THANK YOU!

A few years ago, I started a Cowboy Christian Blog. On it, I posted cowboy devotionals, music, and testimonies. Recently, I added a section on the blog that features everything else that I dabble in including health and beauty. Since October 1, there has been over 12,000 new views from all states! From California to North Carolina, THANK YOU!!

There are times when we stumble and fall during our walk with the Lord. It's during those times that we fall to our knees. 

Rodeo and Faith - Brit Ellerman

Brit Ellerman

Team Roper and Tie-down Roper for the University of Wyoming

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"You are a once in all history event."

Brit Ellerman is firmly convinced that each person has something unique, and if we don't show it that, then that is a piece of God that the world will never see. He lives this message each day by making the most of the opportunities that God puts in front of him.

Brit was introduced to roping at an early age. Born into a rodeo family, he was blessed to have a 5-time National Finals Rodeo qualifier for a dad, as well as a mother and sister who rope and love to rodeo. His early exposure to the sport has grown into a love and desire to turn pro.

He first competed in Junior Rodeo at age 5 and continued practicing and improving as he grew. Brit earned an invitation to a Young Pros roping camp when he was 12. There he met Jeff and Carol Hogner, and his life was forever changed. Not only did they provide excellent roping instruction, they shared the love of Jesus with the participants. Thanks to their faithfulness, Brit began his personal relationship with Christ which has had a domino effect to his family and all he meets.

The next summer, Brit as Hogners if he could travel with them. They said yes, and he joined their team of young ropers who loved Jesus in ministering to kids wherever they went. This opened the door for Brit to become comfortable sharing his faith publicly and the important skill of building relationships.

He continued traveling with Young Pros throughout high school as well as competing (and winning) roping competitions and playing basketball. He earned a roping scholarship to the University of Wyoming and is currently in his junior year there. Life was very good and he was sure of the direction he was taking.

During his sophomore year of college, Brit found that not everything came to him easily. His courses were difficult, he wasn't winning at roping like he was used to, and he found himself questioning the path he was on. His relationships were suffering too as his thoughts circled around himself and about what he was going to do.

\He was getting down on himself and becoming depressed. As he continued to wonder if he should drop out of college and leave roping, Brit finally sought advice from a Godly friend. He was challenged to consider that just because things were hard, that was not a reason to quit. IF God was calling him into something different, that was fine, but giving up because things weren't going his way? There was more to life and God's purpose for him than how he was feeling in the struggles of the moment.

As he continued to search out God and His plans for his life, Brit realized that his identity and purpose were not based on how well he did in the arena or in his classes. He was able to overcome the frustrations and uncertainty through focusing on using the gifts and talents that God had given him to reach out to others. When he took the focus off himself, he regained perspective on people and the world around him.

Brit's competitive nature and discipline has driven him to train and excel whatever he puts his hand to, but he has an additional motivator: doing everything to honor God. On the days when his is tempted to slack off schooling or cut corners in training, he is reminded that he is not doing these things only for himself. He has learned that being ReMade isn't necessarily a one-time thing. We wake up new each day, with all we need to go through that day.

1 Timothy 4:12 "Get the word out. Teach all these things. And don't let anyone put you down because you're young. Teach believers with your life: by word, by demeanor, by love, by faith, by integrity. Stay at your post reading scripture, giving counsel, teaching." Brit Ellerman personifies this verse. He may be young, but he is bold and lets no one and nothing hold him back. He is ReMade every day, and sharing the unique parts of God in him with the world.

 

 

SPONSORED BY: ReMade Apparel

Rodeo and Faith - Dale Hirschman

When was the first time you heard about Christ? When did you receive him as your personal Lord and Savior?
I grew up in church but didn't hear about the salvation message until I was 13 or 14 yrs old. I thought it was a no-brainer to receive Jesus, so I did. While in college I really committed my life to Jesus and started living for Him. I had high morals but no relationship with Him until I got involved in FCA at college. When I became a real Christian it was long enough ago that being a Christian and being a cowboy wasn't hardly heard of. It was at the start of the Christian movement in the rodeo world. At that time a "Cowboy Church" was unheard of.


You accepted Christ early in your career, how did you apply him to your rodeo effort? (Especially throughout high school, college, and all your rodeo travels)
As I was saying earlier being a Christian and a rodeo cowboy was very rare when I started so, I had a tough time at 1st with the two going together. In Eph. 4:1 it says to "walk worthy of the vocation wherein you were called" I figured I was a PRCA bareback rider (not that I was making much of a living at it, but I was trying) so I started to let my light shine at the rodeos I was at and acknowledge Him in all my ways, plus God was moving in other Cowboys' hearts and that's when my 2 worlds started combining. Being a Christian and a cowboy became more common.


Throughout your career, you have had many qualifications to the Prairie Circuit Finals and have won many other events how do you feel Christ has played a role in this?
Any success I've obtain in rodeo was really affected by Col. 3:23 becoming real in my life. My worldly success in rodeo hasn't been as much as I wanted but to pull into a rodeo and compete as an act of worship to my Heavenly Father is a phenomenal feeling and became my goal every time I "nodded my head".


Tell us about your Ultimate Challenge Ministries and what inspired you to start this ministry?
The name "Ultimate Challenge Ministries" came to me once when I saw an add for the WNFR and they called it the "Ultimate Challenge". I thought, "No, it's not because it's limited by physical abilities, demographics, age, etc. However, following Jesus daily is the "Ultimate Challenge" because it's open to everyone, everywhere, at any time and it never runs out. And that became the name of our ministry when we became a registered ministry. I never set out to start a ministry. Another student while I was in college started holding church services at the college rodeos in the Central Plains Region where we were competing and he left the season early so I stepped in and did the last cowboy church service and the ministry started from that. That was in the spring of 1980 and we've been holding them ever since.


Through your ministry, you have the opportunity to share Christ to others, what does this mean to you?
Through my life I've had the opportunity to share Jesus with others. I've got GREAT NEWS to share... I have the love and acceptance of the Greatest Father, the forgiveness of the Greatest Savior, and the help of the Greatest Helper, and the Greatest Purpose to live everyday! I love to encourage people and in that process point them towards a relationship with Jesus.


Can you explain to us the book you wrote The Cowboy Call.
The book I wrote was fulfilling of a life long dream I had to write and illustrate a book. "The Cowboy Call" is a book of short stories/ testimonies about God's faithfulness in everyday life. They are events that I've been a part of or that I've seen. It was written to encourage people in their everyday walk with Jesus. We've gotten quite a few good reports from people about it and I believe everyone in the western world should read it. (just sayin' c: )


How do you and your family stay so connected in the word?
My family and I stayed connected in the Word through nightly family devotions and going to our home church. I personally have committed to read God's Word every day. Some days I read a lot, a lot I read a little, but, I try to read some everyday.


What is your favorite Bible story/verse and why?
My favorite Bible verses: For everyday living I really like Pro. 3; for my Father's heart towards us I love Luke 15 the prodigal son story. I believe it's more about our Father's heart towards us than it is about the son''s failures. The scriptures for tough times I like II Corin 4:8-9 & II Corin. 5:14 (KJV).

There are many young athletes who are just starting their rodeo career, what are some encouraging thoughts you have for them?
For young contestants starting out; Jesus is not a "good-luck charm" He is a real and loving God who wants an intimate everyday relationship with you! And the greatest thing you can do is compete as an act of worship to Him, fellowship with Him in every area of your life, and stand strong for Him allowing your warrior heart to show forth in everything you do.

Faith and Rodeo - Chuck Swisher

 

How did you get started bullfighting? 

My father rode Bulls and retired before I was born and I just got the idea in my head that I wanted to be a rodeo cowboy. I was a skateboarder until the age of 14ish. I made a transition from vans to boots and flat bill caps to cowboy hats. I thought I wanted to ride bulls like my dad but I was to scared. There was a cowboy/bullfighter that was a senior my freshman year of high school and I looked up to him and wanted to be like him. So I followed him around and my parents took me to a bullfighting school and the rest is history.

 

 

Can you share with us your testimony?

 I've "known" who God is my entire life, but I didn't really "know" Him. Grew up going to a Baptist church and as a young kid I was just excited for it to end and lunch to get here. I went to Fallscreek(church camp) when I was about 13 and one night at revival they did an alter call. I wasn't exactly sure what that was but a buddy(a kid I thought was cool) came up and said "chuck you should go down there, heck I'll go with you". So I thought if he's doing it I might as well, plus I wanted to be cool in front of my friends. I walked down to the front and was "saved" said the prayer and cried. But being a 13 yr old kid I didn't really know exactly what that meant. Few years pass and now I'm 21-22 and had some friends ask if I wanted to go to the Riding on Faith bullriding and bible camp. Once again these Friends of mine were the cool guys I wanted to hang out with. So I figured I'll go get to hang out with them, get to fight Bulls which I love and it'll be a great time. Needless to say when I got there it was a bible camp that just so happened to have Bulls at it. Went to church breakfast lunch and dinner and each night was a big sermon. One night we were praising and worshipping and the preacher said "now is the time if you haven't before and you really want to live for the Lord, now is the time." I hit my knees and I knew this time what I was saying. I ask God into my heart I confessed with my mouth and believed it in my heart. Iv never had such a peace come over me like that before. Laughed so hard, cried so hard all on my knees. Ever since, Swish is a Jesus Freak!!

 

How do you stay so connect in the word, especially since you are on the road?

Being on the road as much as we are is hard to have a set pattern of things to do. The good thing is there's a handful of rodeos that will have bible study each night after or church on Sunday's we get to go attend, such as Rodeo Houston. Ted and Linda Weise do bible study every night so it's hard not to stay connected that way. And I challenged myself as I challenged all of you. If God is the most important thing in your life like He should be, then He deserves our first. Which means when you wake up in the morning make facebook, Instagram and social media wait!! God deserves that moment. So the first thing I do is roll over grab my bible and give God my first. I thank Him for the day and read what He has for me that day. I know some days are harder than the others, but what's 5-10 minutes of your morning actually going to hurt? And if you have to be somewhere early set your alarm early and give that 5-10 minutes to God.

 

You have led bible studies and have had other opportunities to share Christ to others, what does this mean to you?

Getting to share my story and getting to share Gods story to people is one of the greatest things ever. I love being able to help people and love people like Jesus did for us. I plan on becoming a preacher some day, not sure when but I have a feeling that God is going to put me with a microphone in front of people to spread His word.

 

Do you have any crazy experiences bull fighting that you would like to share with us?

Every day is a crazy experience in my book. The group of guys we hang out with are all the best and that's because we push each other harder than anyone else. We are always goofing around and making each other better. The craziest or scariest bullfighting experience Iv ever had was probably walking 30 feet down the tunnel of the Thomas and Mack for the NFR. I was so nervous I stood close to the trash can the entire time I was warming up. But once I stepped foot in that dirt it was game on.

 

What is your favorite Bible story/verse and why?

Man this is a hard question. There are so many good stories in the bible, but the one that sticks out to me the most is probably David vs Goliath. David being a young kid having the amount of faith he had to fight Goliath being a 10 ft monster and he wins. It relates to my life just as me in this world. We all have hurdles to jump and hills to climb but we have to keep the faith and believe that God has our back because He does. My favorite bible verse is Romans 1:16. I'm a 11sixer all the way. It says "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile." I am unashamed and that's how we should all be I believe.

 

Throughout your career, you have won many bull fighting events how do you feel Christ has played a role in this?

I'm smiling big at this question. God has played such a huge roll in my life and my career. If it weren't for Him I wouldn't have done anything. He deserves all the glory. I was dead broke and it was the same time as the Riding on Faith camp and I had a bullfight in Cody, WYO the next week. Barely had enough money to get there and then had to fly to Vegas and drive to Utah after that. I went to the bullfight and my cup literally overfloweth. In my round of the bullfight the kid before me was 90 points and that's pretty huge. I knew I had to do my best to make any money. Needless to say I went 92. Ended up winning the bullfight and making enough money to get me to the next one. That was all God there. So He plays a roll in my everyday.

 

For those who are aspiring to have a career as a bullfighter, what encouraging thoughts do you have for them?

When I started I watched film everyday all day and still do. I had an old VHS tape that I watched so much you couldn't see what was happening because of the grey lines in the screen. Always give your best and if you have a true passion for something and God has your back you can do anything.

 

 

Faith and Rodeo - Candace Lostroh

Can you share with us your testimony? When did you start living all out for Christ?

Well, I always grew up in church.  You could say that I had “religion” but not a “relationship” with Jesus.  I really came to know God and started living for Him in high school.  At our high school rodeos we had some amazing men of God preach on Sunday mornings so I got hear about the real Jesus and how He did everything on the Cross to make me worthy for His love and I didn’t have a bunch of sacraments to complete to be worthy of His love I just had to accept Him into my heart.  What a relief!

 

Could you touch a little bit on the testimony of your marriage.

Kody and I started dating when we were 16 years old and we got married when we were 20 years old. Kody came to Jesus when he was about 14 years old so he kind of helped me along when I decided to leave the religion that I had grown up in and to just focus on what the Bible says.  That’s what I loved about him the most right from the beginning is that he loved Jesus more than he loved me and he saw to it that I grew in my faith.  He is always so encouraging to me in everything that I do.  If Jesus wasn’t at the center of our marriage I’m not sure we’d be happily married today.  Marriage is hard!  Jesus has to be at the center of it to make it work successfully.  We’re also really good at forgiving quickly.

 

What is it that pushes you and your family to dig deeper into His word on a daily basis?

I’ll be honest that sometimes life gets away from us.  I’ll be having a rough week and I’ll stop to realize that I seriously have not picked up my Bible in a few days.  That’s when I’ll try to and get in the Word and pray.  Kody and I love praying with our girls and teaching them about Jesus.  Also, worship music really ministers to me.  If I’m having a bad day or just stressed I’ll start up my worship playlist and my girls and me will get lost to Bethel or Jesus Culture.  Sheridan always has to point out that they’re singing about Jesus.  I love watching God shape their little hearts.  There’s also nothing better than starting and ending your day in prayer.  No matter what God always welcomes me back with open arms when I’ve wandered away from Him or messed up.  He’s so forgiving.

How do you and your family stay so connected in the word, especially since your husband is on the road often?

I’m really involved in our church at Northern Colorado Cowboy Church, so when he’s away traveling I still feel like I have a family around me.  Kody’s always reading books so when he’s on the road he’ll share with me what he’s reading and what it’s ministering to him about.  I wish we were better about praying over the phone, but a lot of times he’s calling me late at night after he’s rode and I’m half asleep.  The question I get asked more than anything is, “how do you deal with him riding bulls?  Don’t you get scared?”  If I stopped to think about what “could” happen for more than a nanosecond, yes, I do get scared.  But God’s Word says to take every thought
into captivity to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5).  I pray for him a lot and I know that no matter what as long as we have God in our lives we have everything we need no matter what comes our way.  I also know that I’m doing my husband a disservice of I’m nervous and anxious for him as he rides because we are one flesh and if he’s not focusing on that then I shouldn’t be either.

 

 

Candace and her family

What is it like for you to share Christ to your children?

My girls are one year old and almost 3 years old and even though they’re both pretty young to fully understand a lot about Jesus and what He did for them, they’re not too young to learn about how much He loves them.  They know that mommy and daddy love them and they can feel that love from us, so we just share with them that Jesus loves them so much and even more than mommy and daddy do.  Our church has an amazing children’s ministry and I love hearing from Sheridan about what she learned in her class after church.  In Odessa’s class they put on worship music for the babies and all I hear about is how much she rocks out when she hears the music, haha! I think that’s just about the sweetest thing to watch is your babies praising Jesus!

 

 

What would you tell other wives of athletes who would their marriage to be more about Him but experience their husband gone often due to rodeo/ bull riding travels?

My ultimate advice is to prayer for your husband. Lift him up to God in his workplace, his faith, his health and just pray that in every area in his life that he will have favor with man and with God.  I also pray to God to change my heart if there’s a particular thing that I want changed in my husband.  I need to look at myself first and see if there’s something that I’m lacking in my walk with God before I start putting my finger on something in my husband’s walk.

 

Tell me about your blog 'Cooped Up Cowboy's Wife' and what inspired you to start it.

I’ve always loved to write and I love getting to share my interests and my faith with others and blogging is a perfect platform to do that.  My good friend, Kirste Wegele and I started Cooped Up Cowboy’s Wife about a year ago and it’s been so much fun.  We write posts on anything from our kiddos, to catching cows, to refinishing furniture, to fashion, and my personal favorite is getting to interview other women out there that live the same kind of life that we do.  We are so blessed that we get to meet some amazing women through this little blog and we’ve become friends with people all over the world who we would have never have come in contact with if it weren’t for our blog.  I also just love getting to encourage other woman.  I’ve seen that so many people in the blogging world think that it’s a competition against other bloggers to get readers or to get the most “likes” but to us it’s not.  We just love getting to help other people get started in pursuing their dreams and it just makes what we’re doing so rewarding! Just go for it and do what God tells you to do!

Faith and Rodeo - Casey Tew

Casey Tew a young roper from Weatherford, Texas gave his live to Christ at an USTRC team roping in Cheyenne, Wyoming in 2009. To Casey, Rodeo isn’t a whole lot different than anything else. Even though there are times when things get pretty busy and seem to run together, his priorities stay the same. When in situations like this, he reaches for Matthew 6:33 “Seek God First.” Casey sets his priorities on reading scripture every morning.

As a young athlete, Casey looks up to many successful cowboys with Trevor Brazile being his favorite. However, there are many other cowboys that live a Christian lifestyle that he views as his role model including Clay O’Brien Cooper, Patrick Smith, Clay Tryan, Travis Graves, and Rickey Green.

Casey enjoys sharing his love of Christ by loving on people. He believes that if you are doing your best and keeping a great attitude than people should be able to see that. In Casey words, “The best sermon is the one you live, not the one you preach.”

Casey has been blessed with the opportunity to share his testimony at various cowboy church services, roping, and rodeos. His testimony has touch many people. He considers himself blessed to be the blessing to others.

Although, Casey Tew has a knack for roping, he also finds himself doing leatherwork. From bracelets to headstalls, Casey uses his talent and love for Christ to accomplish beautiful leather work.   

 

Casey's Leather is pictured below. If you would like him to do any custom work for you, you can reach him through his facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/casey.tew.3
 

 

 

Faith and Rodeo - Kory Keeth

Kory Keeth, a young professional rodeo announcer, remembers accepting Jesus Christ into his life at the tender age of 11.  With strong Christian influences guiding him, Keeth knew that accepting Christ was something that he needed to do.

 

As a rising rodeo announcer, Kory often finds himself on the road traveling between rodeos and bull riding events. With every opportunity to travel, he views it as a mission field to share Christ. Whether he is on the ranch working or on the road, there is always someone who needs Jesus. In the words of Keeth, “Behind the wheel or in front of the crowd, I speak Jesus. I speak what God puts on my heart.”

 

Although Kory Keeth grew up in a Christian household, he looks up to many other individuals in the rodeo industry who have strong Christian values. Justin McKee, Trey Johnson, and Dale Hirschman all serve as Kory’s Christian influences. Justin has been blessed with a successful career announcing many professional rodeos and bull riding events. When Justin isn’t in the arena announcing, he continues to serve Christ out of his Church in Oklahoma.  Another individual that serves as a role model for Keeth is Trey Johnson. Trey was fortunate to win PRCA Rookie of the Year in 2000. However, it isn’t his accomplishments that inspire Keeth, it is testimony of faith and dedication to Christ to serve one service, one roping, one rodeo, one person and one thought at a time. Keeth also looks up to cowboy minister Dale Hirschman as he encourages Keeth to have a deeper relationship with Christ.

 

As Kory progresses forward in his career, he continues to serve as a Christian example for other young professionals in the industry. His hope is to show others that Jesus Christ is the reason that they get to ride and swing a rope. By speaking life into other young professionals, Keeth’s goal is that they will realize that Christ is missing piece of their life.

Faith and Rodeo - Dane Kissack

Tie-Down Dane Kissack is a man who is easy recognized by his huge heart, positive attitude, and firm faith with Christ. Spending many days at a time on the road and long hours traveling between rodeos, Dane finds himself growing in his relationship with Christ everyday. 

 

Dane was introduced to Christ at a young age and found that he could have a one on one relationship with Christ. At thirteen years old, Dane realized that roping was what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. In his words “ I want to take my life and give it 110% for the Lord in whatever I do. When things don’t go my way, I know God has bigger and better things planned for me and it makes me excited to see what He is going to bring me next in my life.”

 

All too often we see the goody-too-shoes, the buckle bunnies, and the trailer parties. With road life and free range there is a possibly of poor decision-making. For Dane, it can be discouraging at times but also encouraging to see that there is a need for good wholesome people to be leaders in rodeo. As a role-model to tie-down ropers of all ages, Dane focuses on why God has him in rodeo. It’s easy to get caught up in the sinful actions that happen behind closed doors; however Dane stands true to his values. “I can made a difference if I set an example and follow that.”

 

God has specifically placed Dane in the shoes he is wearing now, sharing his love and compassion for the Lord with each person he interacts with. When the opportunity arises, Dane leads Cowboy Church services and also hosts bible studies with friends and family. He encourages them to grow in their relationship with God and to find a personal reason, an interest to love the Lord and serve him with your actions.

 

                                                                                                                    

Be The Person Who Loves The Most

From mid-January up until February 14th, I have been imagining what I thought was the perfect Valentine’s Day gift. A shirt and tie, for his new business look, and book box full of notes, pictures, and other memorabilia stubs that captured our crazy times together. Needless to say my gift to him didn’t compare at all to the gift he had for me… A gift box full of Eddie Bauer clothing and accessories, perfume, and a box of chocolate.

Later that night, we were discussing relationship matters when in mid-conversation he recited a quote that he once heard, “You can’t be afraid to be the person in the relationship who loves the most.” Let me first say that I was very shocked that this phrase even came out of his mouth and that he actually kept it in the back of his mind. Secondly, I sat in awe because he couldn’t be more right.

Quite often I find that there are people who hold back in their relationship because they are afraid that they might love their partner more than he/she loves them. “He wouldn’t do that for me, why would I go out of my way to do that for him.” In a true relationship you can’t hold back. Let the love flow. Another point I hear couples contemplating are the fear of falling out of love or losing the original luster that your relationship once had. It’s then that the “what if’s” begin to circle round. “What if this happens or what if that comes to be…” the list could go on. But what if we chose to love each other through whatever circumstance comes our way… then what? We continue our great relationship and fall more in love. Like anything in life, the new begins to wear off and things begin to dull. However, from my point of view, I feel that it is very important in a relationship that one puts their efforts toward staying in love and trying to keep the new from wearing off rather than falling out of love. To me, you’ve already set yourself up for failure trying to prevent the problem other wise.

Have you ever wondered what it might be like if Christ held out on you because He was afraid that He loved you more than you love him. People challenge Christ every day. They chose to follow their own ways and ride the path cut out by satan. They don’t trust the fact that through whatever our circumstances are Christ doesn’t hold back. Christ loves on us daily, so why not love on him back. Why not share his love to others. Why not love on others, as Christ would do. Is it possible that Christ begins to circle the “what if’s” when we turn on Him and fall into the devil’s trap of sin? “What if he/she just followed what I laid out for him/her? What if he/she didn’t fall to sin? What if he/she just loved me enough to trust that I have a plan for him/her…” Despite the situation, Christ is there to love on us even when we turn from him and don’t profoundly express His love, as we should. In a significant other relationship, not fully expressing your love for the other person may bring about complications. Christ loves us through it all, and He has never once turned on you. Therefore, don’t be afraid to love Him with all that you have.

As we dig deeper into His word, we find that Christ’s love is new and exciting every day. We realize that even through the biggest storms and the smallest rainfalls, Christ never gives up on us. He never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through ever circumstance. Why not take the time to love your partner just as Christ loves you. Keep the love alive and show them that you appreciate their gestures, their love, and random acts of kindness on a daily basis. Every now and then you may run into a rut and find that life events have dulled over the shine and sparkle; however, it’s never too late to polish up. Despite the contents of our Valentine’s Day gift exchange, we both presented to each other what we thought captured our relationship best. He loves to spoil me and I must admit that I enjoy it; however, it was his words that night will never leave my mind, “Don’t be afraid to love the most.”

"Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance." -- 1 Corinthians 13:7 --
 

 

- God Speed-

Bobbi LeAnn

 

 

 

 

Spiritual Life with a Busy Schedule

After three weeks, I can finally say that I’m starting to get the hang of this 8-5 schedule. All the furniture has arrived for my apartment and I no longer have to spend the night cuddled in a blanket on my bedroom floor. Now that the process of decorating and organizing has slowed down I am at the point where I can get all settled in and enjoy it all.

Working an 8-5 job, I find myself constantly busy. Waking up early to get in my daily exercise, playing music after work, squeezing in a few minutes for a devotional and prayer, and going to bed early just to repeat it all again the next day. I have come to realize that I am not the only one who runs a busy life. Truth is we all do and there others who are busier than most.

When life throws us the crazy agendas of what needs to be done, we often settle in our faith. We think that if I can squeeze just a few minutes each day or every other day and attend church on Sunday that is enough. However, I believe that Christ wants just as much of your attention as every point on your “To-Do list.”

What I have come to realize is that, it is easy to go about our busy lives concentrating on our immediate needs and forgetting or leaving little to no time for God. We often put Him on the back burner and only call on Him when we think we need Him. This is not how God intended it to be. He wants to be a part of everything that we do, and it doesn’t have to be a complicated process. If we take the steps to get closer with God, He will also get closer to us. That’s His promise. We just have to let Him in.

 

Joey+Rory Show

Living in Nashville, I have experienced some of the greatest opportunities. From the random meetings of celebrities in the malls to attending a CMA Red Carpet event. However, there is one experience that sets above all the others... attending the Joey and Rory Show. A God spirited family with an amazing love for music. 

Foundation Built on the Bedrock of Jesus

With a New Year comes the hope of a fresh new start. Some of us evaluate the past year and make resolutions to make this year better than the last. By now most of resolutions that were jotted down have probably been pushed aside. Life has an odd way of dishing out the unexpected, and it often turns out to be a little more than we think we can handle. Of all the crazy things most put on their New Year resolution list, this year it's time to change it up. This year it's time to be honest with yourself and Christ.  

Pray more, remain consistent in our faith, and creating a stronger relationship with God.

Staying consistent in our faith is one of the best and most foundational things that we can do to be prepared for whatever the New Year has to offer.  Just like a building, our faith is constructed on a foundation. A foundation that is constructed by strength from our spiritual life and is sits on the bedrock of Jesus.

Dedicated and consistent time spent with God brings our lives in line with His plan for us.  A strong foundation starts with an extremely deep relationship with God. There is no substitute for it. There are no fast tracks and no hacks to get there quickly. Relationship cannot be completed; it is ever growing, ever changing, and eternal. Therefore, it must be worked on daily, consistently, and with intention. God’s success is simply defined by how closely we followed His plan for our lives.

“For the grace of God has been revealed, bringing salvation to all people. And we are instructed to turn from godless living and sinful pleasures. We should live in this evil world with wisdom, righteousness, and devotion to God, while we look forward with hope to that wonderful day when the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, will be revealed.”

-Titus 2:11-13