willingly gone to church. Here started meeting a number of people, including the Wilkins(who are also my family). After school had ended I had no clue what the etiquette was of when seniors were "kicked out" of the youth group so I stopped attending around graduation time. Judah Wilkins got a hold of my phone number somehow and we went to Starbucks, talked about whatever, and went on our ways. Over the next few months he pressured me a bit into attending church, so in September of 2008 I stopped working on Sundays and started attending the church where my life would truly become something else. And on April 8th, 2009 I solidified my new world and was baptized.

To all the people I met along the way, everyone who helped in some small or large fashion to form the person I have become, I thank you from the bottom of my heart, I love you more dearly then you may ever know. Even if you weren't mentioned here, you have made an important impact in my life.


So how about you? What are your roots? Where do you come from? Would you still be you if you had met different people? I know I would not. If my parents had not come to Tennessee, to Knoxville, I have no clue who I would be.

The Times They Are a Changin

I've come to a point in my short life where everything is heading towards change:

• My parents are finally kicking me out of my house.
• I'm going to get a new job, one that pays me enough money to live off of.
• I have to leave my current job at Wendy's.
• I'll need to buy a house soon.
• The house I'm going to buy will be in an area downtown.

Depending on how thoroughly my parents go through with kicking me out this will all likely happen by or around January. And all of these things scare me to death. Things could very easily fall through, and then what would I do? Certainly God would see me through whatever trials come my way, but even so I'm scared of the changes-of change in general.

I've been submitting my resume to places online hoping to find a suitable job, but even these I have trouble following up with because I'm afraid of something. I'm not sure what exactly it is I'm afraid of there. Maybe I'm just waiting for the right job to fall into my lap. As if that would happen again.

Honestly, I should have been at this point in my life LAST YEAR... I've just sort of been floating around life, though by doing so I've gotten to experience some good things, like serving in church and strengthening new friendships. I suppose it just time to move past that and start heading towards the rest of my life. I know that once I get through all this and settled into my new house things will be much easier for me, and a lot of my stress will be for nothing.

God, I ask that you give me the strength to be fearless and get through these changes without worry, that things work out for the best, and that forever my life be a reflection of you and your will be done through me.

With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility

      You don't really need to read all of these, just get the basic idea.
NVI, Genesis 1 (respectively numbered):

 ³ And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.
⁶ And God said, "Let there be an expanse between the waters to separate water from water."
⁹ And God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear." And it was so.
¹¹ Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds." And it was so.
¹⁴ And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years, ¹⁵ and let them be lights in the expanse of the sky to give light on the earth." And it was so. 
²⁰ And God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the expanse of the sky."  
²⁴ And God said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each according to its kind." And it was so.
²⁶ Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."
 ²⁷ So God created man in his own image,
       in the image of God he created him;
       male and female he created them. 

       Words. Powerful words. Through words alone God shaped our world, and created us in His image. As pointed out by a dear friend of mine, words are a powerful tool that we received from our Father; our God. But this tool is more often misused then not. Even in simple ways. If I say I'm going to do something, I try to the best of my abilities to do it. Of course I'm not perfect; I forget from time to time. It seems to me that some people just don't care thought, "Sure, I'll help you on Saturday." Friday night they think 'Oh actually I'd rather do that then help him...'.

     If you say you are going to do something, then do it! If you have no intention of following through with your word, don't say anything! If you aren't sure you will be able to, then either don't say you will, or say you will try but might not be able to. Its an easy concept. By taking a few minutes, or even a few seconds you can usually determine whether you will be able to follow through with whatever you are thinking about saying.


NIV, Matthew 5 (Paying attention specifically to 37):

 ³³"Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.' ³⁴But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God's throne; ³⁵or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. ³⁶And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. ³⁷Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

      Words can be very hurtful when misused. And very moving, doing much good when used appropriately. Go out! Be responsible! Think! Think! Think! Do good with your words!

Random Thoughts On Quote

"The urge to save humanity is almost always a false front for the urge to rule"-H.L. Mencken

Aside from stopping an asteroid coming and destroying the earth I wonder if it is even possible to save humanity without ruling it in some form. Even in Christianity you can't be saved without accepting Jesus Christ as you Lord and Savior. The king of Jews.

It's really quite a bold statement. He's making an assumption that most people who try to save humanity are trying to become a ruler.

There is no greater threat to humanity than humanity itself. No matter what type of government, or what systems you put up, there will always be corruption. As long as people are in control of their own lives, there will be corruption.

That's not to say all people are corrupt. There are genuine good people. Sometimes hard to find, but they are there.

Free will is a double-edged sword; Giving us our freedom, but condemning us to a fate of endless hard decisions to make. These decisions will impact not only our lives and future, but potentially those of the people around us. Often times we are weak. We make bad decisions, go down roads that shouldn't even be there. These roads can end up hurting us, or our loved ones; in extreme situations these roads could even take us to death.

The Human Brain

The human brain is such an odd little thing. Starve it of some sleep; mix in some stress and constant movement and "bam" you have a remedy for instant sickness. Seriously, I'm apparently not able to go one night without sleep and run my normal routine. I ended up going home a little early Wednesday night and spending the majority of Thanksgiving in bed. I ate one plate of food that entire day and that was it; slept for like 14 hours and honestly I still feel off. At least it doesn't hurt anymore. I suppose this is a form of punishment for not taking care of our temples properly. (1 Corinthians 3:17) "If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him; for God's temple is sacred, and you are that temple."

Hello Blogging World

My name is Jeff. I have attended ITT-Tech for roughly a year and a half, but am now dropping out.

A friend of mine told me about a month ago that I should start blogging. I have no clue what I am going to write about or why anyone would want to hear the opinions or thoughts of a 20 drop out. But if in my time of doing this I can help, or inspire one person then this is worth it.

I am a Christian. The term "Little Christ" comes from that. I started attending church just over a year ago and was baptized in April of this year. I try to study, worship, and serve when I can. I have many things to improve upon in this area.

A lot of my learning come from Andy Stanley the senior pastor at North Point Ministries, but even more so my friend and college minister, Judah, and his family.