Paul's Ministry Update!

 Hello everyone! Clossssingggg timeeeee (turn on song here). Funny story is that my best friends freshman year of college would always play this song when it was time to leave their dorm room at night. Subtle, but clear. I think it is funny to still play that song today at the end of events and see who is able to read the room and know it is time to leave lol. Some social skills just have to be caught, not taught. This may be a blog of photos. Well, actually, all my blogs have photos. But this one especially is already special to my heart as it is my last one that follows this school year of ministry. I have joked some that I am emo this month to see this year of ministry end as this job has exceeded all my expectations. This month we have gotten to say goodbye both through graduations and end of year parties, celebrated baptisms, and even traveled across the country to Seattle and Bellingham, Washington with 150 of our students! With all of this excitement, I have had to remind my...

 Hello everyone! I am writing this during the sliver of sunlight that God is providing us today. Really this month, at least it is starting to feel like. Maybe I should be taking advantage of this bit of sun to go outside, but I guess the schedule of my day reigns supreme. Overall, April has been a really bittersweet month for me, ministry wise. During April, you start to see everything wrap up. My FOJ's that started in the Fall are coming to an end, we are starting to plan all of the 'end of year' parties, and everyone is talking about plans for the summer. But with all of these endings, I am just reminded of the year of growth in so many different relationships between these guys and God. Just trying to reflect on our small group from the start of the year to now is so crazy. Going from a group of guys who didn't know each other at all to one that looks to include each other, love each other, laugh and encourage each other - words are hard to capture it, but I hope yo...

 Hello everyone! This is it. The final stretch of the academic year at UT Dallas! Everyone is back from Spring Break, and we now only have five more weeks of meeting together before the students start to go in different directions for the summer. To be honest, the next five weeks feel like closing time to me. We recently talked about in one of our meetings with all of the student leaders at UTD about what it means to 'finish well'. For them, that could be applied to finishing well in classes, in their Focus on Jesus bible studies, or in their small group, especially to the students that are graduating, these are potentially the last few weeks in our ministry. For me, that also includes the transition from finishing this internship and transitioning into a 3 year commitment to being on staff. Your time in an organization is often remembered by how you end or leave it. We talked to our students about how as disciples of Jesus, we need to do everything we can to end on a positive,...

 Guys and gals, God is so cool.  This month has been so fast, but in a good way. Of course, the goal is not to be rushed. I read this book over the summer called "The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry". Ironically enough, it is a very quick read, but I highly recommend it. A line that has stayed with me this month goes that  "if the devil cannot make you sin, he'll make you busy. There's truth in that. Both sin and busyness have the exact same effect - they cut off your connection to God, to other people, and even to your own soul". Of course, this quote is not scripture, but it has helped me develop a mindset of being slow and interruptible, even during the quicker paced weeks, so that I can still listen to the Holy Spirit and let Him guide my conversations and actions.  With that in mind, God has been working this year at UTD in a way that I have not seen over the past four years being connected to this ministry. Students are SO hungry for community and spirit...

 Hello all! The New Year is here. It is officially 2025, and I am over halfway done with this 10 month long apprenticeship! I am so grateful for this opportunity to learn about God and serve at UT Dallas in so many different ways. There is a lot of anticipation coming back to campus at the start of a new semester. There are new students, new schedules, and new relationships that grew closer during the break. I feel like I have so much to share in this post, but I will try my best to not inundate you with too much information. As always, please reach out if you want to talk more, for I am on this journey with you! One thing that is probably the most clear to me after this month is that I need to buy a winter coat. A hoodie may be enough for 75% of Texas winter, but that remaining 25% is brutal. And that 25% is what we saw at our Winter Retreat weekend. Shoutout Mr. Towery for saving the weekend by letting me borrow one of his jackets. Temperatures dropped to the teens, but we still ...