A Look Back On The Decade

This year has contained many personal changes in my own life as you can see my previous post. But I just wanted to highlight a few more changes that have taken place, not only in this past year, but also in this decade. So fasten your seat belts...

I will start out with stuff that has happened in this decade in my life, and then move to things in 2009.

(O yeah, and that picture has nothing to do with post, I just thought it was funny)

Well I started high school in 2002 at Calvary Christian School. High school was an interesting experience overall, but a very positive one I think. Now that I think of it, I made alot of crucial decisions in high school.

• I kind of decided to change the people I spent the most time with. I realized that my friends in middle school did not exactly have the best influence on me, and that I needed to surround myself with friends who could help me grow spiritually. 
• 
  
• My freshman year was when I really started to get involved in the church, and I realized the importance of that. 
• 
  
• My sophomore year I made the decision that I was going to go to a Bible College. And for those of you who know my plans after college, I absolutely do not regret this college decision. I have learned alot at Moody Bible Institute and if I had not chosen to go there then God would not have led me to where I am today and my plans after college. 
• In 2006 I graduated from Calvary Christian School. 

The past 3 years since then I have consisted of my college career at Moody Bible Institute, and alot has happened in those 3 years.

• In fall 2006 I started my degree of Sports Ministry at Moody Bible Institute. I was sure that God had called me to the foreign mission field full-time. 
• In 2008 my passion and burden for church media began rising within me. 
• In spring 2009 I got accepted to do my sports ministry internship with On Goal soccer camps. 
• Also in spring 2009 I wrote a proposal and outline of things that needed to change in my home church's media department. On June 3 I met with my Pastor to discuss this proposal and future changes. That same day he offered me a job for the summer as the church's media consultant. This was also the day before I was supposed to start my internship with the soccer camp. 
• Thankfully it all worked out and I ended taking the job at my church for the summer. Through this I learned a ton about the church, and alot that happens behind the scenes, and this helped to confirm that I believe that God is calling me into full-time church media work. 
• Now I am about to begin my last semester of my college career and I will be embarking on finding a job, and living life on my own. I'm looking forward to graduating that is for sure. 

So just in case you all aren't bored yet with reading about me, I was going to go through some personal changes that have happened in 2009, but I think this is enough.
O yeah, one other sidenote, I have been single for almost a year and a half, and I have also learned alot through that experience.

So I hope that you all have had a great decade and a great year. And I hope that you have enjoyed reading this blog. There will be lots more to come in the next year and in the next ten years.

What changes have taken place in your life this year and this decade?

2009 = Change (No Not Obama)

2009 has been a year of change in my personal life, and no, Obama has not been the cause of this change.

In a year's time I have changed the career direction in my life from doing sports ministry to doing church media.

More after the jump...

No longer am I planning on doing sports as a full-time vocation in ministry. Of course the keyword in that sentence is "planning." As I have found out this past year, God can change His plans whenever He wants and sometimes those plans may not be our plans.

Another change in my life in 2009 has been the act of reading.
Up until the beginning of this year I have loathed reading books. In fact, I would go so far as to say that before this year I hadn't read a whole book since sophomore year of high school (yes you heard me right, it has been about 5 years).

Then one of my friends made a bet with me, that I couldn't read a whole book in one month. There were no stipulations behind the bet, so I don't know why I took it so seriously, but I did nonetheless. Believe it or not, I finished the book "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan in the month of January, and since that time I have read 4 books in their entirety. A feat that I never thought I would complete in my lifetime. You can find the whole list of books I have read here: http://goodreads.com/jburno

As a consequence, I have actually come to like reading books, and I have learned so much from the books I have read (imagine that).

I don't want to overwhelm you with the length of this post, so I think I'll split it up into multiple parts.

Look for more changes in the coming posts.

What changes have taken place in your life in 2009?

It's A Rant...But Read Anyway

I'm getting somewhat tired of people asking me what I'm going to do with my life. I guess there is nothing I can do about that, but it has become the default question whenever I am talking to someone. After they find out that I am a senior in college, the very next thing out of people's mouths is, "What are you going to do after graduation?" I usually answer with, "I don't know" and then follow that with what direction I am going in. I have a preset answer in my mind. But it just gets repetitive after the 500th time.

Again, it is not anyone's fault. I guess it is the natural question to ask a senior in college, and I understand that. I am just ranting for the sake of ranting. I do that every-once and a while.

So no offense to you if you have asked me this question in the past, again this is just a rant.
Plus, I have been accused of neglecting my blog for the past week, so I thought I'd better write something to satisfy the masses.

Also, if you'd like to see the direction I'm headed in life check out this post as well as some of my other previous posts. Just a hint, it relates to media in church.

Don't worry, there will be more posts to come in the next week before the new year.

P.S. I'm home until January 8th, so if anyone wants to grab coffee and catch up just give me a call, shoot me an email (jkburns@gmail.com) or facebook me (http://facebook.com/jburns).

Doubts Are Good?

Do you ever have doubts?
Doubts about what you are doing?
Doubts about what you are planning on doing in the future?
Doubts that what you are doing is actually making a difference?
Doubts that what you are doing is actually having an impact on someone's life?

More after the jump...

Sometimes I have these doubts.
Some of you may know that I have decided to pursue a different career field than what I had originally planned on when I started college. I have been evaluating that decision to make sure that my motives are pure, and that it is what God wants me to do. I have been asking myself these questions, and it has been really beneficial.
Sometimes one just assumes that doubting has a negative connotation, but sometimes it is the exact opposite. Doubting in this situation has actually caused me to somewhat solidify my decision, and for right now I do believe that what I have chosen to do has the capability of making a difference. Now I must examine it even further to ensure that it is making a difference, and if it isn't then how can I cause it to make a difference? These are the next questions that I will be thinking about.

So a word of encouragement, if you are having doubts about something, don't let them affect you in a negative way. Instead seek to answer the questions that you are asking, and chances are your doubts will be erased, hopefully for the positive.