A short quote to think on

"Nothing is so strong as gentleness; nothing is so gentle as real strength"

Prayer Support Needed

This summer I will be participating in the local CEF ministry which includes attending a two week training camp, and then participating in five day clubs throughout the summer. For those of you who are not familiar with the ministry of CEF (Child Evangelism Fellowship), they are "a Bible-centered, worldwide organization that is dedicated to seeing every child reached with the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, discipled and established in a local church." I will be attending the training at a camp in Nebraska June 8-19. It will include one week of classroom training, and then one week of "hands on" experience (teaching some five day clubs). Then, throughout the summer, I will be what they call a "summer missionary". I will be helping teach different five day clubs throughout Nebraska. Of course, as with any missionary work, I will need prayer. Especially since I will be working alot with kids, which can get interesting sometimes.  So I want you all to please be praying for me throughout this summer especially during the two week training.  I am currently trying to get ten specific prayer partners commited to praying for me this summer, but I would really appreciate it if you all would keep me in your prayers as well.  Thanks in advance and God bless.

Love!!!

"A bell is not a bell til its rung,
A song is not a song til its sung,
and love is not love until it's given away."

Love is not merely a feeling that you can have for a person.  Instead love constitutes actions.  You must show your love through what you do.  You can go on and on talking about how much love you have for a person, but if you never do anything to prove that love, then it is worthless and not true love.  If you love someone, then prove it by the things you do!

Just a Piece of Paper

Last night I attended the GED graduation ceremony at Iowa Western (the community college I earned my GED through). It was a short ceremony that was really geared more toward those who were unable to complete high school, not those, like me, who had completed high school and just needed the certificate. But there were many good points that were brought out in the ceremony. One of the speakers talked about the statistics of GED grads. Another talked about his personal experience in earning his GED. But one of the speakers said something that really stuck in my mind. He said his sister used to get on him for all his “pieces of paper”. She was referring to his different college degrees, that she viewed as merely a piece of paper. I’ve heard that same comment made that a college degree is just an expensive piece of paper put in a nice frame. The speaker brought out the fact that in a way that’s true. If, in my case, I go through the effort to earn my GED, and then do nothing with it, then that piece of paper cost me about $85 and earned me nothing. If I go on to college and earn a bachelors degree, but then do nothing with it, then that piece of paper cost me a couple thousand dollars, and earned me nothing. And if I move on from college and go to a trade school, but do nothing with that, then that piece of paper can cost me over $100,000 dollars, and earn me nothing. So if you earn your GED, use it! If you get a college degree, use it! If you get a doctorate degree, use it! Don’t let them merely be wall ornaments gathering dust, because then they truly are “just a piece of paper”.




But as I thought about his exhortation, I realized that this is also true in the spiritual realm. We have been given a Book that has lasted over hundreds of years and its message is still just as applicable today as it was when it was written. We can find comfort, peace, rest, encouragement, and ultimately salvation in those blessed pages. But merely owning a Bible is not enough. You can go out and buy the most expensive Bible there is but it will do you no more good on your shelf at home, then it did on the shelf at the store. If you neglect to read God’s Word you will not find the comfort, peace, and rest it can afford. Many times people who own a Bible get a false sense of security. The Bible cannot show you the path to life if it lies unopened on your shelf gathering dust. You must read it in order to benefit from it. But just reading it is not enough. Many go through the motions of getting their Bible out to read it every day, but do not let it affect their lives. You must read with a heart open and willing to understand and obey. If the Bible does not change your life, it will do you as much good as an unused diploma. It will merely be “just a piece of paper”.

Slightly Busy...

Well the past couple weeks I haven't really been keeping up with posting.  And of course I have the usual excuse of being way too busy.  But I figured I'd do a short post just to let you all know what I've been up to.  Of course I have the usual of school and work at the ice cream shop.  I've kinda gotten a little more focused on my school since I plan to graduate this year.  I've got a couple "senior year projects" that I still need to finish.  One of them is a paper entitled "Why I Believe, What I Believe" (WIBWIB for short).  Another one of my projects has been teaching my youngest brother Matthew how to read.  He's a pretty good student and really wants to learn so that makes it easier.  We also have alot of church activities this month, mostly graduation parties.  Two Sundays ago the Stangl family did a fundraising concert at our church in the evening.  Thier son Ben is raising funds for a trip to Africa this summer, and thier daughter Ellie is raising funds to fund building an orphanage.  They asked me to film the concert so now I'm editing the footage.  That's keeping me pretty busy right there.  I've finished with phase one of the project and plan to give that to them next time I see them.  It's just the rough cut.  Now I'm going through and doing the more detailed editing.  Minor things you know.  So anyway, yeah I've been busy.  I'm working on coming up with a new post.  Can't think of what to write on though.  If you have any ideas please let me know.

Post #100... Thank You Mom

When I noticed that this post would be my one hundredth post I began trying to think of something special to post. Well with Mother's Day coming up, and certain other events, I decided to do a post just thanking my Mom for the great mom and teacher that she is. I recently began the process to obtain my GED. Since I plan to attend an online college, and I've been homeschooled, it seemed the best way to get a high school diploma that would be recognized at the college. I went and took the initial tests last Thursday. The first two were a reading and math evaluation. The tutor decided to try my on the highest grade level for each. After I finished he graded both and told me he was surprised to find that on reading I only missed one question, and on math I didn't miss any. He said he had never had that happen on the math test before. The issue had already come up before that I was homeschooled so he asked who did most of my teaching. I told him my mom did and he said to tell her that she did an amazing job. He then decided that I was ready to go straight to the actual GED tests. I came back that evening and completed the Reading, Social Sciences, and Literature tests. Then this Monday I went and took my final two Math and Science. I just got a call from them and discovered that I passed all five tests with an overall average of 95% and score of 696.  I should have my GED certificate within a couple of weeks.




Throughout this process I have become very grateful for the decision my parents made to homeschool me. My mom spent countless hours patiently teaching me day after day. Even on those hard days, where I wasn't the best of students, she still persisted. I feel that I was given one of the best educations I could expect and at the same time was also given many real life experiences throughout my school years. My mom has always been really good about finding interesting, hands on activities to teach us things we would never learn in a public school classroom. At my graduation I already have skills in plumbing, electricity, construction, farming, video filming and editing, accounting, and many other fields. My mom prepared me for the academic world but also for the business world. So a big thank you to my mom this Mother's Day. Of course I'm biased, but she's the best!