This Christmas I want to take some time and reflect on my life and those involved with it. Please read at your own risk, the thought process and the way I write might scare off the most non bias reader. So let me say sorry in advance.
My Faith:
I have owned up to being a Christian all my life however never owned my faith until my later parts of high school. Jesus is the most important person in my life. I understand the sacrifice He made for me and live every day in total shock that someone like Him would die for someone like me. To be honest it amazes me! I’m what I like to call a patch work Christian. I have never stated that I have it all together and nor will I. I’m totally full of imperfections and have no reason to hide it. I , like the rest of humanity am saved by grace and try to live every day worthy of the gift of salvation. I’m a youth pastor at an incredible church and I have been told that, “When you live in a glass house , don’t give rocks for people to throw at you”. I totally agree with this statement however I like to be real and genuine about my faith. pastors that claim to have it all together probably have had too many stones thrown at them. I on the other hand, care so very little about peoples perceptions of me. I believe, for me to ever effectively minister to students, I can not live a life that is not completely open. I tell my students about my flaws and hope that we together can let the hand of God help us in our areas of weakness . If you do not agree with this type of thinking, I really could care less. I would hope that those reading this understand my heart.
My Family:
Words can not express how much my wife means to me. We have gone through many difficult times in our marriage and have always grown closer to each other on the other side of our challenges. Lisa is my best friend, confidant, helpmate, lover, and everything else in between. I hope that one day I will be as good of a husband to her as my father has been to my mother. This year has brought so many incredible firsts for us. We have a new addition to our family named Raelynn. She is the most beautiful little girl who totally has her daddy’s heart. I would do anything for my daughter and will never allow anything or anyone come between that. Lisa and I both agree that the Lord has His hand on her life and that she will grow up to be a mighty woman of the Lord like her mother. I believer that she can be anything she wants to and expect great things from her life. To the poor boys that want to date her, you better walk right with Jesus or I will send you to an early homecoming with the Lord. I know by her good looks and great personality, the boys will be lining up at the door to meet me;) I am excited to see what God has in store for Lisa, Raelynn and I in the coming years.
My father and mother or the most incredible parents a guy could ask for. I pray that I am blessed with same the patients that they had for me for Raelynn. If you only knew the hell I put them through, lol. I can honestly say that I am the person I am today because of the family I am a part of. My dad has always, and I mean always been a christian example to me and showed me its okay for men to love Jesus. My mother has shown me how to take on more then one person can handle because the size of their heart and love for people. Even though I joke around with my mom about her crazy life ,I understand the sacrifices she made for me and my brother and I’m grateful for them daily. My brother Jeremy, has been the most consistent friend I have ever had. Even though he wants to act like my father all the time, I understand its because he truly cares about me. I believe that my brother has an incredible anointing on his life and I expect him to do greater things in ministry that I could ever hope to fulfill. Jeremy is my youth pastor! I learn from him all the time. I pray that this year will be full of amazing opportunities for him and that he will remember “that the later his greater then the former”!
My Friends:
Wow, the things I could put right here… I am blessed to say that my friends from childhood are still my friends today. We have done some really stupid stuff growing up and I praise God that we made it out with all our limbs attached. To my friends that grew up in Ohio with me, we have had some amazing times! To my friends that our now in my life, I cherish the time that we spend together and I can’t wait for this next year to create some more lasting memories with you. You have incredibly impacted my life and I praise God and pray for you daily.
My Job:
I thought I was supposed to be a teacher but God had incredibly different plans for my life. Lisa and I are blessed to be the student pastors at Redemption Point Church. We get to serve with the most talented and anointed team of people. The saying “Iron sharpens iron” is an understatement. Pastor Kevin Wallace is not only my pastor, he is my boss, spiritual father, and mentor. Lisa and I are blessed to be called your staff. I am excited to see what God has in store for our church this year.
The student ministry that Lisa and I are over is called Firebrand Youth. What an honer that it is to say that we are your pastors. I literately have the best team in the world. If you only knew how much I couldn’t do without you guys. It has been wonderful to watch you serve the body of students and see the incredibly leadership qualities you all possess. To the team, get ready for 2012! I believe it will be the most incredible season of ministry we have ever been in!
When it comes to my students, I am fighting back tears as I write this. You will never know how much you all mean to Lisa and I. We have been your pastors for five years and I can honestly say that I have memories of all of you and stories that I could share with people on the street about how amazing you are. I know many of you have gone through some difficult times in your lives and we have cried a bunch together, however don’t forget who this is all about. Jesus will always give you the strength and hope for tomorrow. If any of you settle for less than Gods plan for your lives, I will hunt you down and remind you of how faithful God was and is to you! I can honestly say that Lisa and I don’t have favorites. Every single student has made an incredible impact on our lives and that we love them all so very much!
My Mentors:
I will list names here because I can clearly identify all of you as people I respect and want to be like. In no particular order: Dave Guyselman, Kevin Wallace, Tim Cushman,Dean Sikes and David Horton. You all have taught me what it means to be a man of God. My prayer is that the Lord will bless me with the wisdom and knowledge you possess. When I talk to any of you, I walk away saying “Thats who I want to be like when I grow up”! Please, continue to correct me for the stupid stuff I do. I value your correction because I know you love me.
This year I can say I am blessed! I pray that 2012 will continue to pour out blessing in all of our lives. In my closing thought, I want to bring up something that Lisa said to me the other day. Jesus is coming soon. I know we have said it so many times and then acted like He is so far off from his return, but I challenge all of us to seek the face of God more then ever. I don’t want anyone to miss out on the gift of salvation and desire that all my friends, students and family will be in heaven with me when that day comes. If you have no clue what I’m talking about and want to know more please call me:423-310-7144. That is my cell phone. I believe Jesus is coming soon and want to make every day count until he gets here.
Thanks for taking the time to read a little about me and the people I care about.
Blessings,
Josh
