a destroyed love: the damages of divorce

i have come to realize that i have been blessed with the spiritual gift of being emotionally balanced. maybe this is a poor way to word this...
this term in seminary we are learning about trauma and crisis counseling. we are learning the rights we have as pastors (legally) and learning how to deal with these situations.

recently i have had a very dear friend come to me. they have discovered that their spouse has been cheating on them for the duration of their marriage. the spouse has put themselves into counseling and my friend is distraught and utterly devastated. the friend's mom instantly suggested that my friend come to see me. i too am shocked and don't know what to do other than to be there.

i guess sometimes that's all you can really do, is to be there.
however this is a difficult situation. most of the time my students that are going through a difficult time may question God...which is better than denying God exists at all. or denying that there is a superior being looking out and caring for their well being.

the difficulty here with my friend and their spouse is that neither are believers.

i don't believe in divorce, however...this has been a re-occurring behavior. i am not in this friend's shoes but i don't think i would have ended up in this situation. i would have dismissed this opportunity to love if i did not trust or if there was ever speculation of dishonesty.

i understand the spouse is undergoing counseling for this destructive behavior but i think in this situation divorce may be necessary for both parties involved.

sigh....the struggles of life.

the calling

working for a church i am all to familiar about preaching about people discerning their call. answering God's call for their life, urging them to serve, love and be of service.

never in my life have i been more sure that i am doing exactly what God has called me to do. the passion burns deeply. the love. the joy. the fulfillment. the completeness. the feeling of devoted service.

i.love.youth.ministry.
whatever happened to that fashion degree of mine?

new semester

man this semester is starting off with a pow! i thought for sure since i had completed the reading prior to the intensive and that since i had planned out the year's activities for the students in advance that FOR SURE this year would be less stressful....NOT the case.

i found out today via fb that one of the guys that used to play ball in the gym i formerly managed passed away. he was 17.

i feel overwhelmed by a few of the assignments and the tasks ahead of me in the process of repairing the youth group at the current church i am serving.

may the grace of God consume me.

the joy of teenagers and the importance of placing your doubts & fears before the Lord

last night was our youth christmas party. everyone brought food and the 'coolest thing you can find for $1'

it was FANTASTIC. i've been so stressed lately with all the deadlines for school that i almost rushed past the simplicity of fun.
my worries started to ease after i got to hang out with my area group from seminary...for dinner and a light show, then we had the youth christmas party, where we exchanged gifts and i got to play cards, which was absolutely delightful. (card playing was def my favorite part of missing my plane to orlando)
<-the guys from seminary

after i got home that evening gifts in tow (the youth got me coffee and house warming stuff...i was in utter shock) i started to make soup and was thinking...wow, that was wonderful, thank you God.

The past 4-6 weeks we have been studying about sacred space, but truthfully I have been so stressed out trying to complete all the readings, lectures, papers, and meditations that the sacredness was lost. i feel the warmth of Christmas...finally. because of this...i just couldn't help but laugh and love.

cookies with santa

you would think i would be more excited about this than i am.
it's an annual thing they do here at the church.

however, the youth will be discussing the importance of Christmas and what it means to them. via photo scavenger hunt.
i will post the results. maybe i'll bake them cookies anyway...fresh ones that have not been frozen (who freezes cookies...really?, santa might have some bowl trouble later tonight)

holiday happenings

well we had thanksgiving and my birthday w/ my family this year. it went well. as i was about to go to bed the evening of my birthday i found out my dog has died. please be in prayer for my parents for he was their company and he was such a good and very well loved dog.
r.i.p. bear

on another note this guy that used to participate in the men's basketball league's that i was a part of as rec. dir. shot his ex. gf and himself thursday evening. so pray for those families as well.

childhood photos

(just for reference scott made the title)

so scott's home and tall enough to reach the family photos box on the top shelf of his closet. so guess who's looking through boy-hood photos of her fiance...

i hope our babies turn out equally as cute and that i can restrain myself from coo'ing excessively so over them.

on another note, my birthday is saturday...i'm getting old. i'm well on my way to 30 now. (all of you who read my blog that are over 30 i'm sorry.) it's not that i'm old but at least when you're like 21 or 22 you're still considered 'young', now i'm considered an 'adult'.