Merry Christmas!!!

i hope that the Christmas season is going well for all of those who may be reading. what is freedom? what does it look like? where does it come from? these are questions i find myself asking...myself and pondering the answer to them. i struggle with the idea of freedom. i know that i am free, but, somehow i always end up in the shackels again. i have dificulty claiming that freedom for myself. i had come to a point that i believed that i had it nailed, only to realize that i was the one being nailed back to the prison wall. the idea of true freedom has eluded me...and yet it hasn't. this is making absolutely no sense to me, but i know that it will. to be free is to embrace the sacrifice that has been made on my behalf. to live in bondage is to mock this sacrifice and deem it unworthy of me. but it's all backwards. i am unworhty of the gift. the gift of grace is something i neither meritted nor deserve. yet it is freely given. to grasp on to this is to forsake all that is known to me and run in the direction of the Father's voice. thank you, Daddy, for this gift of grace that i am not worthy of.

peace out

what's happenin'

It's been a while since i've blogged. it's kinda discouraging to me that no one ever leaves comments on my blog. does nobody read it, or do they simply refuse to comment? i had to beg Karen to leave me a comment so that i wasn't a comment loser anymore...oh well. if you're reading this, humor me a little adnd take a few seconds to leave me a comment...or don't, which ever works for you.
i'm getting married...that's so cool!!! we are moving Karen into OUR house tomorrow. i'm so pumped! let me just say that God is good in His provision for His children. i never have a need that is left dry. even in my unfaithfulness, He is faithful.
Karen and i are raising our support to go on staff with Grace. it has definately been a trying experience so far, not knowing how in the world we were going to raise all the money in the right amount of time. But, as mentioned above, God is faithful, moreso than i will ever be able to fathom. He has, in only a short amount of time, provided several people that are wanting to partner with us, with the hope of more to come. it is a really cool place to be, allowing God to provide ALL of your financial needs. i will be the first to tell you that i struggle with the idea of giving up control of my finances, especially when i'm about to get married with the pressures of the world telling me that i have to have all my ducks in a row and be "the breadwinning, successful man." it's cool and kinda scary to know that it's not in my hands. whoa...this is so much longer than i ever thought i would blog. the little scroll bar just came into the post box...well i leave you with this: who better to trust with your money than the One who has all the money in the world?

the best thanksgiving ever! (well, sort of...)

so...i spent thanksgiving in the carribean. while most americans were eating turkey in the cold november air, i was in a bathing suit snorkeling on the coast of st. thomas, virgin islands. and i must say it was amazing. all those fish and underwater creatures were incredible. another thing i discovered in my under the sea adventure was the specimen known as the sea urchin. it is black and looks a lot like a koosh ball. i was greatly surprised to find out that it is not a koosh ball. instead, it is like a ball made of needles. needles that poke and sting you. i found that i am not a fan of sea urchins.
But, overall, i had a fantastic time and probably gained 10 pounds with all the food they gave us. whatever i wanted, whenever i wanted. it was stellar.
karen got to go with us on the cruise (along with her family). it is really awesome to experience the things we saw with the person you love. i was sooooooo glad she was there. she made the trip so much better. in case you were wondering (which i know you were) this is random simply because i am waiting for something to print at the library. i had nothing better to do, so i thought i would blog a little. so, that's been the insight into bryan's mind for the day.

peace

wow...

i'm amazed at the goodness of God. it has just been so apparent to me over the last few days that He is sooooo good. i'm getting more and more excited about the wedding. karen played me the song that she will be walking into, and i started crying! i still tear up when i think about it. not only will it be my bride walking down the aisle towards me, it will be a shining example of the excitement and awe that we will experience as the bride of christ on our wedding with the eternal bridegroom. i know that i will be waiting eagerly and excitedly for my beautiful bride to arive. how much more eagerly does Christ await the arrival of his bride...US! what an amazing picture of the glory that waits for those who love Him!!! i'm getting chills...

peace

what had happen wuz...

The title was the first thing that came to my mind. Isn't it cool how you can look back on something and see God's hand in it, even though you couldn't see it before? I have had a few moments like that in the past couple of days and it's really really cool. It's mind boggling (that's a really fun phrase to say) to see how God works in His oh so mysterious ways. I think it is so funny to me that I'm about to get married to a girl that I would have never met without so many thing falling into a perfect place. And it's even funnier that i met her when I liked another girl. But the LORD knew best and i am marrying "the ONE" and not the other. I've just had a lot of cool "wow, God you're really really cool" moments recently. Most of them have involved the path that has brought me to where i am now. A year and a half ago, i had never even picked up a guitar, and God has opened up the door for me to do something that i'm passionate about (lead worship) without me even seeking it out. I had always said that God was going to have to open those doors and that i would just wait on his timing. It is just so cool to see His faithfulness and His provision. well, i think i'm about all talked out for 11:30, so i'll leave it at that.

peace

This is a testimony to the heartlessness of the Auburn University Parking patrol. I found this on a car one morning last week. When i saw this, i laughed. i then realized the pain and anguish that these people have on the hardworking students of this university. this has to stop...

making the transition

well...i finally did it. i quit at hibbett. it's about time, right. well, from here, i don't know where life will take me. i'm excited to see what God has for me. i don't really have much else to say. peace...

An Explanation...

i've been asked why i chose the title that i did for my blog. well, here's your answer:

I feel as though i am preparing for something, but it is not related to my major. i know that i must finish school in order to get to where i'm going, but i don;t think where i'm going involves my major. this is really confusing to me, because i woild like (at times) to just drop out of school in order to pursue other things that i enjoy, like, say, moving to Seattle and helping out with the desperate need for light in the dark place. But, for noe, i'm stuck in the middle of school and the preparation for whatever it is that i;m being prepared for. so, there you have it. why i'm "here in the middle."

Here we go

I don't really know what blogging is, but I'm doing it.