My Year End Review (Part 2)

"Experience isn't the best teacher, Evaluated Experience is." -John Maxwell

My Bucket List, My Life Plan, Quarterly Goals, and Intentional Focus

The Second thing I do during my year end review is review these documents, evaluate where I am according to them, what I've accomplished, and what I need too change. What are they you ask? Here you go:

(If you'd like - leave me your e-mail address and I can send you my copies of these documents so you have a basic framework to work from)

Bucket List - This is a list of things I want to do to do before I die. Outrageous things like running a marathon, eating with the President of the US, specific places I want to visit, flying in an air force jet, etc.. I originally got this idea from this story about Lou Holtz. If you don't have one of these - I highly recommend you make one - dream as big as you can!

My Life Plan - So i just started this a few months ago after reading this post from Michael Hyatt. It is where you take the 7 major areas of your life, prioritize them, get a scripture you're going to stand on for each of them, write out a legacy statement of what you want to be remembered for in that area, write out where you are realistically right now on your way to accomplishing that goal, then write action steps you're going to take to get to the goal.

Quarterly Goals: This one is pretty obvious - I set the majority of my goals in 90 day increments. I review them - see how I did - and rewrite them for the next quarter. (Note: A lot of my goals are mini-steps I need to take for the goals of my Life-Plan)

My Life's Intentional Focus - This is basically an overview of my life... in it I include the following:

• My Vision Statement for My Life
• My Priorities
• My Values
• Principles I live my life By
  
• My Strengths
• My Weaknesses
• Mentors that I serve and how often I meet with them
  
• Potential Mentors
• My Current Growth Plan
• My Future Growth Plan - areas I need to study and get mentored in, in the future. (i.e. in 2009 I want to be mentored and study more on communication and writing - so I'm going to find books and hopefully some people that can mentor me on the subject)

More to come tomorrow - hope you're able to take some of these things and implement them in your life!

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All About Me (Part 7)

My Family (Part 2)

So yesterday I talked about the impact of my parents - today I want to hit up my sister, brother, and grandparents - here we go:

Grandma - My grandma awesome! When I was little I told her that she was the best cook in North and South America - today I believe shes the best cook in the world! My grandma is the typical movies you see in movies and want to cry because their so cute! She's a blessing... She taught me:

• How to treat women - how to be a gentlemen (ladies - believe it! haha)
  

Pap - Pap: I call him "The Icon" . . . I'm pretty sure I got my sense of humor from him! He is hilarious! He was a pilot in WWII and has all kind of cool Nazi gear including a gigantic Nazi flag that I hope to inherit someday that he stole from the Nazi's! He taught me:

• To Fish - He loves to fish - so many great memories of fishing trips when I was little
• How to Treat Women - He was a stud... it's been passed down!
• To be proud of family - He is a family man for sure and 100% Italian!
  

My Sister- Sara, I know if you're reading this - you just gulped....thinking what the heck is he going to say about me! First and foremost you better know I LOVE YOU! Here are some things I've learned from you:

• How to make fun of parents for their quirks - What's in the fridge? ha ha

• Repentance - When I was in high school I wasn't exactly on fire for God. For years, I beat my sister up verbally - calling her worthless along with some other things. As I've grown up I had to apologize for that and repent...huge lesson.

• The Power of my Words: In calling her names and in now calling her beautiful and things like that - I can see it in her eyes the effect that my words have on her life. I need to carry this over into every arena of my life.

My Brother - So technically he is my half brother- but I consider him to be blood. He is 16 years older than I am! What I've learned from him:

• The Power of Influence - being 16 years older than me I obviously looked up to him growing up. I wanted to be like him, do what he did, etc.. It's amazing how impressionable we are as children. It's a constant reminder that people are watching my life and I have to think to myself - am I leading by example - or am I showing them a bad example.
  

So there you have it - that is my family... if you have any additional questions - let me know! I believe this will be the end of this series! Thanks for reading!!

I encourage you to write each of your family members name in a journal and write the lessons you've learned as a result of having them in your life. It is eye opening...it will give you 100 more things to be thankful for during this season!

Have a great day!

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All About Me (Part 6)

My Family

I am going to wrap this series up by talking about my family...something I don't do as often as I should. Having just moved out allowed me to reflect on my past 23 years living at home (with the exception of living with Hot Karl Kober for 6 months at RMU) and how my family has shaped who I am today. I know that often I can undermine the investment of my family because of everything God has done in my life the past 6 years, but if it weren't for my family I wouldn't be the man I am today. So here you go:

My Mom - Whenever I go to my grandma's she always tells me that having me around is like having my mom around. I "light up the room" she says and when I think about it -that was my mom. My mom taught me:

• To have fun - I definitely get my personality from my mom. I remember dancing with her every Sunday night to all night oldies on 3WS - awesome. I have millions of home videos of us just having fun when we were little. Dancing, Acting, etc.

• To love traditions - my mom made every holiday and big days in our lives extremely special!

• The Importance of Family - My mom always made sure we spent time together as a family - family nights etc.
  

I know that seems simple - but so much of who I am today is literally who my mom was . . . that's a pretty big deal!

My Dad - My dad has taught me a lot more than he gives himself credit for. Though I am not always the first to acknowledge this - he has taught me so much.

He taught me:

• Character - my dad is huge on character, honesty, and integrity. He's helped me recognize that if I messed up - be up front about it (don't hide it) and apologize (This is a much bigger lesson than a lot of us think it is.
  

• Confidence in who I am: I'll never forget his "famous" quote - "I am what I am and that is all that I am, I'm Johnny the Bus Driving Man!" He taught me to be proud of myself for who I am.
  

• Being Selfless - my dad is one of the most selfless men on the planet. I can name like 2 times in his life where he did something for himself. He is constantly giving of his time, money, and gifts.
  

• Sacrifice - My dad has worked weekdays (during the day)and weekends (through the middle of the night) for as long as I can remember to provide for our family. I've never had to suffer or miss out on anything in life because of my dads willingness to sacrifice his life in order for my sister and I to have a great life. Thanks Dad..

• To Give - Because my dad is selfless - he is a huge giver. I remember every year on his birthday, he'd buy my sister and I presents and try to make it seem like it was an extra birthday for us.... he gives and gives and gives. I'm grateful for that example

Tomorrow I'll cover my brother and sister and grandparents!!! Yea baby!

Some of the best advice I've ever received is that when you grow up you have to look back at how you were raised and take the good and chuck the bad and remember that your parents did the best that they knew how. I know my parents did the best they could and I am extremely grateful for their investment!

How have your parents shaped your life? Thoughts?

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All About Me (Part 5)

Strengths the Strengthen Me

I'm going to wrap this series up this week - today with my strengths and then I'm going to (at someones request that I thought would be cool) do some posts about my family and the impact they've had on me. Next week - you guys voted on Cleaner and Closer - I'm pumped about that!

So I went over my weaknesses last week - here are some of (what I believe) are my strengths. I would definitely recommend asking people around you about your strengths and weaknesses - I think sometimes we think we're good at things that we're really not, and vice versa. So here is my list:

1. An Encourager - I am constantly trying to encourage everyone around me - I love lifting people up
2. Optimistic - I always try to see the best in everybody and every situation
3. Leadership - I think I have a lot of natural leadership abilities, however, natural abilities will only take me so far unless I develop them - this is a process.
   
4. Hunger for Growth - I am compulsive when it comes to learning - I'm constantly reading books, listening to sermons, asking people questions, etc.
   
5. Communication - I'm a good communicator
6. Planning/Organization - I actually really enjoy this stuff - kind of weird haha
7. Connecting with People - I usually tend to get along with almost anyone pretty easily
8. Networking - I'm pretty big on this . . . always trying to find people that can mentor me and pour into my life
9. My Natural Good Looks - I'm hot lunch haha
10. Faithfulness - I've tried to make it a point in my life to be faithful with everything God's blessed me with
11. Servant - I always try to go out of my way to serve others
    

I think if I had to nail down some of the things God's gifted me with - those would be it. . . Any thoughts from those who know me? Is that accurate? Totally off? haha ... let me know.

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All About Me (Part 4)

Weaknesses that Weaken me

We all have weaknesses don't we? John Maxwell encourages leaders to share their weaknesses with their followers/colleagues. Usually they say, "But, John if they know my weaknesses they won't think I'm the leader I am." In which John replies, "They already know your weaknesses - they're just happy you've finally figured them out!"

As I said, I'm a student of myself and I'm always looking for ways to improve. I usually find out my weaknesses by asking other people. In fact, I just learned another one from someone last night! I think sometimes we think we're good at everything don't we? However, I believe we need a strong dose of reality from people who love and care about us enough to tell us the truth about our strengths and weaknesses.

So here we go:

1. Insecurity - I think we're all insecure to some extent - this has been a tough one to overcome, but I'm doing it!
   
2. Gossiping - I've grown a lot in this area - I used to tell everyone everything!
   
3. Over Committing -Not being able to say No (I don't mean to drugs and things like that haha) I've been working hard at saying no to things in the past year
4. Lack of Rest - I love sleep - but I feel like I'm missing out on something in life if I sleep over 5-6 hours . . .
   
5. Delegation/Empowering Others- this is one of my greatest leadership weaknesses...I always feel that by delegating and empowering others that I'm bothering them ....thank God I have leaders around me who are lifting my lid in this area!
   
6. Taking time for myself - I hate being by myself! I love being around people! However, I'm realizing the importance of having "Bubba time" and that if I don't schedule it on purpose - it won't happen.
   
7. Unnecessary Jokes - Definitely forget to filter things sometimes....
   
8. People Pleaser - I want to make everybody happy...to battle this I constantly have to ask myself if I want to be a leader or a clown.
   
9. Control Freak - Didn't realize this until this year . . . I'm trying to let go!
   
10. Listening - I've recognized that I'm not the greatest listener when I'm talking to people...I'm trying so hard to break this!
    
11. Impatient - I don't like to wait for things...at all!
    
12. Getting Back to People - I'm not the greatest at calling people back . . .
    
13. Lack of Focus - There are always 10,000,000 things running through my mind at one time so it's easy for me to try to work on 10 projects at once instead of focusing on one!
    
14. Procrastination - I think we all procrastinate on things we're not passionate about... for me... it's school work! haha
15. Confrontation - this is another leadership weakness - because I'm so optimistic and love people so much - it's hard for me to have "hard" conversations with people. This is an area that I must grow in!!!
    

Now if you know me and you just read these and you'd say - Bubba! You have like 500 more weaknesses you forgot about... don't leave them all in my comment section! However, I would love your input... so come talk to me about them!

What are some of your weaknesses? Are you willing to admit them and surround yourself with people to help you overcome them?

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All About Me (Part 3)

A Few of my Not So Favorite Things

I'm a very optimistic person and try to see the best in everything so making this list took me a while! Please understand I'm not being judgmental of you if you take part in any of these things. I love people regardless of what they do - I just may not like what they do. Now that we have that established here we go:

1. People Who Don't Have a Relationship with God - They're missing out on EVERYTHING!
   
2. Drinking - don't get me started on this! Ahhh!!! I did a whole post on alcohol! (Culture)
3. Pre-Marital Sex - if people could only see all the long-term outcomes of this decision...
4. Drugs - I used to do a lot of these as well... that got me far in life (Sarcasm)
5. Our Cultures Values - just look around... it's so sad
6. The "Typical" College Experience - parties, parties, parties
   
7. People not having a Vision for Their Lives - we don't get to go through life again! People need to live for something bigger than themselves
8. Girls who don't Value Themselves - this breaks my heart when I see girls give themselves away to or date "crums" (listen to Perry Nobles new series) because they don't know what their worth (applies to guys as well)
9. Guys Treating Girls like Garbage - Ladies - DON'T SETTLE!
   
10. Carnal Christians- People who know the Word and talk a big game, but don't live it!
    
11. Needy People - I don't mean people in need. These are people who have no lives so they want to hang out with you and suck the life out of you!
12. Flirts - people that flirt with everyone! (Beware!)
13. Fake People - You can just tell their not genuine...BE YOURSELF...geez!
    
14. Being Late - I can't stand not being on time!
    
15. Afternoons - I am productive in the mornings and evenings (Coffee times!) - I dread 1-5 p.m.
16. People Talking During Movies - Pet Peeve - Definitely!
    
17. Funerals/Viewings - just not a fan... I'm sure I'll be a lot of them as a pastor though
    
18. The Pirate Ship and Magic Carpet Rides - I get sick every time I ride one!
19. Tangled Wires - One of my biggest pet peeves! Especially ear phone wires!
20. Winter - Except before Christmas and when I'm Snowboarding... I hate it!
21. Dirty/Unorganized Rooms, Cars, Etc. - I can't stand things being messy!
22. Talking on the Phone - not a huge fan (unless I'm in love haha)
23. Voicemails - if you don't get to the point in 10 seconds - I delete it!
    
24. Telemarketing - had to do a ton of this when I worked at Citizens - selling checking accounts over the phone - it doesn't get any better than that!
    
25. Bad College Professors - Seems to be the majority! I wonder how some of these people got hired!
26. Wasting Time - if I feel like what I'm doing is a waste of time and not productive - I go crazy!
27. Swimming - Like swimming laps -I want to do a triathlon in the future...we'll see
28. Watching TV - not a huge fan unless it's a sporting event or something
29. Bad Coffee - like the kind in our staff kitchen haha
30. Paying with Cash - I know this is a wiser thing to do, but I think it's a hassle
    
31. Long Lines - does anyone like these?
32. Working on Cars - this includes oil changes, inspections, etc.... I am going to hire someone to do this stuff for me later in life!
    
33. Not getting enough Rest - Believe it or not... I get grumpy without enough rest!
    

That is literally all I can think of....that was really challenging. I really don't dislike too many things. I'm sure there are plenty of more... but that is enough.

Thoughts?

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All About Me (Part 2)

A Few of my Favorite Things

Rain drops on roses and whiskers on kittens . . . just kidding. Here is a fun post on things that I love:

1. God - He is what I live for - pursuing God is my number one passion in life
2. Family - I'm pretty excited to start my own! I can't wait to make that journey!
3. Ministry - it's what I'm called to do! I'll never have to "work" a day in my life!
4. Seeing Lives Changed - Another thing I live for - my favorite thing about ministry!
   
5. Personal Growth - I've had a personal growth plan since I was 18 - I'll never stop!
6. Learning - I'm consumed with being a lifelong learner and learning something everyday
7. The Bible - God's Word - God speaking to me....could it get any better?
8. Traveling - I want to and I will see the world...(Every time I go somewhere new I sing the song "I've been everywhere" by Johnny Cash in the hotel ha ha)
   
9. Good friends - I love having people in my life I can laugh with, cry with, dream with, etc.
10. Getting Mentored - I'm always looking for people that can mentor me!
    
11. Leadership - One of my top passions in life! Thanks John Maxwell!
12. People - I wouldn't be in ministry if I didn't love people
13. Serving - I love serving people in anyway I can to be a blessing to them
    
14. Teenagers - I spend time serving these guys daily - Love them! So much p!otential!
15. Reading - One of my favorite things to do! (No fiction books please)
16. Achievement - I love actually producing something or hitting goals - it's why I live everyday on purpose
17. Bible School - I've learned so much here!
    
18. Starbucks Coffee - definitely addicted! (Spend $60 a month...not good for the budget!) Grande Coffee w/no room is my regular. Love Pumpkin Spice and Peppermint Lattes
19. Dunkin Doughnuts Coffee - this is usually a treat for me - flavored coffee!
20. Yankee Candles - Another addiction! I have them everywhere at home!
21. Holidays - I love traditions so Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas get me fired up!
22. Decorating - you may think I'm gay for this... but I don't care - I love it!
    
23. MAC - definitely a Mac person - I hate PC's
24. iPhone - Greatest invention ever! Don't know how I lived without it!
25. Movies - I'm a huge movie guy! Only thing I want to pick when I get my house with my wife is the basement - huge TV, huge couch, surround sound, tons of blankets - YEA!
26. The Fall - my favorite season! I did a post on why in September!
27. Running - never thought this would be on here! Just ran a marathon - running is my time to reflect and spend time with God!
28. Pictures - people say I'm obsessed - but I love memories! I have photo albums of my entire life in my room! I love having that!
    
29. Hiking/Biking - I love the outdoors!
    
30. Bonfires - who doesn't love them?
31. Hayrides - enough said!
32. Cleaning - yea... I like things neat and in order....
    
33. Little Kids - not sure about babies under 2 years old...above that...I love kids!
34. Food - I love eating!
    
35. Eating Out - I love going to new restaurants and trying new things! And spending time talking and getting to know people over dinner!
36. Victory Family Church - this place changed my life and I work there!
37. Revolution Student Ministries - We're touching a generation of teenagers!
38. 19 North - touching twenty somethings all of the Pittsburgh area - Whew!
39. Snowboarding - I can't wait until January! AH!
40. Social Websites - Facebook, Twitter, Blogging, etc... I'm on top of that
41. Early Morning - I love getting up early (5-6 a.m. and spending time by myself and with God)
42. Plays - I love going to see Plays!!!
    
43. Dancing - I could own you on the dance floor! (Believe it!)
    
44. Setting Goals/Reviews/Etc - I have a ton of systems for goals in my life - that's a whole blog series though
45. Christian Music - I listen to everything - mostly Christian music though
46. Rice Krispee Treats! - One of my favorite desserts!
47. Cookies - I am a huge cookie guy!
48. Vacations - this one should just be obvious (But I do like going different places every year - I want to see the world remember!)
49. Planning - It's just the way my mind works - I love planning things out!
50. Life - If you know me - I just try to live life to the fullest. When I say "I'm on fire" I mean it! I literally wake up everyday and cannot believe I get to live my life. I can't believe it! My life is awesome!
    

Certainly there are more - this was pretty general. What are your thoughts? Let me know!

Tomorrow - A Few of my Least Favorite things!

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All About Me (Part 1)

"I'm following everything I'll ever need, Finally Giving up Being Everything, I'm falling for you for eternity, right here at Your feet, where I want to be, I am Yours. "

-David Crowder Band (Foreverandever Etc...)

So you guys voted for me to blog "all about me" this week. While I want this to be a fun blog series, I also want it to be one that encourages you to become a student of yourself.

I put the lyrics above up for a purpose. While I have by no means "arrived", I do believe I am in a place in my life where I am finally giving up being everything. I mean -think about it...don't we spend most of our lives trying to be someone we're not? Trying to be the people we envy, trying to fit into groups we don't fit into at all, etc.. We try to be everything to everyone and we end up cheating ourselves out of who God created us to be.I think I'm finally in a place where I'm becoming confident who God called me and created me to be and it is a wonderful place to be in.
So over this series I am going to cover things I've discovered about me: My strengths (at least what I think they are haha), my weaknesses, insecurities, pet peeves, things I love, etc.. It should be a lot of fun.

Today I just want to leave you with some quotes that I hope will encourage you to become a student of YOU! Who God called YOU to be! He has a specific call for You! You're not supposed to be like the person you constantly compare yourself to! It's a very liberating thing when you can finally give up being everything, and become the person God created you to be! Here you go:

• " The first and best victory is to conquer self."
  

• "You can never conquer the mountain. You can only conquer yourself."

• "God will help you become all you can be, but He will never help you be successful at being someone else."
  

• "Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing themselves

• "The worst loneliness is to not be comfortable with yourself."

At the end of the series - I'll provide you with some resources on how you can learn about yourself. If throughout the series you have any questions or want to know anything else about me - just ask! Love you guys!

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What's Going on This Fall

This post has a two fold purpose - I'll be listing some things I'm doing this Fall that I'm excited about... then I want to hear from you about some cool things you have going on in the Fall. Why? Because I love new experiences and maybe there is something you do that I've never heard of before and could be missing out on. So here is my Fall:

Wicked - I am actually going to see Wicked tomorrow!! Victory has a theater group that goes to a a bunch of shows and goes to dinner before hand. It's a great way to meet people from church, get dinner and get to see a show! Three of my favorite things! I've wanted to see Wicked for a long time...I'll post my critique tomorrow night!

The Great Race - this is actually tomorrow as well. It's an awesome 10k race in downtown Pittsburgh. I am running it with Pastor Larry and Chris Bise. It's a lot of fun, an easy run, and it's for a good cause.

Chicago Marathon - You've heard enough about this for me... it's only 2 weeks away! Woot! I'll post on this later - but if you'd like to follow PL and I via texting for the marathon click here.


The Cadre: Atlanta - I have the privilege of being mentored by Jeanne Mayo and I'll get to go to Atlanta twice this year to her house! I am so excited! I'll be heading down for a Sunday-Thursday visit in mid-November!

Things I want to do/Looking Forward To:

• Trans-Siberian Orchestra- I might not be able to go :-(

• Christmas Carole - I love Christmas time... looking forward to this if I can go

• Victory - We have some sweet things coming up for the Fall as well at church...so pumped!
  

• Rev - we have a sweet Fall lined up for Revolution!

• Hayrides and Haunted Houses

• Harry Potter 6 - Don't get mad... I've enjoyed the first 5... can't not see the last two! If you see me carrying around a broom... then you can start getting on me.
  

What are you doing this Fall? Any good movies coming out? Any good shows you would recommend? Lets all hang out! haha

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Why I Absolutely Love the Fall!!

Fall is easily my favorite season of the year!!! Just the emotion it brings when the weather starts to cool off and the leaves beginning to change pumps me up! Here are some of my favorite things about Fall:


The Leaves Changing - This is obvious . . . it's the most beautiful time of year!

Hayrides - Specifically Haunted Hayrides!!! I know I am going to get some mixed feelings on this... but I love haunted hayrides and haunted houses... Anyone up for a few?

Apple Cider - More specifically Wassle (no clue if I spelled that right). Wassle is hot apple cider with some amazing spices in it. (Mad props to the Steidel family for introducing me to this!)

Hoodies - Who is with me on this one? I love wearing hoodies on chilly nights! Bon fires anyone?

Pumpkin Spice Latte's - YEA BABY! This is my favorite drink at Starbucks! Literally... if anyone ever wants to go to Sbux tell me... I want to consume as many of these as possible this fall!


Certainly there are more... but these are "a few of my favorite things" about fall. (Sound of Music reference... I know... not funny)...

Anyway... I want to hear from you....

What are some of your favorite things to do in the fall?

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5 Years Can Change Everything (Part 3)

So... We've covered where I was 5 years ago and what I've done over the past 5 years to get to where I am today. My final post will be where I'll be in 5 years. When I got to thinking about this, I realized I am in this re-dreaming phase of my life. In all honesty, I can take a good shot at where I'll be, but the verse is true that says, "many are the plans in a mans heart, but the Lord determines his steps." I can't tell you the number of plans I've made for myself and have seen a whopping none of them come to pass, but every time God has led me somewhere it's been for my benefit and the most amazing experience. So the simple answer to where I'll be is the cliche "wherever God leads me". As far as my plans:

In 5 Years (I'll be 28 Yikes!):

1. I'd like to be married!
2. Possibly have a kid on the way (imagine little Bubba's! sweet!)
3. I would have liked to have published one book
4. I'd like to be the leader of a ministry (youth, college, adult... who knows!)
5. Have my masters in Organizational Leadership

Just some thoughts... again... I'm in a re-dreaming phase where I'm really dreaming about the next 5 years of my life. Where will you be in 5 years? Are you dreaming? Get to it!

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I Am Pumped Up!

I was listening to Keith Moore and he said,

"I don't know if you know me or not, but I'm the kind of guy, that if God tells me to do something, I don't care if it's completely and politically correct, I don't care if nobody likes it, I'll just do it, and I'll do it again and again and again. Because in a few days I'm going to stand in front of Him and give an account for what I did and I won't be able to say, "yea, but Lord, they didn't like it and so I couldn't do it...no no no... we'll give an account before Him!"

I am in a wonderful season of my life in which I'm learning what I'm called to do and growing confident in that call. In Acts it says that if something is of God, it cannot be stopped! I know what God as called me to do and I won't let anything hold me back from that call... I am pumped up about this! I will stand in front of God one day and be accountable for what He called ME to do. Not the person next to me, not my family, not my friends . . . ME!

I wish I could keep going on this... but I don't want to keep rambling (and I have to go to class)... more to come! God is so good...

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5 Years Can Change Everything (Part 2)

Things That Have Changed My Life Over the Past 5 Years:

1. Getting Plugged into Mrs. Steidel's Bible Study
2. Going to Victory Family Church
3. Interning with the youth at Victory Family Church
4. Pastor Larry Bettencourt
5. The Steidel Family
6. John Maxwell & Keith Moore
7. Creating and Maintaining a Personal Growth Plan
8. Surrounding myself with Mentors and being intentional in my time with them
9. Developing friendships with people who were going somewhere I wanted to go in life
10. Going to Africa and Peru
11. Going to Bible School
12. Traveling around the U.S. (Boston, Maine, D.C., New York, etc.)
13. Working at Citizens Bank for 2 1/2 years

I write these because if you knew me 5 years ago and knew where I was now you'd never believe it. These are things I've done ON PURPOSE to get to where I am today and will continue to do to get to where I want to be in 5, 10, 15, 20 years! But again, I had to do it... no one else would do it for me.

If you think you're in a "rut" that you'll never get out of I promise, if you'll do some things to intentionally change your life, you'll see unbelievable results in 5 years!

Remember this, "Although you cannot go back and have a brand new start my friend, you can start now, and have a brand new end."

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5 Years Can Change Everything (Part 1)

I am finally entering my last semester of college! Other than anxiously awaiting not having to come back here in January, I've taken some time and reflected on my college experience. Although I've been in college longer than a lot of my friends, I realize I am a completely different person today than I was when I graduated high school in 2003.

Over the next few days I want to talk about where I was 5 years ago, what I've done over the past 5 years, and where I see myself going over the course of the next 5 years. Hopefully encouraging you that anything can change over time!

5 Years Ago:

• I graduated high school with a 1.6 GPA (667 in my class of 708) as Pastor John would say, "I made it possible for people to be in the top half of the class!"

• My mom passed away

• I had no purpose, plan, or direction for my life

• I thought if I were lucky I'd get to be a janitor or truck driver (nothing wrong with that, it just isn't in my heart to do)

• I was drinking all the time and doing all kind of drugs

• I had gotten fired from every job I ever worked (Sheetz, McDonald's, Bob Evans)

• I felt so lost and alone as all my friends were going off to schools and about to move on with their lives as a result of hard work and I was staying home with no clue on which step I should take next.

• On the positive side: I had tons of friends, I was homecoming king, got to experience a lot of cool things in high school...football team, wrestling, dances, etc.

Tomorrow I will go over how my life got changed forever my senior year and how I've intentionally lived my life over the past 5 years to get to where I am today.

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