Early Summer Update

Hello all! I just wanted to pop in and write a few updates for you all I've been busy over the past three weeks and still had time for a wonderful vacation. Emily and I spent a week down in North Carolina with my side of the family, and it was a blast! =) Two Sunday's ago, I was asked to preach out at a supporting church, First Christian Church of Montoursville. It was a lot of fun and it went really well. It was also a little humorous that I was preaching because being that I'm a younger fella, and that I speak and minister on a regular basis to other younger people, I said some things that I thought were understood only be later told by my wife that there some people who looked at each other and asked, "What did he mean by that movie was a smash?" Haha. But all in all, it was a blast to be able to serve a local supporting church. I'm really looking forward to the opportunity to preach at my in-law's church, although the pressure to do well for that one will be a little higher. ; ) haha

As of this very moment, I am halfway done with my sermons for both weeks of camp. I had made a schedule with which I was planning to be done today, but I got a little off of my plan because my wife had some extra time off of work and we were able to spend some time together and actually go out on some day-dates (something we really hadn't been able to do for a while). Needless to say, to me it was a good reason to get off of my plan. =) But this week, it's back to the grindstone, and I have 5 more sermons to complete, the process of which has been slow, but very enjoyable. For a while I was trying to be a preacher/teacher that I wasn't, and so I was becoming unmotivated and stuck on the first sermon I was doing. I finally just started to write them the way that's most natural to me, and I produced nearly 2 sermon manuscripts a day! It's really cool to realize how God is using me and revealing stuff to me as I type and think and piece together different revelations with how today's Jr. High and High School students would be thinking about them.

I only have about 2 more weeks until it's off to the first camp, and then from there it's off to Iowa for another camp, preaching at a church, off to Florida for the NACC, and then back here to move to our new apartment. On top of all that, I'm starting a new master's class today, so I'm going to be keeping up with my reading and research for this class as well! Needless to say again, I'm going to be pretty busy, haha. However for most of you who have known me for a long time already know that I would have it no other way. =)

I hope all of you are doing well, and that your summer is already starting off to a be a great one! Hopefully Emily and I will be able to update you guys on here as we go throughout our weeks this summer, and share with you all what God's doing with us, through us, and in us! Until next time! =)

Pat