tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26042529857201228452011-05-06T07:34:39.656-05:00the simplicity of wonderNikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18178723693002759866noreply@blogger.comBlogger171100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604252985720122845.post-20916186046616485452009-03-06T09:19:00.000-06:002009-03-06T09:20:07.024-06:00

Hey everyone. We started a new series this past Wednesday called "Legacy". A legacy is something handed down by a predecessor. Something passed down. Left behind. Something a person is known for. I feel like God is reminding all of us that we will all leave a legacy in this world. It will either honor Him or the world. What legacy are you leaving right now in our world? What are you leaving

Nikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18178723693002759866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604252985720122845.post-59338950039471589562009-02-10T10:39:00.005-06:002009-02-10T13:13:58.506-06:00

I was thinking today and these last months that, and I know this is totally obvious, I got one shot at this life God has given me. I'm 27 about to be 28. I dread, absolutely fear, living an average life. It is something that, even as I type that word, I get nervous in my stomach. I simply detest the thought of doing nothing of significance. Staying in a box, in between the lines, in my comfort

Nikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18178723693002759866noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604252985720122845.post-58488916704459464972009-01-26T21:31:00.003-06:002009-01-26T22:02:20.838-06:00

Today I sat across the table from one of my students. A young man who had drifted away from the youth group and made some bad choices and found himself in a very dark place. We talked for two hours. God. Girls. Drugs. Life. Choices. Friends. Music. Talents. Future. Etc... It ended with this young man literally giving me his drugs and rededicating his life to Christ. Now this situation came at a

Nikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18178723693002759866noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604252985720122845.post-87801843139876535552009-01-22T11:20:00.003-06:002009-01-22T11:23:24.547-06:00

"Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life." Proverbs 4:23 (NLT)I have currently been engaging our students in a discussion about creating a dramatic change in our culture. An overthrow. A mutiny. A revolution. I know the word has been overused since the postmodern and post post modern movement but that doesn't negate the importance of it. I challenge you to read

Nikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18178723693002759866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604252985720122845.post-9019212474070663202008-12-09T09:43:00.004-06:002008-12-09T11:24:34.126-06:00

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanks giving, present your request to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7"Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." I Peter 5:7I truly had to be reminded of this today. Sometimes we do everything but

Nikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18178723693002759866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604252985720122845.post-12051365322950383412008-10-28T10:16:00.004-05:002008-10-31T14:00:50.254-05:00

I grew up playing video games. I loved Mega Man 2 and the Mario Bros. Contra was awesome. Up Up, Down Down, Left Right Left Right, A, B, Select Start. (For all those who knew the cheat code! Isn't it amazing that I still have that code memorized? Ha) I am careful to say that life is a lot like a video game because in most respects it is not. You don't get 99 lives for typing in a special code.

Nikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18178723693002759866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604252985720122845.post-75164125726777679712008-09-30T11:02:00.003-05:002008-10-01T08:46:21.809-05:00

There is one thing I have noticed that is becoming more and more prevalent in our society: inconsistency. The definition of that word is:-not staying the same throughout; having self-contradictory elements -acting at variance with one's own principles or former conduct :-( inconsistent with) not compatible or in keeping with - erratic in behavior or actionI have watched it grow and become more

Nikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18178723693002759866noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604252985720122845.post-12110696649198358852008-09-26T08:15:00.007-05:002008-09-26T14:05:47.254-05:00

I remember hearing a guy say that if someone leaves your church and it doesn't bother you then something is wrong. I used to think that was stupid. If they wanted to leave then let them. But since I have been a pastor, people or teenagers leaving and going somewhere else or nowhere at all stings. It actually hurts pretty bad. You spend all this time, energy, money, and more investing in them and

Nikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18178723693002759866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604252985720122845.post-20398999442557049302008-09-25T14:26:00.003-05:002008-09-25T14:33:59.812-05:00

I hurt my back working out yesterday. Doesn't take much. If you turn wrong that is it. So I have been laying here icing it and just thinking. Today was and is a beautiful day. It felt like fall this morning. Two weeks from tomorrow my whole world will change. I will be married. I get a chance to start something new. A lot of people ask me if I am ready. I joke and say, "no one is ever ready". The

Nikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18178723693002759866noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604252985720122845.post-76871752211632027222008-09-15T14:32:00.002-05:002008-09-15T14:33:44.282-05:00

Ok. So I'm just going to come right out and say it. If you have some kind of deep, dark, deceptive secret lurking in your heart you need to get it out and deal with it. I'm tired of reading all these reports of big named Christians coming out with some secret. This guy faked cancer and wrote a song about healing. Another guy lead a "revival" and cheated on his wife the whole time. Another guy

Nikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18178723693002759866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604252985720122845.post-42707427772502087362008-09-14T09:16:00.004-05:002008-09-14T09:26:48.842-05:00

I'm amazed at the media particularly during election season. Talk about taking things out of context. Man they are really drilling Palin, especially about her religion. They keep dropping in clips about her Pentecostal roots and all the idiosyncrasies that go with that. Snakes. If it was balanced and correct I wouldn't care but it is all cut up and taken out of context. Whatever. This stuff gets

Nikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18178723693002759866noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604252985720122845.post-56532165551063013202008-09-08T12:34:00.006-05:002008-09-08T13:10:29.038-05:00

So I saw in the news today where these scientist in Geneva are trying to recreate the Big Bang event. They are basically going to make stuff collide and see what happens. I guess they were there when this "bang" took place the first time so they know exactly what to do. Some people think the world will end because this will create a black hole. Seriously? But wait, wouldn't that disprove the Big

Nikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18178723693002759866noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604252985720122845.post-15487308951637719702008-07-20T18:59:00.002-05:002008-07-20T19:01:05.258-05:00

So I watched the Dark Knight tonight. I thought it was amazing. But there was this eerie, over hanging sadness to it. As I watched Heath Ledger portray the Joker I felt this sense of sympathy leap out of me. The guy was a year older than me. He was passionate about his line of work. I am not the biggest fan of his work but I think his role as the Joker is pioneering. But that wasn't the only

Nikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18178723693002759866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604252985720122845.post-33185114842924243342008-04-30T23:39:00.004-05:002008-09-07T14:32:01.235-05:00

Have you ever had that sense that something is out there for you? That something new and big and scary awaits you? You ever felt like opportunity is slowly making its way to you? Something is different. The air is different. The sounds are different. There is a calm before the storm. I sense this in my own life. Sort of like Columbus might have felt. Imagine him sitting on the shore, staring at a

Nikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18178723693002759866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604252985720122845.post-72759279824542123362008-04-21T14:24:00.002-05:002008-04-21T15:16:32.164-05:00

The American Church is in trouble. I have heard that statement quite a bit. I have said that statement quite a bit lately. I read things that point to it. I see things that fulfill that statement. Am I an expert? No. Do I have the credentials to talk about this? I don't know. I just got done reading the the new RELEVANT Magazine. Their subject for this issue was big issues in the American Church.

Nikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18178723693002759866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604252985720122845.post-66911777165090108492008-04-19T00:55:00.002-05:002008-04-19T01:05:01.617-05:00

Well, I just got into Destin. We (Roman Street, a latin jazz band I play in) are playing the Sea Breeze Jazz festival tomorrow. It is actually a big deal. This whole band thing is kind of wild. We started out for fun. Just playing small things here and there but it has evolved into something much bigger. It is really neat. Yesterday I was in Nashville. I had been there since Sunday. I was there

Nikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18178723693002759866noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2604252985720122845.post-58730294561338076682007-02-20T09:04:00.000-06:002007-02-20T10:13:06.943-06:00

So I have decided to up my blogging game, if there is such a thing. I just wanted a change, something a little more flexible and such. So this is my little world for now. So feel free to engage it with me. It is new and new is good. New is attractive. I like new stuff. Everyone likes new. New shoes, car, iPod, girlfriend/boyfriends, music (Anberlin's new CD came out today!), and so on. New is

Nikhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18178723693002759866noreply@blogger.com2