Corey Ray Jones

Coffee - The Greatest Addiction Ever

2011-06-23T11:45:00.000-04:00

For me, everyday begins with a cup of coffee. I enjoy the flavor, the energy, the smell, and the feel of a cup of coffee in my hand. If I get into office conversation, I find that I drink more. And if my day finds time, I'll end up at a coffee shop reading with my wifey. I have very specific coffee favorites such as Ethiopia Yirga Chefe! Bold, Strong, Coffee! Espresso is also a preferred taste of mine but it costs so much for such a little cup, so I stick to the bold cup of joe. Since moving to Carrollton, I have used the same coffee mug everyday. It is stained brown and has only been washed a handful of times, but I believe that it gives it character! As I sip on my freshly brewed coffee for today, I encourage you to grav a mug and enjoy this video as you sip on God's gift.

Nicaragua

2011-06-14T17:00:00.000-04:00

This past week I served in Nicaragua with Southern Hills Christian Church and the Mustard Seed Mission. Here are my highlights:

Traveling late into the night and getting to know our team better through Nicole's favorite questions.
Seeing the beauty of the Perkins property.
Mixing concrete with Scott and moving the ladder for Nicole.
GREAT FOOD!!!
Playing soccer and volleyball with the kids.
Teaching VBS about how Noah sawed, and chopped, and he didn't stop. And how Daniel obeyed God even though there were hungry lions and a mean king.
Yelling Gloria Dios!
Joy filled kids who have never heard Sunday school lesson stories and seeing them learn it for the first time!
Seeing the kids love my wife and her blue hair.
Mud/River "roads"
Talking with Michael on the lounge.
Playing soccer with Yader.
The huge toads and scorpion.
Serving the community a meal as they watched the Jesus film.
Zip Linning and the boat cruze with Lucy.
Crazy luggage people hitting the plane and resting in Fort Lauderdale for the day.
Attempting to write a letter in Spanish and thinking of those far away.

Thank you for your many prayers, for your support, and for your love. If you would still like to help with our expenses, that would be amazing. Or if you want to join our golf tournament on June 20th facebook me!

For more photos click here,

Many great memories and totally glad to be a part of Nicaragua!

My Favorite Blogs

2011-05-30T10:54:00.001-04:00

I currently follow 81 different blogs. I enjoy information and reading the thoughts of great children's pastors. I enjoy laughing at people failing. I enjoy keeping up with friends. And I enjoy being reminded of great things, like Lost, Batman, and Geocaching. Blogs help me stay relevant with children's ministry posts, youtube trends, church stage designs. And blogs challenge me with great sermons, podcasts, and webisodes. My all time FAVORITE blog is hands down THIS ONE!

I hope you enjoy my blog on blogs and feel free to check out some of my subscriptions from Google Reader:

(I typed them ALL out, and linked them but can't post because it's considered SPAM, and so if you want a full list, I'll have to email it to you, just ask).

Here are some of my favorites:

Batman-News

Ben Terry

Children's Ministry Online

MoreThanDodgeball.com

Neatorama

Perry Noble

Socialnomics - Social Media Blog

Stuff Christians Like - Jon Acuff

TeeFury Daily Tee

the Life of rich meister.

YEAHLOST.com

YouTube Trends

My Office at Southern Hills Christian Church

2011-05-24T11:40:00.004-04:00

Most of my time in the week is spent in my office working on current projects and preparing for future ministry. I thought it would be nice this week to give you a sneak peak at where the magic happens.

When you walk in, you'll instantly notice that I like having an open office where you can walk in and feel welcomed. You can have a seat on the sweet couch, or maybe be a little more adventurous and sit in my massage chair. I almost always have some sweets on the shelf to encourage visitors and you may even notice that I like batman!

I will spare you from opening the closet. As a children's pastor I am always working on our future stage set, costumes, and object lessons to teach the kids about Jesus in creative ways and so it is FULL! I have a modest book collection, but have read pretty much everything on my shelves. I try to read at least a book a month now that I have graduated college.

If you notice on my desk, I am currently reading 9 Things They Didn't Teach Me in College About Children's Ministry, Leadership by the Book: Tools to Transform Your Workplace, and by recommendation of Perry Noble Choosing to Cheat: Who Wins When Family and Work Collide?.

So, there's my office. I must say, I really enjoy working in this room and especially love working at Southern Hills Christian Church!!!

Stop by sometime, grab a piece of candy, get a massage, and let's hang out. I would love to have you!

Planning A Luau

2011-05-16T14:47:00.010-04:00

On Friday, Southern Hills Christian Church held a banquet for the 5th graders who will be moving from All Stars to the Fusion Ministry. Over the past couple of week, a lot has gone into planning this banquet and so I thought it would be fun to backtrack some. So starting with now and going to the beginning:

Close out expenses for this year.
Evaluation and planning for next year.
Thank you's.
Sleep.
Clean up.
Pray.
Give out gifts.
Shannon speak.
Coaches speak.
Speak.
Games.
Food.
Welcome.
Enjoy the event.
Greet guests.
Start music and slides.
Final preparations.
Final food.
Finalize music.
Finalize slide show.
Print name plates for bibles.
Double check spelling of names.
Clean up mess from decoration.
Decorate the room and tables.
Table clothes and layout.
Purchase game equipment.
Create and Print tshirt vouchers.
Purchase gift for Abby.
Clean off the stage.
Hook up computer/sound/lights.
Set up the room with tables and chairs.
Create alphabetical list of kids.
Finalize RSVP's and pictures.
Get bibles from Shannon.
Give bibles to Shannon.
Write in gift bibles.
Purchase music.
Create slide show.
Get prizes for the games.
Give Shannon room layout sheet.
Purchase last decorations.
Determine layout of the room.
Finalize food.
Give numbers to Susan.
Finalize number estimates.
Send followup emails.
Call and email for RSVP's.
Finalize coaches who will attend.
Create RSVP database.
Announcement in connect.
Graphic and info to Andrew.
Remind kids and parents with reminder cards.
Order Bibles.
Think of prizes for the games.
Order decorations and bonus food stuff.
Inform coaches.
Meet with Susan about food.
Announce the event.
Put event in bulletin.
Permission for bible purchase.
Bible research.
Send out information and RSVP's.
Proofing, printing, mailing.
Create reminder cards.
Create RSVP cards.
Create event invitations.
Graphics and look for event.
Create list of 5th grade prospects.
Create schedule for event.
Meet with Susan about food.
Ask for decoration equipment.
Talk with CM team, Shannon, and Susan about ideas.
Food Ideas.
Decoration Ideas.
Tentative Schedule.
Game Ideas.
Meet with CM staff for ideas.
Determine the theme for the event.
Reserve the facility.
Give dates for food and to other staff.
Pray about the event/purpose/goals/ideas.
Talk with Shannon about the event in past, event now, and purpose.
Talk with CM staff about the event in past, event now, and purpose.

Set Budget.
Set Date.
Finalize Event.

Well, I'm sure that I'm missing something, but this is a look at what goes into planning an event. While it may seem like a lot of work, it is definitely worth every second of it!

Here are some pics/graphics and stuff:

Screen It

2011-05-09T21:54:00.003-04:00

This weekend I went with Nicole to watch Thor. I'm a geek and really like comic book style movies and so I was very excited. Overall it was a great movie, but one thought that I had throughout a lot of the movie was, "Why are there so many young kids here?" The movie wasn't one of those "bad" movies, but it is about War and there is significan violence therefore is rated pg-13 (curious why? see here).

Anyway, this got me thinking about our rating system for movies and games. The Motion Picture Association of America sets the rating for movies. This is a system set up in America. And you may have noticed that America is not the most pure system. And so when this system even says that you should not take your kids and you do...there seems to be a problem there.

Also, in talking the kids, even church kids, most of their favorite video games are Rated Mature...which means you need to be 17 to purchase...so why let them play?

Anyways, just a few thoughts from my weekend and my I just encourage you to think twice and check out a site like http://www.screenit.com/search_movies.html before bringing the kids along.

Sunday Checklists

2011-05-02T16:56:00.003-04:00

Sunday mornings are very busy for me. I get up early and begin thinking through a mental and sometimes written checklist. There is a lot going on all at once and so it is sometimes difficult to manage. Recently, I began thinking about how busy I feel on Sunday's and how while there is a ton going on, I need to stay focused.

Who do I need to talk with today? What area's need evaluation? Who needs encouraging? What needs delegated? What needs done this week? Who needs prayer? And then all of the stuff with lessons, skits, main points, memory verses and everything in between.

I don't remember where I read about this struggle, but since reading about it, I have placed a lot of emphasis on making sure that I connect with people. Making sure I take the time to connect, build others up, and listen. This has made me feel much better come Sunday afternoon and I will continue with this priority.

Blogging and Networking

2011-04-25T11:41:00.003-04:00

I have to start with a confession. I follow and read 77 different blogs...

I love information, I love hearing the inner thoughts of others, I love watching people get hurt (failblog ;), and generally I love people...and so I read their blog posts.

I just finished reading the chapter on networking in Ryan Frank's new book 9 things they didn't teach me in college about children's ministry. And came to the conclusion that I need to keep up with my blog better. I would like help others in the ministry and write about things that I'm working through. I want parents in my ministry at SHCC to know me better, beyond the 30 second interaction we have on Sunday morning at pick up and drop of of their children. And I want to gain some clarity in thought through writing things out.

So anyways, I'll probably need to cut back on the blogs that I read, and find more time to write my own. So read my blog and make it worth it ;)

My brief thoughts for the week, or at least what I wrote on my whiteboard:

Who did I connect with this week?

Who did I encourage?

With whom did I share creative ideas?

Who did I share Jesus with?

Geocaching

2011-02-01T09:36:00.003-05:00

Over the past few years I have taken very strongly to the hobby of geocaching. I love the adventure and thrill of finding the cache! There is nothing very special about the container, or even the swag, but most of the time the location is something to highlight. In Carrollton GA so far we have gone caching twice. The first time we found a really nice trail that goes around a large lake with a fountain in the middle...we also found a small tuber ware container with some fake coins. The second time we found a very cool trail that goes through the woods. There we found a couple different containers and an ammo case, as well as some deer, a button, and a travel bug.

Geocaching is a great excuse to get outside, to hang out with friends, and to go places that you usually would overlook or say, "we'll check that out someday."

If you are ever in the Carrollton area, or if we come visit you, we would love to go on an adventure with you!

Check out my Geocaching profile and become my friend!

An Update on Life

2011-01-24T22:58:00.002-05:00

We moved to Carrollton Georgia!

New town, new ministry, new home, new computer, and new coffee maker ;)

At the beginning of the year, Nicole and I moved away from everyone and everything we are familiar with. Why? Because we really felt God's call to not just the ministry, but to a specific ministry in Western Georgia.

I am now the Children's Pastor at Southern Hills Christian Church and have been loving every minute of it! The transition has been smooth, meeting new people exciting, and getting back into the ministry fun. It has been exciting to see how God has prepared us for this ministry, at this specific time, and I am stocked to see what God has in store for our future!

It is crazy thinking about how God completely shut one door...about how upset this made us...and about how this whole plan fit together into such a bigger plan! Very exciting!

Anyways, Nicole mentioned that it had been a while...and while I'm an avid blog reader, I would like to post more...so here's an update.

Break In

2010-12-06T14:56:00.005-05:00

Last night while Nicole and I went out to dinner someone attempted to break into our house. They were not successful, but they did cause some damage.

In thinking about this event I had three main thoughts:

1.) Whoever did this was basically the opposite of Santa Clause. They attempted to break in and steal.

2.) The only thing of "value" that I would have been upset with them stealing, had they been successful, was my jar our quarters (for more info on the quarters check out my wifeys post http://kneecoalgrace.blogspot.com/2010/08/day-42-of-100.html.)

3.) There is a LOT of risk involved in breaking into a house and this person must have been very desperate. They had a very small timeframe, with us leaving for dinner and coming back soon after and so what happens if the person returns? What happens if there is someone inside still...who has a gun? What if you break into a house like mine where there is nothing of value? What if someone sees you break in? And then if you do get something of value, what do you do with it? To me it doesn't seem worth the risk...you would be far better off knocking on my door and asking for money...

Anyways, we are safe and have filed a police report. I just wanted to share my thoughts on the subject because it's been on my mind.

Why this song?

2010-12-02T13:24:00.003-05:00

The Music Genome Project

Pandora.com has changed my appreciation for music. I create a station based on a song that I like and then it plays a continual song list of songs that I love. If for some reason it plays a song that I don't like, I thumbs down it and never hear it or anything like it again. It also has a feature that explains why you might like this song. Here is why I like the music I like:

Why this song? Based on what you've told us so far, we're playing this track because it features hiphop influences, acoustic rhythm piano, a twelve-eight time signature, basic rock structure, punk influence, subtle use of vocal harmony, mild rhythmic syncopation, acoustic sonority, mixed acoustics and electric instrumentation, basic rap roots, major key tonality, extensive vamping, prominent bass riffs and mandolin parts.

So, if you are looking to get me a Christmas present and want to buy a CD just look for that ;)

Priorities

2010-12-01T19:27:00.004-05:00

I just finished reading Children's Ministry Leadership by Jim Wideman. In the section on "Your Roles, Priorities, and Goals" he goes through a process of determining what is truly important to your life and leadership. Here is my work in progress:

I will be a man of God in every part of my life.
I will love and be in the Word of God.
I will be a godly husband and an example to others through my marriage.
I will be an able minister and love the people of God seeing them through the eyes of Christ.
I will be a leader's leader in word and example.
I will lead and pastor a local church's children's ministry.
I will help children in my care to see the love of Christ and to fulfill the calling on their lives.
I will be healthy and in good physical condition.
I will be a soul winner.
I will train those in my ministry to be soul winners.
I will recruit, train, and maintain a teaching staff.
I will train and encourage myself through books, resources, and mentorship.
I will train and encourage the next generation of youth workers who can and will become better leaders than I am.

Church Planter: The Man, the Message, the Mission

2010-11-29T15:11:00.002-05:00

I recently read Darrin Patrick's book Church Planter. I did not really know what I was getting myself into when I began reading. I thought that this was simply a book on how to be a church planter and what that looks like but found the book to be much more profound. The book is broken into 3 sections; the man, the message, the mission.

The Man talks about my generation and how we are ban, both boy and man. It talks about the trends of how we spend our time, money, and what we are passionate about. I was encouraged in reading because I don't fall into the living at home with mom and dad paying my bills, spending my time playing video games, and lacking maturity, but I was discouraged thinking about a lot of my friends who fall into this category and how sometimes I lean to the edge in time wasting activities. This part of the book personally challenged me in seeing my call to do ministry. It excited me to think about the stage of life that I am in now where I will be getting back into the ministry and focusing on discipline volunteers and families.

The Message brought into light the focus of the church and what God's plan for me as a minister is, sharing Jesus Christ. In thinking back about the lessons that I learned growing up, I don't remember a lot of the stories or fun activities that we did, but I do remember learning about the love of Jesus and how I should follow Him. I liked that this part of the book explained that Jesus truly does love us and that we don't need to be in ministry to make Him happy because nothing we can do will earn more of His love.

The Mission begins with having compassion for God's people and then moves into what we need to do to reach others. I am not a very compassionate person and so this part of the book really challenged me to see people as Christ does and to love them regardless of their faults. I have been praying for compassion and for this personality shift to occur in my life. I want to be more like my wife and to truly love people who are messed up. I also want to be more like my dad and be touched by emotion. Hopefully over time this will take place in my life.

Anyway, I REALLY liked the book and have been thinking about it since I finished. Very rarely do I read a book twice and I'm thinking about starting this one again in a few weeks. Good stuff!

The Incredible Singing Christmas Tree

2010-11-24T11:29:00.004-05:00

For any VeggieTales fans out there, or Christmas music enthusiasts, check out Amazon's Free release of The Incredible Singing Christmas Tree!

http://amzn.com/B001232ODA

Church Planter: The Man, the Message, the Mission

2010-09-01T14:04:00.003-04:00

I just added this guys book to my amazon wish list.

Church Planter: The Man, the Message, the Mission

Someday Nicole and I would like to plant a church in an area that does not have many if any church of Christ or Christian Churches. I think this book will be good :)

Batman - The Long Halloween

2010-08-26T21:28:00.004-04:00

Today I borrowed a book from Buddy, Batman The Long Halloween. And I remembered why I really like reading graphic novels. In about 2 hours, I read almost 400 pages. I feel like a superhero when I read that fast.

Anyway, I really enjoyed the book. Overall really good, but there was one section that I appreciated more than the rest. Bruce and Batman are working together and take down a warehouse full of Falcone's money:

The conversation goes like this:

Dent: oh boy. you know...if we were two other guys...in a room full of untraceable cash...

Batman: We're not.

Dent: yeah. But I was just thinking how easy--

Batman: Don't

Dent: Okay then.

I like this because it shows character. Batman does what is right, even when no one will know. He is a man of integrity. This is one of the many reason I like batman!

How to Win Friends and Influence People

2010-08-12T16:22:00.004-04:00

How to Win Friends and Influence People is one of the first bestselling self-help books ever published. It was written by Dale Carnegie and first published in 1937, it has sold 15 million copies globally.

I recently read this book and throughly enjoyed what I learned. Over the past few weeks I have been trying to put his techniques into practice and so I have been reading this on a daily basis. Hopefully these will become a habit.

Fundamental Techniques in Handling People

Don't criticize, condemn, or complain.

Give honest and sincere appreciation.

Arouse in the other person an eager want.

Six Ways to Make People Like You

Become genuinely interested in other people.

Smile.

Remember that a man's Name is to him the sweetest and most important sound in any language.

Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves.

Talk in the terms of the other man's interest.

Make the other person feel important and do it sincerely.

Twelve Ways to Win People to Your Way of Thinking

Avoid arguments.

Show respect for the other person's opinions. Never tell someone they are wrong.

If you're wrong, admit it quickly and emphatically.

Begin in a friendly way.

Start with questions the other person will answer yes to.

Let the other person do the talking.

Let the other person feel the idea is his/hers.

Try honestly to see things from the other person's point of view.

Sympathize with the other person.

Appeal to noble motives.

Dramatize your ideas.

Throw down a challenge & don't talk negative when the person is absent, talk about only positive.

Be a Leader: How to Change People Without Giving Offense or Arousing Resentment

Begin with praise and honest appreciation.

Call attention to other people's mistakes indirectly.

Talk about your own mistakes first.

Ask questions instead of directly giving orders.

Let the other person save face.

Praise every improvement.

Give them a fine reputation to live up to.

Encourage them by making their faults seem easy to correct.

Make the other person happy about doing what you suggest.

Seven Rules For Making your Home Life Happier

Don't nag.

Don't try to make your partner over.

Don't criticize.

Give honest appreciation.

Pay little attentions.

Be courteous.

Read a good book on the sexual side of marriage.

Love Languages

2010-08-11T14:38:00.002-04:00

If you have never read the book, The 5 Love Languages, you definitely need to. This will get you thinking about how to interact with the people around you as well as help you communicate love to those you care about. You should take a minute to assess yourself to see what your love language is. You can do this by reading the book (which I recommend) or you can simply take a 5 minute assessment online at: http://www.5lovelanguages.com/assessments/love/

During my Freshman year at Mid Atlantic Christian University I took a class that used this book as one of the textbooks. I learned a lot about myself and found that I am VERY much a Quality Time person. I have seen this to be very true in my relationship with my wifey. We are very different than many couples where we both want to spend as much time together as possible. Our goal is to always wake up together, work together, eat meals together, and do life together. It stresses both of us out when we are apart, even for a short time, because we both feel loved and show love through our quality time.

Here are my scores:

3 Words of Affirmation

12 Quality Time

5 Receiving Gifts

2 Acts of Service

8 Physical Touch

With this being said, I often desire to show love though through quality time, but also often through gifts. I am very purposeful in the gifts that I give to those I care about. I even have a folder in my phone called "Gift Ideas" where I write down things that come to mind that people would like. For instance, if I hear someone say that they would really want a certain coffee mug or something like that I will try and remember that and make it happen. I spend time with those I love but often this is difficult and so sometimes a well thought out gift will suffice.

Coffee Shop

2010-08-10T10:39:00.003-04:00

One day my wife and I want to own a coffee shop. We believe that this can be a fun and exciting way to do ministry. We will be very purposeful in the people we higher, events we hold, in the way we decorate and arrange things, and pretty much everything. We do not want this to be the "christian getaway" but rather more like the gorilla lovers tactics and catch people by surprise. So, this is what I think about on a regular basis. Someday's I find it motivation to get up. I get out of bed and think, "Today, I'll go to muddies and think about owning a place like this." And whenever we travel, which is about once a month, I try and find a neat local coffee shop to take notes on.

Here's our last coffee shop visit:

Double D's Coffee Asheville NC

I have a memo in my phone where I write down ideas dealing with our future coffee shop, here are a few:

Market: Coffee drinkers, people who like art, college students, old people, business people, people who walk their dogs, chess players. Then I have ways written out to pull all these types of people in: creating a walking route around the city where x coffee shop is a stop, free wifi, music nights, displaying and selling local art, college discount nights with music, locals or regulars discounts.

While these may seem like simple ideas, they are much more vast and broken down into much greater detail in my head.

I also have been thinking about ways to partner with churches, encourage discipleship, evangelize, and connect with dignitaries/important people.

Anyways, this is just something I think about on a regular basis and so I wanted to share it. If you would like to share back, what would be a good name for this future coffee shop?

Quirky College Life

2010-05-07T13:56:00.002-04:00

At MACU there are a lot of little things that in another location would seem VERY peculiar...

Someone sneezes 7 times and you get to spot whatever you're doing and enjoy some free time.

If a bell rings, everyone stops what they are doing and then sings as if they were intoxicated.

Walking on the grass is done in fear of ones life.

A break in one of the most busy times of the year for a day outside with friends.

Food cannot be "to go" and outside food is considered contaminated.

Everyone knowing the words to "wonderful the matchless grace of Jesus."

Every student skipping class for a day to hang out, and that being okay.

Seeing people dressed up like colonial's and remembering that it must be constitution week.

Being able to say that you have eaten with every professor and staff member.

And not just knowing everyone's names but actually knowing them as an individual.

While MACU is a different kind of culture, I really have grown to appreciate its quirkiness.

2009-12-17T10:28:00.004-05:00

I would imagine that for most people, advertisements simply don't work. We usually pick a product because we tried it somewhere else and liked it or a friend recommended it and so we start to use it. I, on the other hand, take advertisements very seriously...specifically the pictures.

Honestly: Which of these cats look happier?

or

See, some of these things are important to consider. For instance toilet paper, would you rather use angel soft and have a baby determine what kind of tp you should use or would you rather have quilted northern and have your grandma decide. I trust my grandma far more than a baby.

These are some things that you should consider the next time you go shopping.

Bathrooms and Snow Cones

2009-06-24T23:05:00.004-04:00

Here's a little insight into my life:

I constantly think about how to make things better then they already are, to improve every situation or company in some way. For instance, the other day I used the restroom at a local coffee shop. While in there I thought about how they should put some time into making the bathroom better. For starters they could bring some speaker wire and splice the music from the lobby into the bathroom to create a better atmosphere. They could also ask one of the local art schools to do a mural or paint the door in a creative way. This could also get them a few more customers. While I wash my hands I think about how they could put a better sink in there, put some soft rocks into the bottom of the sink and buy some nicer soap. I also thought about how they could have a local photography group or school do some local shots and place them around the place.

While at the snowcone barn I think about how there are 3 snowcone places in town and that this one needs something that makes them unique to the other ones. They could possibly go to some garage sales and get some nicer chairs. They could go mobile and hit up ball games and local events around town. I pondered the idea of having special days where everything was half off or certain flavor combinations were special.

At the time these thoughts and ideas seem very important, but then i remember that sadly, I don't rule the world and that sometimes bathrooms and snowcone places don't have to be perfect.

Opps

2009-06-24T16:56:00.003-04:00

So I realized today after a lot of confusion that I have two blogger accounts...one uses just coreyrayjones as the username while the other one is coreyrayjones@yahoo.com NOW THAT IS CONFUSING! sorry to anyone that finds the other, because I never blog, and will especially never blog on that other account... yikes

Now that I have this figured out, I would like to post semi often, so enjoy.

2008-09-18T13:01:00.005-04:00

The Birthday

2008-09-18T13:01:00.003-04:00

Growing up I never liked the acknowledgment of my birthday. I would desire to be allowed to stay home from school and I would rejoice the years when my birthday was on a Saturday. I did not like birthday cards, while I loved what normally came inside them. I did not even like having birthday parties. My goal was to always have a bon fire or something around the time of my birthday so that people could come over but that I was not "special" for the occasion. A few of my favorite birthday memories include, having someone fall down the stairs while holding my sweet new voice recorder and then listening to the thuds over and over again. That was a great party. I also enjoyed my first birthday at college because no one knew, and my parents forgot. My least favorite birthday memories were when everyone sang to me on the bus, I cried when I got off the bus. I also remembered when I turned 20 and my grandma who always sends me 50 bucks sent me 20 for my 20th. That was sad. Probably my main disappointment over the years was wanting something unparticular, telling my family, and not getting it. I would always expect to get it, but disappointingly get something else. The other thing would be cool, like a Foosball table, but because I wanted something simple, and normally less expensive than the other gift, I would always be disappointed. Like the year I wanted a game called splat but got a game called sorry. While sorry is actually cooler than splat, I wanted splat and therefore didn't like sorry.

Overall, it was never the gift or remembering the day, it was always being special that I did not like most. It was not like I accomplished something or did something great, I just didn't die for another year. Birthdays have always made me just simply want to be praised for something that I have actually done or worked for, and for this reason most birthdays have been a disappointment.

I have felt this way for many years, and now that I have written it out, I feel better about it. See there is a point to having a blog.

Old school cartoon

2008-09-02T03:42:00.001-04:00

The dream

2008-09-01T16:46:00.001-04:00

Imagine beginning your day and just feeling like something is off. You have no reason to believe that there is anything wrong but you simply feel off. You continue your day as if everything were okay but as you go about your schedule you just know that something is wrong. Then it happens…always different but always the same…you bite down on something and crack a tooth…you feel a tooth is loose and before you know it that tooth falls out…or you hit your mouth on something and accidentally knock a tooth out. It’s painful…every time. It’s bloody…every time. And every time it happens you think, “this is just like in my dream.” Each and every time is just like in my dream. It always happens differently and it is always so real. I think or say out loud, “I knew it would eventually happen, and today’s the day.” And then it happens again, another tooth. Again painful…again bloody. Sometimes it ends here with a mouth full of blood other times they all fall out. The end result is always the same: Hopeless, Pain, Sickening…

I have a reoccurring nightmare of pain and blood where my teeth fall out about two or three times a month. Every night it is real and every night I wake up feeling hopeless, pain, and sick. And the odd thing about all of this is that I actually hope for the day when my teeth do fall out so that I will know that it truly is a dream.

The Fellowship of the Unashamed

2008-08-28T21:59:00.001-04:00

I am part of the Fellowship of the Unashamed. The dye has been cast. The decision has been made. I have stepped over the line. I won’t look back, let up, slow down, or back away. My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, my future secure. I’m done with low living, sight walking, small planning colorless dreams, tamed visions, mundane talking, cheap living and dwarfed goals: I no longer need pr-eminence, prosperity, positions, promotions, or popularity. I don’t have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded or rewarded. I now live by faith, lean on His presence, walk with patience, live by prayer and labor with power. My face is set, my goal is Heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions are few, my Guide is reliable, my mission clear. I cannot be bought, compromised detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversary, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity or meander in the maze of mediocrity. I won’t give up, shut up, let up, until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, and spoken up for the cause of Christ. I must go until He returns, give until I drop, preach until all know, and work until He comes. And when He comes, He will have no problem recognizing me. My colors will be clear. “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ.”

-Extreme Devotion, Voice of the Martyrs, pg 150-

To you, I am invisible

2008-08-28T16:14:00.000-04:00

Recently I had a very meaningful conversation that taught me a lesson far beyond the conversation that actually took place. “To you, I am invisible.” I was looked directly in the eyes and told that every time you walk by you act as if I’m invisible. You may even look at me, look directly into my eyes but not acknowledge that I exist. I may be in the wrong place and in need of someone to just point me to where I need to go, we may have even talked before and you know who I am and where I belong, but yet you leave me there wondering where I need to be. You leave me thinking that I must have messed up. You left me thinking that it was my mistake. You could have simply said three words and given me the answer but instead you looked directly at me and ignored me. This conversation continued with her say how Christians should not act this way and that this community of believers should be THE place where people are not invisible. That this should be THE place where people know they are loved and encouraged. She said that you need to do better at this and you need can not go on treating people like this. The conversation ended with encouraging words and I walked away understanding what she said but feeling exhausted from the conversation.

From this random encounter I learned how someone could feel when he or she experiences being invisible to a community with searching eyes. The sadness and hopelessness of being in the room but completely excluded. I learned how we need to be intentional in our interaction and to always be sure to treat others as important friends who mean as much to us as they do the Lord.

Through this random encounter I also learned that a little communication slip could cause you to completely lose your audience. One little grammatical error, such as saying you inclusively when you mean exclusively can cause the one with whom you are talking, to feel invisible or defensive.

So as you walk around, keep your head held high. Talk with those around you, be a friend to those in need, be the Samaritan Neighbor. And as you talk with those around you, remember to communicate effectively so as not to lose your point in taking a stand.

The Beginning

2008-08-28T02:05:00.000-04:00

Over the past few months I have been having a desire to read. This may seem an odd way to begin a blog but it really is the beginning. Growing up, I NEVER liked to read. I was so against the whole concept that it took until 4^th grade before I really understood that it was actually important and that I should learn how. So after graduating from college and never “having” to read again, I gained the desire. I started with some practical books on ministry and than began the Old Testament. After finishing, my desire had subsided but than I began thinking about all the events and thoughts that I could write. Thus the blog desire began, but along with this beginning came the beginning of school and the end of free time. As I have conversations with people I think about how I could word my thoughts into a blog and how it could be related to other situations in life. So tonight at 2:10 I lay on the couch giving up on the desire to sleep and giving in to the desire to begin a blog. Thus it begins.

Corey Ray Jones

Coffee - The Greatest Addiction Ever

Nicaragua

My Favorite Blogs

My Office at Southern Hills Christian Church

Planning A Luau

Screen It

Sunday Checklists

Blogging and Networking

Geocaching

An Update on Life

Break In

Why this song?

Priorities

Church Planter: The Man, the Message, the Mission

The Incredible Singing Christmas Tree

Church Planter: The Man, the Message, the Mission

Church Planter: The Man, the Message, the Mission

Batman - The Long Halloween

How to Win Friends and Influence People

Love Languages

Coffee Shop

Quirky College Life

Advertisements

Bathrooms and Snow Cones

Opps

The Birthday

Old school cartoon

The dream

The Fellowship of the Unashamed

To you, I am invisible

The Beginning