Stepping Out in Faith!

It's official I'm leaving for Mexico on Wednesday, I'll be spending 3 and half weeks down there volunteering at a mission base called Casa de Esperanza, which means House of Hope. You can check it out online at http://www.koenesministries.com.

I am very excited about this opportunity to serve Jesus in another country. To experience another worldview, a different way of life. To learn and grow in my understanding of who Jesus is, and what he is calling me to in my life.

A lot of you will understand that I'm a restless person. I love change, I thrive on it. I need to change something pretty regularly in my life. Even if it's something small. I'm not content to stay the same. I am always changing, always adapting, always learning.

I'm at a place in my life where I want to know Jesus more, and deeper than I've ever wanted to before in my life. I spent many years thinking that I was doing fine on my own. I thought that I didn't need God in order to be successful in my life. I knew the right answers, and I said the right words. (Words are really important to me, I feel as though I articulate my thoughts well.) IT'S NOT ENOUGH! I am not enough. Without God in my life, everything is useless.

I am so afraid of becoming complacent. I want to know Jesus, I want to know the truth, I want to live in that freedom everyday. I cannot do this on my own. God is so big, and I am so small. Who am I to think that he needs to do things my way? Who am I to think that I should be able to figure him out. IMPOSSIBLE. I can do my best to learn his heart, to follow his heart, to put myself last.

I know a lot of great people who strive to know Jesus, and follow him in their daily lives. These people inspire me to try harder, to do more.

If we claim we know Christ, but do not read the Word of God and do what it says, our claim is useless. Some might say, "You say you're a Christian, but you don't even know what your holy book says?" It's not all about knowing the right answers, or having the Bible memorized from cover to cover. It's about knowing Jesus, and following him!

I want to weep for all the people who think that they're doing fine without God, they might have a lot of money, or a nice job, or fancy toys. Where is your purpose? What is the point of all that? I don't have all the answers, in fact, quite often I feel like I have no answers.

If my faith is something that I really believe in, it should change the way I act, feel, think, perceive things. It should shape all aspects of my life. Yet, so many times I fail to measure up. I am thankful to God for his grace and mercy, that it's not because of what I've done that I'm saved. It's through Jesus Christ who died on the Cross and was raised in order to allow me to come before God, and know him like a Father!

If you've made it this far, these are the thoughts tumbling around in my head, I encourage your questions or comments, email me at gerrygiesbrecht@gmail.com if you want to ask me any questions personally, if not, comment on here.

May all praise, glory and honor be God's forever!

Learning and Growing.

Hey All,

So, I definitely am still not great at updating this regularly. I have 4 things I want to discuss today: Motivation, Integrity, Self-Control, and Discipline. They are all kind of similar, or at least they all seem to speak to my life similarly lately.

First off, Motivation. I am not a terribly motivated person. When I was in High School, I rarely did my homework, and didn't pay a lot of attention in class. When I was in College, I did most of my homework on time, but rarely started it more than a day before it was due. I paid more attention in class, when I was there, and not terribly drowsy from staying up late the night before. So motivation and I haven't been terribly great friends. I wish I were more motivated though, on things like: losing weight, eating healthy, memorizing scripture, reading scripture. There are a lot of things I would like to do more of, or put more effort into. 

Secondly, Integrity. I have always wanted to be able to say that I am a man of integrity. What does this mean? What is integrity? How does one go about being a person of integrity? I think that for myself this currently means trying to be the same person no matter who I'm with, or where I am. I want to be able to be myself no matter where I am. Part of this is keeping my mind pure. There seems to be an epidemic in our culture that says that sexual innuendo is good, and that these jokes are the funniest kind of jokes. I like to make jokes, because I enjoy making people laugh. If doing this is causing me to have to be seeking out the sexual innuendo in the things that people say it causes my mind to constantly be in the gutter. Sexual innuendos are not the things I want to come to my mind first when somebody says something that could be taken inappropriately (for example, "That's what She Said" jokes..)

Thirdly, Self-Control. I have never been one to force my body to obey me. I used to be pretty lazy, but I've always found the energy to eat when I was hungry...even often when I was not. This one kind of goes along with Integrity. I want my mind to be pure. I also want to be able to have control of the things I say and the things I do. I want to be conscious of the decisions that I'm making and the effects that they are having on my life.

Lastly, Discipline. Which is kind of the same thing as self-control, but leaks over into other areas of life. Doing things even if I don't feel like doing them. This one has the most to do with my devotional life. I want to get in the habit of studying the scriptures and learning more and more about my creator, while developing my relationship with him. I want to love the things he loves, and hate the things he hates.

So, all of these things: Motivation, Integrity, Self-Control, and Discipline are things that I'm working on in my life. I don't know if I'll ever have them figured out. I don't know if I even need to have them all figured out. I am realizing though, that as I journey through life, I want to constantly be setting, reaching, re-evaluating and setting new goals. I never want to stop learning and growing. I want to be healthy: spiritually, physically, mentally, and emotionally. Through all of this, God is faithful!

All Glory and Thanks to God my Father!