This morning, I woke up in NYC on a couch bed with a dude I just met 6 days ago in a room full of friends new and old on the second floor of an Assemblies of God Ukrainian church. If I wasn’t with the Circuit Riders on tour, this probably would be weird, but for some reason, I wouldn’t rather be anywhere else. I got a bagel, with locks cream cheese, spent some time in my Bible and prayer and came back for band practice. 

I got to this point after nearly a week of meeting and getting to know people, along with my fair share of insecurities and acceptance issues, but each person here is a world changer. 

I joined this team to unify and reach college students on their own campuses and join with them in believing that God can change a heart to his as well as a nation to him. 

What I’ve found in a place like this is it stretches you, because when you’re believing this for someone else, you have to also believe it for yourself. What I’ve seen in myself is that I spend a lot of my energy focusing on myself. The biggest problem with this is that I get so crippled by this because it takes 90% of my focus off of God and putting it on the thought “I can’t focus on God.”

We’re most free when we throw ourself into God’s love and go from that place in radical service. In those places is where I’ve always found myself full of joy! But what does that look like? How do we get out of that funk? That’s kind of an answer I’ve never been able to answer. What I can say though is that when you push through the times you’re not feeling it and focused so much you can’t focus, keep pushing in and push in harder then ever before. 

I’ve heard the term “break through” and when I literally picture that, it’s always through something really tough in life, and it can only be broken through by leaning into the problem with Jesus’ full backing and using the strategies he lays out for us in his scriptures! 

Words that I’ve heard from God that have been helping me overcome.

• Perseverance will lead to steadfastness.
• Serventhood takes sacrifice. Serve in ways that are easy, but especially in ways that aren’t.

And these passages from the Bible!

• Psalms 121
• Psalms 91
• The story of Daniel throughout his life.
• Proverbs 18:21 and the fact that I get to eat of the fruit/experience the benefit of speaking life.

Btw: if your curious about what crew I’m with, check out crmovement.com 👌