The challenge of youth ministry.

Going into youth ministry, I was well aware that when I became the main guy, I would have the responsibility of teaching on a weekly basis. It never seemed to bother me though. In fact it did just the opposite. I was excited about sharing the issues that God layed on my heart. I have come to find out that its not that easy. Here are a few things that I sometimes catch myself doing.
1. Waiting until the last minute. I like to let the Lord lead.
2. Repeating myself. There are some things that I believe I say every single week.
3. Going over their heads. Sometimes they just dont get it. (I speak to jr. highers)
4. Putting them to sleep.
5. Not knowing how to handle the constant talking. There is one studentI have that no matter how many times I get on to him will not shutup. I have done everything except kick him out.
6. Struggling to find interesting topics to speak about.

Maybe I am alone in this, but I seriously doubt it. And I know that there is at least 1 and a half youth pastor gurus that read this blog so any advice would be greatly appreciated. (And yes I know I shouldnt wait till the last minute.)

Finish the sentence...

Okay, Treece tagged me so here it goes.


I don't know...if Im doing what I was called to do .

I talk...with a manly Texas accent .

I love...Family, friends, .

My best friend is tall, skinny, a ladies magnet, and he teaches high school.

My first real kiss... is coming soon I hope.

I hate it when people...talk on their cell phone when they are with other people .

Love is... scary.

Marriage is... Permanent

Somewhere, someone is thinking... Whets the purpose of life? I hope I have the opportunity to tell them.

I'll always... try my best to be the most loving Christian I can be, even though I sometimes fail miserably.

The last time I cried was because... Someone close to me died

My cell phone... cost me a lot because I go over my minutes every month.

When I wake up in the morning... I force myself to smile.

Before I go to sleep at night... I do pushups while watching Letterman.

Right now I am thinking about... how bad I have to pee.

Babies are... very pink and smelly.

Today I... was stuck in traffic all day. So CAl sucks!

Tonight I will... Go over my talk for tomorrow, watch the mavs play, cook some dinner

Tomorrow I will... Go to church, watch football, play a round of golf

I really want...to go to Texas, to buy an xbox 360, to make 100 friends, and a dr. pepper.

My First diet.

This is probably the worst timing ever considering that Thanksgiving is this week but I decided to go on Weight Watchers. I have been doing it for 2 days now and it is already killing me. IM SO HUNGRY! My goal is to lose 10 lbs by Christmas. Pray for me that I will not starve to death.

How bout them cowboys?!!!

I know there arent many cowboys fans that read this blog, probably not one, but I have to give Americas team their props for taking on and defeating the Unbeaten Indianapolis Colts. Tony Romo is the greatest qb since Staubach. GO COWBOYS!!!!!!

Today is the day!

Call me crazy, call me stupid, call me "the guy who has no life", I don't care.
Tonight I am going to the local Best Buy and I am going to camp out all night long for the playstation 3 that comes out tomorrow morning. Now you might be asking why I would do such a ridiculous thing. Is it because I am obsessed with video games? (no, I hardly ever play anymore.) Is it because I think this will be the best invention ever? (no, Xbox is better). The sole purpose for spending so many hours out in the cold is because they are selling anywhere from 1500 to 2000 dollars on ebay.

If I can spend the entire night camping out at Chick-fil-A for 52 free combo meals, I think I can do it for this. Wish me luck!

HOLA!

I spent the last 3 days with our student ministry team in Mexico. It was a great trip of bonding and working together. We take students down there every year to help build an orphanage in Ensenada. This trip we went to talk with the pastors and pray with them. It was fun but I seriously get sick every time I step into the country. I could seriously throw up right now, but I wont.

My favorite family member!

I have the cutest little niece in the world. Her name is Ahslyn and she is 4.
My sister went to Italy for 10 days on a business trip (I need to go into the skin care business) but that means that Ashlyn gets to come stay with us for 10 days.
The highlights of day one.

Walked our dog around the block.
Watched the movie "Cars"
Tried to teach her to tie her shoe.
Jumped on the trampoline.
Took her to McDonalds
Played with her toys
Brushed her teeth and put her to bed.

Im worn out. How do parents do this stuff everyday?

How do you recover from saying this?

Refusing to grow up...

First off, I have to apologize to the 2 people out there that read this blog. I have been in some sort of funk for the last few weeks and have been really inconsistent when it comes to blogging. Lets be honest though, you werent missing much. But I am back and I promise I will try my best to keep it updated. With that said....

27 years ago today, the world was introduced to me. It was a cold winter night in Dallas, TX. It was dark and scary but I kept pushing through. I finally made it out and here I am. I AM OLD! 27 is near 30. That is a depressing thing. I believe the reason I went into youth ministry is so that I can continue to be a kid no matter how old I am.

Birthdays are always a weird time for me. Every year, I spend a few hours to my self and try to self evaluate my life. I ask many questions including, Have I had a good life, Have I made an impact on other peoples lives, Have I used the gifts and resources that God has given me to the best of my ability? Most answers always come out "I think so, but I could do better."
And now that I am older, I begin to ask questions like "Am I in the right profession, should I be married with kids by now, etc?

All I know is that I want to do something big in this lifetime. Im not talking about skydiving, running with the bulls, or becoming famous. Im just wanting to make a difference in this world. I dont know if that is writing a book, moving to Africa, or something else, but I just dont want to be stuck in a bubble. But hopefully God will show me and show me soon. Does any of this make sense? Probably not..

That my friends are the things that cross my mind every year on that one day.