As you probably know, I haven't been very active on here for a very long time, over a year, in fact. The reason for that is simple, life got in the way. Before that I would use this blog to chronicle my life (in a way) for you guys to read. I would get on here and write when I got bored or felt particularly spiritual. However, this was before life began to jump up and down screaming, "pay attention to me! Please! PLEASE!" Well, I just had to pay attention, and it's been fantastic!
In the last year some pretty big things have happened to me and to some of my friends. The last time you heard from me, actually heard from me (no a notice about "Messages from the Flock") was back in May of 2013. I wrote a devotional on...something; I don't quite remember what, but that isn't the point! That was a week before I would spend yet another (my third) summer at camp. Let me tell you about it....
I went to camp and things immediately kicked into overdrive. Days blended into one another as I entered back into the hectic summer; though this summer would be almost completely different from the last. This summer entered a new relationship, an almost completely new group of friends, new responsibilities, and as always, new kids. It was a rough 3 months, but in some ways it was completely worth the trouble. Though originally only supposed to be the Paintball Supervisor, I ended up also being a Lifeguard, a part-time counselor, and a worship leader. It would be an understatement to say that it was difficult, but that isn't the point. This summer grew stronger friendships than I had ever had at camp, though I loved my friends at camp before also. This summer I made friends that I simply couldn't just leave behind.
Moving on! Growth. When I came back to school I had left a new girlfriend behind at home, and entered into the most stressful semester of school myself and many of my friends had ever had. As those of you who know me are well aware, I am not the most studious person. I would much rather get hands on experience than sit and read a book or listen to a lecture for hours on end, this is why I love music, as it combines all of it together. Through the semester I began to realize how little I wanted to be there. I loved my friends at school, I loved the education I was receiving, but I needed time off. As the semester wore on, I eventually made the tough decision to leave school for a little bit, to give myself a rest.
As of December I have officially left Multnomah University for a period of rest. To be honest I've had times where I've regretted the decision, but I believe it still necessary as I've prayed many times and I still feel I made the right choice. If I'm going to pay tens of thousands for an education, I want to be invested in it and get the most out of it. As of now I've returned home for a bit and have begun to help out at my home church as a worship and youth group leader.
Now that we've passed that little story of where I've been, I'd like to explain why I've decided to change the name of this blog. When I started this blog, I wanted it to be an expression of myself. It was a place I could share my thoughts and things I thought people ought to know. With this comes a certain level of growth. From the time I began this blog in January of 2012 to last May, I've personally witnessed growth in my life. Since I'm continuing this blog again, I decided a name change would be a nice way to show some of the growth and that I think I've hit a new stage in my life and walk with God.
When I started at camp in the summer of 2011 I was given the name "Nintendawg." Though at first thinking it weird, I came to love it, and soon after it sort of became a part of my personality. To put it this way, Nintendawg was synonymous of Josh. Since 2011 I would like to think that I've grown quite a bit, though you guys would have to let me know. I've been at camp for 3 years now and towards the end of this last summer I began to identify less and less with my given camp name. In years past, even when hanging out with close friends from camp, we would still refer to each other by our camp names. This last summer was different. We would often call each other by our parent given names, sometimes even mistakingly in front of campers.
With all that said, when I came back to this blog, I couldn't easily keep it going under the same moniker. Nintendawg is who I was, and a huge part of who I am today, but the name no longer describes who I AM today. I've grown up. Though I will still answer to it, at camp and off camp, that awkward high school kid is now 20 and in a far better place than he was. It's not who I am anymore.
The next step was picking a new name. This proved far more difficult then I would have thought....Just for kicks, here are some names I thought up then threw out: "Just Me and This Guitar...," "Once A Musician...," and "The Vinyl Countdown." These names all lacked something to me. The first seemed far too sappy for me; too much like a love song. The second seemed to sentimental, seeming to say that I've given up music, which I definitely have not. The third hit on something and was compared closely with the name I ended up choosing, "Life After Death...And Taxes...." Do you know where they are both from? Yes! They're both Relient K songs. I decided to play them next to each other and decide, and when I did that, the decision was obvious. Whereas one just talks about us not using vinyl records anymore, the other talks about how we are always forgiven, no matter what we do, by the one who forgave before we could even sin.
There is a part in "Life After Death and Taxes" that says...
"Every breath that I inhale is followed by exhaling,
sure as the one who never fails, I know will never fail me..."
- Relient K
I thought this was brilliant! God will never fail us. Never. There's another part in the song that talks about living every day as if jumping off a cliff because we know that God will be there to save us. Later in that same verse it reminds us that though we all do stupid things, all of us, it doesn't matter because we've already been forgiven by the one who died to save us. As long as we believe that crucial truth, that Jesus came down and died so that we may see Him again, we are forgiven.
That is why I chose that as a title for this revamped blog of mine, because this is how I want to live my life. I don't want to wallow in self pity because I am a sinner, I want to acknowledge that Jesus has washed my dirt away and left me gleaming. Sin is death, but with Jesus we are given life after that death. Jesus died to wash our sins away and has left us gleaming with a light only He can bestow, so live like it! Live like everyday you're jumping off a cliff for Him, because Jesus will save you. Try and strive to be like Him and show this light to the world. The world is a dark place, and with Him we are candles in the night.
So, with that, I give you a new rendition of my old blog: Life After Death...And Taxes....And as usual...
Thanks for reading these past 2-ish years!!!
