The Hidden Silver Lining

I've been a negative person. I will cut things down, point out the flaws and totally critque it like a judge on America Idol.

Funny thing about the negative, if you go looking for it you will always find it. There are many negative things in this world, and that sucks.

You have to train yourself to be positive and that is what I have been doing here lately, trying to look at things on the brighter side.

If you know me at all you will know that I work at a church, I am a children's minister, something you have to know about working at church, it is not just a float on clouds type of job. Ministry is messy, people are cranky and tempers flare at what seems like just the wrong moment.

The ministry life is also very busy, there is this event and that event, and then you have to prepare a lesson for this and a lesson for that, you need to meet these people at this time, Oh and can you help me move a piano before you get to all of that?

But I digress on that thought, I enjoy my job, I get to share God with people and it be my vocation, and for that I am very thankful.

I feel God made me for my ministry job, in childrens ministry i get to use all of my gifts and talents and for that I am very thankful.

What about you? whats your job like? what about your current home situation? do you think it sucks?
are you super negative about it? do you complain?

Well maybe take a different approach and be positive about it, find something that you enjoy about it.
I enjoy that I get to play my guitar for God with my job.

There is always a silver lining, you just have to look for it.

Whats yours?

Life is pretty good.

Life is going pretty good these days I guess. I mean, how do we even judge something like that? Good health? Wealth? New toys and gadgets? Loving someone?

I think life is the sum of all kinds of little things and thats what makes life good. As you know I am a christian. And that means that I float around on a perfect cloud 24/7 and the troubles of this world never even cross my mind right?

Wrong.

I wake up in a bad mood, I say things I shouldn't, sometimes when the cold winds blow I don't react in a christian manner. I am flawed, I am imperfect. But yaknow what?

That's okay.

Life is imperfect and to me, that is what makes it beautiful. I love when things don't line up perfectly. I also relish the times in which I have to do something different. Times when I have to abandon plan A and go straight to plan B.

Plan B.

It is always unrehearsed. Very unplanned and often times not even planned at all. It comes off the top of your head and you are forced to be 100% you. Can't fake plan B. Either you have it in you or you don't.

Whats in me? Christ.

I often think about how God is what holds me together, like for real. I would be falling apart if I didn't have the hope that is found in the creator of the universe.
Good, Bad or Ugly, God is in control.

In sickness or health, wealth or poverty. God is still God. And he is working things out for good.
Now that doesn't mean things will always turn out the way we want them to. But they are good, God's good, not our version of good. Our version of good is all about us.

Whats the lesson to this blog post?

Keep it real. Life is messy, don't pretend it is not.
I have Christ in my heart, but that doesn't mean that life is all peachy keen.

I do have a hope and a future with a promise though.
and that is what I cling to, that is what I will hold on to.

And because of that promise, because of that hope,

Life is pretty good.

-The Adam Rainwater

Same story, different day.

Lets face it, life get can pretty routine sometimes. We are creatures of habit.

Think about it, when you get ready in the morning do you do everything basically the same way? When you go to church do you sit in the exact same seat? (I am guilty of this)

TANGENT TIME!!!

One Sunday someone was sitting in our seats at church (our seats? Like we pay for them or something? lol) and it forced Madeline and I to sit somewhere else. And it was harder than it needed to be, because Madeline did not want to sit in someone elses seat (did they pay for that seat? NO!)

Now I am the kind of guy who likes to mix things up and to me I thought it would be awesome to set a chain reaction! Someone sits in our seat, we sit in someone elses, someone else has to sit in someone elses...etc, so on and so forth, you get the point! (I did this all the time in college! It was awesome to sit in someones seat and then they would walk in and just stare at you in their seat and freeze because they didn't know what to do next! It was great!)

Anyways! We are creatures of habit. And if we are not careful that routine can kill our souls! (Not literally, only figuratively) 

So what do we do? How do we break free? Randomness!

Sometimes you just gotta do something random! Like:

-Take a different way to work

-Eat Desert first

-Turn the tv off and dance to a Hall and Oates record (Guilty......don't judge!)

-Go on a random adventure out in the world it can be anywhere! (Once a group of friends and I went to Life churchs Parking lot in Edmond and took turns running from point A to point B like crazy people, it was free and fun! Be creative!)

So Adam are you saying that to break free from my routine I have to follow everything you are saying? NO!! Blaze your own trail! Do what you wanna do!

I just think if we don't try to break free we will be a sad robot like race, going through the motions of life without any feeling or passion.

Wake yourself up and live people!

THE ADAM OUT!

"Draw Near" -The Adam

My album "Dear Near" is complete and available for purchase!
This album has taken me a while to complete. But I am pleased with how it turned out. There are 4 original songs and 1 old Hymn. The reason why I included the Hymn was because it has some good memories attached to it and I wanted to include it for my sister.

So! To buy! All you have to do is click on the "PayPal" link below you don't need a paypal account, it is safe and secure!

Click Link Below! To buy my album "Draw Near"
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> PayPal <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
                                                

Thank you and I hope you enjoy the album!
-The Adam Rainwater

My old stomping grounds

So for this 4th of July, Maddy and I travelled to Quinton to spend time with my parents, sister, bro-in-law, nephew and niece.

Yesterday we decided to head to the convince store and get a pop. And as I drove around my old stomping grounds, my mind was flooded with memories. Memories of friday night football, marching in the band at halftime in my football pants and cleats, the place where I would always get my hair cut, the grade school basketball court where many a deep conversation had be had (which now is gone and a building stands in it's place)

My hometown is still very much the same, but there have been lots of changes. Now changes are not bad at all. In fact I have come to embrace a change. Life is a journey and you really never know where you are going to end up. But I do know this, where ever you end up, enjoy it.

Embrace your surroundings and make the most of it. 

Nostalgia is nice sometimes, but don't get stuck in the past. Press on to the future and make the most of it.

Mundane

Life is not always exciting. If only life could be as exciting as a roller coaster, then again I guess we would tire of that soon enough.

There are times when the mundane seems to be whats in store for the evening. Re-runs on tv, a movie you've seen before on Netflix, or perhaps staring at a candle as the shadows cascade up and down the wall, dancing.

Yep Life can be pretty boring sometimes, but ya know there needs to be balance in life.
For happiness to exist, sadness must also be around. For good to prevail, we must have to opposite of bad.

For excitement to excite, boredom must......bore. I think your starting to get the picture now.

Treasure life, the boring, the happy, the sad, the good and the bad.

At least you have a life to live.

Correction

Being corrected is never easy.

I am 26 years old. I have 1 year of experience being a full time Children's Minister. So there are a lot of things that I don't know. There are many things that I need to figure out. Right now as I am starting out on my journey as a minister, I am in the process of trail and error. I am seeing what works and what doesn't.

And believe me, this past week I have realized what was not working. Through the help of my volunteers.

Am I angry at my volunteers for pointing out my down falls? no.

In fact, I am humbled and thankful. How else will I ever learn? I need to be told what I am doing is working or I need to be told that what I am doing is not working at all.

Is it easy to hear that you are doing things wrong? Not at all!

But rather than dwell on the thoughts of "I've been doing things wrong" I want to focus on the future and how can I change things for the better right now.

I can not change the past, but I can change what I do in the future.

I am not a failure. I am simply learning what works and what does not work.

In my first year as a minister I feel I have changed a lot. and yaknow I'm not done changing either. I am sure I will go through many changes as the years go by.

I committed to be a life long learner. I will be the first to admit I do not have it all figured out. I know very little. But I hope to learn and change and be better, that is my goal in life. To be better.

Correction is hard, but necessary.

Lord event though these past few weeks have been hard, I thank you for them. I am thankful that I am growing and learning. Teach me Lord, your student is listening.

-The Adam Rainwater
Children's Minister