Where are you headed?

Posted by Colston | Labels: , , , | Posted On Thursday, May 6, 2010


There are times in life where we stop, look around, and ask ourselves, How the heck did I get here? How did I wind up doing this? How did I get myself in this situation? What the heck?

I think many of us have found ourselves asking these types of questions. The issue with making those statements is that it states that the position your in is by accident. There wasn't any planning on your part to get you to where you currently are. Sadly, however, this is a lie that many of us believe.
We believe that when we end up where we did not plan on going, it was either by accident or someone else's fault. Part of the reason we believe this lie is because we fail to take responsibility for our actions.

One truth that I have been wrestling with is that every choice leads to a destination.

Where ever you are in life, its due to the choices you made in the past. Its those choices that got you to where you are. The biggest problem with this truth is that many of us aren't where we dreamed we would be. Our dreams are over there and we are over here and its all because of the choices we made back then.

If you stop to think about this truth and let it sink in, another scary thought will come to mind.
What I'm doing right now will lead me somewhere in the future. This can be scary if you have no dreams of where you want to be. However, on the flip side, it be very relaxing and calming when you know where you want to be and your making choices right now to get you there.

I have tried to allow this truth to soak in and effect all the decisions that I make, small and large because I know that every decision has a destination.

Where you headed?
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Fear of the Unknown

Posted by Colston | Labels: , , , , | Posted On Thursday, April 15, 2010

Im the type of person who loves change. I like to roll with the flow. I love to do something different. Much of my life has been beyond doing the routine.
At this stage in my life there have been lots of changes in the last two years. I graduated from college. I married the most amazing woman. I moved to Southern California. Im working full time as a youth pastor at a church where God is blessing.
All of this took place in a matter of months.
To be completely honest, I was so excited. All the changes in my life happened really fast and I was ready for them. I didn't know all the answers but hey, who does?!?!

Now that I have been married for a year and half and have been working full time for about the same time, Ive noticed that life hasn't changed much for us. While this is a peaceful thing for my wife, for me its kind of weird.

However in the last couple of months God has opened doors and shut doors and opened them again for us to buy our first place. Owning the keys to our own place is a dream but its gotten extremely interesting in the last month.

While my mind and body is wired for changed and gets gitty about it, there is something stirring in my soul about this transition. Its not that I dont have a peace about the direction we are headed but for whatever reason there is more stress involved in this purchase than in any of the other major life decisions i have made in the past.

There has been a domino effect going on, where one thing after another comes up and it seems that all is dumping on us at once. I know all the verses about God is in control. I know that all I have to do is have faith and trust God. I know all the answers. Knowing all the answers and applying them are two different things.
Even though I know He is in control, these transitions are somewhat scary.

Do you ever feel the same?
Do you have a hard time applying what you know?

Much Love,
Colston
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Chocolate is my weakness!

Posted by Colston | Labels: , , , , , | Posted On Thursday, March 25, 2010



I love chocolate. I love the creaminess that floods your mouth as you allow it to melt on your tongue. I love the sweetness that it has with a slight bitterness all in the same yummieness. Chocolate is simply delightful.
I love chocolate.
However, chocolate is my arch nemesis in my quest to eat better and become more healthy. The problem with chocolate is that its always at home, sitting on the kitchen counter, just staring at me. That chocolate bar has EAT ME written all over it. I justify in my mind that I dont want to be a bad steward of God's money and let things go to waste. I justify that one piece isn't bad for me and if I dont eat it soon, bugs will come and eat it and I hate bugs.

In the clip above Russell sets a trap but notice what he sets the trap with! Chocolate!
Russell sets a trap using something that he loves, something that draws him in.

I think about my life and how I do the same thing. I put myself in situations knowing what lies ahead and sure enough, the one thing that I love, the one thing that tempts me, the one thing that draws me in, ends up staring me in the face.
Like Russell, it is just a matter of time before I fall into the trap of sin. Its just a matter of time before Im in a big mess and my whole world gets turned upside down.

I love chocolate but I have to learn to avoid setting myself up for failure. Just because I think I can handle myself, just because I think I have my cravings under control, doesn't mean that I cannot fail.

Im learning the older I get and the more mistakes that I make, that if I want to make wise choices I have to put myself in a situation to succeed. I have to avoid situations where I know that chocolate will be staring me in the face.

I love chocolate!
Whats your chocolate?
What situations do you need to avoid because you know your chocolate will be staring you right in the face!

Much Love,
Colston
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Regrets

Posted by Colston | Labels: , , , , , , , , | Posted On Thursday, March 18, 2010

Regrets, we all have them and for some of us, those regrets haunt us even today. As I thought back on my life, I have to be honest, my regrets aren't from DOING something, they usually stemmed from NOT doing something. In either case, the decision I made resulted in an outcome that I wasn't pleased with.
I believe that the regrets I have come from my value system. What I mean by that is that every decision we make, we make based on what we value most. The problem we have in life is that what we value is usually worthless and the things that we should value we don't.

WATCH THIS CLIP



I want to live a life without regrets. At the end of my life, I want to look back and say that I did everything I could. In order for me to do that, I have to value the things that are most valuable.

What is it that you value most? If you don't know, ask yourself these questions. What do I spend most of my time doing? Where do I spend most of my money? If I had a free day to do whatever I wanted, what would I do?

Answering those types of questions will give you a hint as to what it is that you value.

What is more valuable than your relationship with God? The Sunday school answer is nothing BUT does your life back that up?
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Will Ferrel and Your Life

Posted by Colston | Labels: , , , , , | Posted On Thursday, March 11, 2010



How would you feel if you had someone following you around, narrating your every move? How would that make you feel, knowing that someone was watching everything you did? Even when you think no one was watching or was around, there was that narrator explaining your every move.
How annoying would that be?
How weirded out would you feel?
Wouldn't you feel like your life was in a fish bowl?
As someone who has given my life to follow God, I have realized that my life is in a fish bowl. I have a narrator of sorts. I have people that watch what I do, what I say, where I go, they pay attention to everything that I do. Kind of stalkerish if you ask me, but we all do this in a round about way. We all pay attention to people's lives, heck some of us are addicted to reality TV that follows people around 24/7 filming every aspect of their lives. We love that stuff!
However as someone that is supposed to be set apart, that is supposed to be different, my life is on display for those who havent found God yet. The scary part of that reality is that I am either showing people who God is or I'm hiding God from them.

As I thought about this reality even though it isnt a new thought just one that seems to fade as time continues, how have I been living? What does the last 24 hours look like? Did I live in a way that hides God from people or did I live in a way that showed people who God is?

Ask yourself the same question, are you hiding God from people OR are you showing people who God?

Much Love,
Colston
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