The past 24 hours have been interesting to say the least. After several unexpected reactions from various people in my life, I found out the Seminary that I applied to earlier this week was founded by Jerry Falwell. He was an ultra conservative preacher and televangelist who seemed to preach more hate than love. If we use Jesus as our guide and compass, and we look at what He did on this earth, it wasn't condemn us and point fingers. He taught us how to love, and showed us the greatest act of love the world has ever seen, laying down His perfect life for us when we by no means deserved it. In fact, as I wrote in a previous post, the two most important things we're called to do are 1-love God and 2- love people. It is not our job to condemn and point fingers. Sure, we can encourage people to change, and point them to Jesus for change, but it is not our job to judge. That's enough about that... just wanted to get that off my chest.
I firmly believe that God talks to us through others. Earlier today it was hard for me to tell how much of my anxiety with the situation was due to nerves about beginning a new program, and how much of it was due to Liberty's founder. I think God puts people in our lives for a reason, in fact He does everything for a reason. Chances are if you consistently get good advice from someone, they will continue to do give it, and you should listen. It is good to be open, you never know what or who God will speak through!
This whole thing was a little hard for me to accept. I felt really excited about going to Seminary at Liberty, and was pleased that all the pieces of my life were coming together. I realized today that whether I go there, or another college, God will get me where He wants me. Sure, the path might change, but either way God is preparing me for what He has in store for me ahead.
After talking to my family and my pastor, I am once again considering the Georgia Southern University Counseling program. I still want to go into Christian counseling, and I do believe that I will get there one way or another. I can use all the experiences I have been through to better relate to people, and to reach more of them. The knowledge and love of God is there already, and will continue to grow as I go through this life. Having the technical side of counseling would be very beneficial too because it would take what I know about God and faith, and make it more effective in reaching people.
I ask for your prayers for me about this. I know this is a big decision, and I just pray God's will is done, and trust He will get me to the right place. I know that in this as well as all things, I need to first seek Him, and He will take care of the rest.
Thanks and God bless!
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Monday, September 13, 2010
The Next Step
Lately God has put it on my heart to go to seminary. At first, I dismissed the call and decided it wasn't for me. A few months passed, and it popped up again almost out of nowhere.
One thing I've noticed in my life is a recurring pattern that when you're looking for something, you can't find it; but when you're not looking, it finds you. This was how I met Christy, I had finally stopped looking, and knew it would happen when I least expected it. It happened exactly when and how it was supposed to, and that's ok with me!
As I mentioned in my last blog, I have struggled with direction in my life. It took me almost two and a half years to pick a major. I graduated with my Bachelors of Arts in Psychology from Georgia Southern University in May of 2009. I thought I was all set and began the career search. I had never really had a strong calling about what I should do, and have changed my mind more times than I can count. Most of my aspirations have been for personal and financial gain. God's work is different. This time is different. It is not about me, it is about serving Him and bringing Him glory. That is what I care about doing. That is why we're all here.
People my whole life have asked me what I want to do, and what I want to be when I grow up. I have never had a clear cut answer, even lately, a year and a half after receiving my college degree. I still work in the same place I worked as a college student, and although there has been some talk of promotion, I am not sure anything is ever going to change here. Just when I stopped looking, and became content with what I have, God put this awesome way to serve Him on my heart!
I had never heard of getting a degree in Pastoral Counseling until about 6 weeks ago when we were up in Atlanta. We were at Christy's grandparents house and I was talking to her Grandpa, Cecil Murphey, about paths and direction. He suggested that Pastoral Counseling might be a good fit for me, given my background in Psychology. Ever since then, it has been running through my mind non stop, and I could actually see myself doing this.
I have applied to a variety of graduate programs in the past year and a half, and even started one. One thing I came up with is I don't want to do anythign apart from God. That certainly includes school. I believe God is the answer, and could not counsel anyone without talking about God. This is why none of the other paths worked out, and I can see that now. God doesn't make mistakes, and nothing sneaks up on Him or catches Him by surprise. Everything that happens, no matter how bizarre or unfortunate it is, happens for a reason. He does this to prepare us for His future use, to give us the ability to tackle things as they come.
I began the college exploration process again, and had a hard time finding one that was a good fit. I was seriously considering Global University, and Southeastern University. This weekend we went to Waffle House after church, and my friend Matthew suggested I check out Liberty. As soon as I looked at it, I knew this could be the one. I chatted with an admissions counselor, and applied over the phone about an hour ago! I will be pursuing the M.A. in Pastoral Counseling. I know if this is God's plan, it will work out.
God talks to us in a variety of ways, but often times through other people.
I will keep you all posted as I find out about the admissions decission. If I am accepted, I will begin January 17th, 2011. It will take me about 2 years to comlpete the degree, which will be challenging while working full time as well. "...With God all things are possible" Matthew 19:26 NIV.
Thanks again for reading, and God bless!
Scott
One thing I've noticed in my life is a recurring pattern that when you're looking for something, you can't find it; but when you're not looking, it finds you. This was how I met Christy, I had finally stopped looking, and knew it would happen when I least expected it. It happened exactly when and how it was supposed to, and that's ok with me!
As I mentioned in my last blog, I have struggled with direction in my life. It took me almost two and a half years to pick a major. I graduated with my Bachelors of Arts in Psychology from Georgia Southern University in May of 2009. I thought I was all set and began the career search. I had never really had a strong calling about what I should do, and have changed my mind more times than I can count. Most of my aspirations have been for personal and financial gain. God's work is different. This time is different. It is not about me, it is about serving Him and bringing Him glory. That is what I care about doing. That is why we're all here.
People my whole life have asked me what I want to do, and what I want to be when I grow up. I have never had a clear cut answer, even lately, a year and a half after receiving my college degree. I still work in the same place I worked as a college student, and although there has been some talk of promotion, I am not sure anything is ever going to change here. Just when I stopped looking, and became content with what I have, God put this awesome way to serve Him on my heart!
I had never heard of getting a degree in Pastoral Counseling until about 6 weeks ago when we were up in Atlanta. We were at Christy's grandparents house and I was talking to her Grandpa, Cecil Murphey, about paths and direction. He suggested that Pastoral Counseling might be a good fit for me, given my background in Psychology. Ever since then, it has been running through my mind non stop, and I could actually see myself doing this.
I have applied to a variety of graduate programs in the past year and a half, and even started one. One thing I came up with is I don't want to do anythign apart from God. That certainly includes school. I believe God is the answer, and could not counsel anyone without talking about God. This is why none of the other paths worked out, and I can see that now. God doesn't make mistakes, and nothing sneaks up on Him or catches Him by surprise. Everything that happens, no matter how bizarre or unfortunate it is, happens for a reason. He does this to prepare us for His future use, to give us the ability to tackle things as they come.
I began the college exploration process again, and had a hard time finding one that was a good fit. I was seriously considering Global University, and Southeastern University. This weekend we went to Waffle House after church, and my friend Matthew suggested I check out Liberty. As soon as I looked at it, I knew this could be the one. I chatted with an admissions counselor, and applied over the phone about an hour ago! I will be pursuing the M.A. in Pastoral Counseling. I know if this is God's plan, it will work out.
God talks to us in a variety of ways, but often times through other people.
I will keep you all posted as I find out about the admissions decission. If I am accepted, I will begin January 17th, 2011. It will take me about 2 years to comlpete the degree, which will be challenging while working full time as well. "...With God all things are possible" Matthew 19:26 NIV.
Thanks again for reading, and God bless!
Scott
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Where it all began
I have been a Christian all my life. My walk with the Lord has been steady and strong all of my days , however I did not begin to pursue a serious and real relationship with Him until this time last year. It is AMAZING how this changed my life. In the one short year I have grown closer to Him than ever before, and learned more things than I ever could have dreamed of. This is really what this blog is all about, my daily walk with the Lord of ALL things, the God of the universe. This is my God, and this is my walk.
I grew up Catholic and regularly attended Mass. I felt good when I went, and occasionally walked away with something new after hearing the homily (or sermon for you Protestants out there!). I went in, did my thing, and left returning to my life without any real change. I rarely felt God's presence, and felt like I was going through the motions a lot of the time instead of truly engaging in worship with the living and awesome God. Communion, however, was and always has been different. It is the one thing that felt real and powerful to me growing up.
For about 23 years of my life, this was it. Did I believe in God? Yes. Did I pray? Sometimes, but is that all there was? To quote Paul in his letter to the Romans, by no means! One Friday night last October, Christy and I were over at our friends house, the Fogles, attending a Bible study on a series called the Truth Project. This is a twelve part video series designed to help us as Christians to see the truth in the Bible and apply it to our daily lives. I have seen about half of these, but highly recommend them! After one of the videos, we had a group discussion about our thoughts from the video. There were about 10 or 12 people at the Fogle's house that night, and they all seemed to have stuff figured out. It didn't seem like they were just going through the motions, they seemed to have a real relationship with God. They said a lot of things from the Bible that I had never heard before, a lot of stuff that made sense to me. They used the word "saved" a lot, which I hadn't really encountered in my Catholic background. That night I got to thinking about whether or not I was saved, and I couldn't really answer that question. I asked some of them how they knew, and they described awesome testimonies of how God stepped into their lives and turned it upside down. This caused me to look back in my life for a defining moment when I felt like that, and at first I seemed to come up blank.
The next day, Christy and I were talking about salvation and the Bible study from the night before. I didn't know this at the time, but she had been saved a couple weeks before. Praise God! She had been spending a lot of time with God, and not very much time with me. When I wanted to hang out and watch tv, she wanted to read the Bible. I had never really read the Bible before, and assumed she would read through it once and be done with it. I asked her if this was going to be something she did all the time, and luckily she said yes. At the time, I was frustrated, and wasn't quite sure what was going on. "It was just a phase" I told myself, things will go back to normal before long. I allowed myself to pout inside for a couple minutes, then decided to take it to the Big Guy. I prayed for answers, if I was saved, let me know, and if not... help me get there.
We were attending Statesboro First United Methodist at the time, and Thad, the preacher was giving a sermon about God's grace and love. I had heard these things before, but had kept it at surface level. Thad, like myself, had some issues with alcohol in the past. I was never an alcoholic, but my drinking had gotten out of control and I was playing a dangerous game. Thad had said that due to God's grace, not only was he forgiven, and loved, but that God continued to use him to reach others. At this point, I lost it. I started crying, not because of shame, but because of hope. At that moment, I knew God had big plans for me, and that He was far from being done with my life. It was then that I got my answer from God... yes, I am saved! I tried to hide my tears, and although I am "in touch with my emotions", there is a time and a place for that, I thought. The sermon had just ended, and we headed out to the car. I got in the driver's seat, and started crying again. I filled Christy in on what had happened, and felt spiritually alive for the first time! She ended up driving home that day, and I remember texting my friend Brice Fogle from Church in the Boro about it. He and his wife Christine had been really loving on me, and teaching me about God for a while. They took the time to share the Good News, which we are all called to do by Jesus in what is known as the Great Commission. (Matthew 28:16-20) They couldn't be more pleased!
About three years before that, I was still living at home with my parents. I was attending a local university, and was struggling with grades, drinking, and lack of direction in my life. All these problems fall under one head honcho problem, the lack of God in my life. It was during this time in my opinion that I was actually saved. My life was not going in the direction I had planned, I was single and lonely. This for me was my rock bottom, and I realize a lot of people have to get lower than that to make room for God, but I'm thankful this was as far as I had to go. I decided to transfer down to Georgia Southern University after taking a semester off to do some soul searching. Once at GSU, I found my major, cleaned my act up, and most importantly, met my wife! The sad part is it took me about 3 years to acknowledge God was behind ALL this. This did not strike me until that fated Sunday morning where I got my answer from God. The whole time I accredited my life getting back on track to my own merit, but it was God all the way! It is amazing how He works in our lives, even when we might not realize it at the time.
This is where I truly began my walk with the Lord. I had some unreal expectations about what it meant to be saved, and have gotten a deeper understanding for it in the past year. I thought at that moment everything would be perfect, and I would be done changing, as perfect as I could be this side of Heaven. This is not the case. It is about a daily walk and surrender to the God of all things. It about us sharing the love of God with all people. In Matthew 22:37-39 Jesus says ..."Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself..."(New International Version) Now my life is in God's hands, and I couldn't be happier! Let go, and let God!
Jeremiah 29:11-14 "I alone know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you..." (NIV)
Thanks for reading and God bless!
Scott
I grew up Catholic and regularly attended Mass. I felt good when I went, and occasionally walked away with something new after hearing the homily (or sermon for you Protestants out there!). I went in, did my thing, and left returning to my life without any real change. I rarely felt God's presence, and felt like I was going through the motions a lot of the time instead of truly engaging in worship with the living and awesome God. Communion, however, was and always has been different. It is the one thing that felt real and powerful to me growing up.
For about 23 years of my life, this was it. Did I believe in God? Yes. Did I pray? Sometimes, but is that all there was? To quote Paul in his letter to the Romans, by no means! One Friday night last October, Christy and I were over at our friends house, the Fogles, attending a Bible study on a series called the Truth Project. This is a twelve part video series designed to help us as Christians to see the truth in the Bible and apply it to our daily lives. I have seen about half of these, but highly recommend them! After one of the videos, we had a group discussion about our thoughts from the video. There were about 10 or 12 people at the Fogle's house that night, and they all seemed to have stuff figured out. It didn't seem like they were just going through the motions, they seemed to have a real relationship with God. They said a lot of things from the Bible that I had never heard before, a lot of stuff that made sense to me. They used the word "saved" a lot, which I hadn't really encountered in my Catholic background. That night I got to thinking about whether or not I was saved, and I couldn't really answer that question. I asked some of them how they knew, and they described awesome testimonies of how God stepped into their lives and turned it upside down. This caused me to look back in my life for a defining moment when I felt like that, and at first I seemed to come up blank.
The next day, Christy and I were talking about salvation and the Bible study from the night before. I didn't know this at the time, but she had been saved a couple weeks before. Praise God! She had been spending a lot of time with God, and not very much time with me. When I wanted to hang out and watch tv, she wanted to read the Bible. I had never really read the Bible before, and assumed she would read through it once and be done with it. I asked her if this was going to be something she did all the time, and luckily she said yes. At the time, I was frustrated, and wasn't quite sure what was going on. "It was just a phase" I told myself, things will go back to normal before long. I allowed myself to pout inside for a couple minutes, then decided to take it to the Big Guy. I prayed for answers, if I was saved, let me know, and if not... help me get there.
We were attending Statesboro First United Methodist at the time, and Thad, the preacher was giving a sermon about God's grace and love. I had heard these things before, but had kept it at surface level. Thad, like myself, had some issues with alcohol in the past. I was never an alcoholic, but my drinking had gotten out of control and I was playing a dangerous game. Thad had said that due to God's grace, not only was he forgiven, and loved, but that God continued to use him to reach others. At this point, I lost it. I started crying, not because of shame, but because of hope. At that moment, I knew God had big plans for me, and that He was far from being done with my life. It was then that I got my answer from God... yes, I am saved! I tried to hide my tears, and although I am "in touch with my emotions", there is a time and a place for that, I thought. The sermon had just ended, and we headed out to the car. I got in the driver's seat, and started crying again. I filled Christy in on what had happened, and felt spiritually alive for the first time! She ended up driving home that day, and I remember texting my friend Brice Fogle from Church in the Boro about it. He and his wife Christine had been really loving on me, and teaching me about God for a while. They took the time to share the Good News, which we are all called to do by Jesus in what is known as the Great Commission. (Matthew 28:16-20) They couldn't be more pleased!
About three years before that, I was still living at home with my parents. I was attending a local university, and was struggling with grades, drinking, and lack of direction in my life. All these problems fall under one head honcho problem, the lack of God in my life. It was during this time in my opinion that I was actually saved. My life was not going in the direction I had planned, I was single and lonely. This for me was my rock bottom, and I realize a lot of people have to get lower than that to make room for God, but I'm thankful this was as far as I had to go. I decided to transfer down to Georgia Southern University after taking a semester off to do some soul searching. Once at GSU, I found my major, cleaned my act up, and most importantly, met my wife! The sad part is it took me about 3 years to acknowledge God was behind ALL this. This did not strike me until that fated Sunday morning where I got my answer from God. The whole time I accredited my life getting back on track to my own merit, but it was God all the way! It is amazing how He works in our lives, even when we might not realize it at the time.
This is where I truly began my walk with the Lord. I had some unreal expectations about what it meant to be saved, and have gotten a deeper understanding for it in the past year. I thought at that moment everything would be perfect, and I would be done changing, as perfect as I could be this side of Heaven. This is not the case. It is about a daily walk and surrender to the God of all things. It about us sharing the love of God with all people. In Matthew 22:37-39 Jesus says ..."Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself..."(New International Version) Now my life is in God's hands, and I couldn't be happier! Let go, and let God!
Jeremiah 29:11-14 "I alone know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you..." (NIV)
Thanks for reading and God bless!
Scott
Friday, September 10, 2010
Welcome!
Hello everybody!
My name is Scott Curley, I'm 24 years old and live with my wife, Christy, in Portal GA. Within the past year or so, God has put it on my heart to go into ministry, and I've been praying through that and exploring a wide array of paths to do so. I'm basically using this blog to develop ideas and share with you all what God has revealed to me over the past year, and where I'm going.
Thanks for reading! I have to get back to work now, but wanted to put something up for anyone who happened across it. Talk to you soon!
Scott
My name is Scott Curley, I'm 24 years old and live with my wife, Christy, in Portal GA. Within the past year or so, God has put it on my heart to go into ministry, and I've been praying through that and exploring a wide array of paths to do so. I'm basically using this blog to develop ideas and share with you all what God has revealed to me over the past year, and where I'm going.
Thanks for reading! I have to get back to work now, but wanted to put something up for anyone who happened across it. Talk to you soon!
Scott
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