(re)set

its been over a year since my last update.  so many things have happened in my life and in our world in my absence from this blog; however, i won't bore you trying to recap all of those things in any depth, but here's a brief recap.

it was a great year though in a number of ways:
  -began dating my best friend (Brittany Watts) and eventually moved her back home to Louisiana where she belongs :) we've now been dating over 11 months!
  -volunteered in Joplin, MO cleaning up from the devastating tornados.. definitely a humbling experience.
  -participated in tons of events with the youth @ Live Oak (remix, vbs, camp fuego, guys retreat, q&a panel for girls' retreat, serve n ski)
  -graduated from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary on Dec. 17th, 2011, with a Master of Divinity.
  -starting Jan. 1st, 2012, i went on staff full-time at Live Oak United Methodist Church in Watson, LA as the Associate Minister/Worship Leader, leading worship for 4 services throughout the week (plus special services like Good Friday, etc.), assisting with the youth and helping with pastoral care/visitations as needed.  its definitely been a growing experience so far.

i could go into so much depth on all of those topics listed above, but i'll spare each of you the in-depth play-by-play details. if you'd like to know more about anything above, hit me up and i'd be glad to give ya the whole scoop.

obviously, i haven't done the best job (to say the least) at keeping this blog updated. it always proved difficult to find the time to update while i was in school/serving at the church, etc., then when i did have the time, i was so far behind in updating that there was so much to cover.. so we'll consider this a(nother) reset.

i've been reading a bunch of books lately, many of which i had been waiting to read for quite a while, so i'll post those book reviews soon.

to make sure this blog isn't just another boring recap, i'll fill y'all in on my current thoughts.  i'm really happy with where my life is currently.  i've got great friends and an amazing girlfriend who are all passionate about God and serving Him wherever He leads and whatever that means.  its exciting to see what God is doing in each of us and the ways in which He continually draws us to Him, while also giving us the opportunities to grow closer together as we serve Him.  even when we're just hanging out on the weekends or whatever, our conversations constantly shift back to talking about church, our youth, exciting ideas, etc.  clearly this is a passion God has placed in all of our hearts and lives.  it is super encouraging to see and helps keep me on track and motivated to continue doing His work.

i'll do a better job of updating this blog now that my schedule is more (or less) structured (as far as free time/time "off" goes). stay tuned for updates soon and very soon.

muchlove, trenticus.

We are here for You.

the banquet has now come and gone and oh what a blast it was! last year was my first year to actually play in the banquet, but I've been involved with helping with the youth for several years.. this year was by far the most fun & the most rewarding banquet experience I've had.. and from all the feedback we're getting, it seems everyone else agrees.  so many people have commented on the blessings they received from just being able to have a night away and enjoy themselves or how an event like this provided the opportunity for some of their lost friends to actually come to church finally..

this past sunday marked the 2 year anniversary of us being in the sanctuary.. Bro. Mark, during his offering "commercial" asked everyone who has become a member or started attending within the past 2 years to stand... it was overwhelming how many people in the congregation are pretty much new to the church.. it just goes to show that the church is growing by leaps and bounds.. but it also serves as a wake up call that we have an incredible task to ensure we are ministering to the needs of those in the community who are coming into our church seeking answers and seeking to connect with Jesus Christ.

God is doing a lot of great things in my life and in our church right now and I am definitely excited to see what else He has in store & see how everything plays itself out over time.  the primary focus of all of it though is that "we are here for YOU!".

Love Will Keep Us Together.

this whole trying to update more frequently seems as though it isn't working all too well haha.. and the year-in-review I don't believe will happen until next year haha.. I figure mid-February is a little late to do a review of 2010 but oh well. I guarantee 2011's review will make up for it! :)

the Valentine's Banquet is coming up and for all of you in Watsonopolis, you know how life-consuming the banquet can be, but it is a ton of fun and I can't wait for the performances! I'll be playing: "Love Will Keep Us Together" by Captain & Tennille (Tara Gourley), "Bless the Broken Road" by Rascal Flatts (Dana Rushing), "You Belong With Me" by Taylor Swift (Kalyn Shilling), "Oh Darling!" by Paul McCartney (Mike Dougay/Purpose), and "I Got You Babe" by Sonny and Cher (Mark & Terrie). Needless to say, its going to be a lot of fun, but its also a lot of work. Oh Darling! and Love Will Keep Us Together have some pretty serious bass lines that really carry the song so I've had to work on them a good bit more than normal but.. it just means they're all that more fun to play!

this semester at seminary is going really well so far! it is going to be a lot of work staying on top of everything, especially Hebrew. it's definitely taking me quite a while to really get a firm grasp on the language.. I'll certainly be glad when I've finished all my Hebrew studies.

this post is much more outside of my norm, but it is still an update nonetheless. if I can ever get to posting more frequently, my posts will be less of catching y'all up on my life and more posting my thoughts on life, etc.

but for now, farewell friends.

I Am At Ease.

Last week, our college group from Live Oak took a trip to Gatlinburg, TN, with the intent on skiing; however, due to the massive snow storm that rolled through that weekend, we were snowed in, unable to leave our cabin for two days.  We finally got the bus down the mountain and had to hike down (0.7 miles) in order to go anywhere.  It made for quite an interesting experience, nothing like any of us had expected going into the trip.

It made it incredible though.. those are the life experiences you never forget.  Breaking out of the mold, out of the norm, and living life as it comes, without a care in the world, trusting God to meet your every need (we were in dire need of groceries, but God was able to provide).

The snow covered mountains were absolutely beautiful (click here for the Gatlinburg album or here for many of the same pictures, just with cool filters on them, in the Instagram album).  I've seen them in the snow before but this year they seemed to stand out even more than ever before.  Overall, it was definitely a great trip to get me refreshed before the start of the new semester, which starts in the morning.

Last semester, I got all A's, so after 47 hours of seminary courses, I have a 3.89 overall GPA which isn't too shabby, if I must say so myself =) This semester should be a really interesting one, but a couple courses are going to be a heavy workload.  I'm taking: Introductory Hebrew Grammar (one of the heavy workloads), Biblical Hermeneutics (the primary workload), New Testament Survey, American Denominations, and History of Christianity: Early-Medieval.  I'm excited about all of the courses though so it should be a fantastical semester.

Stay tuned. More to come later. Year in review is still waiting in the wing (the G-burg trip put a wedge in my resolution to update more frequently).

Love, Trenticus.

Reset.

It has been far too long since I have updated, which seemed to happen much too often over the past year or so.  This past semester was super crazy as far as workload went: I allowed myself to get behind in schoolwork and spent the end of the semester playing catch up the whole time.  I'm still waiting on getting all of my grades back, but I have 3 A's so far.  One of the other classes should be an A.. the other class though is what is kind of worrying me.  I'm just glad to have it behind me, regardless!

Over the semester, I started doing some book reviews on this here blog and slacked up, but I am again tackling my stack of books so be on the look-out for more of those reviews coming soon.  I'll try to do a better job reviewing them too.. My previous reviews weren't all that well written.

This past semester, I took a class called "New Testament Greek Exegesis: James" where we translated the original Greek from the Book of James into modern-day English.  The class was incredible and I got a ton out of it.. Our professor broke up James into passages of about 7 or 8 verses for us to work on per lesson, so all of our translations were completed in a course workbook.  We had some other papers and stuff due too, but at the end of the semester, I decided to take all of that and compile it down into one document for easy viewing for years to come :) I tried to find a way to just link the file on here, but I couldn't figure it out.  Anyhow, I uploaded it on Google Docs so you should click this clause and go read my work :) (btw google docs did some crazy weird formatting to the text when it got uploaded so its kinda weird when you first look at it, but thats not how it was intended haha) all of the date, author, etc. information at the beginning is very consolidated.  We did an entire research paper on that so I consolidated all of that down to make it easier to read and more approachable.

Also, on my original blog from back in the day (xanga.com/lenurd... if you ever get really bored, go have fun reading that haha), I always did a "year in review"post, so since the end of the year is upon us, stay tuned for that post as well.

Farewell loves. Trenticus.

"Whosoever Will" - Allen & Lemke

My ethics professor last semester, Dr. Steve Lemke, and a colleague of his, David Allen, released a text in May on a biblical critique of five-point Calvinism.  I was interested in reading more on the subject, one to get a better understanding of the many intelligent, well thought out arguments against Calvinism, but also because comments Dr. Lemke made throughout the semester peaked my interest.

At the start of the summer, it was one of the many books I wanted to read by the end of the summer and, while I did, I didn't read it as quickly as I would have liked due to several reasons, mostly a busy life.  The topic of Calvinism came up more over the summer months than I think it ever has in my entire life.  In pretty much every circle of friends that I have, the topic came up at some point in some way, at least once over the summer (but generally much more frequently), without my ever bringing it up.  It was so incredibly ridiculous - I couldn't escape it for nothing.  People over-emphasizing the sovereignty of God, completely ignoring the fact of human free will, while also entirely disregarding the logical conclusions their points would lead to.

With one person in particular, as an example, during a debate I took his point to it's logical conclusion: God ordains sin.  I carefully laid it out and made sure he followed me step by step, so at this last point, he had either to affirm that God in fact ordains sin, or affirm that, at the very least, his argument had some flaws in it which needed to be looked into further.  Needless to say, I would have been fine with the latter; however, to my dismay, as well as others in the room, he affirmed the logical conclusion: God ordains sin!  All I can say is, wow.  At the end of the discussion, he stated something to the effect of, we can disagree on a lot of things but as long as we have all the foundational elements in place, that is all that matters.  While I do agree with that sentiment, debates over the nature of God cannot be any more foundational.  I cannot and will not ever believe in a God that ordains sin and then sends His one and only Son to die on the cross for those sins that God caused.  To me, that is immensely foundational.

Anyhow, I've gone way off track with this "book review" haha.  I felt as though Allen & Lemke's book did an alright job covering the issues.  The book was more scholarly in nature, not really intended for the average layperson.  In addition, most of the authors pulled quotes originally from Calvin himself, or his followers, to show that, for example, most of them did not affirm limited atonement.  Either way, the text was difficult to get through readability-wise.  Several sections became bogged down in definitions or lengthy quotes, followed by short explanations of said quotes.  Additionally, the book was written by Southern Baptists for Southern Baptists and therefore, the authors seemed to always be carefully choosing their words, so as not to cause divisions within churches or amongst their colleagues.  Other authors might be much more poignant about the language they use, which I would like to see.  Tell me how it is and how passionately you feel about the issue, not trying to dress up your arguments against Calvinism in their Sunday best so as not to offend any Calvinists.  Additionally, the authors come into the discussion completely rejecting the notion of any possibility of openness to God (also known as open theism, Molinism, middle knowledge, etc.), which many scholars affirm, or at least see as a plausibility.  This is seen throughout the text, where they make sure their arguments aren't misconstrued as flirting the line with what they see as such heresy.  It is important to keep a holistic view of Scripture in mind, however, especially when critiquing Calvinists for ignoring certain passages of Scripture because it doesn't fit into their methodology.  That is a whole 'nother discussion for a whole 'nother day though.

Overall, if you'd like to better understand some of the arguments against Calvinism, I'd suggest you find another book.  If you are wanting to read every text you can possibly find on the issue, well, by all means, go right ahead.  Enjoy, but don't expect it to be your favorite reading so far.  The text had a great deal of potential, but missed the mark in it's application.

"Letters from a Skeptic" - Greg Boyd

I heard a great deal of good things about this book and eventually bought it so I could read it for myself.  Basically, Greg Boyd realized he had been achieved a very strong theological education, was teaching at a seminary and using his knowledge to write books and such in the hopes of leading people to Christ; all the while, his father was an atheist and they hadn't ever truly discussed all the reasons he doubted the existence of God.  So Greg decided to start a letter correspondence (pre-email) with his father, allowing his father to ask or raise ANY and EVERY objection he had to the faith, with Greg being able to respond.  His dad took him up on the offer and definitely did not hold back any punches.  The book is simply a compilation of their correspondence back and forth, but provides a great dialogue over most of the key theological issues facing Christianity/atheists today.  They decided to keep the original wording of the letters in tact, so as not to dilute the passion or bitterness his father had toward many of the Bible's teachings.  On a few occasions, his father cusses or uses strong language to help illustrate his point, but overall, his father is an extremely deep thinker and raised a gauntlet of questions for Greg to answer.  Greg did his best to do so and, well, you can read the book to see what happened as a result of their correspondence.  Most reviews and such give it away, but even still, the correspondence is certainly worth the read.

I will add a disclaimer since my audience, yet extremely small, is certainly diverse theologically.  Greg Boyd has been known for holding a few "controversial" stances theologically with respect to certain issues (most notably, open theism).  Whether you agree with Boyd on this point or not I don't think is crucial to your enjoying this book, or any of his other writings, or not.  It only comes up once in this book, so it certainly is not a huge component.  In addition, whenever Boyd does go into a discussion of one of his more "controversial" views, he always provides the more contemporary views, held more widely by most Christians throughout history.  At the end, he always states, "if you don't agree with me that's fine, I don't think it's something to get too hot and bothered by," or something to that effect.  Essentially, as long as we agree on the fundamentals of the faith, whether you affirm open theism (for example) or not, that's fine.  Boyd isn't trying to convince you, the reader, or his father of holding every small theological point he holds, but to convince you of the reality of Jesus Christ and why he matters in this world and in your life.

Let's keep the main thing the main thing.

I've loaned the book out to 4 people now haha and the list is growing.  They've all really enjoyed it, so I can say, with 5 opinions in mind, it's definitely worth reading.  Of all the books I've reviewed on here so far, it is by far the first I would recommend to anyone.

Happy Reading.

Love, Trent.

spiritual vitality

so, oddly enough, I'm writing a book review on the Bible.. not so much because I'm wanting to critique it or anything like that (we can debate specific issues in more detail at another time), but because on Aug. 31st, I finished reading through the Bible in a year. the seminary had a Bible reading plan in place for the entire seminary body as a whole - students, faculty, staff, maintenance staff and all extension center employees. professors found ways to incorporate readings from the previous night into their lessons, or simply used them as a small devotional at the start of class. if you've ever been interested in reading through the Bible in a year, click here to find a copy of the seminary's plan. it's all dated based on last year; however, it's still just as fitting.
when I returned from Ecuador last year, my parents gifted me with an Apologetics Study Bible for my birthday & also to help with my start at seminary. it was a translation I hadn't read before (HCSB), so I figured this would be a good opportunity to: 1) read through the Bible in a year, but 2) to read through a new translation. as a whole, I like the HCSB, although it wouldn't likely by my #1 favorite translation. it is more scholarly, like the ESV or NASB, rather than just simple to read (NIV/NLT)

my freshman year at LSU I tried to read through the Bible in a year, but it became much more of a duty & obligation than something I desired to do. I made it through, but I honestly couldn't tell you much more about the Bible then than I had known before. "getting through it" was simply that - skimming pages and checking a box off a list. obviously not the right approach.

so when this opportunity came, I was excited about actually reading through it legitimately and passionately, while having the accountability of other seminary students, faculty, etc. to help keep my motives in check. I'm really glad I did read through the Bible in a year, but I don't encourage anyone to partake in this journey unless they are truly committed to it or unless their intentions are pure (i.e., not just wanting to check a box off a list). when there is a low commitment or lack of conviction (as I had 6 years ago), the difficult passages & books can leave one bored and in many ways turned off to the Bible.. that's never a position anyone needs to be in.

2 Chronicles was probably the hardest book to get through. not only is it difficult reading (dimensions of Solomon's temple & brief snippets of dozens and dozens of kings), but its preceded by difficult reading (genealogies of 1 Chron., lengthy stories in 1&2 Kgs., etc.).

if you decide to embark on this journey, let me know. I'll definitely be praying for you. the key issue I'm facing now is how to continue developing in spiritual vitality/scriptural expertise now that this plan is over. I need to take the habit of reading/studying daily and continue to develop that into a lifelong passion, unrestricted by temporal plans.

love, trent.

round 2

well school starts back tomorrow.. this summer break has felt like the longest break I think I've ever had whilst (hehe) in school so needless to say, I'm ready to get back into the swing of things.. I miss being on campus, learning more about Christ, opening every class in prayer (still the coolest thing ever), and heck, I even miss the drive haha.. I know, crazy right?!

the Seminary posted a Katrina 5-year anniversary/reflection, showing some pictures of the devastation the storm caused to campus and the restoration that has happened to make it more beautiful than ever.. the SBC wanted to move NOBTS out of New Orleans because of the financial reasons of restoration & the neighborhood around the seminary has only degraded more, especially shortly post-Katrina.. luckily, Dr. Kelley, the seminary President, maintained the original vision of NOBTS, to be a lighthouse to the city of New Orleans (my own paraphrase haha).. there have been tremendous opportunities that have arisen because of the seminary staying in the city, showing their dedication to the city, which has opened up doors to ministry & evangelism that were shut beforehand.. it's incredible how God can work such a sucky situation out for the better and further His kingdom in the process! if you want to see the current weekly newsletter with some various articles, including one by Dr. Kelley, as well as the aforementioned (hehe) photos, click here

this semester I'll be taking Pastoral Ministry (more of the application side of the pastoral role, but also includes administering the ordinances, conducting weddings/funerals, and baptisms.. we actually do an in-class mock baptism one day haha.. quite interesting), Greek Exegesis: James (simply put, exegeting the book of James.. haha who woulda guessed right?!), Encountering the Biblical World (basically, biblical geography), The Church and Political Involvement (how the church is to relate to the political culture of the day in various aspects), and World Religions: Islam (understanding the Islamic worldview in order to better understand how to discuss Christ with a Muslim.. the prof was a missionary in Egypt, then Iraq after the war started, developed all of the Muslim literature for the International Mission Board.. so he definitely knows his Qur'an.. should be a great class). so, it's definitely not the easiest semester I've ever had, but I'm really excited about all of the classes (except for geography maybe), so it should be a really good semester. I'm excited!

well thats all for now. I'll be updating this more regularly hopefully, so I've got some other things worth mentioning but I'll save them for a later post (hopefully the next day or so).

peace and blessings, trent.

(that's from a youtube video I saw the other day, but I just looked it up (to make sure I had it right) and it's actually a religious saying from Islam.. interesting.. and more fitting to this post haha)

strange..

for some reason the formatting of the tables in this blog cut off the right sides of the last two videos I posted (Boston 2010 & Tropical Tuesday).. if you click the title link at the top of the video (not the top of the blog post), it'll bring you to the YouTube page where you can see them in their fullest potential haha. sry

Tropical Tuesday

so I figured I'd do another video update since I hadn't done one in quite a while.. and I was bored.. and I was enjoying the rain with only mi telephono around..

enjoy. leave some love.

lovetrenticus.

Boston 2010

A little video I put together from our vacation to Boston. Enjoy! (the song is a little cliche, I know, but it fits so.. what can ya do? put another song yeh but.. lol)

"Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream" - David Platt

"Radical" was a very compelling book, full of examples and experiences of church and the Christians inside of them operating with, as Platt describes, "a Christian spin on the American dream."

Platt shows the radical commitment the disciples & apostles had to carrying the Gospel to the ends of the world, no matter the cost & compares that with our immensely watered-down gospel, as found primarily in Westernized Christianity.  Throughout the text, Platt not only provides examples of how we've gone wrong, but also discusses the power Christ's name still carries throughout the world, where people are pursuing God with reckless abandon.  He provides a call-to-action for Christians everywhere to return to the fundamentals of the faith & recognize the radical commitment Christ's message compels us to hold.

David Platt graduated from NOBTS not long after Hurricane Katrina hit.  He shares the reality he and his wife faced in the days after the hurricane: they had lost everything, with a very rare chance to start completely over in life in terms of possessions.  But, he also accounts that he missed that mark.  Within months, he was called to lead a mega-church in Birmingham (The Church at Brook Hills), found himself in a larger house than he'd lived in before, which required more stuff to fill it.  

Platt isn't one of those hyper-radical nuts that say burn all your CDs (not in the good way hehe), throw away all your secular stuff, etc.  He does, however, make the case for Christians to put all worldly possessions in perspective & focus instead on the reality of God's message needing to be declared to the roughly 4.8 billion unsaved people throughout the world.

Platt is the real deal, too.  He speaks in the book of several trips he made to Indonesia & China, primarily; however, he doesn't mention how he went about these trips.  Professors at the seminary speak of the fact that Platt would fly into the most remote areas of China, bringing the gospel to people who, in some cases, had never seen a white man before, eventually working his way back to a major city to catch a return flight home.  One professor I had stated, "don't be surprised if, in a couple years, he trades in everything, leaves his church and moves to live in the slums of Indonesia or wherever."

The week before the book was released, David Platt spoke in chapel at NOBTS (4/29/10).  His sermon was entitled "Gospel Theology Necessitates Urgent Missiology." (note: that is a direct link to the sermon.. if you would like to download it, click here and scroll down toward the bottom of the page to find it)  His message was very powerful and heartfelt, summing up the core ideas found in the text.  We were able to purchase advance copies of the book that day, so I had finished reading through it before it was ever released.  It quickly found itself on the New York Times Bestseller List and, in my opinion, the success of this text is well-deserved.  I definitely recommend this book to all Christians because we all need to re-evaluate our focus on the radical message of Jesus Christ and what it means to follow Him.

In a bible study I am in right now, we are working our way through the book.  This is my second time through the book, but I am still getting a great deal from it.  I'm sure I'll have more nuggets to post from the book as we continue through our study.

stay tuned

hola mis amigos. it's been over a month again since i last updated this thing.. i'm really not doing so well at keeping this current.. probably why i don't have hardly any readers..

i have, however, come up with an idea to make this blog be much more frequent in its updates (personifying the blog haha), more relevant in its information, more enjoyable and hopefully more beneficial to you, the reader. i am going to start writing small reviews on the books i am currently reading.. to still be coupled with (hopefully) frequent updates of life and all that jazz (read like the song hehe)

i went into this summer with a stack of about 7 or 8 books i really wanted to read and people are always asking about particular books, books to recommend, etc. so this will be a good way to provide you, the reader, with my take on the books i am reading, as well as give me the opportunity to look back and remember what i liked or didn't like about the book. i started looking at my bookshelf and realized a couple (not many) books on there i hadn't ever read.. so i put them in my stack of books to read. i don't want to have any books on there that i've never read because.. well, i can't really provide any feedback on it or recommend it to someone if i've never read it myself.

the books that will be coming in the near future range in topics from refuting calvinism to a small book about angels (they gave it to us for free during red carpet week at seminary).. from open theism to renewing our passion for God.. i'm excited to begin reading them.. and to re-read others.. and to enlighten you on how they were.. who knows, maybe my reviews will cause you to read one or more.. or perhaps you could suggest some to me.. that'd be great too!

---------------------------------------

i leave sunday morning at 5am, headed for daytona for Student Life's college camp thingajig at the beach.. not really a camp.. we have a ton of free time and its for college students so the entire day doesnt have to be booked up like it is with youths, but anyway, Louie Giglio, Chris Tomlin and Matt Redman will be there for sure.. plus others most likely.

shortly after we get back from there, i leave the next monday (19th) for kansas city for the national worship leader conference.. where several leading worship leaders will be conducting seminars, etc.. including (heh) Chris Tomlin and others.

soon after I get back from that trip, I will be headed to Boston with the family to visit my brother for a few days.. i'm looking forward to that trip for sure.. well all of them really, but whatever.

the summer so far has been pretty laid back, focused on VBS and schoolwork for the most part, but its about to get quite adventurous.. traveling the country in just a few short weeks.. well i guess, mostly just east of the Mississip..

anywho, stay tuned. reading has already commenced, i just haven't had the time to write reviews yet. but 2 books are already down for sure.. more to come.

as you go

this week, i'm taking a workshop class at nobts and it meets everyday for a week so i've been staying on campus this week. most everyone commutes to campus on a regular basis so, needless to say, campus is pretty dead at night. to make it even more exciting, the dorms don't have internet access, so i've been sitting in the student center all evening skeefing internet.. there are probably much more productive things i could be doing but.. meh.

to make it feel like i'm at least accomplishing something, since i can't really relax in the comfort of my own room/home, i've been watching videos from a q&a session on theological topics with greg boyd, mostly. a few of them, he was joined by paul eddy. anyhow, it's been interesting to see their take on some of the key theological questions that face us everyday, and have plagued our churches for centuries. many of the questions are easily answered when we stop taking the bible out of context and begin to read it as an entire work.. an entire work revealing the character of God. individual passages (mostly because they are stripped of context) do not offer us the entire picture.. they provide only a glimpse at who God truly is. imagine looking at God through as clear of a picture as we can possibly get, using all of Scripture, rather than through a magnifying glass, only using a single passage or small group of passages to overanalyze a point to death.. the entire time, not ever having an accurate understanding of the nature of God as a whole. how much more beneficial and worthwhile it would be to actually worship God based on how He has revealed Himself to us through creation and through Scripture!

btw.. i guess i should add, if anyone has any questions about specific issues or what i'm talking about, i'd love to dialogue with you and point you toward any and all resources i know on the issue. in fact, thats precisely what we as Christians are called to do.. share our faith, whether to believers or unbelievers. our faith and humility before God should always be on constant display.

the course i'm taking this week is "church evangelism" and tomorrow, we're going into the gentilly area (the neighborhood just around campus) and witness to people, using something as simple as a 9v battery for their smoke detectors as a starting point for much more meaningful dialogue about the salvation and grace found in Jesus Christ. it should be an interesting, but very rewarding and humbling experience. i pray that God will use our efforts not only as an educational tool, but also to make a difference in the lives of the people we will come into contact with, as well as making a difference in our own lives.. causing us to have a greater appreciation for God's people in order that we would share the incredible news of the Gospel much more often and much more passionately!

...so i never intended this blog to be a preaching tool or whatever, but thats where God wanted it to go tonight it seems. aside from all that i've just shared, life is going great. there are a lot of exciting trips and events coming up this summer that i'm really eager for. we've been working a lot on the vbs skit and i'm really excited about it. it came together very last minute, but i think its coming together extremely well! then theres the college trip to daytona, worship leader conference in kansas city, family vacation to boston, and a potential trip to lexington to visit a good friend. prior to the daytona trip, there may be the opportunity for a few of us college aged students to do a missions project for a week prior in florida. hopefully it will all come together, but more on that later.

farewell friends. much love.

-- trenticus

reality check

I haven't updated this in quite a while.. I think it was largely due to the fact that I kept waiting for certain circumstances to turn a corner so I could post the exciting news on here for all of you to enjoy.. but alas, things never quite turn out the way I plan or hope they will. this time around, however, God has really been working in my life in an incredible way to provide me with a very healthy dose of perspective.. a reality check if you will.

I've found myself, throughout life, and especially with respect to a recent situation, wanting and trying to make my will into God's will, rather than the other way around.. even when I'm praying about the strength, guidance, etc. to follow His will, its hard to do so when you ignore His answers in favor of what you want His answers to be. I so badly wanted this to be His will and I focused so heavily on doing everything I could do to make that happen.. rather than giving it up to Him, like He continually instructed me to do. ultimately, I was just prolonging the inevitable.

about a week and a half ago now, during Wed. night youth worship, we were playing "From the Inside Out".. I've sang that song a thousand times (for those of you who know the song, the pun was definitely intended haha) but it never really hit me like it did that night. I guess, in some respects, I was going through the motions on that song as well. But on this night, I was singing harmonies and we got to the line "your will above all else, my purpose remains. the art of losing myself, in bringing your praise.." and I had to step away from the mic because I honestly couldn't sing those words because I knew it hadn't been true in my own life for some time, especially with respect to certain situations, like I said. for the rest of the service and the days to come, I really focused on that becoming my prayer.. allowing God's will to be my purpose above all else, regardless of how difficult it might be to accept.. He's known best all along. I can look back at situations in my life that were even much more difficult and much harder to see the silver lining in.. yet, He's always known best. He's brought me through all of it because eventually, I trusted Him with all those situations. So, why not do it sooner? That became my focus. His will, regardless.

from that, God began working on my life, giving me a much greater peace in the midst of a difficult situation to understand. I still don't necessarily understand why things never really worked out the way I hoped they would have, but I trust that God has a very legitimate reason and I'm trusting Him for that.

this Thursday night though was put into overdrive with God revealing a proper perspective on life in general to me. Bro. Dickie spoke on Ecclesiastes 1, which focuses on "everything is meaningless.. there is nothing new under the sun.." Picking songs for such a sermon led to "I Will Rise" (there's a peace I've come to know, though my heart and flesh may fail, there's an anchor for my soul, I can say it is well), "Rescue" (this world has nothing for me, I will follow You), and "Honestly" (honestly I'm figuring out that of all that I have, all that I need is you).. (side note: apparently Carl Cartee never had an English lesson on not using the word "that" in a sentence.. look at that (lol) last line again.. wow.. 3 that's..) ...anywho... those songs in and of themselves, along with the message, were humbling enough already to really put me in a proper place..

but then a group of us went by Doug Goudeau's house afterward.. this man has been so faithful in our church for several years, was extremely involved in Scouts,.. always full of energy and life and never missed a Sunday if he could help it. Mr. Doug was diagnosed with cancer a few years ago and has been on a long downward spiral ever since. long story short, the night before he was able to leave the hospital and come home to be under hospice care (i.e., to die peacefully in his own home).. I went over there with the rest of the group as moral support for the family, but I never was that close to Mr. Doug or anything so I honestly didn't feel like it'd be that tough on me. I also can't remember the last time (before then) that I've genuinely cried over a situation....

but I started bawling and I honestly couldn't help it. I felt so heartbroken over the situation, not only because I saw the faith and resolve his family and his kids still had despite the situation, but it was also such a stark reminder of how petty the stresses in my life really are.. here there father is holding onto every last breath he possibly can, yet they're remaining faithful and here i am worrying about petty things and getting frustrated with God over things not working out the way I wanted them to. it was just a very humbling reality check.. a much needed refresher of perspective on everything in life. I'm constantly reminded (by this situation, the Chaz Wilburn situation a few years back, and others) of the faith that people have despite their crappy situation.. these people are far less fortunate than I am, yet they are so blessed because they are so faithful. Its a really selfish feeling when you finally realize that whats been on your mind the past week they'd give a million dollars to have that easy of a week, yet they deal with the hand they've been dealt, rely on God and follow Him.. regardless.

God, help those words to be true in my life.. that I can honestly say "Your will above all else, my purpose remains." Help me to trust You.. to serve You.. to follow You wherever You may lead, however difficult it may be to accept, however unclear it might be at the time.. to follow Your will, regardless. Amen.

here we go again

today starts my second semester at seminary.. and if you read my post right before last semester started about chapters in life, i believe a new one is beginning to unfold.. and that makes me really excited!

last semester ended really well.. i'm still waiting on one more grade to come in (i know, crazy right?!) but i currently have a 3.67 on the semester (only B i've made so far was in greek, old testament turned out to be an A - that was the class i was "worried" about the most).. so i'll def keep y'all updated when that last grade comes in.

the gatlinburg ski trip with the live oak college group was amazing! we had soo much fun.. it snowed the whole week before we got there so there was a really good base for skiing & then it snowed the 2nd day we were there so skiing was just great all around! we went on a hike to a waterfall one day.. we never made it to the waterfall per say haha.. but it was incredible! there was snow everywhere and the group that went on the hike really bonded from it all.. we went ice skating one day and that was just a lot of fun all around..

2009: A Year in Review

so when i used to have my xanga, every year i'd post a yearly recap of memories, fun times, sad times, lessons learned, and once-in-a-lifetime experiences that happened over the past year.. i haven't done one since 2006 (i believe) so i'm attempting to rekindle a tradition.. its always nice to look back on the year.. and to also have the recap to look back on later.

the only thing i've found with respect to the lessons learned aspect is that you can't ever really have an unbiased recap since your perspective on an issue is based on your current state of affairs and could easily change in a matter of weeks, months, years. but without further ado, here is "2009: A Year in Review"

** after graduating college, i soon realized the "real world" wasn't all its cracked up to be. my hard earned diploma was barely worth the ink and tree pulp it was printed on.

** searching for a job in politics led me to searching for any job i could possibly take.. any job that would get my feet wet/in the door and make some connections. i sent out literally thousands of resumes, all to have maybe a 1/3 of those even responded to. some people were friendly, most places weren't hiring, and one guy was a complete douchebag. (see my post on 2.11.09 entitled "happiness is a warm smoking gun" for more info on that)

** because of these situations, i found myself at the bottom of the barrel having a great deal of concerns, anxiety, etc. so i really started passionately praying for God to do something.. show me an open door.. show me where else i could apply, etc.

** in doing so, God showed me that i had been focusing on what i thought i wanted for my life, not what He wanted for my life, so i started praying for guidance in following His will and thats when i felt Him calling me to the ministry/to start studying at seminary

** did some substitute teaching mostly at denham freshman high, but also some at dshs and also lohs.. hope to never have to do it again. the kids were horribly disrespectful and the pay was definitely not worth it. but it did tie me over while i looked for a more permanent job.

** moved a good friend up to kentucky indefinitely.. which was pretty tough, not knowing when/if she'd ever be moving back, how the friendship would be affected by it all, and mostly, just not having that person to hang out with on a very regular basis.. we've stayed in contact though (def not as much as we used to be but.. enough to keep the friendship alive and still a part of each others lives)

** church hopped for the longest time (about a year in total.. may 08 to around may 09) and never felt connected anywhere i went. i started attending Christ's Community pretty regularly because my parents were/are members there and i even helped them start up a mid-week youth service.. but i never felt like that was my home.

** all in God's timing, i got contacted about coming back to live oak methodist to play bass in the 1130 band and i'm so glad i accepted. things have been going great at loumc and i've gotten extremely involved (even moreso than when i was there originally).. playing bass at 1130, helping lead music for the thursday night service, about to start helping lead music for the youth, playing 4 songs in the V-Day Banquet, and a ton of other stuff. i've gotten to be really close friends with a lot of great people who i never really knew or only knew as acquaintances beforehand. i'm not sure what i'd do or where i'd be without those friends in my life right now.

** (this next one is kinda out of place chronologically but it fits with the previous bullet so) all of the positive things going on at loumc has put me in a tough situation though.. i haven't really expressed this to too many people yet, but here goes.. being in seminary and involved in church ministry is preparing me for a future in the ministry.. and as far as a job goes, it'd be beneficial to my resume, experience, knowledge, preparation, and future to get a job in the ministry.. however, i can't see myself leaving live oak at any point in the near future. things are going so great and i couldn't imagine leaving that behind.. it would definitely have to be a God thing.. which is guess is the way it should be anyway taking a job in the ministry.. but because things are going so great at loumc, it's kept me from finishing and posting my ministry resume for other churches to see.. i keep putting it off and i think its largely because of the reasons i just stated.. so thats def an issue i'm currently dealing with and something i would greatly appreciate prayers for.

** went to boston for the 5th (or so) time, this time with my parents and grandmother (on my dad's side).. it was interesting having her along on the trip but it was nice to see derek & shelby again since i only get to see them once or twice a year.

** moved back to the parents house after living on my own for 5 years. i'm living out in the gameroom so i'm not under their roof, which def helps alot with me still having my own life/privacy, but its also def weird living back here after being gone for 5 years. its been an adjustment, but its been a nice adjustment for the most part. how long i stay here depends on how the job/school situation continues to play itself out but hopefully i won't have to stay for too terribly long. i enjoy the freedom and responsibility of having my own place.

** went on a 15 day mission trip to ecuador. it was my first time out of the country and it was definitely a great experience. i went with a group from Christ's Community made up mostly of college-aged peoples.. alot of whom were originally from judson so i already knew em quite well. anyhow, we worked with kids, hosted a kids camp, helped out at 2 saturday kids club events, spent 3 days in the jungle of ecuador.. ahh such a great trip. definitely an amazing experience and one i'll never forget.

** started working on my Masters of Divinity at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. it was a bit overwhelming at first having taken a semester off of school and this type of learning being completely different from most of what i had engaged in prior. met some great Christian brothers and sisters, and took some great classes in my first semester (intro greek, philosophy of religion, worship leadership, exploring the old testament and spiritual formation) i'm still waiting on most of my grades but i did get a B in Greek and a P in Sp. Form. i'm excited to see what all God has in store for the rest of my time at seminary, as He's already showed me a great deal in just this first semester.

** started playing tennis again. i forgot how much i loved to play. it took a while to get back in the swing of things (haha get it?!) but it's been a heck of a lot of fun and a nice break from school, etc. we started going every saturday morning for quite a while, but havent been in a few weeks with rain and busy schedules and all.. hopefully we'll get back in the routine of it. i miss playing.

all in all, its been a great year. there were definitely a great deal of low points mostly in the first half of the year, but everything has really turned around and i'm extremely thankful for where i am now. i have a few great new friends (especially 2) who mean the world to me and i'm glad we've been able to become really close (like brothers and sisters) in a relatively short amount of time. y'all know who you are (if y'all even read this.. come to think of it.. i don't think y'all do.. hmm..)

anyhow, that about concludes the year in review.. as the 2nd of half of this year (especially the most recent couple months) has been pretty great, i'm really excited to see what all 2010 has in store. stay tuned to find out. i know i will. hehe.

down we go

as of yesterday, i have officially completed my first semester at seminary. most of my classes had papers due last week instead of final exams (a 30-pager, a 15-pager (for the same class), and a 5-pager).. but i still had to take my Greek final (non-cumulative) and Worship Leadership final yesterday. it feels really nice to be finished with the first semester and have 14 hours behind me.. just awaiting the grades now =| haha.. its definitely weird readjusting to a 7 point grading scale.. i got so used to the 10-pointer that its weird thinking of an 85 as a C or whatever ya know..

next semester will be 13 hours (both low hour numbers due to this 1 hr. first year class i have to take).. so i'll be taking: Baptist Heritage, Logic & the Christian Faith, Intermediate Greek, Systematic Theology I, and Spiritual Formation (the first yr. class).. so i'm looking forward to getting started on those even though i know its not going to be easy at all haha.

in other news, life is going pretty great. not much to speak of, but theres not much to complain about either so i guess thats a good thing haha. been hanging out with friends alot lately so thats always a good thing too.. although i think i might not be hanging out with other friends quite enough.. ho well. it is what it is.

got some sweet Christmas parties and stuff coming up so those are always lots of fun. i've finished all my Christmas shopping, except for mi padre because i have NO idea what to get him.. any suggestions are greatly appreciated =) Derek & Shelby are coming into town about this time next week (23rd prolly) and stay here til after Christmas.. so that'll be nice to get to hang out with and see them for a while. i know it'll be a much needed break for Derek since he just finished up a project he's been working on for a little over a year :0

Purpose (1130 band) has been practicing up on our Christmas music lately.. getting ready for the Christmas Eve service (4:30) at the church which i'm getting pretty excited about playing.. its going to be great! i've never been to one of LO's Christmas Eve services but i always love those services in general.. just so festive and close-knit and all that good stuff.. =)

anyhow, i think thats pretty much it for now. i'll update again when my grades are posted.. see how good i did haha!

muchlove. trent.

sir hiss

quick video update for y'all to enjoy. that chirping sound is back and with a vengeance. i don't know why it does that, but i don't hear it on a regular basis.. it's only audible when i playback the videos.. who knows??

anyways, hope you enjoy. oh and btw.. the "sir hiss" reference is from disney's version of robin hood.. "hypnosisssss can cure you of your psychosisssss.. ssso eassssy"

love, trent.