Whoa.

So, God is awesome. He's really been changing my heart the past few weeks, and I'm really not sure where to start talking about it.

I've been asking God to teach me how He is my Father. God has really opened my eyes up to what it means to be His son through this...and that has been ENORMOUSLY freeing! Wow. Even in just the past couple days, God has been freeing me and giving me boldness for Him. There's been a lot of changes in my thoughts and heart that only God could do.

God has really shown me how to love Him. I didn't know how to love God for a long time...Him being Someone that I can't actually see. He's really been working in my heart to teach me how, and it's been pretty sweet! One thought I've had for a while now is that God has finally helped me to understand a lot of worship songs that I hear bands play, haha.

Some people got healed at the prayer room the other night. Awesome. I haven't actually been around someone getting healed before, and after God healed a couple people while we were praying for them, it seemed strangely...normal, and totally right.

It's been so good to see God really moving in Lansing, setting fires in people's hearts. I will be sad to leave when I go to Colorado, but I trust Jesus when He said, "My Father is always working, and so am I." God is doing crazy awesome things everywhere, we just don't always see them.

Peace.

Possibilities...

So, here I am, filling out an application for a camp in Colorado. Whoa. I discovered a great-looking camp near Colorado Springs, and if they like my application, I may be moving there as soon as the end of this coming May. That's only three months away!!! This is bizarre.

This evening I calculated out roughly how much I SHOULD and CAN have saved by May. I can have upwards of $1400 in savings by May 11 if I am very, very wise with my money. That will easily get me to Colorado...or at least it should, haha. Defnitely more money than I thought I could have before I did the math.

Now, I was originally planning on moving in August. Getting a job at this camp would mean bumping that up by three months...and halving the time I have left in Michigan. This means I really need to spend quality time with my family and start preparing myself to move far away.

Lots of thoughts. I just can't wait to get out there.

Peace.

Treasure Hunt!

So, this was an interesting weekend.

First, I have more of an answer to the college ideas I was having earlier this week. I will probably not be pursuing more education just yet, probably not for at least a year. As I researched the colleges I was looking at and tuition fees, I realised I would have to pay a TON more as a non-resident...a status I will not be able to change until I've lived in Colorado for a year. Ick. Even if I was to take community college courses in Colorado Springs instead of going straight to Durango for college, it would still cost me over double the normal cost for residents.

My mom, in her wisdom, also reminded me that after people have finished their first degree and are working full-time jobs (that would be me now...), they have to just take classes when they can and sacrifice their social time after work for study time. I was looking at the situation like I could just go back to school somewhere...but I wouldn't be able to get nearly as much financial aid, and if I'm a full-time student, I just won't be able to pay for college without help or a good job. I still have a lot of growing up to do.

Second, today my roommate Justin took me to something called a "treasure hunt" around MSU campus. Last week, he met a bunch of new people who go to a place called "The Furnace," a little prayer room in a basement on Grand River across from MSU which is dedicated to praying for and evangelising campus, particularly through bringing together the campus ministries and giving them one roof to meet under. Little place with a big mission...I like it.

Anyway, these people are CRAZY about Jesus in a way I haven't seen since I was in Colorado. We met in the prayer room, and the leader(?), Garrett, got things rolling. We asked God to show us what He wanted us to see: names of people, descriptions of people, places, illnesses, and anything else, and wrote everything down that came to mind. Then we compared lists to see if anyone had matching items, separated into two groups, and went to the places we had written down.

Sound silly yet? Well, God did awesome things with this fun little thing.

Among other things, Garrett had written "big wooden doors," I had "across the street," and Justin wrote "MSU Credit Union." Justin was the only one of us who knew that the place he had written down was across the street and had big wooden doors. Ha. The three of us made our own group and went over, looking for people who might match anything on our lists. As we walked around upstairs, Justin approached a fellow who matched a few things he had written, and we followed. He was in a small study group with two others. As it turned out, the guy said he was a Christian, and one of the other students with him was one of the names on Justin's list, as well. We came to find out that this other student was an atheist, and ended up having a really great talk with him about God's love, Christian stewardship, and the Bible. I think all of us (including the atheist) were very surprised to walk away very happy we had talked.

The same student who said he was an atheist also had a problem with his eye which we all prayed for, but didn't see any healing with it at the time. However, Garrett did got a sort of vision from God and saw what it was like to see out of the student's injured eye, and the student confirmed that was indeed what he normally sees. Crazy! I think God is going to move in his heart through all this.

So, with this silly little game we were playing with God (yes, I would call it that; God is our Father, and He does enjoy playing with His children), we got to encourage a few people and even be encouraged by them in return. God was there the whole time, as He always is.

I believe this happens pretty much every Sunday afternoon from 2pm to 4pm. Tomorrow night, they have a big prayer meeting which I'll also be attending. The people I met know God more than I do, and they have joy overflowing, which is pretty hard to find among Christians now. God has already shown a lot to Justin this week when he spent time with them. I think I'll give it a shot and see what God has in store.

Peace.

I think I need professional help...

So, I haven't posted in a while. That's ok. My new job is going very well, and I've been getting closer to God together with my roommate Justin. God has taught us so much by making us live together, haha.

Life is generally going quite well. I'm still working on saving money for the big move this summer. I'm moving home from Lansing by the end of this month. My family and close friends are supportive of all this, which is great. I'm trying to learn Irish, practicing guitar and singing all the time...the usual.

However, I recently caught a bad bug...one that I've had before, and one that I don't know if I'll ever be able to fully get rid of. It's the "Man, I really wish I had a geology degree" bug. Since as far back as I can remember, I've always wanted to be a geologist, specifically a paleontologist. Jurassic Park is my favorite movie ever (Dr. Grant, naturally, being my favorite character). I never got out of the dinosaur phase. If you know me or have read this blog for a while, you probably know that I tried going back to school last year in hopes that I could eventually get a degree in geology or some kind of wildlife science...and if you knew all that, you also know that I didn't follow through with it. I realised that it was better to get a job right now and save money. Glad I made that choice, but I still can hardly stop thinking about pursuing more education eventually.

I kind of feel like an addict...except it's to learning, not an illegal substance.

It's very likely that I will end up in a city called Durango. My new friend Andrew will be moving there once he graduates from Charis Bible College next year, and since my goal is to start an outdoor discipleship ministry with him, I don't see why I wouldn't also move there. My plan was originally to move to Colorado Springs from Michigan, then go to Durango whenever he did. However, I found a place called Fort Lewis College in Durango which looks like it has an amazing geology program, and it's really tempting me to just move straight there. Andrew would be able to help me find a place to stay, so that's not a huge issue. The real issue is whether or not I should try to go back to school...again.

Your prayers and advice are appreciated.

Peace.

Music time!

So, I haven't posted in a while...partly because I haven't had much to talk about, and partly because I haven't had internet at my house for over a week. Now the internet is back, though, and there are things to talk about, so let's get to it.

First, Christmas was weird. It's the first Christmas that I've actually had a real job during, so I didn't have a "Christmas break." Definitely weird, but also very good. I got to spend time with both sides of my family, which was really great. Realizing that this may be my last Christmas in Michigan, not including visiting in the future, was another strange moment.

Second, I got a chance to hang out with my roommate Justin in Grand Rapids last night. While I was there, I met one of his friends who has a small recording studio in the basement of his house. When I saw each side of my family, both sides told me they want me to record an album before I go to Colorado. After meeting this guy in GR, I actually have a place to start. My goal is to record three albums, actually. One will be a farewell album for my family and friends in Michigan with some of my personal favorite songs and some goodbye-type songs. The second one will be a more fun album specifically for my Center Lake Bible Camp friends. It will have a bunch of parodies on it, and will be the only album of the three with any totally original songs on it...maybe up to three or four, depending on who I can get to collaborate with me on it. The third album will be a metal-to-acoustic one with a number of metal songs I've covered on the acoustic guitar. Several of the musical arrangements on this album will be my own, but none of the lyrics will be changed from the original songs.

I'm pretty stoked for this. The metal and camp albums are the most complete as things stand right now (other than actually recording them, of course). I still don't quite know what songs are going to be on the goodbye album, though. There are some ideas floating around my brain, but I need to develop a solid list and start practicing.

Several of my family members and the friends who are most closely associated with the songs on the albums will probably get these for free, but I think for the most part I'm going to sell them for cheap to try to partially fund my move to Colorado this summer (for which I may now have one or two travel companions...). This is what I'm thinking regarding prices:

$3 per album
$5 per album with all the lyrics and some song explanations
$7 for all that plus the chord charts for the songs
$10 for all that plus a personal message (and maybe some original artwork).

Yeah, we're gettin' deluxed in here.

Any thoughts, questions, comments, suggestions, requests, etc.? Comment below or send me an e-mail. If you don't already have it, my e-mail address is: butlerc777@gmail.com

Peace.

Finally.

So, I unexpectedly had my first day of work today. I started training at 10am and finished at 7pm. A full day of work at full pay...it felt great. Thank you all for your prayers. There's only a few final kinks to work out, but I am hired and have officially started work. I'm working with my old youth pastor, too, which makes the job way better.

Thank you, Lord.

Peace.

More life changes!

So, I haven't posted in a while, I know, but it's because I wanted a few ideas more solidified before I sent them off to the internet.

I am very close to getting a great job. If everything goes through as it seems it will, in two weeks I should start as a delivery driver for a rent-to-own furniture company called Aaron's. On the surface, a delivery driver job doesn't seem to fit my MO, but the benefits, ability to save plenty of money, and transferability are all things I really need in a job right now, and park ranger jobs around here just don't make the cut. There's still a little more processing I need to go through before I'm officially in, though, so your prayers are still appreciated. Getting as far as I have already with this job is very important to the things I talk about next, so it would be really great to not have something fail now, haha.

Also, I've been giving more though to the whole "moving to Colorado" thing, specifically regarding the time frame and prioritizing the steps to get there. First off, for plenty of reasons you can ask me about somewhere else, I'm probably going to be moving home by the end of January. I'll still be spending plenty of time in Lansing with my church and other friends, but I want to be closer to family before I leave, and they take priority. Second, late August in 2013 is my goal for the move, so about nine months from now. Theoretically, this job should allow me to save enough money to move by that time. Since it's a large, nationwide company, I shouldn't have an issue with transferring to Colorado Springs (or somewhere close, at least), meaning I also shouldn't need much of a savings buffer so I can survive while I search for a job.

Lots of hypotheticals in there, if you didn't notice. I've spoken with my pastor (who is also my landlord) and my mom about moving home, but I will be spending the next few weeks praying about all of this. If you would, please pray with me about these three things:

1. The job works out and is as stable as it sounds.
2. I make the right decision on when (and if I should) move home. The date in my head is February 1, 2013.
3. End of August 2013 as a moving date.

Thank you.

Peace.