New Sermon Posted!

After a long wait, I finally have posted a new message that I gave for CCV's high school ministry.
The message was on the idea of temptation, and how David was tempted by Bathsheba. You can find it on the Right Pane of my Blog. You can also find it Here.

Temptation 2/22/09

Disclaimer

- Remember you are listening to a message for HIGH SCHOOLERS. What you find appropriate and what a 15-18 year old finds appropriate are COMPLETELY DIFFERENT

- Telling the kids to "FART" is not quite what you think.

- Glorifying sex AFTER marriage is a new idea for teens and should be embraced.

- I'm sorry for how many times the word boob is said in my message... but every time was for a reason though! Enjoy.

The Perfect Weekend Part 2

And so the endless night begins;

1:45 a.m. - Meliss falls asleep after playing board games with my family in my living room. I play regular Nintendo because there was no way I was getting sleep.

3:45 - After rolling around nonstop for about an hour, I told myself that I definitely was not going to be getting any sleep. I got up a little early and packed up the car with a tarp, lots of blankets and my blue blanket. I then woke up Melissa and told her the car was packed and started. Get ready, dress warm and get in the car.

4:20 - I did what any man does who will be on the road for more than an hour, I hit Wawa. I grabbed myself a 5 hour energy shot, a soft pretzel and hit the road bound for Ocean City New Jersey.

4:21 - Meliss fell asleep in the car... already.

5:50 - Meliss wakes up only to discover that we are at the beach! At this time it is extremely cold, but we brought a ton of blankets. We park at 11th street and make our way over to the beach. We get there and are obviously the only ones on the beach. We set up camp and tried to warm up a little. The sun at this time was just a little bit brighter on the horizon.

6:25 - The sky is beginning to turn several shades of pink, and sea gulls are starting to come out in mass numbers making that wonderful noise. I am starting to get nervous knowing that the sun will be coming up at exactly 6:50 (because I checked the weather channel like 4830803 times to double check)

6:50 - The sun finally peaks over the water. It is so quiet outside. All we can really hear is the sound of the waves and of course a couple of gulls. The sky is a million shades of pink. It was the third most beautiful thing I saw that morning. (obviously after Meliss and the ridiculously awesome ring) I am starting to sweat bullets. None of you guys who haven't been engaged quite understand how nerve wrecking that is.

6:52 - The sun is completely over the horizon, so I turn over to face Meliss and say the following: Meliss... I brought you here to tell you 4 special things about our relationship. (Meliss found this odd, because I always give points in sets of 3) The first thing is that there are going to be times like right now, when we are seemingly completely alone, and all we will have to depend on is each other. The second thing is that we must always chase what we love. We love Ocean City so much, it has a huge piece of our heart. I don't want my life to be about resumes or money. I want to spend my whole life doing things and going to places that I love. The third thing is that in our relationship we must always be reminded of the presence of God. When I look up at that sunrise, I can't stop thinking about how I don't understand how some people can see it and not believe that something bigger is out there. I want to be constantly reminded of the one who brings that amazing sight up every morning. And the fourth and final thing is the most important reason why I brought you here today... I have a very special gift for you. ( I was almost shaking... I pull out a felt black box and sit it on her knee. She looked me in the eye and said "I'm scared." To ease the tension, I made a classic Adam move. I then proceeded to tell her to not be scared, it's just got a little note in it that says "GOT CHA!" hah. She slowly opened the box. I then said, Melissa, will you except my gift... the gift of forever. Melissa then said, "ADAM! Say the official version!. I then said Melissa Jaworski will you marry me? She then kissed me and then tackled me. I then slipped it on her finger. We packed up our stuff because I had to get to church because I work there. Meliss called people the whole way back and couldn't stop looking at the ring.

That is how I asked the girl of my dreams to marry me.

The Perfect Weekend PART 1

I have some great news... Melissa and I are no longer dating. That is because she is now my fiance instead! I know. I can't wrap my mind around it either! So since I keep getting asked a million questions about it. I figures I mine as well Just give you guys the play by play!

It all started on Saturday, February 14th. I know what you are all saying... Valentines day, how cliche. But something else you need to remember is that February 14th is more importantly my birthday! This year we had agreed to celebrate my birthday as opposed to V-Day, because we never have before. So Melissa picked me up at 2pm Saturday and brought me to a location on the Perkiomen Trail with mountain bikes. She said, this date will point at three aspects of your life, and will have 3 different aspects.... the first is Adventure. We ended up taking a 15 mile bike ride down the trail. It was super muddy, but we had an awesome time. We got to chat the whole entire time. By the time we got back to her house, we were whooped.

So anyway, we got back in the truck and she drove us over to her mom's house. At that time we got showers. She got hers and then I got mine. When I got out of the shower her mom told me Meliss had gone out to do some stuff. 45 minutes go by, no Melissa. So finally her mom hands me a note and a blindfold! She drove me to our next location. I get there and remove the blindfold. I was in a saloon. Melissa had brought me to get a professional 1 hour massage! She has learned how to do it from the owner and was going to do it herself! I was amazed! Usually when I ask Meliss for a massage, she gives up 3 minutes later from hurt hands, so it was incredible. That part of my life represented Relaxation.

So at that time it was snowing outside pretty hard, so I drove. She told me to head toward King of Prussia, so I did. We ended up pulling in at Kildares. It was awesome. We had some authentic Irish dining. We were right next to a fireplace and it was snowing outside. It's hard to have a better dining experience then that! This part of my life represented Travel. The last thing we did was go back to my house and play board games with my family. I got second. Not bad... Shortly after that, Meliss fell asleep... and this is where part 2 starts! COMING SOON.

Yet Another Sleepless Night

So here I sit, almost 3 in the morning, and I can't sleep.

This is a common occurrence with me. I will lay down to sleep, and even if I am tired my thoughts will run wild preventing me from sleep. I will toss and turn relentlessly. It's not always bad thoughts, or thoughts about things I need to do the next day. It's thoughts on sermon ideas, relationships in my life, things I want to do better, things I don't want to do again... you know... everything. Many times the best ideas and most improvement I have done in my life have been thought up while rolling around under those blankets. I just wish I could do that some other time. So what I want to do is something very personal with you out there in blog land... When I can't sleep, many times I have to get up, turn on the lights, and pray to God. Pray for peace, so I can sleep, and wake up to serve him. I have not yet done that prayer tonight. I want to do that now, and I want to share it with you.

May I ask you respectfully read, or instead just switch to another web page, I'm sure there is something good on YouTube. Thank you.

Another Sleepless Prayer

Dad,

Here I sit with a million thoughts going on in my head. I am so jealous of all of the people I know who can just lay down and minutes later be snoring away. Their mind must be so calm, so at peace. I'm not sure yet if this is a huge blessing, but it feels more like a curse. I lay down and I think of the many ways that I might be able to help our ministry better. I think of all of the mistakes I have made in the last day or so. Although I know I have your forgiveness, I want to be better for you. I read a book tonight. The book nearly made me cry. The book talked about how people outside of the Christian faith look at Christians. It really made me think and ask the very hard question, am I at fault? That is a question I have been wondering about for a long time really. Also, I have been wondering where I will end up this summer, or beyond graduation. It effects so much of what I do right now... God, as you can see my thoughts are very scattered. I trust in you, I have such faith that I am willing follow you wherever that may be. I have already let you take the drivers seat and I have moved to the back seat... Yet I can't sleep. I humbly ask for some peace for my mind and heart. Take away my worries of this world. Give me strength to empty my mind. Please continue to watch over my family, Melissa, my friends, my church, my enemies, those who I haven't met yet and those in pain... I am so blessed beyond what any man deserves. Thank you for that. I will follow you regardless.

In love,

Your Son

Why Teenagers Think They Know Everything

I know most of you are probably saying in your head right now... "Wasn't Adam a teenager just a couple of years ago?" And the answer to that is yes. I want to tell you why that benefits me:

1 - Because it wasn't that long ago, I can resonate with teens a little easier. Being a teen is still pretty fresh in my mind.

2 - Through working doing youth ministry for the last couple of years I have been able to see not only the lives of teenagers, but the view of youth worker, and just how much they are about these kids.

So whether you have a teenager, you have had a teenager in the past or if you have had any interaction with this interesting species of human over the past couple of years, it is not hard to see that teenagers for the most part think that they know everything. The even funnier thing is... a big part of me can't blame them. Let me explain.

I have this strong belief that teens work through the science of "cause and effect." Yes, it is one of the few times you can ever say that teenagers are a science of any sort, but let me explain. Many times we have several burnt out leaders and youth pastors because the majority of their time dealing with teens is seeing the effects from the many "causes" they have had in their life. When a student comes in, and is breaking every rule that I lay down, it's not for no particular reason 99% of the time. This is a serious "effect" to a really nasty "cause" in their life. I want to take this and apply it to the concept of teenagers thinking they know everything.
I believe the majority of teens think they know everything because most of them feel that they have to.

The reason to teens feeling they have to know everything can be attributed to several things. The biggest reason being they haven't had much help putting the right "causes" in their life. The majority of the students I see on a Sunday night are either from families with divorce, single mothers, foster children and families that simply do not get involved in their students lives enough. The family is meant to be a child's main support system until they are able to get strong enough wings to drop from the nest. What is the teen supposed to do when that support system falls apart? What do you do when there aren't grandparents to share wisdom? What do you do when there's not a man telling your son how to treat a girl? What do you do when there is no positive mentors in your kids life? What do you do when you have no real roll model to emulate?

As a teenager, I will tell you what you do. You try to learn it all yourself. You will learn from the biggest stars in hollywood or music. You will learn from the things you read in magazines. You will learn from the movies. You will learn from myspace and the internet. You will try to learn from your LIMITED PERSONAL EXPERIENCES and most likely you will learn from your friends. Why? Because there is usually no better person or place to learn from.

I want to finish this post with a command and a call:

1 - I am in no way excusing the behavior of any teen using just the excuse that they didn't have good roll models. Many people have overcome such terrible conditions to be strong and capable people. There is still a sense of right and wrong in every human, and that is still an important factor. If you are a teen and reading this, then you will just have to take my word on this. You really don't know it all. I thought I did when I was 17, I didn't know it all, I promise. A real sign of maturity is when you are ready to sit down, admit you don't really know a whole lot of anything and listen to someone who has been there before. There will also be a whole bunch of teens who have great mentors and families that still think they know everything. That is mostly attributed to the fact that teens know more now than they ever have before. They just still think it's more than it actually is.

2 - I am calling for all of you parents and wise people of faith out there to do something about it. Edmund Burke once said, "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing." Teens are nothing to be scared of. The world needs more wisdom to be passed on. Nothing can replace years of experience. I will be the first one to admit that. I learn something every day from someone with more years under their belt. Imagine what a group of moms, dads, grandparents and mentors who are willing to pull up their sleeves and get dirty can accomplish. It is a force of good to be reckoned with... There are so many hands out there looking for answers. Grab one and help it go the right direction.

When Superman Can't Walk

If you have had any conversations with me recently, you have probably heard me jokingly say... "don't worry about, I'm superman!" I say this because I am constantly on the run trying to do it all, and barely ever taking a rest. (Which is not a good thing by the way) Well the unfortunate thing is Superman is going to have to take a break whether he likes it or not. Last night at my hockey game I was tripped and I messed up my ankle pretty badly.

From the first second I tried to "do it all" after I messed up my ankle, I knew that I wouldn't be able to. This is when I was reminded of a song I used to listen to by Good Charlotte called "When Superman Can't Walk."

So today after finally swallowing my pride I made my way to the doctors office who then quickly made me an appointment down at the local hospital to get an x-ray. It was actually the first time I have been in a hospital in over 10 years. (I am either extremely blessed or extremely lucky) Anyway, I find out tomorrow if I just have a stretched out tendon, torn tendon or a fracture. A fracture would be my worst case scenario. If that were the case, I would be down and out for quite some time. Hopefully it isn't that bad. All I could think about was the millions of things that I normally do that I would not be able to do; hockey, all the traveling, going on runs etc...

Something else that I was reminded about was my man Paul from the Word. This is the part that gave me a little more confidence. Paul's main objective was to spread the "Good News" regardless of whatever situation he was in. I get this image in my head of Paul getting arrested and being under close watch in prison. Security was so tight that they had his hand cuffed to a security guard or two for a little while. To any other person, this would have been seen as a huge road block from him sharing the Gospel... But in Paul's eyes, it was just another opportunity! He starts up a little conversation, and before you know it, he is trying to convince these security guards of the transforming message of Christ!

Then it hit me... I am such a wuss!

I really need to view whatever time I am out of commission (which is hopefully very, very short) as an opportunity to get creative and try some things I may not have tried before. There is always more than one way to do something. As for me, I'll retire the cape for a week or so... But I'll be back again soon... ((followed by awesome superhero stance and light breeze))

CHECK OUT GOOD CHARLOTTE'S "WHEN SUPERMAN CAN'T WALK HERE!

Why I Ran From a Pizza Place

The fight for discipline is not one that is easily won. As I had told you a couple of posts ago, I have been really trying to put certain disciplines in my life to not only better my life, but to near Christ in ways that never have before. Some of those disciplines are: working out often, organizing my mail, responding to people promptly and doing homework as soon as it is assigned. (which in college is almost a miracle) There are also some spiritual disciples that I am chasing such as meditation, frequent prayer, purity and Bible reading.

Sometimes these disciples sound nearly impossible. But the longer I am trying to practice them, I am finding a common idea that shield me many times from straying from these disciplines. That idea is the art of turning, and running.

I know that sounds, silly, and it might even sound cowardly, but I want to explain why it is exactly the opposite.

The hardest part of remaining pure is having the temptation of hotness in front of you. The hardest part of remaining in good physical health is having the temptation of "good foods" in front of you. The hardest part of remaining in prayer is having the temptation of spending your time doing something more exciting yet less spiritually fulfilling. The one way I have learned to fight these temptations was using the art of turning and running. Everywhere you go you will be faced with the temptation to lose these different disciplines in your life. YOU ARE IN CHARGE AND CAN NOT LET THAT HAPPEN... This leads me to my story...

I had just gotten done getting my hair at the Hair Cuttery in the shopping center by my house. It is so convenient that everything I need is right there. My gym is right next door, and I have been spending a lot of time there. So I walk out of the Hair Cuttery and immediately I am struck with the most incredible, Godly aroma's I have every smelled. Honestly, heaven must smell like that. I want to tell you all that I was also VERY hungry, This was 6PM and I had not eaten since breakfast.

However, I told myself I wouldn't eat that junk for two reasons. 1 - I was trying to get in the physical shape that I want to get in. 2 - I am trying to spend my money in ways that honor God in a non wasteful manner, there was perfectly good food at my house. So I knew exactly what I needed to do. I ran.

I am serious, I literally put it in high gear and ran across the parking lot to my car. Any normal person must have thought that either I was crazy, I had to go the bathroom real bad, or that my house was on fire. I knew that if I was going to be near that smell, that I was going to go get some pizza. I love pizza.

When I got home, I cannot even tell you how happy with myself I was. Through doing that I had even felt much closer to God. I was happy that I could love him by keeping my promises with him. I was happy I was trying to be a better person for him.

I was at the Pennsylvania Christian Teen Convention last year, and I heard a similar story that just sent chills down my spine. This guy and his girlfriend were in a car at some make out spot and were starting to go at it. The guy loved this girl SO MUCH that as soon as his thoughts began to become impure , he threw open the door and ran around the car screaming like a crazy many until his thoughts were no longer being thought up in the wrong head. This guy literally ran off his sexual tension! Hah. Never thought I would say that in a blog. But once I heard that story, I immediately was in awe by how much this guy loved her to do that. When I met the girl from that story, she simply said. "I know I can trust him around other women if when he was with me he was willing to literally run out of the car." That must be an incredible feeling to have.

To wrap it all up, sometimes the bravest thing you can do is learn to shield your eyes, turn your head or run from a pizza place if it's what you need to do to near Christ.

WAR

I believe Jesus is a pacifist...

First off I just wanted to say this is not something I approach with ease. I also am just presenting only my opinion. Things get very complicated when you are out on the lines, and I acknowledge that I have no idea what that is like. To make matters even more tricky, it gets complicated when your only brother decides to enlist... I want to take a stab at this, this one is rated PG-13.

Anywho, I think when you put together all of the evidence it is almost impossible to really think otherwise about the pacifism bit. Let's look at some of the more obvious texts. If we start from the very core into the Old Testament, we have the ten commandments given to Moses. These are all very important commandments to have been given to Moses in such a bold manner. The sixth commandment of Exodus 20:13 states, "Thou shalt not kill." Pretty simple stuff... Notice there aren't any "buts."

Moving once again back to Jesus. I want you all to come back to the scene where the Roman soldiers are about to take Jesus away in the garden. This is right after his betrayal. Let me just drop you some texts, Matthew 26:50-53...

"Then the men stepped forward, seized Jesus and arrested him. With that, one of Jesus' companions reached for his sword, drew it out and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear. "Put your sword back in its place," Jesus said to him, "for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?"

Ok so here we see true brute force being used for the most just cause and Jesus lays it out very clearly. You start shooting people, you will get shot. He's saying that is not the way to resolve anything. This all seems very clear...

BUT

At the same time, why does this all just not sit well with me...

Have any of you ever seen the movie Hotel Rwanda? You know the scenes where people are just laying all over the road. They had been just slashed to death by giant knives. How about the movie Schindler's List. Have you seen that one, where about 5.1 million Jews are senselessly slaughtered by the millions? You all know those are portrayals of real things that have happened right? What about the lost souls using rape as a type of warfare in some third world countries as I type this right now?

Knowing all of these things, and knowing that in your hand you hold the ability to make it stop, would you? Is there any such thing as a "just war?" Why knowing all those scriptures do I still think it's okay for my brother to go pick up a weapon and stick up for people who can't stick up for themselves? (Very Biblical by the way.)

War is a really terrible thing. But wars have also saved lives, freed people, ended oppression and all sorts of things... Does any of that even matter? Why do I feel like this isn't just one of those black and white issues. To be completely honest, for the first time in my blog I will say this... I have no idea. I really don't, I'm going to be working my way through this one for a while... what do you think?

A Lesson in Humility... I got beat up by a ninja.

So if you ever think that perhaps your ego is getting a little too inflated, I have a very easy way to deflate it to size... Allow yourself to take an absolute butt whoopin' from a girl that is smaller than you...

This month our church is doing a series called "Financial Battle Plan," and as part of our series they thought it would be funny to take me to a random location, set up up against a ninja, and just watch her pulverize me.  It was oh so wonderful.  A few notes.  She was a third degree ex-military attorney...  And she was tough!  Enjoy...

And of course... the BLOOPERS!

The Journey of Self Improvement

A button up light blue collared shirt, my rock star jeans, my fossil watch, Vurt cologne, my hot new coat courtesy of miss Jaworski and a hint of new found confidence were among some of the things I put on as I started my second to last semester today.

The cool thing about this new semester is that I am utilizing it for so much more. It's more than just a new semester, it's almost like a new beginning.

So many times it's easy to get to a point in your life where you feel like you just aren't heading in the direction you should be going in. It's even easier to get yourself down about the fact that you aren't heading in the direction you should be going in. What is not easy however is First - figuring out what changes need to happen in your life to get in the right direction, and even more difficult is Second, implementing the appropriate changes!

I have been blessed with a great transition point. I am starting a new semester, and a new year. What better time to work on trying something new! Unfortunately many times people decide around new years day that they want to work on this, or that... 2 weeks later, they are no longer working on this or that. This was very obvious to me when I worked at the Spring Valley YMCA. January 1st - 14th were always very crowded, not so much after that. Anyway, with this new semester I have made several changes already that will help me jump start into a more healthy person. The biggest difference here is asking yourself "how bad do you want it." and feeding off that answer. I want to share with you some big changes going on in my life!

1 - Accountability - Having someone to bear your soul with is a necessity to a healthy lifestyle. What is even more healthy is when you can be disgustingly honest with that person, and that person can tell you the really hard things to get you on track. I am so blessed to have two of my accountability partners come back from semesters abroad in Lithuania and Uganda. It will be a really positive semester.

2 - Organization - I have worked as hard as possible to use every organizational bone in my body, and even borrow a couple from others to stay organized. Some of the new habits I have implemented are a "to do" white board at my desk, an up to date planner, a neat work space and room, and lots of help from people who are gifted in this area!

3 - A DO IT NOW mentality - Perhaps you have fallen victim to ending up on one of my voicemails or perhaps I have told you I was going to do something and it was done... several weeks later of course. It is really hard to recognize your own true shortcomings, but when you do, you can address it head on. I am forgetful sometimes, so something I have been working on that has been quite successful has been doing whatever someone asks me to do, or answering voicemails RIGHT AWAY. It has been wonderful... it will take time though.

4 - An hourly schedule - I have made a schedule of what my normal week will look like. Everything from class times, office times, hockey games and my weekly Panera Bread work session are on there! I have stuck to the plan pretty closely so far and it has helped me with my next improvement.

5 - Discipline - With the new schedule I have, I have been learning to teach myself discipline. Discipline is one of the most important things a person can have. Everything from disciplining yourself spiritually with prayer and meditation, mentally with your school work, or physically can make a more healthy person. Lastly...

6 - Fitness - Today I am a proud new member of "Anytime Fitness" in Trappe. I can throw a rock there from my house. It is a gym you can scan yourself into 24/7. It is the best possible thing for someone with a crazy schedule like mine. I am 100 percent convinced that a more physically healthy person is more likely to be a spiritually and emotionally healthy person. I have worked my gym times into my schedule and hope to see some results before summer!

Obviously this isn't going to always go exactly as planned and it's going to be a very hard thing to pull off, but I hope perhaps you can see this as hope for yourself. I am a hardcore ENFP personality type. To be able to take these steps to get me to where I want to go is a good feeling to know that even a disorganized person can learn some new tricks to make them more efficient. Regardless of how it goes I must still love exactly who God made me to be. I do however think this will all be very good for me, and I am excited to see how it all works out!

Countdown 2009... too good to be true.

So for months we have been planning our student ministries ridiculously awesome new years event called countdown. Countdown is a place where students from all over can come enjoy new years safely and loudly. This year we had constant programing, tons of food, human foosball, laser tag, improv, science experiments, a cafe' and much much more! The best part is, it went down without incident. This year countdown attracted about 400 students!!! I want to share one experience I had during the night:

For the actual countdown, we had passed out a glass of sparkling cider to every student, and had waited in the auditorium to count down, say happy new years, then toast together. I was on stage with April and with the band who was about to play a killer set to bring in the new years. When the time came to actually count down to one, the whole crowed was screaming. I was counting down, they were counting down and with a ferocious roar they all screamed happy new year and we toasted. That was probably the loudest I have ever heard them. Right afterwords I looked over at April and said... "I can not believe I get paid to do this."

That was a huge realization. At times youth ministry can be incredible challenging. At times it can feel nearly impossible. You have to take on things you could never be prepared for. Even in those times it is important to remember that as far as jobs go, loving teens is in heck of a job. So with that loud roar engraved in my memory. I hope to never forget how lucky I am to have such an incredible job surrounded by some of the most incredible coworkers and incredible kids on earth.

Thank all of you who made countdown 09' the biggest and baddest countdown ever. Our ministry would never work without you.

The Value of Family

First off, I would like to apologize for my little blogging hiatus. I really needed to back away for a couple weeks for two reasons.

1 - I really needed to just catch my breath. It has been such a blessing to be able to spend a couple of weeks away from school to kinda of get my bearings. I have been using this to work on relationships that are very important to me.

2 - I cared too much about the wrong things. If you have a blog, then you most likely have an analytic as well. Analytic tell you how many people have visited your site on a daily basis and much more. The second I started caring how many people have visited my site, and was getting upset when too little did, I knew I had to take a break. I want blogging to be something that I enjoy, and a place where I can be real with people everywhere... so there you go. Moving on...

Throughout my blogging break I have learned something really incredible, if you haven't guessed it yet, it was the value of family. Throughout my last couple of months of busyness, I have managed to accidentally ignore some of the people that are most important to me, my family. We all fall trap to this so easily! I hold such a high value in family, and have absolutely taken advantage of the fact that they will always be there for me. Throughout my break I have spent some great times playing board games with many cousins, aunts and uncles. I have spend a couple of hours playing some music with an incredible cousin. I have just spent an incredible night dining with my uncle and my grandparents that are even my neighbors! The conversations are amazing with the people who know where you have come from. I really hope that as I go into a new semester I remember the people that are truly important in my life. I love them very much, and I always will...

Being Followed By Death.

As if it wasn't already enough to swallow the death at my hockey game, a friend of mine, Mike Skinner or "Ski" was killed this morning in a deadly automobile accident. It was a hard thing to accept, it was shocking. He was one of the most loving, kind, and fun people to be around. There is one difference that set his death apart from many others that I have experienced.

Death is completely different when Jesus Christ is in the picture.

Accepting death, and mourning death are very difficult things to do. But I was absolutely in awe of what people have been saying about Mike's death. I was on his facebook today, and everyone had been leaving him little "goodbye" notes. There is a common theme that I have found. Sure, people are hurt, and people are shocked. But these Christians are also happy deep down that this incredible guy is finally reunited with his loving and perfect father. He is the luckiest guy to be rid of pain. It is going to be very hard for his family and his many, many friends. But when God is the center of everything you do... even a tragedy can be a time of celebration. Under interest on Mike's Facebook... the number one thing... Jesus.

R.I.P Michael Skinner March 26, 1986 - December 16, 2008

To give you a small example of what death can be like in the eyes of people who know what comes next, I want to share a couple of the posts on Mike's facebook from today. This is absolutely incredible... this is what sets us apart:

--- Hey Mike,When I first heard I couldn't believe it and sometimes I still can't. It's upsetting and you are missed already. So yes I'm going to send this comment bcuz u will probably see all of our messages in heaven. Make sure you check your facebook when you get to your mansion :) (lol). One thing I know is that we must stay positive about your ... absence here on earth. I know you are so much at peace where you are. I guess you were just so great that God wanted you right next to him. :) You are such a genuine and sweet-spirited person and I'm so happy to have met you. You were a blessing to so many people and definitely loved by Eastern University. Tell God I said wasup ;)

--- you were such a blessing to us all, mike. you had a heart for the lord and a passion for people. may we use your life as an example of what it means to be like christ. we'll see you soon ♥

--- Even though its mad hard for us to understand and we're so sad, I can still smile, because I know you're buggin out right now--in the presence of the Lord. Thank you for everything. I'm sure I didnt express to you how much I appreciated you. I am honored to know as a friend, co-worker, and brother. I hope one day to show half as much joy and pure ... Read Moreacceptance to others as you did. love you and cant wait to see your crazy smile again. If its that bright on earth, cant even imagine what Ill be lookin at in heaven . . .

--- Rest In Peace, my friend. Make those angels laugh like you made us laugh. See you in a while...

A big win and a bigger Loss...

Just got this picture from the Pottstown Rink's Website. It was a great season with these guys, but our next season started off real rough. On my teams first game, a guy on the other team had a heart attack on the rink, and died on the spot. It really brings everything into perspective. So many times we think we're invincible. And to top it off we sweat the small stuff so much... until something like this happens. You'd be surprised how something like that can do one of two things. It can really bring a team together, or it could really tear one apart. I hope it does the first of the two...

Traveling the World, Right at Home...

Sorry about the little blog break friends, I have been studying for finals, doing papers and taking tests for about two weeks now, I am finally free!

Anywho, tonight was a very interesting night. Melissa's birthday was on Tuesday, so I decided to wait until tonight to take her out so that we don't have to deal with school.

Melissa and I both want to see the world very badly, but I thought hey, since I don't have a couple of thousand dollars to go see other countries, I will bring the countries a little closer! I got a tip off from a friend about a very cool restaurant. It consisted of traditional Moroccan cuisine! The restaurant was called Marrakesh, and it was amazing.

First off, the restaurant is hidden in a small little alley way in Philadelphia. To get into the restaurant, you go to this little door in the alley and knock on it, someone comes a minute later to let you in.

As soon as you go in, a guy dressed like Aladdan (cap and all) shows you to your table. Your table is actually a cushion type deal with a ton of pillows.

You eat off this one giant tray/plate. Before the meal, they come to your table and wash your hands by pouring hot water over them and catching it in a pale. It was quite the dining experience, here are a few other things I really enjoyed.

1 - A SEVEN course meal. Yes you heard me right, seven. We had plate, after plate, after plate; followed up by the best dessert I have EVER had... incredible! It gave Meliss and I SEVERAL hours to chat over dinner.

2 - Belly dancer! Of course I could not really thoroughly enjoy the belly dancer because she was a little under dressed, but the thought of the custom was really neat! I have never seen a traditional belly dancer before!

3 - Community. It was a very tight, homey room that we ate in. We were very close to other people eating, and had the opportunity to chat with several of them throughout the meal! It was pretty cool.
4 - Music. They played some traditional Moroccan music in the place, it was really different, but very cool!

People generally have no idea what other places in the world are like. We have some kind of ignorance or even intolerance for people we don't understand. I really enjoyed seeing what different customs are like in a country that I hope to visit someday! I recommend this place to anyone. It's not that expensive either. 5 STARS!

My First Championship!

Tuesday was an awesome night. My hockey team won the championship series! I have never won a championship of anything, so this was pretty cool! To even top it off, I even got some cool battle scars.

As I was going for the puck, I got tripped, a stick then hit me in the face, and then I got kicked in the face with skates. It was pretty intense. I just want to say, the tough guy I am, got right back up. I then proceeded to look for my gloves and stick that all flung when I went down! It left some pretty serious markage and swellage right next to my eye though.

I want to share with you a dialogue that I had with my dad. We have kind of a different relationship than many fathers and sons. We don't speak through hugs or anything like that. We have conversations that are a little more like this one that show the relationship pretty well...

Sal: What happened to your face.

Me: I got drop-kicked in the face with skates and a stick.

Sal: Now that's what I call a hockey player.

Me: That's what I'm talking about!

I also want to thank my beautiful girlfriend for coming to a bunch of my games, including my championship. Just like that Edwin Mccain song, she's my biggest fan, and I am hers!

A REAL award show...

The other night, just before Meliss headed home, we plopped down on the couch and watched a little bit of the tele'. I was just going through channels and I landed on one of my personal favorites, CNN. They were in the middle of an award show that was unlike anything I had ever seen! It was called CNN HEROES. It was an entire award show dedicated to people who love people better than anyone I know.

It was an award show for people that ACTUALLY deserve awards. I almost felt like crying every time there was a presentation.

There was a short video of what the person does. They people were from all over the world, doing things that none else wanted to do.

I couldn't help but feel so... convicted.

I wondered how many of these people did this because they were Christians. One guy, David Puckett came up and gave God all of the glory, it was pretty breathtaking. He builds prosthetic limbs and gives them to people in need in Mexico free of charge. He helped many people walk for the first time.

I'm not sure if you remember, but Jesus was in that line of business. He helped people see for the first time. I know there is a big difference, but they are both miracles in my eyes.

Another lady, Phymean Noun, went to Cambodia and took children that were as young as 4 that were working picking trash in a huge landfill and took them to a school. (watch video below) She has 900 students. She doesn't charge them a thing. I don't know how, but she does it.

These people inspire me to get uncomfortable, and do something that really shows people God's love. These people get God's greatest commands right, the command to love those in need.

The winner was this lady, Liz McCartney. She created an organization that helped 120 families rebuild their homes in the years following Katrina. She is just one of a many unrecognized people who have GOT IT RIGHT. I hope that one day I can feel like I am truly loving people recklessly...

Check out this video of one of the winners... I was in awe. It really help me put my life and the things I worry about in perspective:

My Christmas Wish List-ish.

So all I really want for Christmas is to make someone less fortunate than me really, really happy. I am actually giving a message about Christmas December 14th. I am so excited about that one, I actually already started writing it! However, If God didn't ruin my life (in an extremely awesome way) then I would have a holiday wish list that looked a lot like this!

1 - A Yellow 2009 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon.

2 - 10,000 Flyer Miles.

3 - A Macbook Pro with all the bells and whistles.

4 - Enough Dough to pay off my Student Loans.

5 - A Nintendo Wii.

6 - A giant flatscreen with surround sound.

7 - A Honda CBR 1000RR Bike

8 - iPhone

9 - A classic Patterson surfboard.

10 - A New York Studio Apartment...

With all of that said... I certainly believe you can buy happiness... It can always be taken away, but you can definitely buy it! It will also never be able to buy you JOY... big difference.

Nashville Day Two - Seriously Ridiculous...

At first I didn't quite understand the theme of this years convention, "Seriously Ridiculous." As time has gone on here, I think I am finally learning why they picked it...

Jesus Christ, and the job that he has appointed us is... well... seriously ridiculous.
It's something that makes perfect sense, and at times no sense at all. It's a life that directs you to give up everything, but at the same time to gain everything. It's a life full of sacrifice and love. It's a love that is to be mirrored from the one who has perfect love. It's seriously ridiculous.

Today was one of those days, where it all made sense. It started with an amazing speaker, Mark Yaconelli. That name may sound familiar because his father, Mike Yaconelli, was a huge person in the youth ministry world. I actually named my last blog, "Dangerous Wonder" after one of his books. (my favorite) Mark had some amazing things to say about how we don't need to have fear to be passionate. He finished his sermon with a story about how he went to a disco dance back in the day. He said everyone was scared to dance and 2 hours into the dance the DJ was about to cancel the dance, he then went up to the DJ and said "wait... don't do it..."

The lights in the room then went out, and when they came back on he was in full disco gear and a disco ball started spinning, the room went CRAZY! I could never do this story justice.

All of that to say, this man was so passionate. He was not scared to look stupid, he was not scared to be transparent, he was not afraid to let loose and just ... be.

As this was all happening the band was getting set up. Lincoln Brewster came up and played Everlasting God, and I was just, in awe. I then realized at that moment just how broken I am. God had softened my heart so much today. I truly hope I am a changed person. I can't wait to come back and speak to CCV Impact and Riot with the passion I feel inside of me now...

I want to give you a couple highlights of my day.

- Mark Yaconelli - Lincoln Brewster for Worship - Hours of conversation with my two professors at Panera. - Concert with Matt Wertz - 4 Comedians including one ventriloquist that was freaking hilarious. - Late Night Waffle House Stop

Nashville Day One - A Rekindled Flame

So I finally found some time to sit down at the ol' laptop and catch up on some blogging! I am currently down in Nashville, Tennessee for the National Youth Workers Convention. The NYWC is a conference where tens of thousands of youth workers come together for workshops, worship and relaxation! I very quickly learned after I got here that...

This is exactly what I needed.

I was so in need of having my "spiritual tank" poured into. If you have an empty tank and you are trying to do ministry it will only do more damage. I have been at that point for a while, this could not have come at a better time! This trip has been full of all of the things that make me feel alive: Worship, Traveling, Friendships, The City and something new and exciting!

The day started off interestingly when last night we left Eastern University with snow coming down pretty hard. From that point on we found ourselves in and out of blizzard conditions for the next 14 hours on the road. I have never seen it snow like that in November for as long as I can remember!

Anyway, as soon as we got out of the van we jumped right into the first main session. Session was incredible, we enjoyed an incredible sermon by Francis Chan. He spoke about how he felt burdened by the message of Jesus Christ, a message that was not fun to give, and certainly not popular. He really challenged my view on some of the things we should talk about at church. He was phenomenal.

I then got to rock out and worship with Mercy Me and David Crowder Band! It was so weird seeing them finally after listening to about 100 of their songs for years. After the first song I almost felt my heart say, "I'm BACK." That is a feeling that is hard to explain in words. I also got very close and took some really awesome pics.

A few other highlights of the trip so far:

-Running into an old friend from C.I.Y. who I toured with the summer before last.

-Speaking only Spanish at a Mexican restaurant to the waiter.

-Free Stuff out the wazoo.

-Escaping from the norm for a while.

-Late night Dominoes Pizza delivery.

So all in all, this is going to be a trip of self discovery and spiritual replenishment. I already feel both of those very much so after only one day. God is up to something big, I am excited to see what it may be...