Epiphany

    So I was taking a shower the other day, as I've found to be a good thing to do on a regular basis, and I don't know about you but sometimes I come to life altering conclusions while I'm in the shower most of which I forget by the time I finish drying off but this one I didn't forget. I was thinking the other day, why are we here? Not in some hugely psychological 'Why are we on earth?' thing, but why are Emily and I here in Indiana? As I was in the shower that evening I started thinking about it again and I came to the realization that I'm not here for school, I'm here for the church, the education is just a really expensive perk. Before, if God told me "You're moving to Indiana and are going to get involved in this church I've placed there to reach my flock and help bring them to Me." I probably would've ignored Him and went the other direction and He knew that, so He decided that He was going to give me a "reason" to come here and then surprise me with the real reason. When I realized this it felt like an intervention, almost, He said "Son, I've got something to tell you. You're probably wondering why I've gathered you here. I know you think you're going to school then moving back to Illinois to get a job and settle down but, that is no longer an option. You're here for a reason and I want you to stay here." God blessed me with an amazing wife so that I wouldn't be on this journey alone and she has supported me every step of the way. My wife, Emily, practically abandoned her entire life plan to get married and move to Indy with me and today marks our sixth month of marriage and I truly thank God for putting it in her heart and I thank her for following through with it. I don't know what I did to deserve such an amazing and beautiful wife, but without Emily I wouldn't have graduated high school on time. Without her I wouldn't have lasted this long in Indy, without her (and her mother) I never would have found S.C.C. Without her I'd still be living in my mom’s basement, probably without a job, living my life far from God. God put her in my life to straighten me up and help me on our journey together and I thank Him for every step and every minute.

God is good.

Theologistics

    We lived in Indianapolis for six weeks and four days before we found a church. Originally I had decided that we didn't really need a church, we had understanding of our faith and where we were with Jesus and I didn't think we needed a church. Her mother traveled from Illinois to visit us one weekend with the sole intention of us going to church. She had heard about a place through her church back home. So I figured what the heck, I'm probably not going to like it because its a different style than I'm used to, I grew up in the traditional style church with hymns, Sunday school, and all those snobby people that pretend to like you and you pretend to like just to make it through the morning. Honestly, I liked that, I thought that was how it had to be, and so I begrudgingly went to this church that wasn't even in its own building yet, it's in a university building and I was thinking to myself "Great, they don't even have their own place, how are they possibly going to be something that I would like?" as soon as we walked in the doors I heard from about three different directions "Heeeyyyy!!! So good to see you, I'm {insert name here}. Welcome to SCC." Then I started thinking "Ok, that was pretty cool." As we were waiting for the worship to start everyone came over and started introducing themselves, the first person we met was a guy named Nick, nice guy, clean cut, comfortable looking clothes not the "Sunday best" like I was used to. The next person I remember was the pastor himself, his name is Matt, and he was so nonchalant about it like "Hey, guys what's up, I'm Matt the lead pastor here at SCC, nice to meet you." Ok, where I'm from you see the pastor during the service and that's it, not even afterwards do you see this guy, so to be able to meet who I'm going to be listening to for, what I assumed was going to be, the next three hours was kinda cool too. So after meeting everyone we were escorted to the worship area, a pitch black room where the only light was from the flashlight the ushers are armed with and entrance to the area is followed by the question "Would you like some ear plugs?" that's when I started thinking "Ok, this is a church, do they have drill sergeants as the choir or something? Why would I need ear plugs?" A few moments after sitting there waiting for something to happen, two TVs on the stage came alive with numbers that started counting down from 3:00 and the background music (no words) to the numbers was Moves Like Jagger by Maroon 5. After the three minute countdown the worship band kicked in and the first song they played was This City is Yours by Elevation Worship, as the TVs showed the words, and the compilation of songs played was like none I had ever heard before. Never had I heard these songs but I felt as though I knew every word even without looking at the screens, yeah I had to look at the screen every once in awhile but for the most part I could feel the music inside of me, I felt as if I was singing every word in my head without knowing the lyrics. Dan, the campus pastor (I'm not sure what that means) came on the stage after the first song and started talking about the little packets of paper everyone had received when we walked in and that there is one of the three papers that first time guests (VIP's as they're called) could fill out and get a thank you "Gift" for visiting. This gift is an SCC t-shirt which looks pretty nifty (but you don't find out it's a t-shirt until after the service and you turn that card in so shhhhh.) After just a few minutes of Pastor Dan talking he said a prayer and the music started right back up with a trifecta of awesome songs, one of which was How He Loves by David Crowder which just hits you like a brick wall every time you hear it, that song is so powerful. After the three songs a video played about the history and mission of SCC then Matt went on the stage and gave this awesome message (like he does every week.) I wish I could give a summary that would give justice but there is nothing that I could say that would come close to the power that man emits when he speaks. I walked into that church with a hardened and biased heart, yet walked away with a new opinion and a handful of invite cards so I could tell everyone about this awesome new church. Two weeks later Emily and I were volunteering in the official 'Grand Opening' service and helping out every week since. I was skeptical of SCC at first and now I operate the lights for the worship band and Emily helps out in SCC Kids! watching the ones who are a little too young for the loud music and teaching about God's love for them.

So I would like to formally invite you to join us at SCC (<<link to our website) and maybe you can find new life in Christ too.

God is good.

Songs mentioned:
This City is Yours: Elevation Worship
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lmqZL7x6Dc

How He Loves: David Crowder Band
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCunuL58odQ

Disclaimer:
"I do not own any of the rights to the songs referred to in the post, they are the intellectual property of their individual owners"

Daybreak

    For four days Emily and I explored, went downtown, drove around Indy looking for jobs, and visited a couple of monuments, one of them being the Soldiers and Sailors Monument in the heart of Monument Circle. This statue is about fifteen feet shorter than the Statue of Liberty and has about 330 steps just to get to the top, or one could ride the elevator to step number 290 (it gets skinnier as you go up so the elevator can't fit all the way to the top) then complete the trek to see and amazing view...well worth it. On our fifth day of being in Indianapolis, I started classes at LCT (Lincoln College of Technology) and thus begins another journey within our journey (journey-ception). To be honest, which I've heard is a good thing, I don't remember much about my first month here let alone the first day...so I'm not going to go into great detail about it. I do remember getting issued I.D.'s, uniforms, books, and tools, we got a "tour" of the building, pretty much just a "Here's the shop, here's the library, and here's the cafeteria.", but the building really isn't as big as one would think so it's easy to learn your way around. For another two weeks going to school was my only responsibility, well that and job searching, until I started working at Jiffy Lube on the 22nd. Day one of work consisted of going to class till 2 then sitting on a computer for 5hrs of Computer Based Training...there are 8hrs worth of CBT's and I finished in 5 1/2 hours...the longest 5 and a half hours of my life. Vacuuming cars and washing windows is what I did for a living for about three weeks until I was able to move to a different position, under hood, where I stayed for about two months before I was allowed under the car for about two more weeks after which I decided min. wage wasn't enough for a married man going to college and changed jobs. While I was at Jiffy Lube I actually enjoyed the job, it was relatively easy with very simple tasks and routines. The only con would be that the older gentlemen who worked there would forget that they had already told you about the time they changed the oil on an '89 powder blue Mustang with white interior that had blood red stitching....so you get to hear it about three times a day...but hey at least it was a cool car to visualize. After awhile the pay wasn't cutting it, and I know I shouldn't be focusing on how much money I make, but when you're in college money is somewhat important and sometimes it likes to take the wheel and drive.

God is good.

Prelude

    Now, before our adventure of life on our own there was a time when I thought I had lost all chance of getting to know Emily, let alone having her as my wife some day. We met sophomore year back in high school when we were in biology class together. Pretty much the only thing I really remember from that class is dissecting various animals (frog, rat, crawdad). During our time in that class she and I started talking and getting to know each other a little. We had developed one of those "puppy love" relationships, or so I thought. We shared a work table and sat together every day and I figured we were "dating" long enough so I decided to put a hand on her leg, not in a perverted "I wanna feel you up" kind of way but in an affectionate "I don't want you to leave" kind of way, but apparently I was the only one who saw it innocently man was I wrong. After awhile she forgave me for that and we started talking more but I messed up again by saying some things that should never have been said which certainly didn't help my situation any. For two years I hardly saw her and never got to talk to her again until senior year.

    Back in grade school I went on vacation with my dad to Texas, while we were there I was attacked by a golden-retriever/lab mix that resulted in over 150 stitches in the left side of my face and a law suit granting a decent amount of money to be accessed when I turned 18 (that story will make sense in a minute). Back to high school, I was in the Army JROTC program all four years of high school and that program has molded me into a more disciplined and respectful person and I was so grateful for the training I received that I decided to donate $3,000 of my "decent amount" to the program. Now, being from a city of only 36,000 people this action caught a bit of media (front page newspaper) and apparently I'm the only person my age that doesn't read the paper because about four different people told me how they saw my story in the paper. One of those people was Emily, keep in mind that we've not spoke in two years and about three cell phone numbers, yet she made a point of talking to me about what we've been through and working together to set things straight. When she started talking to me again I told myself "You'd better now screw this up again or you'll lose her for good this time."  By now we had both grown up quite a bit and I had matured a lot. So we started talking more and more and decided to give us a shot again and a few months later I proposed and here we are now. I guess you could say that ours is a high school sweet heart relationship or that I'm just lucky to have her, but either way I'm thankful for a second chance and wouldn't give her up for the world.

God is good.

Genesis

    My wife and I moved to Indianapolis August 1, 2012 so that I could pursue my education in the field of diesel mechanics. July 21, 2012 we exchanged vows and a week and four days later we packed up all of our stuff and started our three hour trip to be on our own. With Emily and I in the lead with the back seat and trunk jam packed, my step-dad in the u-haul truck with the guts of our new never-been-seen apartment, and my mom trailing in their return vehicle we made our way to Indy. Due to certain complications with tuition after we had signed the lease for our apartment Emily and I made our way to the college while my parents unpacked the u-haul and started to put our apartment together. By the time we got back to the apartment most everything was unloaded and put in place, just a few things remained in the truck that we helped unpack. After everything was in the apartment my mom bought pizza for dinner and we sat around our depressingly tiny 470 sq. ft. apartment to eat. Our first night in our new apartment was kind of rough, my parents went back home to Illinois after dinner and as soon as the door closed behind them that's when it hit us, everything is real now, this is all actually happening, and that realization came with lots of tears. Up to this point everything seemed like just a dream, it was just another day that started like any other, morning showers and breakfast all leading up to a day of driving and a night full of tears of desperation, hopelessness, and realization. After about 30 minutes of crying we got most of our boxes unpacked and put away so that we might actually be able to get some sleep because tomorrow holds job searches and exploration of our new found world.

God is good.