ok, here goes the first post. First I'd like to say that, although I am aware of other people I know creating their own blogs, my motive is not to follow the trend, but to provide an insight into my own life that would in turn help other Christians live for Jesus. Another disclaimer: I am not putting myself on a pedestal for all to see as a wonderful model of Christ-centered living for the world to follow. The only true example to follow is Jesus Christ himself, the standard we as Christians should all look up to.

I've been saved almost five years now. Only in the last month have I even started to grasp what a dynamic, intimate relationship is like with Jesus. Truth be told, I've wasted a lot of time. Time I could have been using to grow closer to Jesus.

On Father's day, I was faced with a very important decision that would affect my call to full time ministry. The sheer enormity of the decision left me no choice but to run to God for answers. Over the next weeks, I have been more and more consumed by the urge to pray and to pour God's word into my mind and read every Christian book I can get my hands on. Prayer and my quiet time have finally become a priority, and I have become more consistent than I have in years. No matter what God says to my wife and I about this decision, these circumstances have served a greater purpose: drawing me closer to God than I have ever been.

I want to be clear that I'm not boasting or bragging at all. This whole situation is both a testimony to God's grace and goodness and my idiocy for being lukewarm for so long.

Just like the old hymn "turn your eyes upon Jesus", things of this world that brought me pleasure have become stale and unappealing. Truly nothing compares to the incredible experience of spending time with Jesus. Nothing.