What? I have a blog?

I have nothing inspirational to say except:

Seek and trust in God through Jesus Christ His Son.

Anyway, I'm still alive. My school is closed today because it's Good Friday...

I'm not feeling satisfied right now. I need to go seek God.

*runs away*

oh, and if you read my last post, on that trip to the lake, I was tubing and my foot was down in the water all of a sudden I felt a sharp pain, and when we got back closer to the house/shore and slowed down, I looked at my foot and there was blood pouring out the top of it... just thought you wanted to know that. . . and i have a purple scar there still. anyway, May His peace overwhelm you.

Update

tomorrow will finish my second week of college for the year. I'm tired. I need to be getting more sleep. and the lack of sleep effects my studies some. it's hard to read everything I need too (even when i'm not tired). i'm pretty excited about life and about God. I love chapels. we have them tuesday through friday every week. i love the speaker that we had today. he came quite a few times last year too. Adrien Duprei. look him up. he's great. anyway chapel is great cause there is hundreds of people in a room praising God and then they have a lil sermon thing. it's tight. and I have a great roommate. His name is Philip. I didn't live on campus last year, but I stayed overnight quite a bit and i stayed with Philip and his roommate most of the time. so Phil and i know each other. and he keeps me accountable for stuff and we pray together every night. I'm so incredibly blessed and I want to live my life completely for God. i have problems with living that out sometimes though. i can pray about that though and ask God to work it out, to focus me entirely on knowing Him and doing His will. i also have so much good teaching coming at me. I like all of my classes this sememster. Hermeneutics (interpreting the Bible), Intro to World Christian Movement, Communicating God's Word, Video Production 1, and Web Page Design and Development. I have to admit, it's tough getting all the work done. and honestly, I don't always get all the reading done. but somehow I'll make it. Philippians 4:13 -- "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
I'm going to a USC vs. Clemson soccer game tomorrow with my dad and brother. one of my good counselor friends from camp, Maggie, may be coming to the game as well so that'll be cool if i get to see her again. Saturday morning I'm going to a lake with my family and some family friends and I'll be there till Monday. I need to get a good bit of homework done over the weekend, but hopefully i'll have some time to relax. and i'm really really hoping that I get to go tubing. I absolutely love tubing. speeding over water, getting sprayed in the face, the wind rushing over you.... mmmm. that's a lil piece of heaven.
well, I need to talk to God some before I close my weary eyes. peace.
-Jonathan <><

Back to School & A Reflection on the Summer

Okay, so my summer is just about over. I'm moving onto campus Sunday afternoon, and my classes start on Tuesday. This summer has been an experience. I had a job working at a camp. I made some news friends. I laughed. I cried. I stressed. I trusted. I loved. I . . . disliked. I was happy, sad, joyful, depressed, angry, annoyed and most definitely exhausted. I broke my phone (got another one now), lost my patience (don't worry, I found it again), and had my heart stolen (it's MIA. not sure where it is now). I've made plenty of stupid decisions (and perhaps a few wise ones). And now, I thank God for sticking with me through all my stupid decisions, and for giving me all these experiences this summer.

"And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose."

~Romans 8:28

well here's something I haven't done in awhile... for those of you who occasionally take a peek at my blog...

So I survived my spring semester. it was great. I'm making good grades, and I've found some new friends which is always a plus. I'm currently working at a Presbyterian church camp (Camp Fellowship). http://www.bucandfellowship.org/ I've got about 5 weeks of camp left, and after camp ends, I have about 10 days before I start my sophmore year at CIU. I'm ready to see some people again but not so ready for all the school work that accompanies it. Oh well. I've heard that I should enjoy college while I'm still at it, and that the college years fly by.

So, here I am, in my freshman summer, sitting on a couch, trying to record part of my life to look back at in the future. I wonder how much my writing, my ideas, my concerns, my interests will change in 5 years. In 5 years, where will I be? It's an interesting thought.
so yeah, I've got Facebook and Myspace now. What a way to drain your time. but at least I can be in contact with old friends.

anyway, Camp Fellowship is going well. I get to act like a kid all week and get paid for it! woot! okay, that's not exactly it, but it is an awesome job. there's not much room for boredom, and everyday you've got the chance to make kids smile. I love it.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
-Ephesians 2:8-10

What Happened?

Isn't it funny how you plan to do something and you never get around to it. Whoops. Yeah. Well, I'm on the winter break of my first semester in college now. So yeah, I survived. It seemed like I would barely make it at times, but here I am, a bit smarter, a bit wiser, and a bit closer to God.



Well, I'm looking forward to some classes next semester, and there are some I wish I could avoid. But everything will work out. I know it will. I might not be able to do it myself, but I know Someone else who can do it, and my trust is in Him.



Anyway, that's enough for now.



Peace.

It's Been Awhile...

Wow. It's been awhile since I've posted anything. The summer went great, and now I'm at college. The older I get, the faster time seems to fly by. I can't figure this one out though: the faster time flies by, the older I get. Yikes. I better start posting more often so that I can have a hard copy of this time in my life, something to look back at in 10, 20, or 50 years.

Well, college is going well right now. I mean, other than stressing over all the homework (oh, I knew I would have a lot of homework. It's just that knowing about all the homework and actually doing the homework are two entirely different things. *repeatedly bangs head on desk*) and the long term projects due in a couple weeks that I haven't started (heh heh, yeah, I know. My bad). Yeah, other than that, I'm surviving college. I'm actually learning and growing and changing. Wow, it's been a great experience so far.

Well, I've got class in 15 minutes so I should probably start heading down to the room.

So long.
Farewell.
That big German word.
Goodbye.

The Prologue

I was thinking I better post once in awhile... but the wheels in my head aren't turning very quickly right now... so I'm going to post the prologue to my novel. It's short, but not so sweet. lol. Read it and you might discover what I mean.

The plane shivered as it tore through the air. It was falling, dropping out of the sky. Doomed to death, it would speed across the sky no more. It knew its end was coming. Screeching in protest, the aircraft screamed toward an island beach, but to no avail. Shuddering, trembling, quaking, it sped en route to its final destination: the white shore of the island.
The plane made its landing, if it could be called a landing, a few minutes before the sun disappeared into the ocean. The aircraft’s journey was ended, but its’ passengers journey, was just beginning.

yep... that's all for now.

-Jonathan

This Summer

So it's been awhile since my last post. I've had a lot of school stuff to do, but after tomorrow, I'm free for the summer. With summer comes a change in my lifestyle. With school out the window, I'll have more time to chat with friends, more time to read, more time to blog, and more time to write.

I'll be graduating on June 9th. Woohoo! Who cares. Just hand over the diploma so I can get on with my life. A day or two after I graduate I'm headed off to my first camp for the summer. I'll have to say I'm more excited about camp than graduation. Camp is where I'm able to get out of the house, out of my normal lifestyle, and just have fun and meet new people. I've got 3 camps and a mission trip during the summer. The mission trip is to Louisiana. Now that will be something to look forward to.

Okay, so that's basically what I'm up to for the summer, other than reading, hanging with friends, blogging and writing. Speaking or writing, I'm thinking about posting my novel on a blog... maybe. We shall see...

Well, that's all for now.

One Day to Live

I asked the question on my other blog, but I didn't really say anything. So...

If you only had one more day to live, what would be your wish and with whom would you want to spend your day? Would your wish be a benefit to yourself? Or would it benefit someone you're leaving behind? One day to live... one day to act... one day to do whatever you wanted to with... hmm...

Shouldn't we be living like every day is our last day? Our days are numbered and we don't know when our time here will be up. Once we die we won't be able to say all those things that we wanted to say. We won't be able to do all those things that we wanted to do. All those things left undone... all those words remaining unsaid...

But if we live like every day is our last, as if our next breath could be our final one, wouldn't we live life a lot differently? Would it be better? Worse?

Just something for us to think about...

Thanks for reading.

-Jonathan

Simply

I've made it so hard on myself, turning my back on how You felt
Seeing a lie that led me on, leaving a love that did no wrong
That's what it took for me to say

That You simply love
Despite all the stupid things I've done
It's hard to remember
That You simply love
Even though I know not what I've done
It's hard to remember

That You simply love

I've tried to do all this on my own
Not thinking once of what You've shown
All that I've done has blinded me
To everything that You have for me
I want You to know that I finally see

I don't know why I can't understand
I don't know why I can't comprehend

[ Lyrics found on http://www.metrolyrics.com ]

Setting My Mind on Where it Matters

Colossians 3:1-2

If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.

Colossians 3:23-24

And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.

I'm going to try to make these verses a part of my life. Everything thing I do will be for God. When I'm doing my work, I'll do it for God. When I'm giving a hug, it will be for God, not for my own gain. When I do anything, I want to do it for God, not for my own selfish ambitions. I'm setting my mind on where it matters.

Swells of Hope

More thoughts that were swirling around in my head. Tell me what you think.

Do you ever have those times when you just go "numb" and don't feel or care about anything that happens?

Or do you ever have those times that you feel completely crushed? Like you have no reason to go on living? Maybe someone died. Maybe a friend betrayed your trust. Maybe you hate yourself for things you've done. Or the way you act.

And then maybe you have those times when you're so happy!! Everything is right with the world!! You can hardly contain yourself and your smile is about to split your face in two!

Maybe you're somewhere in between these feelings.

These are all stages of life. These are all things we go through. We ride on the swells of hope. You can only go down for so long until you start going up. And then, unfortunately, you can only go up for so long before going back down. Just keep holding on, whatever the circumstance. There's Someone above us who really cares what we go through. He is beside you every step of the way. Turn to His word. Turn to Him. He's really there. He really cares.

Life is good

Well, life is good for me right now. Trust me, life is better living it God's way. Wayyy better. Everything seems to be coming together. I have such joy in my life. I have the hope of heaven. Seek God and He will find you. Knock and the door with be opened to you. Seek and ye shall find. Don't worry about tomorrow. He's got it under control.

As dcTalk says in their song Consume Me:

Lovely traces

I can sense you in everything

The way that you move me

Takes me far away I seek no escape

I'm dreaming through your eyes

I am wandering through your mind

I'm overtaken by the way that you deliver me

I'm transcended

There's no place I'd rather be

Than here in heaven

Without you I'm incomplete

It's hopeless

You consume me, you consume me

Like a burning flame running through my veins

You consume me moving through me

Anytime, anyplace you invade my space

You consume me, you consume me

Wholly devoted

I immerse myself in you

Baptize me in your love

That's only parts of the song. You can find the rest at: http://www.metrolyrics.com/lyrics/151255/DC_Talk/Consume_Me

I'm trying to get both blogs up and running. It's coming along slowly, but I think it's going to be a project worth while. God willing, my blogs will impact someone, somehow.

That's all of my thoughts... for now.

May the love and peace of Christ be with you.

This blog is under construction

This blog is currently under construction. Feel free to leave any comments or questions. I'm new to all of this, but hopefully I'll get everything underway soon. I have another blog (view full profile) that has some information on it. However, the title doesn't relate to the blog as of yet. These are new fairly new endeavors. Well, that's all for now.