Words cannot even express how much this trip to Idaho meant to me. I could go on and on for hours and talk about all of the amazing things God did this past weekend, not just in my own personal life, but also in the Body of Christ as a whole.

Here are a few things…

The Body of Christ: I am so passionate about my spiritual family. I love the Church with all of my heart. It was so encouraging to see how the Lord is working in the lives of those living in the Boise/Nampa area. Also, I had the wonderful privilege of getting to spend some time with a couple of the interns at FLC (Special shout-out to Ky and Trey) and also taught one of their SOE classes earlier today. Priceless. I love that what I’m a part of is so much bigger than myself. One of my favorite memories of the trip was looking out into the sanctuary during worship while singing Revelation Song. Amazing. 

Life in General: The last three weeks have been very difficult. It’s been such an emotionally draining roller-coaster ride and none of it has made any sense until worship started yesterday morning. God showed up and made Himself so real to me, along with everything else going on in my life. Here’s the readers digest version: It is inevitable that we will face trials in life and sometimes our hearts will experience pain. It’s during these times when we must keep our motives right and declare that He is a good God. We press in and worship Him like never before. Our situation may not make any sense, but what we’re a part of is so much bigger than ourselves and the Body of Christ needs us to stay strong so that we can play our part. The life I’ve chosen to live affects the eternal state of many and I can’t afford to throw in the towel, because when the clouds go away, the sun will be shining bright and everything will make sense.

Mentors: I am so thankful that Pastor Marc has taken me under his wing. The last two and a half years have been amazing in so many ways and I will forever be thankful that he decided to become my “Modern Day Paul.” One of the reasons this trip meant so much to me is because it was the first one that we ministered together.

Evangelism: I had a very heartbreaking conversation with the girl that sat next to me on my flight to Boise. For a little more than an hour, she pretty much bashed me and bashed the church. The sad thing was that everything she had to say about the church was true, and the only thing I could do was sit there and apologize on behalf of the Body of Christ and encourage her that there are still Christians out there who are full of compassion and really do love people. It was a huge wake up call and it’s been challenging me in so many ways. (Future blog post waiting to happen)

So yeah, it’s been a great weekend serving FLC and it blessed me in so many ways.

Can’t wait till my next return!

Having fun with an amazing group of young people.

Hanging out after an AMAZING service. A night to remember!

Had a long day at the MP campus (Mill Plain) Ten hours to be exact, but it was good. Gonna grab a bite to eat here in a bit, relax a little, go to bed, then wake up and head back to MP and rock the set during worship tomorrow morning.

I love being busy with the Lord’s work. It’s one of the greatest feelings in the world.

We had a great service last night down at The Pearl. Pastor Frank spoke for the first time, ever! There’s a lot of great/exciting things going on down there and I feel tremendously blessed to watch all of it happen.

Today is Thursday, which means easy day! One class, no work, one meeting, worship gathering tonight. Should be fun…

“It”

They say the value you place on that which is lost will determine the sacrifice you’re willing to pay to find it, and the higher the value, the higher the sacrifice. But what if “it” doesn’t want to be found? What if you’re willing to make whatever sacrifice is necessary to find “it”, but “it” has left and doesn’t want to come back? What’s one to do then? I honestly have no idea. I wish there was an easy answer, but I don’t think there is.

Oh yeah, (talk about a rabbit trail) if you haven’t already heard of CompassionArt: Creating Freedom from Poverty, check it out! Here’s a clip of one of the songs on the album…

Believing His love endures forever, 

- Joe 

Amazing Grace

My Grandma called me today. I know, kinda random, but there’s nothing like a nice conversation with a woman who’s been there your whole life to cheer you up. I remember as a young boy growing up in the catholic church, she would often hold me and sing Amazing Grace. In a lot of ways, it’s “our song”. I had no idea what she was singing, but fifteen years later, I now know exactly what she was singing to me. Little did she know, the amazing grace of God would become the pillar of my life’s testimony. I’ve learned that when you’re walking through a pretty tough situation, it helps to just be and allow the grace of God to take you on a trip down memory lane. Because when that happens, you leave that “trip” holding onto every other time He stayed faithful to you. So, when our conversation ended, I hopped onto my iTunes and played Amazing Grace.

Selah…

I don’t understand life sometimes. Friends come and go. The people who are supposed to be there, aren’t. The person you want to be there isn’t, and even when you give something your absolute best, it still come crashing down on you. What’s one to do? I’m not sure, and even in the midst of a very confusing/frustrating situation, I must declare that God is a good God, because He is, even when it doesn’t feel like it. 

Really wanting something to eat, 

- Joe

Walking Through It

The last few days have been quite an emotional roller-coaster ride. Just when you think everything is fine, you find out it’s not, then before you know it, that one thing you’ve spent so much time investing in is gone in a matter of days, leaving you sad, confused, and very frustrated. If there’s ever been a time for me to keep my eyes upon the Lord, it’s now. With my new role at CBC’S Pearl Campus (Outreach Coordinator), I’ve found myself more passionate about evangelism than ever before. It’s been an honor to watch Pastor Marc do his thing for almost three years now, but in a sense, he’s kicked me out of the nest and now it’s my time to fly. It’s true that when a person taps into their passion, their spirit comes alive. Almost like a wick being lit by a match, inevitably birthing a God given fire in your soul. It’s exciting. Till next time…

Taking it day by day, 

- Joe

Journaling

If you didn’t already know, I am head over heels in love with journaling. I’ve successfully finished two journals since I’ve been a student at PBC and to be completely honest, I would much rather lose my wallet than to lose one of those little black books containing all of my crazy thoughts. With that being said, I recently finished a great book entitled Ordering Your Private World by Gordon MacDonald and I absolutely loved it! In it he talked about the importance of journaling and the different ways to journal. What caught my attention was when he started talking about how he personally journals by writing a word document through his computer instead of writing it out with a pen in hand on a piece of paper. So I thought to myself…hmm, I wonder what that’s like? So now that I’m more curious than Curious George himself, I have officially converted from writing in my lovely black moleskin to typing my journal posts on my lovely black MacBook. I’m not entirely sure how long I will do this, but I’m gonna at least give it a shot and see how it goes. One thing I know is that it is sooo much faster than writing my thoughts out on a piece of paper, and as crazy as my schedule is for a twenty-one year old bible college student, it seems like the best thing to do if I want to be a good steward of my time. Let the journaling begin!

Craving a chili-dog from Wienerschnitzel, 

- Joe

Spring Semester 09

Well, school is back in session and I can’t wait for my first class on Tuesday. We had Opening Chapel yesterday and yeah, it was fun. My class schedule consists of…

• Pastoral Ministry II
• Counseling Techniques
• Family Issues
• Building Leaders & Teams
• Passions & Values
• Hebrews
• Pastoral Apprenticeship

Getting ready to shoot for all A’s & B’s for the first time ever, 

- Joe

Post Script: Special shout-out to DD who surprised us all by coming back to help his sister get situated in the wonderful city of Portland. It was great seeing you!

Back to the Books

Christmas break was way too long. It’s okay though, because tomorrow I register for what I believe is going to be one of the best semesters at PBC yet. (I don’t say that often) The beginning of a semester is always great, but there’s just something different about the beginning of every spring semester. I’m not sure what it is, besides the fact that I moved back to Dorm 3, and I really don’t want to take the time to figure it out, but it’s different in a great way and we’re gonna leave it at that. Okay? Okay. I also found out I’ll be playing for opening chapel, and to be completely honest, it doesn’t get any better than that! Awesome, well, I hear IHOP has this sweet $3.99 pancake deal going on and because we’re starting the CBC fast tomorrow morning, a few of us are gonna go check it out and eat like it’s nobody’s business! It’s a great thing. 

Till next time, 

- Joe

New Beginnings

Oh yes, it’s that time again. Why does the beginning of a new year feel so good? Is it because it brings a sense of accomplishment? Or is it because we can look ahead, knowing that there are plenty of great moments in life waiting to be seized? I’m not entirely sure what it is, but I’m sure everybody can experience the joy of a new year in their own respectable way. For me, I’m excited about a few different things, but here are some of the goals that I’ve set for myself:

• No off days with God. I’m determined to go one whole year without missing one day of devotions. 
• Read 50 books. I really don’t have any particular reason for this one, I just want to learn. 
• Keep all of my grades higher than a C. Now that I think about it, this shouldn’t be a problem if I just get everything turned in…ON TIME!

I know, I only have three things, but these three things will affect every major area in my life on a daily basis. After all, great leaders aren’t built in a day, they’re built daily.

Craving a huge glass of milk, 

- Joe