This is my life. This is what God taught me. Counseling from God’s Word

Hey y'all it's important to always listen to God's still small voice! God is always faithful and He is loving!  If you ever feel that you have gone off from the direction that God is leading you in, reevaluate your life and get back on the path God has for you!  Even if you doubt Him or if you lose focus He will always forgive you and He will always love you and He will always be faithful! While I was in Hawaii this summer I was thinking about coming back to Texas to finish seminary and at first I was only going to complete my Master of Arts in Biblical Counseling and then I was like I might really regret not completing my MDiv so I decided I would pursue both degrees.  I started off doing both degrees and I just felt overwhelmed.  I started thinking about why I wanted to pursue the MDiv and I couldn't really think of any reason why I would want to get it other than I had worked hard towards it and wanted to finish it. I am thankful for the knowledge that I have ...

Hey y’all, sometimes it’s easy to idolize those who go to really difficult and dark places and I’ll have to admit I used to be one of those people also.  I admit also though that I will probably never really know how hard it is in those places and how dark it is but it can be hard doing ministry y’all and hard serving sometimes no matter where you are. When you are willing to serve God and live your all for Him the devil doesn’t like it and I don’t think he wants to make it easy.  When you are in ministry people watch you closer.  I was reminded in my class today with Dr. Evan Lenow that that’s when you need to make sure you are walking in the ways of God so that even your enemies cannot say anything against you.  When you are in ministry it can be discouraging and depressing sometimes. Maybe you are just starting out in a church and not as many people are as involved as you thought should be or maybe you are going to a church that has been around for a while and the...

Hey y'all sometimes things can be discouraging.  Sometimes things can be really challenging and hard.  Sometimes life can seem lonely and it seems like you have to go through things on our own.  But if we focus on Jesus we never really have to go through things on our own.  We have the Holy Spirit in our lives and the Word of God to help direct our path.  God also puts people in our lives to help us along the way. Hey y'all, it is important to read the bible and focus on God and to listen to His still small voice.  This summer I was able to help at the youth group at Waialae Baptist Church in Honolulu.  I felt like God was leading me to come and help with the youth at Birchman but I wasn't sure if it would work out and was kind of nervous asking.  I've also thought about getting back into music at Birchman.  Part of me hasn't wanted to though and I'm not sure why.  Then the youth minister at Birchman, Brian Fitzsimmons, was talking ton...

I think learning how to be more independent taught me the most about having better relationships.  Yes you read that right haha.  Let me explain now.  This summer has taught me that I don’t need people as much.  It’s taught me that I can do things by myself.  I have learned not to be so dependent on certain people and to not let what they think of me control me.  Before I wanted certain people to like me and I would crave their attention.  Being in Hawaii I realized people are busy, they have things in their lives going on and they are not always going to be able to do things with me.  I learned that if I wanted to do something I might have to just go and do it myself and that is ok.  But I think learning that along with learning other things this summer taught me more about loving other people and caring about other people and how to serve people better.   In learning everything I’ve learned it’s helped me to have better relationships w...

I made it back to Southwestern at about 11am Monday morning.  It was everything I thought it would be and yet different.  So much has changed and so much is the same.  There are so many people that are gone and it makes me miss them.  There are a lot of new people also. So much has changed about me also.  I feel like God really used the time I was away and this summer to change me and make me more like Christ.  This simmer made me more independent and made me realize that I can do things by myself.   If people are busy or for whatever reason cannot do things with me and I want to do something I can go out and do it by myself. What has also changed is the way I see others.  I am trying to think less of myself and more of others and am trying to love and serve others better.  I’m thankful for the people god continues to bring into my life to stretch and challenge me and to make me more like Christ! I believe God wants to do something real...

This is something that is on my heart.  As the church we are not to be living for ourselves.  We are not to be self focused and self centered.   We are to humble and not proud.  We are to build each other up.  We are to encourage each other.  When we see a brother or sister living in sin we are to speak the truth tothem in love.  They might not even be aware that what they are doing is wrong.  We are to disciple other believers and show them how to pray and read the Bible.  We are to serve the body of Christ in love.  We are to put others above ourselves.  We are to show others grace and patience and above all, love.

I’ve felt really reflective lately for some reason.  This post is going to explain a lot about my life going forward and my life from a backwards look also. Since January at least October or November of 2017 I have been praying about going to Hawaii and praying about moving to Hawaii.  If you would have asked me a few months ago I would have told you I am going to do everything I can to try to figure out what I can do to stay in Hawaii permanently...and I did....but more on that later.... This summer I prayed about and talked to different people and looked into different ways that I could stay in Hawaii.  After about two weeks or maybe a month after being in Hawaii I had peace about going to Texas.  It was like God was telling me that I was going to go back to Texas and finish seminary.  But I didn't want to go back.  I loved Hawaii and I didn't want to leave.  I had been so convinced that I was going to stay in Hawaii that I didn't see myself movi...

I’ve been thinking a lot about life lately and about the people God has brought into my life and what they have taught me.  Tonight I was thinking about my friend and mentor Kaycee.  Kaycee passed away from sarcoma cancer a little over two years ago.  Whenever I see butterflies or flowers I think of her.  I remember we started meeting to go over the heart of the problem.  She told me that when she first saw me across campus that God told her we would be friends.  It was because of her and her husband Matthew that I started going to Biblical Counseling and because of that my heart was able to  start to be healed by God and my life has been changed so much.   People talk about abuse but sometimes it doesn’t even have to be physical or mental abuse by another person.  Sometimes it can just be the lies you tell yourself.  You can compare yourselves to others; you can tell yourself that you are not good enough, not pretty enough, not talented...

I’ve been working on Hawai’i Aloha some more on ukulele and just more on my technique on ukulele so I thought as I get closer to the end of my time here and get ready to say Aloha Hawaii for now I would record a cover of Hawai’i Aloha on the porch of my apartment in Hawaii.  I’ve been trying to learn how to play the roll strum and have taken some lessons from Aldrine at Ukulele Underground.com and have talked to some of the other people from their website as well as watched some videos Aldrine recorded there.  I was watching one of his videos today and with the suggestions Kahai gave me and watching Aldrine play on his videos it just finally clicked on me what I was doing different than him and it started helping me to play the roll strum a little more naturally.   I really love Hawaii.  I feel like there’s almost no other place that is more beautiful.  I love the people and the land and the spirit of Aloha.  I hope to take that wherever I go.  Maha...

Have you ever been sitting by someone and they are just continually being negative or taking things and looking at them negatively? It can be frustrating and discouraging.  I can definitely be negative myself but I try to look at things positively.  No matter what happens to me I try to look at it as something God is using in my life to help me to become more like Christ.  I try to look at life with the outlook of Romans 28:9-10 and that is that God is working out everything for my good and that good is to become more like Christ. If something goes wrong I try to think well it could have gone worse or tomorrow is a new day and a new chance.  I know not everybody can think like that maybe or wants to think like that but I want to.   I think if we prayed and asked God to help us think that way and showed the people around us a little more love, grace and compassion this world would be a better place.  We need to live with each other as fellow believers in Chr...

Three days ago I was able to have an ukulele lesson with Aldrine Guerrero from Ukuleleunderground.com. It was really encouraging and went really good.  I’m still amazed that I get to take lessons from someone so amazingly talented. If you haven't been following my blog, besides coming to Hawaii this is pretty much my dream come true.  I started following Aldrine's videos on Youtube a few months before I came to Hawaii and now have been in Hawaii for about three months.  The first song I heard him play/teach was Aloha 'oe.   Aldrine is super sweet and patient and encouraging also. He's very professional and is really good at teaching.  I was hoping to go to Kauai this time and see him play in person and meet him but I think it will have to be next time.  I'm hoping to move to Hawaii in a year or two so it might still happen! Lately,  I've been working on Hawaii Aloha.  He's been helping me with playing the ukulele,  and getting more of...

As my time here in Hawaii is coming to a close I’m thankful for everything that has happened to me. I’m thankful for the really good times and I’m thankful for the really challenging times because they have all challenged me and helped me to become more like Christ.  I feel like I will be forever changed by my time here.  It has helped me to reach a new level of growth.  It has helped me to continue to grow in areas God has been working on in my life and has helped me to see more clearly the things that He wants me to change.  It has helped me to see how selfish I really am and how self-centered I can be.  It has helped me to learn how to really serve people.  It has helped me to see people through the eyes of Christ and how to love people more.  It has helped me to be more independent but also more dependent on Christ.  It has shown me the importance of seeking Christ more and spending time with Him.  It has helped me to listen to people bet...