good God

sitting in my office going over upcoming events with our church, youth, and my own personal life, when my mind gravitates towards this concept: “I serve a good God”

I allow that to marinate in my thoughts for a bit as i recall all the the good gifts my God has provided for me…and conclude with this… 

i don’t deserve the good gifts i get from God, but that doesn’t stop Him from giving them to me…who have i stopped giving good gifts to because they “stopped deserving them?” 

I want to be the best giver ever because that is who God is for me…it should be a part of my DNA as a Christian to be more like Christ right? So, even/especially in the area of giving, (this is not a money message, i’m talking everything – attitude, service, time, attention, love, hard work, etc.) i’m giving my best, even/especially to the ones who “don’t deserve it”

The groove

so, maybe it’s been a while since I’ve last posted… but one of the things I felt I wanted/needed to do I ’09 was blog/journal more. in college, I journaled quite a bit and really got into reading blogs and listening to podcasts. I’ve since strayed from those things, but have made a resolution to not be too busy this year for them because it was during these times I experienced God in so many new and fresh ways.

so here it goes… get ready for more from me and my thoughts as we journey together in 2009. I look forward to a great year with you as we grow and experience God in new and fresh ways…

Eric

Labor Day’s Eve

headed out to the lake with my wifey for some good, clean family fun! I say family fun because my parents are in town for labor day as well as my brother, his wife, and their son… kyler. we have had an influx of family here lately, and, to my surprise, we have enjoyed every bit of it. these last few weeks have really shown Kandis and I how much we truly love our families. I am excited, however, to get back to some normalcy with my life and wife after this weekend.

on a side note, ROLL TIDE! Kandis and I were in the Dome last night as Bama stomped Clemson 34-10. it was epic!!!

Eric

scratch that…

so i was recently informed that a person can edit their comment options to allow non-users to leave comments on blogs…so good news all…you can now leave me comments whether you are a wordpress user or not…bad news…i’m retarded and it took someone commenting me about my previous post to realize this. lol…thanks pablo…anyway…sorry it’s been a while since i’ve written…sometimes life gets crazy…even too crazy to blog…if that amount of crazy actually exists…so from now on…LEAVE ME COMMENTS!

Eric

how can this be?

a blogsite that does not allow comments (unless you are a member)? what’s the point in a blog partially dedicated to discussion and feedback when no one can leave you a comment? when no one can discuss? when no one can feed my back? i’m a little disappointed in this wordpress “non” feature…i must say. thought – do i find another blogsite that lets non-users comment and move my blog there? is there even such a thing? do i realize the amount of time (one full night) i spent in building this retro, vintage, hip, classy, organic (not serious here) site and decide to dance with the blog that brought me here? i’m undecided at the moment on which direction to go. and i have a large quantity amount of homework to do before tuesday…so i should probably quit procrastinating. mucho amor…later

Eric

hi ho, hi ho

I realized something about myself today that a) scared me, b) upset me, and c) created a need for change within me. I had to work today…ON A SATURDAY! it was the proverbial “pits.” I spent today from 7am til 4pm hauling sheets of metal from point a to point b, trying out my skills with a hammer, and fetching this or that for my fellow workers – you know, typical construction stuff. now, to the point of this rant, my dad opted to hire several day laborers to come join us today (day laborer = hired help, typically not skilled). one guy in particular challenged my nerves continually from about 10 this morning til 3:30 this afternoon. it started with little things like standing in the way of something, then to more irritating matters like mumbling things under his breath (one time about my brother). at the end of the day, he decided to complain 1,873 times about wanting to leave the job. he even went and stood at the gate instead of helping us finish out what we were doing. when beckoned to come and help, he begrudgingly obliged, only to do the complete opposite of what he was told to do three times and, in doing so, yelled at my good friend (brandon hageman) because he was doing the job the right way. i found myself today so annoyed at this man, even enough to complain about him to my fiance, even enough to write a blog entry about him. now, WHY? a) scared me – i have let an individual upset me this much in one day’s work…and i wanna go into ministry?!?!?! this scares me. b) upset me – i am sitting here in my living room utterly disappointed in myself because God’s love was nowhere to be found in me today in regards to that man. i only wonder what God is thinking right now? “love is easy”…it’s the cool thing to do now…let love rule. everybody love one another. love – it’s this year’s “Jesus is my homeboy.” but where is it? i know where it wasn’t, at my jobsite today, and that is upsetting. c) created a need for change in me – i still have so much to learn. typical – learn love, like it’s a karate class. what i meant was, i still have to much to GROW! so many things yet to be surrendered to God. so many issues still lacking in self-control. so many areas in my life of weakness. the bad news is – what happened today. but praise God that there is good news too. the good news is i should get a chance tomorrow to love this man; not ok i’ll be nice today love this man. and not i feel bad for yesterday i’ll try and do better love this man. genuinely loving a person. crazy concept?! authentic love for another human being. this process has already begun in my heart…i have realized that eric sebastian is in no way any better than random day laborer man. how cool is our God?! i believe this guy will be back at work tomorrow. thank God for grace and 2nd chances. and praise Him that there are still opportunities for change. Leviticus 19:18 – “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.”

Eric

Hello All

This is my first non-myspace blog…how exciting. I’ve had many thoughts running rampant through my head these last couple of months and decided to create a forum to store all of these ideas, thoughts, and discussions. My hope is to see God at work through my thoughts because the more I pray for His will, the more I see Him completely transform every notion of Church, relationships, community, justice, and godliness in my life. Look forward to sharing with you all and hearing your thoughts on how God actively changing your life. Blessings…

Eric