A Turning of Events...

HEY WORLD!!!
Well, right now you are reading the words of an extremely blessed, thankful, and off the wall crazily happy guy. To say that I've been having a good day would be an understatement.
Where do I start? Well, I know. First, I love God. He has been totally hammering me with truths about who He is and His plan and purpose for my life, and He has been opening my eyes to the blessings that surround me in everyday life. My family, whom I love beyond this life of mine. My friends, like my buds on my hall, especially my roomie. Though there is so much that is different about us, we are SO MUCH alike. We seem to always be learning the same things at the same time. God has blessed me so much through Dalton. He's a great brother and friend, as well as a source of wisdom and godliness. Health and present situations are another thing that I've been realizing God has blessed me with. To be here at College, learning and growing in God's Word, and surrounded by people who influence me greatly. It breaks my heart that I am here and there are so many people all around the world without the influence and blessing that I have here. I know that I did nothing to deserve them.
And now for the BIG news. Well, it's been a while, and there has been something(or "someone" rather) that has happened in my life. You see, there's this girl...(as most stories begin)... and ya, what can't I say about her? I'm totally smitten. I would have to say that the best thing about her is her love for God. She desperately wants to follow Him and make Him first in her life, as hard as that can be sometimes (believe me... It's something I struggle with at times). She is an amazing friend and person. I've known her for about 3 years but have been getting to know her more and more lately in the past 2 months. It all started when a friend said to me after we were hanging out with her - "There you go, Josh...Krista's(that's here name) a great girl...you should go for her." - well, at that point and time, I didn't want to even think about a relationship or anything. I was fairly content in my "niche" of singleness. I said that to my friend too, and I was brutally honest. The rest of that day, his words kept ringing in my head. I mean, I knew that she was a great girl, and I came to the conclusion that there was no way that she would think the same way about me. It really wasn't possible, because she was this great all-star basketball player, crazy about God, and a friend to everyone, and I was this small town boy who sang in a choir and made funny noises with my mouth (farting noises, and beatboxing).
Throughout the next few weeks, I don't know how exactly, but I somehow ended up hanging out with her more and more. We had some sweet convos and just enjoyed hanging out. It was great. I was really afraid about saying anything or asking if there was anything more than a friendship, until we were heading back from Regina one weekend after hanging out with friends and watching her sister in wrestling provincials. I opened my mouth (very nervously), and spoke about what I thought about her. I totally wasn't expecting her to feel the same way. In fact, I was almost sure that she wasn't. But it turns out that she was kind of feeling the same, and was afraid that I wasn't. So that started a series of long convos, discussions, and "hang out" times throughout the next few weeks. Then, just last night, March 29th, 2005, It became "official". So ya, maybe you know now why I'm really happy. I can't tell you about how great it is.
So what the next few months will hold, I don't know. She'll be treeplanting this summer in BC and I'll be in Toronto and at camp in NS. But all I do know is that I have some serious learning and growing to do. I realize that I am incredibly inadequate (and unworthy) for the blessings God has given me, but God IS adequate. I pray that He will be my guide. I don't want to mess things up. I want to be a good steward of what God has given me (which is a lot) and turn it all back to praise and glory for Him. That's my prayer. If any of you are reading this, I would especially appreciate prayer.
Hang in there, sportsfans...there are sunny days ahead, and a God who is greater than anything we could ever know.

josh

When Your World Falls on top of you....

HEY WORLD!!!
It's me again. I'm back to the usual deep thoughts and topics. This week has been super good. Things are going very well with assignments (though I've been busy), relationships and the like................until......tonight. To be honest, there has been letdowns as of the past few hours. My roomie is going through a really tough time trying to get his appeal accepted so that he can graduate in a few years. It's so hard to see someone you care about so much hurt and go through things like rejection and struggles for NO REASON AT ALL. It makes me mad. And the really hard thing to deal with is that I can't do anything about it (for now anyways).
And, as is common in a college student of the age of 20's life, relational problems have found me, just like they always do. It is a situation that I would not want to touch with a ten to the exponent of 1000 foot pole. It is a tearing situation between three/four friends, and it leaves me feeling like I'm in the wrong, or that I'm helpless. In this situation, almost any way that I act will lead me to hurt someone, and most assuredly even myself. It is an extremely tough decision.
What do ya do, world. If you know, please let me know. Well, in the words of a very, very, very wise man (my roomie) "Whatever....It's in God's hands. I can't worry about it". There can't be more truth in the universe than that. That is the best place for it to be.
hang in there , sportsfans, I'm rootin' for ya.

josh d.

Tripping at the Finish line?

It's been a while...

HEY WORLD!!!
I'm BACK!!!! I am deeply sorry for the long wait and being so long to blog again. I am glad that this tiny site of mine is still up and running. So, what's been happening with me in the last few months?
Well, life just isn't the same. I'm learning so much about people, God, and myself. Every day is both a risk, and a gift. Kinda neat, eh? A risk of adventure, to lay it all on the line for something new or the same old thing. A gift, in that every day is filled with new experiences along with the same people as yesterday or new ones. It only gets better. Yet it all comes down to the way that we look at it. What do you focus on? Positive? Negative?
As uplifting as it is to look at the positive, I once heard Jason Germain, keyboardist and vocalist of the Christian group Downhere, say that there is something so depressing about the Christian life (he was speaking about his favorite song that he wrote, "So Blue", which speaks of the Christian's life being one that is "blue"). I do think that to some extent that he is right (maybe I/he could be wrong). But, for the sake of asking, do you (the reader) think that we, assuming you are a Christian, are living a life that is to be full of blessings? Jesus himself said that the world will hate you, as they hated Him. And when we look around at all the hurt in the world, and how sin entangles and drowns so many people who never had a clue, there is something extremely depressing about that. And to think that we are unable to do things on our own, but only through Christ who strengthens us (that's good news, but we ourselves are inadequate). Shouldn't that affect our lives? After all, as a professor of mine and amazingly wise man of the faith once said - "Ministry is not for wimps" (as depressing as it may be). I would even go as far as to say "The Christian Life is not for wimps". Who actually wants to be persecuted, beaten, hated, and forsaken by all? But the good news is we're not. The good news is we aren't alone. The good news is we do have strength, not in ourselves but in something eternal. The good news is that we have a relationship with the Almighty God, Creator of Heaven and Earth.
Just a thought....Hang in there sportsfans...it's good to be back.

josh d.