Long Time No See (Part 2)

I am going to try my best to base my life off of these verses:

MATTHEW 6:1-7:6

Matthew 6

Giving to the Needy

 ¹ “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
   ² “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. ³ But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴ so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Prayer

    ⁵ “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. ⁶ But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. ⁷ And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. ⁸ Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
   ⁹ “This, then, is how you should pray:
   “‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
¹⁰ your kingdom come,
your will be done,
   on earth as it is in heaven.
¹¹ Give us today our daily bread.
¹² And forgive us our debts,
   as we also have forgiven our debtors.
¹³ And lead us not into temptation,^[a]
   but deliver us from the evil one.^[b]’
   ¹⁴ For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. ¹⁵ But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

Fasting

    ¹⁶ “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. ¹⁷ But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, ¹⁸ so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Treasures in Heaven

    ¹⁹ “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. ²⁰ But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
   ²² “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy,^[c] your whole body will be full of light. ²³ But if your eyes are unhealthy,^[d] your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
   ²⁴ “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

Do Not Worry

    ²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life^[e]?
   ²⁸ “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹ Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? ³¹ So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Matthew 7

Judging Others

 ¹ “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. ² For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
   ³ “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? ⁴ How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? ⁵ You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
   ⁶ “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.




-GP

Long Time No See (Part 1)

A LOT has happened since my last post (I do apologize for the long wait)....so I'm going to make this into two posts.

Jeremiah 21:11 - "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'"

I have realized a lot about myself within the past couple of weeks...

First off, school has always been hard for me. Not necessairily the tests, quizzes, or homework assignments either.

I have always been in a pickle when deciding on what I want to do for the rest of my life. I have spent hours searching the web on looking for an occupation I'd be interested in, but my efforts have always resulted in nothing. That has always been my worst fear. Growing old, letting life passing me by while I do something that I hate. At first, I thought it was physical therapy.....nope. Then I thought it was communications.....nope. However, third time's a charm.

Just recently, my uncle told me about this program at Mississippi State University that was right up my alley. The program is in PGA Management with a BS in Administration/Marketing. With my love for the game of golf, I feel everything that has happened to me over the past few years of my life has set me on the right path for the rest of my life.

Everything happens for a reason.


-GP

Another Bump in the Road

Psalm 9: 9-10 - "The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble."

This past week has been on of the worst, physically, in my entire life..

As I mentioned in my last post, I went to the YMCA Camp Hargis for my job training as a councellor. Well, as fate would have it, while we spent the night, bed bugs (yes, they are real) came out and bit me...BAD.

Last Saturday, I was on my way back from Doodles when I noticed a couple of little, red bumps starting to form on the inside of my bicep...and they started to itch. Later that night, I was spending the night at a friend's house when my lower back, arms, legs, feet, hands, and neck started itching. I tried to sit in his hot tub....didn't help. I tried to swim in his pool....didn't help. I tried to sleep it off and deal with it the next morning....couldn't do it. I FELT LIKE I WAS GOING INSANE. Since we had no car at his house, I called my parents to get one of them to pick me up...I could not bear the itching and bites that continued to mess with my mind. I grabbed my shoes and went running to get some wind on the bites so I would stop scratching, but even that wasn't enough. As soon as my mom arrived at my friend's place, I hopped in the car and headed home. It was six in the morning.

I got home and immediately hopped in a bath tub filled with hot water and oat meal oil (to help the itching). I stayed in the bath for probably another two hours. At the time, not me, nor Mom, nor Dad knew what was going on with me....they assumed poison ivy, but were both confused at the formation of the red marks and hives that appeared on my skin. The options of poison ivy, misquitos, bed bugs, rocky mountain fever (from ticks), were all possibilities, but we could not start treatment until we knew for sure what it was. I spend the rest of the day lying STILL in bed or in an oatmeal bath.

The next day, we find out that I am having a severe allergic reaction to bed bug bites. My parents contact our doctor, and he prescribes me a steroid to help get rid of the itch and the bites altogether. That night though, I layed in bed and thought about everything......I even later started tearing up. None of this was from the painful allergic reactions or the meds, but simply because I realized that I have done a crappy job of living my life for God...and it was obvious the things I needed to change. I am now working on them all.

Everything has gotten better. the itching is now almost completely gone, and the bite marks are on their way out as well.

Lord, thank You for helping me through yet another one of life's speed bumps. I believe it will help me to be more cautious and aware of  my situations in the future. Also, I thank You for my deep thoughts that I had that second night. I have realized that I have not been living my life according to Your way, and as a result, I have not felt happy or satisfied knowing I have not been glorifying You. I will do my very best to improve, but I will need Your guidance along the way.

"And I'll praise You in this storm,
And I will lift my hands.
For You are who You are
No matter where I am,
And every tear I've cried
You hold in Your hand.
You never left my side,
and though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm." ~Casting Crowns
-GP

YMCA!

Proverbs 22:6 - "Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it."

I have the BEST SUMMER JOB

So a couple of weeks ago, I got a call in form the Shades Valley YMCA telling me the got my job application form to be a camp councellor this summer. Turns out ole Pam and Ray turned in my application (GREAT move).

The interview went really well, and it turns out both my brother and I got the job! On the 14th and 15th we had job training at Camp Harliss (?)......we were NOT excited about this at all. We got at the YMCA at 7:30am like we were asked, and from judging some people walking in the door (a problem we all tend to have) it did not appear as if this job was going to be any fun....I was DEAD WRONG. We got on the bus and immediately greeted by now one of my good friends, Shannon. She was obviously an athlete somewhere, and because of her greeting, it immediately lifted some of the bad anticipation about work off my shoulders. The weekend camp ended up being a great experience; we met a ton of new people and found out slowly that this job was going to be one to remember. Oh and by the way......we also got paid $200 for being there....not bad haha.

We had Sunday night off, then it would be back to job training on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday from 8:45am to 1pm. Sounds awful right? Wrong. My first day I realize how special this The rest of "job training" was a breeze, and work starts on the 31st......frankly, I CAN'T wait.

Lord, thank you for blessing me with this opportunity. I believed you have provided me this job for a reason, so I can do my best to have fun and spread Your word.

Home Sweet Homewood

John Ed Pearce - "Home is a place you grow up wanting to leave, and grow old wanting to get back to."

There's no place like home.

Last weekend I went back home for Easter.....and I desperately want to get back there ASAP!

Friday:
On our way back, we had to ref 2 jv boys' soccer games in Montevallo. It was our first high school reffing experience, and we were nervous...but we beasted it. the bad thing about it, though, was a kid from Prattville during my last game broke his arm; he was okay, but it caused a 27 minute delay for us to get home. We finally pull-in at about 11ish and you can just see the bright smiles on Pam and Ray's faces that all of their kids are home. Haha immediately, Austin and I direct our attention to messing with Lindsay (an epic tradition on school breaks), and it's obvious she's glad the family's all back together again.

Saturday:
After staying up til 4am doing whatever the night before (BAD MOVE), we had to wake up at 10 that morning because we had 3 girls' jv soccer games to ref at Hoover. Ha all of the complaining and resisting on my part to wake up brought me back to my high school mornings over the past 4 years- a lot of which I miss. the soccer games go well and as expected, all the freshman and sophomore girls on the teams hit on me and Austin haha. Pulling into the driveway once we get back was simply amazing...at about 5-6 o'clock the sun sets perfectly over the trees and plants in the back of our driveway creating an almost majestic scene. It was that moment that I knew I was home and wished I could stay there for weeks and weeks. We spent the rest of the night in absolute peace - me chipping golf balls in the backyard, Ap watching a movie with one of his girls, and Lindsay celebrating her best friend's birthday with people.

Sunday:
EASTER. We all woke up at 9ish to get ready for Sunday school at 10......the Powell family was looking fresh in their spring attire to say the least! The Easter Bunny came and left us all candy and gifts- Lindsay some white heels, Ap a new phone, and myself some khaki golf shorts! After Sunday school, we all attended the traditional 11 o'clock service and embrased Reverend Wolf's sermon about Easter. When we got home, we all hung out while the Easter Bunny (Big Ray) hid the easter eggs, and we prepared for our anual egg hunt! Lindsay is the reigning 6-time champ of this event, so me and Ap plotted to bring her down this year............yeah- didn't happen. She beat me by ONE freaking egg. Wow. Guess I gotta set bear traps next year or something to stop her pace. Later on the family said their goodbyes and Lindsay headed to AU and we headed back to Mobile (which was a huge buzz kill to our awesome weekend). Nothing was as bright and as green as Homewood, and I can't wait go back.

I love Homewood.

Lord, I have been EXTREMELY blessed to have grown up in such a great and wonderful town like Homewood, AL. I am confident in the idea that You planned that for me, so I would grow up being the person I am today. It is an amazing place, and I hope that life  takes me back someday soon.

"Well I'm going home,
Back to the place where I belong,
And where your love has always been enough for me.
I'm not running from.
No, I think you got me all wrong.
I don't regret this life I chose for me.
But these places and these faces are getting old,
So I'm going home.
Well I'm going home." ~Daughtry
-GP

My Passion

Robert Lynd - "It is almost impossible to remember how tragic a place this world is when one is playing golf." 

People search their whole lives for the things that truly make them happy. I have been blessed enough to have found one of mine. 


One of my passions in life is the game of golf. A LOT of people find that both very weird and hilarious....but I don't care. The game of golf brings me a peace of mind; although, no one seems to ever understand why. GOLF is a way for me to escape all of the troubles in life. What some people find in reading or listening to music, I find in getting a little white ball into a gopher hole. When I am out on the course, I feel like it is just me, God, and His creation. 

1) If there are issues going on in my life- a round of golf gives me plenty of time to reflect on them. I have good, quality alone-time to regain focus on my priorities in life, and to figure out the best solutions for life's problems.

 2) I remember something my dad always told me as a kid, "Son, sometimes you just need some time with God." In a world of materialism and temptation, golf is one of the ways I find alone time with the Lord. If there are big problems going on in my life, I spend 18 holes praying and just talking with God.

3) Golf courses, in my non-expert opinion, bring out the best in God's creation. Just the way nature seems to perfectly mesh together to form something amazing astonishes me. There's nothing that can compare to a warm, sunny day out on the golf course. The only thing you hear is the wind rustling through the trees, birds chirping, and the occasional "Get in the HOLE!" from across the golf course haha.


I love the game of golf.

Lord thank you for all of the wonderful things you have planted in my life. I realize that everything happens for a reason, and there is a reason why I have been exposed to such a wonderful game.I just feel blessed, and I thank you.  


"We give You glory 
Lifting up our hands and singing holy, 
You alone are worthy 
We just want to touch Your heart, Lord, touch Your heart 
Glory, lifting up our voice and singing holy,
You alone are worthy 
We just want to touch Your heart, Lord, touch Your heart" -Jeremy Camp
-GP

"Let go of the fear"

Jeremiah 30:17 - “For I will restore health to you and heal you of your wounds,” says the Lord.


Life can pull you down at times, but trust in the Lord, and the fear will disappear.


So this past week was most-definitely a rough one for me: school decided to go on beast mode; I couldn't talk to one of my best friends- the girl I liked and had previously texted/talked to daily; the family's financial problems continued to escalate......just a tough week. I tried covering up my emotions the best I could, but nights just seemed to be hard to get through. Just felt out of place all week...


As the week progressed, however, I started praying and getting better. I was so caught up in what I wanted and how I was trying to plan out my own future instead of leaving it in God's hands.


Before, I thought the only way to happiness was to be with the girl I liked....now I realize I was 100% wrong. Granted, I still really like this girl, but I can't sit here and try to force something, that may not be in God's will for me, to happen. I just need to put ALL of my trust in the Lord, and He will lead me down the right path.


Lord, please continue to help point me down the right path and show me Your will for me. I put my faith in You and know that everything will be great in the end.


"It's clear enough to me
The ugliness I see
Is evidence of who I need
Give me an answer
Give me a way out
Give me the faith
To believe in these hard times" ~NEEDTOBREATHE
-GP