Well here the first window into my life, put out there for you, my friends and family…and a few random people who just happen to stumble across my blog. For some of you this comes as a natural thing to do, but for me it is quite different. I don’t fancy myself a writer to say the least, but I wanted to be able to share with all of you what God has been doing in my life. That is kinda why I picked the grass at the top of the page. I wanted to be able let you read and see how I am growing in the Lord, how my STINT team is growing closer together, and how the ministry here in Rome is growing. I WANT TO GROW!!
You might be saying “OK, Joel, I get the whole cheesy grass growing analogy, but what about that title ‘make my joy complete’?”
If you were standing here right in front of me, I might give you a answer like this:
“Well, (friend, family member, or random internet surfer), I picked that as the title of my blog because of a verse I love found in 1 John 1:4 that says: ‘And these things we write, so that our joy may be made complete.’ It’s like when you have your first crush,” I would continue.
“Your first crush?” you inquisitivly reply.
“Yeah, that first crush gets you really excited, you jump around the room, do strange things like offer her your last oreo, and start to get sweaty hands around her. But the next thing you do is run and tell your best friend. You are so excited you want to tell those closest to you.”
“So when you get excited about what God is doing, you want to tell a close friend, right?” you say.
“How precise, my (friend, family member, or wandering web surfer)!”
Thanks for taking us on the journey with you! Look forward to seeing how tall the grass gets and how it changes. For when you offer yourself fully to the “Son” and his plan for you…the world is wide open! Applauding you and cheering for you as the countdown to Rome continues.
So that answers my question as to “are they in rome yet?”
The graphic and scripture are so like you. God must have tailor made this creative idea for you. The depth of your heart to be like Christ Jesus and the joy you spread to others have always been characteristics of you that I have loved. Since I have known you since you were a little boy, my question is, “Who was your first crush?”