Reaching out to the Lepers of the world

HEY WORLD!
It's been quite the week. I've been exhausted for a lot of it, and busy.
I've been learning a lot lately in my classes. They are all SO deep. Just tonight I was working on this project for Pastoral Theology about a deceased preacher and their ministry. I chose St. Francis of Assisi. Wow. What a life. I watched this documentary on his life. Talk about somebody who went hardcore for what he believed in. He had it all at the beginning of his life. Yet he gave it all up to live a life of "simplicity". Although called such, it definitely was not a simple life. It seemed like an adventure. Day after day living among lepers, beggers, and the poor and broken of the world. What a ministry.
Something in particular hit me about this individual. He came near the lepers - those who are shadowed from society and ridden of any human contact. They have never even touched another human being for years upon years. Imagine what you'd do if a man, perfectly healthy, came up to you and hugged you and prayed with you. I'd go crazy! I would begin to wonder if it was an angel or something. That's what St. Francis did. He saw the brokenness of these people and reached out to them.
Yet St. Francis wasn't the first person to do such. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ did the same thing, and he not only touched the lepers, he healed them. He brought them back to health. He did something that Saint Francis could not do.
This, I think is an important lesson for us all. We, like St. Francis, ought to go to the depths of this world and "touch" those who need love. We are to reach out in love, give up our pride, and love these people who are hurting. Also, we must recognize that it is not us who does the saving. It is by the work of God alone who saves and brings healing to others, not by us alone. He provides love and healing for those who need it and believe in Him.
This is just something that I was thinking about. Deep thoughts and such. So yeah, that's me for now. Have a great one.

josh dock

Encouragement....not because of us

HEY WORLD!!!
It's been a busy week in the life of Josh Dock, that's for sure. I've been learning a lot about organization and promptness in getting things done.
woof.
But it's been really good in the past day or two. I'm enjoying the company of friends and especially my lady friend. It is so great to be around her. She's my reward for the weekend, and getting all of my work done. What a sweet reward!!!
So today I was talking on the phone with my friend Brad's mom, and she was telling me all about the things that God has been doing her life lately. She's a great and godly woman. I've been learning a lot from her. I stayed at Brad's house for a month and a bit while completing my internship at a church. It's been quite the time. But anyways, she was telling me today that she was talking about me to a friend, and she mentioned something about "God shining through him". Her friend laughed, and said "what makes you say that?". She then had the opportunity to share about God working in my life to this non-Christian woman. THAT WAS SO COOL! I thought that was sweet. Now, this is nothing of my own doing, but of God. I am not trying to take pride in myself (to be honest, I was quite shocked that she said such a thing about me). I want God to be glorified. It was encouraging, nonetheless, to hear that God uses us even though we are so inadequate to be used by Him. He doesn't need us to speak to the hearts of others, but He chooses to use us anyways, to be examples to others, and to teach us to love others. What a great God we serve...
Right now I'm listening to one of my best bud's, Brad (who's mom I just talked about). He recorded a few songs here at Briercrest, and he is SUPER talented. He's a really good songwriter and all around musician. It is so sweet to see the ways God "shines through him" (if I may steal the common phrase). Sometimes I don't think he realizes how much God has blessed him with. What a great guy (and single.... hehe). But really, a HUGE heart. He's a great friend indeed. They are hard to find in this world (great friends, that is).
Well, that's all from me for now, folks. Hang in there, sportsfans...

josh

Through the Eyes of a Wanderer...

HEY WORLD!!!
How's it going? Things are going well with me. I'm back out here in Caronport starting off my fourth and final year here at Briercrest. WOW...what a change it is so far. I'm living in a trailer with two of my buds, Dave and Brad. TRAILER LIFE IS GREAT!!! My advice: everybody should be trailer trash at some point...it separates the men from the boys.
So yeah, it's been a while yet again. I have been heckled a bit by my good friend and ex-roomie Dalton to open up the floodgates of my mind and write another blog. He's such a great pal. This one's for you, roomie. Seriously, though, good friends are hard to find in this world. I'm glad I've got a great group of brothers such as Dalton to teach me about God's kindness, love and sincerity. It's been a huge help.
But back to the Briercrest scene. It's crazy. Everybody got married over the summer. I can't believe it. I can't even count the amount of people who got married or got engaged over the summer. Some sort of fad or something. All I know is that when I get married, or plan to get married, I do it out of love for that special someone and not because "everyone else is doing it".
Speaking of which, I am just crazy about my girlfriend. I am learning so much about how to treat her in the right way a woman is supposed to be treated. Lemme shout this one out to all the guys: we don't even have half a clue as to how precious and beautiful the hearts of women are. They hold within them a beauty only God can give. I praise God for allowing me to see that in my lady-friend. What a great girl. She's an encouragement, and she actually cares about me. I can tell by the way she treats me. She's a blessing alright.
In keeping with routine and tradition, I usually go deep on these things. So I'll drop a thought or two, for old times sake. Did you ever think about what it would be like if we could remember absolutely everything that we have experienced in our life? WE'D ALL GO CRAZY!!! We'd have flashbacks and nightmares that we'd relive all over again. A teacher of mine raised this question in a class today. It's a pretty good thing that we have the tendancy to forget most of the things. If we didn't, it sure would be a lot of stuff to store up in our noggin's.
But anyways, that's all from me for now. I'll drop in with some more deep stuff later. Peace out sportsfans....I'm rootin' for ya.

josh