I recently watched a documentry about Fred Rodgers, better known as the famous children's show host, " Mr. Rodgers." I didn't even mean to watch it at first, and frankly, I started to change the channel cause I figured it would be kinda lame. I couldn't be more wrong. As I watched them tell the story of this amazing human being, I found myself start to get very emotional for some reason. Not only because it was such a touching story, but because I actually enveyed this man.

Let me explain: Mr. Rodgers was above all else, a God fearing Christian man. But you don't hear to much about that. He donated to countless charities, and children's organazations, but you don't hear much about that either. He also won over a dozen golden globe awards, and was given the highest honor that a civilian can be given by the United States. But none of these things really mattered to Mr. Rodgers. As the story told, all he cared about, was that people would love one another.
They had celebrity after celebrity talking of their encounter with Mr. Rodgers, and how he had such a huge impact on their lives. From athletes, to politicians, to actors, to comedians, each one told in detail how much they loved this man, even to the point of tears, to spite, for some of them, only meeting him once! No matter the scenario, or reason for meeting, the story was always the same..they said he made you feel, at that moment, like you really were his friend. That he really cared for you as a human being, and really cared what you had to say. They said he made you feel valued. He made you feel loved.

They said he even took the sarcasm away from comedians when they met him, because he was so genuine, there was nothing to make fun of! The bottom line? He loved his neighbor as himself. He made people feel important, and yet, didn't exclude anyone. Many people didn't even know he was a Christian. But the way he treated people is the essence of Christianity. It's the way we would all love to be treated, and the way, we as Christians, wish we could treat everybody. It's amazing to me how big of an effect this one man had on so many lives, yet we never hear about it. But he left a subtle legacy of love. A legacy that said, "I'm not going to be afraid to show people that I love them, and that they shouldn't be afraid to be loved, or love others."

I found myself choking back tears at the end of the documentry, and dropping to my knees to ask God to let me love people like that. I saw all my insecurities and defense mechanisms, in front of me, and felt so silly about the fact that I let these things dictate my actions towards people, rather than Christ's love. Then it occured to me, that Mr. Rodger's subtle ministry of love had reached another person; me.
I thank God for the subtle, but powerful ministry he gave us through Mr. Rodgers, and I hope that one day, when I'm gone, that I can leave behind a legacy of love that makes people feel valued, and special, and important, and that lets people know the source of my love is found in Jesus Christ. Mr. Rodgers mat not have been "cool" by the world's standards, or even too much of a hero. But he was. He's now one of my heroes. God bless

Ok, bare with me for a bit..I hope those of you that know me, or have read my posts know where I stand on this issue, but I had to bring it up seeing as how I've seen so much of it lately on t.v.

Can you be gay and still be a follower of Christ?? The answer seems obvious to me, if you read your Bible. But recently I've watched a couple shows that feature people claiming to be both practicing homosexuals, and followers of Christ at the same time. At first, it made me furious for them to propose such a proposterous notion. Then, as I thought about it,it occured to me that this is a sin just like any other. Does God look more down on a homosexual than a murderer? A liar? A thief?

I know the bible calls it a detestable sin. But why is it that this isn't a sin that we try to help people come out of like we do the other sins? I know what you're thinking... you're saying that it's not like they are believers who stumble into sin; they are claiming to be believers, and yet actively participating in a sin that they don't see as a sin. But don't we actively participate in sin everyday?

But you know what else occured to me? The fact that a lot of these people might live their lifes more according to the Bible than the rest of us. And they claim to be believers! I hope you realize that I'm partially playing the devil's advocate here, but I think these are very relevant questions. More importantly, how do you minister to one of these people? Tell me what you think. God bless

We've all read Leviticus 19:28: " You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh on account of the dead or tattoo any marks upon you: I am the Lord." So it seems that every anti-tattoo argument is based primarily on one thing... this single verse in Leviticus. Is it valid? I think we need to look at the context. I feel, as a heavily tattooed Christian, it is incumbent upon me to try to educate other Christians about the old law and the new Law established by Christ, and how it relates to us now.

Paul himself tells us that if we are to keep one law, we are to keep them all. We all know what the New Covenant represents. So why do we ( tattooed Christians) still get looked down upon?! Do people not read their Bible? I don't understand it. I bring this up because my gitlfriend got into a discussion with some "Christian" ladies at her work, who just couldn't believe that her boyfriend was in leadership at his church, and was covered in tattoos. My girlfriend, being the sweet, humble, pacifist she is, just killed them with kindness, and tried to make her point as best she could, through their barage of insults towards her being young, and misinformed.

This of course, hurt her feelings, but I told her not to worry. It's they who are misinformed. I gave her several verses that show the dynamic between levitical law, and Jesus,( the New Covenant ). Acts 10:43, Gal 5:4-6, Rom 7:6, Phil 3:8-9, 2 Cor 3:5-6, Acts 10:28, and so on. There are many more, and too many to write out. You can read for yourselves. So why, in our day and age, is this still such a "hot button" issue?
I'm completely aware of the social implications of tattoos, and the fact that there are a lot of thugs and criminals out there with some nasty ones. I arrest them every day. But I think it's pretty shallow, and, if I may say, ignorant, to lump every person you see with tattoos into the category of a thug or criminal. And how dare you if you doubt my salvation, or saving knowledge of Jesus Christ because of my tattoos!

Matt:22:37-40, tells us to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, and mind and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. It says that on these two commandments depend all the laws and the prophets.
This verse inspired me to come up with a new slogan for our college group. " I am third." I put it on the back of our t-shirts, so when when people ask what it means, we can explain..It's God first, your neighbor second, and yourself third. It also inspired me to get my most recent tattoo a couple days ago. It's a cool looking " 3 ", on the inside of my wrist. A small reminder to myself of where I stand.
God bless

They say God works in mysterious ways...Man did I ever experiance that first hand a few weeks ago! This is actually kind of embarrassing, but a little over 2 weeks ago, I went up to Seattle to, dare I say it, try-out for " American Idol". I know, I'm a nerd. I was blessed by a friend with the finances to go, and encouraged by numerous people, so I figured, " What the heck!? what have I got to lose?" So the day of the audition, I'm standing outside in the pooring rain for over 2 hours just waiting to get inside. Finally, when we get in, after some silly games, they start the auditions.

Well of course the group I'm in isn't gonna go for hours, So I figured I better go warm up.( By the way, this was the biggest turn out ever. over 9000 people). I go out into the hall way of this big sports arena, and I find a wall, and I sit down and start playing my guitar and singing a worship song. A little ways into the song, a guy comes up and starts singing with me. I was soo pumped to find another christian there. We talked for a bit, and I mentioned how cool it was that we met, and that the whole time I was there, I haden't seen a single church. Thats when he told me that Seattle has less churches per capita than anywhere else in the U.S!

So we start playing and singing some more, and another guy sits down with his guitar and starts playing. Another believer! Now heres for the amazing part...After about an hour, all kinds of people were comming from all over the place, and I am co-leading worship for over one hundred people!! It was amazing! All these strangers worshiping Jesus!! Hands raised, eyes closed, arms around eachother! It was an awesome sight! People even came from the auditorium to say that they could hear us inside!! WOW!

This went on for close to 3 hours! 3 hours of just praising the Lord. Afterwards, we all prayed together, and went back. Soon, it was my turn to audition, and my voice was almost completely gone. 3 hours straight of worship had done me in. And you know what? I could have cared less! I was soo electrified by what God had done earlier, that I didn't even care if I auditioned. It was amazing. I still get goosebumps telling the story.

So God turned what was a selfish motived trip, into one of serving through worship. Before, I was telling myself that I would be soo disapointed if I didn't make it. After what God had in store, it was better than anything I could have possibly imagined. God is good, all the time. He's faithful to the unfaithful. His ways are so much higher than mine. He is amazing. He really does work things out for the good of those who love him, and are called according to his purpose.
I feel so absolutely blessed to have been a part of what took place that day in Seattle, Wash. I will never forget.

I've been doing a lot of thinking about spiritual gifts, and how they should be used. I know all the verses about gifts, and I know that there are so very many different kinds. What I've been thinking about, is how to use a particular gift I have been given, and weather or not it would be wrong to choose a profession that would totally take me away from utilizing those gifts for quite a while.

God has given me the gift of music, and has put a desire on my heart to minister to people through it. People tell me all the time that I should do something bigger with my gifts, and I feel that I would like that. To God's glory of course. It's just that the career that I'm about to make full-time, would take me out of that serving capacity. So is it wrong to not use your spiritual gift(s)? I mean, the occupation I'm in I enjoy very much, and I get a chance to minister to people in a different way, but it's not the same.
I just can't help but feel like I've given up on my dream to use this gift because it's too hard. Also because I have soo much pressure on me to "grow up" and start a career, and get a house, a wife, be stable etc. So what's the answer? I still haven't figured it out. Maybe there's no clear answer? Maybe it's in front of my face? Maybe you can help?..... God bless