Take a Deep Breath...

It feels like it's been a long time since I sat down and wrote a regular post for this blog.  There were two wonderful weeks of guest posts (links to which can now be found by clicking the Encounters With God tab at the top right of this page) followed by three days of confession about the darkest period in my life.  I don't know about you, dear readers, but I am exhausted and feeling a little lost on where to go next.  So today, let's just take a deep breath, re-group a little, and get ready to move forward together.

When last we talked about the stories of my days in student ministry, I had arrived at Wesley Memorial UMC in Tampa in late 2001.  We had our ups and downs, but we were looking forward to the summer of 2004 and two great trips.  We were headed to Myrtle Beach for a week on our fellowship-based "vacation trip" and to Chicago with the Center for Student Missions on our service-based adventure.  I was totally psyched about both trips, and both trips were classic.  I look forward to sharing some stories with you.  There are also a number of WMUMC folks who are deserving of induction into my Youth Group Hall of Fame, and those stories are still to come, as well as tales of my one year in Waycross, GA.  I started this blog to tell such stories, and I intend to finish that journey.  But not right now.  :)

At the same time, it is clear to me that the focus on this blog has shifted.  I want to continue to share stories of faith, hope and redemption.  I want to get back to my every Tuesday Jesus Revolution posts.  And I hope to continue to challenge myself and others to live out our faith and bring glory to Jesus.  Whatever I may be writing about on any given day, I want it to be, at its base, all about Jesus.

I'm not done with crazy stories, random silliness, musical posts or any of the other things that have been a part of this blog from the beginning.  I'm not done with remembering the incredible people who were a part of my life as a youth pastor.  My Saturday Shout Outs! will return this weekend.  I appreciate so much all of you who have stayed with me so far, and I look forward to us discovering together what the future holds.  Blessings to you all.  I'm going to exhale now, and spend tomorrow reading the blogs of my friends and leaving comments on all of them, because tomorrow is another of my famous Comment Days.  We'll also be giving away a Rich Mullins CD.  Be sure and join us!

Because of Jesus,