blog praise

today i want to just rest a minute and use my marvelous blog to praise God.
lately, i've been going through a serious, radical transition in my life, and things are crazy!!! seriously, they are crazy! within a couple weeks i've moved to a new city, moved into a new appartment, got a new roommate, started a new school semester, joined a new church body, got a new smokin hot girlfriend, and started a new job. so, i'm beat, a little stressed, finances are really slim, and it feels as if i'm spinning in circles sometimes. however, i'm completely content with God's provision and wisdom He's given over the past few months to arrive at this wonderful place. i'm so stoked about the new opportunities each day to form new relationships, serve people, live the gospel, and learn new stuff about God and scripture. so, in the midst of all this chaos...I give a great big SHOUT OUT to our awesome Creator God for being so dang good to His children. God, i love You b/c You loved me first.

more boasting on my church

let me boast a little on my church again. this Christmas we took up a "Christmas Offering," with the aim of making Christ and His purposes for the world our goal for the season. so, the plan was that we would try to give enough money to:
1) Support international church planters that will be leaving from our church over the next two years -approx cost $120,000
2) Build a Habitat for Humanity home in Durham -approx cost $40,000
3) Support 4 new North American church planters- $40,000
Totaling: $200,000

Notice the goal of the offering was not for our own church expenses and budget. so, after the season is over and the offering has been received, the total amount given is $202,000. awesome! i love my church and our pastor. you should check out his blog post today about the offering and the gospel at http://jdgreear.com/

its official

most of you may not know that i've been pursuing an incredible girl for the past 2 months, but i have. i know this is new news...sorry i didn't call you. disclaimer: if you're on here today hoping for a deep theological post, sorry, scroll down a little ways:)

back in the fall, i met a girl named ashley, who lives in raleigh and attends a rockin church, The Summit Church. i was quite "WOWed" by her presence when we met for the first time, and when we surprisingly met for the second time at a "Mullets for Jesus" rally (j/k about the rally part), i had to get her number. so, after getting to know each other and hanging out and going on a couple dates, we're now a couple. yay! i know you're as excited as i am! so, attached on this post is a picture of my lovely and "hot" girlfriend. she's pretty wonderful! i'm blessed.

the poor & blankets

this morning i was reading the proverb for today, and came across a powerful verse. 14:21 says, whoever despises his neighbor is a sinner, but blessed is he who is generous to the poor. God has really been changing my view on the poor in my area and around the world. i believe it is the church's responsibility & the heart of Jesus to meet the needs of the poor.
so, my church is doing this incredible thing this sunday. our entire congregation has been given an opportunity to purchase & bring a new blanket to the service next sunday morning and drop it off at a huge cargo truck that will be parked outside. after the services, the truck will be taken to our city's shelters so the blankets can be given to the homeless and poor. more than likely we should have over 1,000 total blankets...maybe 2,000. wow!!! my eyes are tearing up as i write this. i love it. it moves me. i feel like i'm bringing help, hope, restoration, and a story that is unbelievable. a story that was started a long time ago by God Himself. a story of love to the peoples and nations across the globe. a story of rescue by His Son.
by the way, this is not our only interaction with poor one time a year, but rather it's an ongoing mission that our church feels we are called to do all year long, in every way possible. wow

psalm 34

last night i had a small but great feast in Psalm 34. it covers one of my favorite passages in
scripture. verse 8 is one of my life passages that talks about tasting and seeing that God is good. i love it. particularly last night when i read this psalm, the first verse really struck a chord with me. it reads, "i will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth." that is deep and rich for me. no matter where i find myself today or tomorrow or the next, and no matter how good or bad a day may become, one thing is sure, i will bless our awesome God at all times, and his praise and glory will constantly be in my mouth...at least thats my goal. wow. i don't know about you, but that makes me stoked (weird surfer word for being really pumped about something), and it keeps things in focus

christian subculture

for pretty much my entire life i've lived in christian subculture. this is what i mean by the terminology...christian subculture is trying to turn everything in life into its own christian thing. for example, we like to create christian schools b/c we want christian education for our children & we don't want them to be influenced by "the world out there." is christian school bad?? no. will i send my kids to christian school someday?? maybe. to further illustrate, we create our own "christian" coffee shops, sports leagues, bookstores, music, schools, tv stations, clothes, etc... So, what's the big deal about all these things Ethan?? the deal is that there is a temptation that we will create a christian huddle or hide-away so that we can have nice and tidy environments where people don't cuss, drink, or smoke, and in so doing, completely remove ourselves from the world around us.
if i remember correctly from Scripture, we are the light in a dark world. we shine the light and truth of Jesus Christ into a fallen and broken world, bringing hope and peace and restoration. if the light decides to huddle together and have environments away from the darkness, how will it ever shine into the dark??
solution?? lets stop creating so many "christian" things, and start stepping into the places where the dark live, work, and hang out. lets be a light in the darkness. Scripture never (to my knowledge) commands the darkness to come to the light, but rather commands the light to go into the darkness. i'm tired of being light shining on light.

my buddy's new blog

hey everyone, do yourself a favor and check out this new blog !!! Patrick is one of my best friends in the whole world, and i consider him a true revolutionary for the gospel. add him to your favorites, and swing by every now & then! http://patrickmitchell.blogspot.com/

prayed '08

last night there were billions of people staying awake until their timezone stepped into the new year at midnight. i was one. however, mine was probably a little different than most. some had a toast with champagne, some kissed, some shot massive fireworks, some danced, some sang, some rocked out to an unknown indie band. i prayed. i know that sounds like i'm trying to be better than you, but i'm not. i would've loved to have done most of the above. however, i was with some of my dad's church family down here in myrtle, and they did a pretty cool prayer deal. every new year's eve, they get together to hang out and eat food or have a bonfire, and then as midnight nears, they gather in a massive circle, hold hands, and pray it the new year. it was really, really cool. i was moved. i didn't get to kiss a hot girl, but it was still a good time.
i believe God's has awesome things planned for 2008 for His world, His church, & ultimately for His renown.