God is in control

On Dec. 5th my world was sent into utter chaos. God is in control. I was eating lunch with a youth pastor buddy of mine in Anderson and my cell phone rang. It was my sister who preceded to tell me that our dad was in a head-on collision. She said to head toward to the hospital in Greenville, so i did. Then within 2 minutes she called back and said she wasn't sure if dad was out of his van yet. God is in control. The wreck happened on the road our mom and dad live on so I headed there to see what was going on. As I drove toward the accident, I didn't know what to expect, but I honestly prayed that God would give me strength to face what I was going to find. My best friend Sammy was already there to help out any way he could. The drivers side door had to be cut away to get dad out and luckily they already had him out and headed to the ER. God is in control. The scene was terrible, it was only by the grace of God that my dad and the other driver were not killed instantly. Dad has a crushed shoulder, broken femur, crushed knee, and cracked ribs. He is still in the hospital and will be for quite a while. We just found out he now has pneumonia, but they are treating that aggressively. God is in control. Dad is going to have a long road to recovery, and probably will not have full use of his shoulder or knee. God is in control. Deep in my soul I have felt this burning and longing for one thing, to learn and believe and more importantly to live that no matter what happens, God is in control. I have spent the last 12 years of my life teaching and speaking that Truth to adults and teenagers, and have always believed it. But honestly, it has taken on a new dynamic for me. That Truth has become MINE, not just something I'm called to teach, it's had to become personal. Don't get me wrong, I've had trials and tough times before this, but this has really hit home because of the relationship between me and dad. It hasn't always been good, as a matter of fact, there was a time there wasn't much of a relationship at all. God is in control. I'm so thankful to say the last 11 years have been awesome between me and dad, and I guess that's why this has hit home. I want at least 11 more years with him. Life is so short, and temporary. That became real to me on Dec. 5th. God is in control. I desire to be a person that no matter what, how ever dark it becomes, how ever tough it gets, how ever circumstances change, I want to KNOW, BELIEVE, and LIVE that God is in control. Please continue to pray for dad, he has a tough road ahead, but you guessed it God is in control.
Also, while I'm writing I want to throw up the link to Crystal's blog, because in the midst of all the craziness, we have wonderful news to share. Go check it out!!

Still Learning,
Bholda

A tidbit of info

Honestly, i haven't felt like blogging very much so that's why it's been so long between posts. It hasn't been because of a lack of things going on that's for sure!! We have been rocking along in The Garage and it has been incredible to say the least! We have seen tons of growth, started a new ministry designed for 6th-8th graders, but most importantly, we have seen SALVATIONS!!! Here is a pic of one of our first services in The Garage. It has been so exciting seeing our students respond to having their own space finally!! There is tons of energy and i know it is just the tip of the iceberg.
On a personal note, Crystal and i are still waiting to hear something on our adoption which is difficult because it has been a while since we were approved and all that jazz. Please continue to pray for us, we know it's all in Gods timing, but it's still frustrating sometimes. Well, i'm off to get ready for a student ministry volunteer appreciation dinner. YAY food!!

RUNning the Race,
Bholda

It's been a minute or two

Since i have posted, and i apologize....kinda. Things have been really awesome with the opening of The Garage, our high school only AMP'd services, and our new middle school ministry, "Ignition". But with that comes very little time to update this blog. If you want a good read, check out my wife's blog. She is much more consistent and insightful than i ever will be. In other news, we are still praying and waiting about the adoption stuff, again, she has updated on that as well. Crystal and i have really been put out on the limb on this one as far as our faith in God goes. We are really seeking His will and know that He is in total control. I have also realized that i need to get back into the gym because i have been way to slack lately. With that being said, i'm done writing and think i will head that way now. Maybe i'll post again later this week......MAYBE

Bholda

Really Tired

Sorry for no posts the last couple of weeks, i'm just spent. We have been in The Garage since Oct. 5th and it has been INCREDIBLE!!! We will have our 3rd AMP'd for high schoolers tomorrow night and we have seen awesome growth and have already heard stories about what God is doing in the lives of our high school students. This past Sunday we kicked off Ignition which is our service for 6-8 graders and it was a blast. We are still in shock i think a little bit to actually be in The Garage, but we realize that it was ALL in God's time. Hopefully i can catch my breath soon and get back to a more consistent posting pattern.

Until Then,
Bholda

We're in!!!

That's right!! After about 6 months of full-on construction, we had our grand opening of The Garage last night!! It was AWESOME, and the energy contiued and grew today as more people were able to check it out. I am still kinda in shock, but know that this is really just the beginning of some amazing things God is going to do in the building!! I will try to post some pictures this week. Please pray for us as we kick-off our high school only service this Wednesday-it's gonna be incredible!!

Bholda

Blog Time-Out

I know it's not good for ratings and all that, but due to the craziness of my schedule the blog is going to have to a backseat for a little bit. My apologies. I will try to get something going again within the next week hopefully.

Bholda

Crazy Day!!

Today started crazy right off the bat. I usually meet with students on Tuesday mornings at 6:30 am for a weekly prayer breakfast (no, I'm not that spiritual, the students want to meet, so I'm all for it) Well, this morning didn't quite work out, not because we didn't have it but because my alarm never went off!! I was awakened at 7:15 by sunlight coming through my bedroom window. The students still met without me which was very encouraging. I got to the office and continued working on my message for AMP'd tomorrow night until lunch time. I went to a lunch meeting with about 8 other youth guys in this area for a time of encouragement and just to talk ministry for a little bit. After that, a couple of the guys wanted to come by and check out "The Garage", so I gave them a tour. Then it was off to Pickens High School to meet with the athletic director about bringing Project 109 (our tailgating bus) to the game on Friday night. Everything's a go, and while I was there I spoke with the head football coach and set up a time for us to do the pre-game meal for the team this season. It was a very productive meeting and I think it is vital that as a student ministry we work to connect and help schools out when we can. They have the best pulse on what is going on in the lives of students. I finally made it back to the office around 3:30 and have just now made it back to my desk after meeting with builders for the past 2 1/2 hours about "The Garage", so my mind (what little is there) is completely mush!! I can't believe I was even able to formulate a few complete sentences. Now it's back to message prep and some dinner.

Later!!
Bholda

AMP'd Rewind and Stuff

WOW!! Last night at AMP'd was awesome. We started our new series "Dirty Little Secret" and we had the largest crowd since right before summer. The energy and excitement was incredible. We kicked the series off talking about hypocrisy, and how so many people wear their "Christian mask" when they need to and throw it off when they wanna do their own thing. A lot of students were freed up last night and my leaders and myself had the chance to pray with students who accepted Christ, God is so amazing!!! The topics for this series are going to be tough ones, but ones that really need to be dealt with in the light of God's Word. The upcoming topics are: Self-injury (cutting, eating disorders, etc..) Sexual sin (porn, impurity, etc..) Abuse, and finally Hatred. It is sad to say, but I'm sure there are students they deal with these things and feel hopeless. It is my goal to show them they have hope in Jesus Christ. Please be praying for changed lives!!
In other news, "The Garage" is looking unbelievable!! They are painting the rest of the building and laying carpet, putting the finishing touches on the electrical and will start staining the concrete floors tomorrow!!! Hopefully we will have an occupancy permit by next Friday!! What that means is we could actually start doing stuff in there and not get in trouble. However, we still have to put the finishing touches on tv's, gaming systems, audio stuff, furnishings and other loose ends. I can't believe we are this close to being ready. I can't wait to use this building to reach students and families in the upstate, it's gonna be a blast!!!

RUNning the Race,
Bholda

It's Official

I am now a Mac user!!! And of course the first thing I do is use the built in camera to take a goofy picture!! I was lucky to figure out how to do that, for real!! I have wanted a lap top for awhile and after many days of serious thought and advice getting, I decided to go with the MacBook Pro. I will use this as my everyday computer and give my desktop to my administrative assistant. It is gonna take some time to learn how to navigate around, but all Mac users that I have talked to, (about 7) have told me it will be much better than a PC. I can't wait to get everything set up and all my files moved over and settled. The really cool thing is that I have the parallel desktop which allows me to switch back and forth from Mac OS to Windows if I start having withdraws. Should be fun.
I'm excited about this weekend, Crystal and I are leaving to go to Knoxville for a couple of days to enjoy the Boomsday festival. I have no idea what it is, but she has been before and wants to go back. I will give a full report when we return. Things are still moving at a great pace on "The Garage", they are only a few days away from being all done with the painting, which means the carpet, sound, light and video, floor stain, TV's and gaming stations can start going in!! Speaking of TV's, we were notified that other day that the company we are using is out of 37" inch flat panels so we are going to have to upgrade to 42" FOR NO EXTRA COST!!!! Thank you Jesus!!! what an awesome blessing!!!!
Well, that's about enough for a Saturday, I'm off to the gym and then to my nieces' birthday party.


Bholda

Good stuff

Today was good stuff. Me, Eddie, Reggie, Bryan and Kip went up to camp Marietta to do some long range planning stuff, and it was great. It really does us a lot of good to go up there because we can't get cell phone reception so the distractions are at a minimum. I love getting away and spending time with those guys. I can't wait to see what God is going to do over the next year here at Marathon. I'm excited about our new series coming up at AMP'd, "Dirty Little Secrets" We will be talking about *Hypocrisy, *Self-injury (cutting, eating disorders), *Sexual sins, *Abuse, and *Hatred. It is really shaping up to be a powerful series so please be in prayer about that. I will post on how things are going with the series. The youth building is still rocking along and we are zooming in on a grand opening date to be shared later :) I guess that's it for right now, I am putting off the inevitable...a trip to the gym!!

RUNning the Race,
Bholda

The goings on

Well, it's been awhile since my last post, of course. I'm still not very consistent and i apologize, hopefully i'll get better soon. I will start off with a quick update on The Garage. We are looking at being in by the end of September, and are getting one step closer tomorrow by laying sod around the building and on the parking islands. They started painting today i believe, which is really going to make it look like the end is near!! I'm so pumped i can't stand it!!!! AMP'd was great this past Wednesday. Steve-O and Taylor (student ministry interns) have really stepped it up the last couple of weeks in the video, graphics and worship areas and I can't wait to see what the future holds. We have 1 more week of our series called "The life of an American teenager" and then in September we are starting our series "Dirty Little Secrets" which is going to be a powerful 5 weeks i believe. We will be dealing with hypocrisy, self-injury, pornograpy, abuse and hatred. I am praying that God is going to move in a tremendous way in our students lives during this series, so PRAY with me if you will please!!
On a more personal note, Crystal and I purchased a "new" vehicle today. We bought a 2004 Honda CRV and we are very excited about it. With the adoption waiting in the wings, we really wanted to have a more reliable, gas friendly vehicle to drive around in. Even better than all that, we got rid of that stinky Volvo!! Praise the Lord!! That thing has been a thorn in our side for sure. The folks over at Norris Ford are great to work with and I would recommend them highly if you are looking to buy a vehicle. Thanks Ryan and TJ!!


Gettin' better gas mileage,
Bholda

Quick Update

It has been a really good week I must say. I am pumped to finally be back in the swing of things with AMP'd, and I'm looking forward to getting Project 109 up and running. As a matter of fact, we will be taking it to North Greenville University tomorrow evening for the football teams first scrimmage. Our aim is to introduce Marathon to the students of NGU and hopefully recruit a few (ok...a bunch) to get involved and serve in our student ministry. I will be getting up in the morning to prepare "109" for her first journey of the '08 school year. We are working on getting the high school football schedules together and mapping out the route for "109" to travel this season. It should be a blast, like always!!

The Garage is still progressing full steam ahead, and we are shooting for a late September grand opening. The next couple of weeks are going to be awesome because they will be painting, carpeting, finishing electrical and hopefully wiring up all the tvs and sound/lighting stuff. I will try to get some pictures posted soon. I had an incredible creativity meeting with my interns and Wil yesterday, and I am thrilled to be ahead for quiet a while now. Our September series is lining up to be the most powerful series yet...more on that later.

Well, I guess that's it for now, stay tuned for more stuff soon!!!


On the real,
Bholda

A Special Day

I can't believe it, but today Crystal and I have been married 7 years!! You may be wondering why I can't believe it's been 7 years and it's not that I didn't think we would make it or anything, I just can't believe Crystal has been able to put up with me for 7 years!!! I can hear the "AMENS" resounding over the blogging world even as I type. It has been an incredible 7 years and I can't wait for what the future holds for our family. Speaking of family, we are still waiting to hear from DSS about our adoption, so we are basically just doing the hurry up and wait thing, which is always fun (NOT) As far as the anniversary, we basically just met up at Applebees in Easley and had a nice, quiet dinner after Crystal got off work. It was fun to just hang out and talk and spend time together. I am very blessed to be married to such a wonderful, God-loving, woman like Crystal. She is so supportive and encouraging to me! She is incredible!! I know it's mushy, but hey, it's the truth! Well, that's about it for now, hopefully I will be posting about some stuff that's going on in the world of student ministry around Marathon.

Feeling like an old married man,
Bholda

Crooks Stink!!

Yeah that title pretty much says it all! Someone took a box of blank checks out of our mailbox last week while we were gone on the mission trip, and we spent most of today closing accounts, calling our bill companies and trying to get everything squared away. It has really been a pretty tough couple of months lately with a ton of crazy things happening. But I am quickly reminded even as I type that there are people that have it much worse than me, and I pray I will always keep that in mind. I know that God has a plan for EVERYTHING, and nothing that happens in our lives is ever wasted. I know God is using all this stuff to teach us something and it is my prayer that Crystal and I will be alert and not miss the lessons He is teaching.
On a more positive note, things at Marathon are rocking along! Last night at AMP'd was awesome, the band did an incredible job and there was tons of energy.

Here is the set list:
The time has come-United
My Surrender-Marathon original
Hosanna-Hillsong
Healer-Hillsong
Awesome God-Mullins
Sing, Sing, Sing-Tomlin

We had a guest speaker named Cameron Wooten come in and share what God is doing in his life, and it was amazing. He was diagnosed with a type of leukemia not long ago and has continued to give God glory every step of the way. His strength and faith in God was very inspiring, and he challenged our students to make sure Christ is at the center of their lives and nothing else. It was great, our kids were hanging on his every word, and I know God used him in a mighty way.

The Garage is nearing completion and I am so excited!! They have begun painting, putting in ceiling tiles, toilets (those may be important) finishing up electrical, an Hopefully we will be in there by the end of September or first of October, which should be perfect timing. I will keep ya posted on the progress through pictures soon.

Well, it's about time for a little grub, which is always good in my opinion!!


RUNing the Race,
Bholda

Mission Trip Posts

It's been a while and I have a lot to say!! But, it will probably be a couple of days before a big post so I can gather pictures and my thoughts. It was an incredible experience and lives were changed!!!I will update soon I promise.

RUNing the Race,
Bholda

Things I'm looking forward to....

*The long bus ride to Memphis (sounds crazy I know, but there are always stories to tell from the bus ride, should be interesting)

*Being the hands and feet of Jesus to the people of inner-city Memphis

*Seeing our students become the hands and feet of Jesus

*Hanging out with our students for a week (it's not often I have a chance to spend a week with a small group of our students)

*Seeing the progress Brinkley Heights has made on their new school

*Watching our students be awakened to the needs of others

*Listening to our students share how God has changed them each night during the week

*Watching the faces of the children we will work with light up everyday because someone cares

*Growing closer as a group

*Trips down Beale street

*Eating some great grub here.

I hope to post this week when possible with updates and pictures. Please pray for our safety and our effectiveness while in Memphis. It is my prayer that we make a HUGE impact this week through serving and sharing the Gospel. Here are the names of our team members, please take some time and pray for us this week:

Bryan
Crystal
Eric
Bekah
Taylor
Steve-o
Aaron
Ashley
Chris
Jon
John
Morgan
Brittany
Grayson
Emily
Blake
Sara
Alex
Micah

RUNning the Race,
Bholda

Write It Down!!!

So the other night Crystal and I had our date night, which is something we try to do weekly, though not always successful, we try. Anyway, we went to TGI Fridays (mainly for the vanilla bean cheesecake) and the waiter came up to take our order. I noticed he didn't have the little waiter order pad, which concerned me a little. He took our orders and shortly afterwards the food came out...the WRONG food!!! Crystal's was right, but mine wasn't, which upset me a little, ok a lot!!! You know, it really can't be that difficult to carry that little pad thingy around and jot down the orders. You see, when it comes to food, its serious business for me-don't mess with my food!!! It's not really that serious, but come on, just write it down!!! There is no way really I can tie this in spiritually, so I won't try.
On a more important note, we leave this Sunday at 6 am for our mission trip to Memphis, TN. I am really looking forward to seeing what God does not only in the area we are ministering in, but also in the lives of the students that are going. It is going to be life-changing I have no doubt!! I will try to update from time to time while there if I can.

RUNning the Race,
Bholda

Hands and Feet

Today was awesome!! I had the priviledge of working with some of our students that are going to Memphis in a couple of weeks. We helped out one of our team members grandparents who needed some yard work done around the house. I am so proud of the students because they worked so hard and never complained about it. It is days like these that God uses to remind me why I do what I do. I hope to have couple of pictures up soon of the crew that helped today. Speaking of our crew, please pray for our team as we head up to Memphis on July 27th to reach out to the inner city kids there. It is so encouraging to see students, who let's be honest, like all of us are naturally selfish, set their agendas and plans aside to serve those who need it most. Thank you God for students who love you and strive to be Your hands and feet. While I'm on the subject of students, check this blog out, she's pretty incredible too!!

RUNning My Race,
Bholda

WHOA!!! Close Call

So last night I decided to go for a little run in the neighborhood next to our house, and I got quite a shock. If you can't tell that is a snake crossing the road!! I'm not positive, but I think it is a copperhead, which are highly poisonous!! I was almost home and had slowed down to a steady walk, when I noticed a car coming up behind me. As the car approached, its lights just happen to shine on the snake which was about 6 feet in front of me!! If the car wouldn't have come down the road, I really think I would have stepped right on the bloomin' thing!!! Which probably would have made for a cooler story, except for the fact I may be dead today. Needless to say, I stepped around the 3 foot snake and carefully snapped a picture of it with my camera phone. I don't think the EPIpen would have helped in this case (which i had on me, by the way). I typically try not to over-spiritualize things, but I think I learned something through this little episode. We all know that satan is our enemy (1 Peter 5:8) and in Genesis disguised himself as a snake to deceive Eve. We also know that God is light (1 John 1:5) and in Him is no darkness. God just reminded me through this encounter that I need Him to protect me from the enemy who is waiting to harm and destroy me. The light from the car exposed the danger that was lurking, just like God, who is light, exposes sin or stuff that is dangerous in our lives. We just have to be alert and focused on what He is doing in our lives.
As for my late night running, probably gonna start a little sooner from here on out!!! I have been warned by this guy (sammyclary.com)that if I don't post more often, I'm gonna be exiled from his link list, which is never a step in the right direction in the blogging world. So, hopefully I can be more disciplined and post more often, or at least try!!

RUNning the Race,
Bholda

So, that's what's up?

It's been a crazy few days to say the least! Let me break the last few days down for you if I can. It all started on Thursday afternoon when my dad, brother-in-law and I began laying hardwood floors in our soon to be nursery. I surely couldn't have done it myself because I'm not much of the handy-man, so I appreciated the help more than you can imagine. That being said, it was still hard work, and by the time we finished on Friday afternoon, my back was killing me!! Then on top of that, I started feeling really crummy, kinda like I was getting the flu!! Great!!! I was coughing, fighting a headache, aching all over, and really tired. So rest on Friday night was nice, but I knew I had to get up on Saturday and go by the church to do some stuff to get ready for Sunday. My good buddy Sammy was gonna meet me up there and on my way to the church, he called and said someone had broken into my wife's Honda by smashing in the passenger side window!! So, that's what's up? I thought to myself "man, this is just great, one more thing to deal with". Upon further investigation of the area, someone also broke into a Ford pickup that was donated to the church. I thought the worst and quickly checked out the youth building and the main building to see if someone had broken into either one. Luckily, things seemed ok. On Sunday morning, I was still feeling crummy, but managed to make it through the morning ok. Well, this morning I got a call from the superintendent telling me someone had broken into the youth building and vandalized stuff pretty bad. I got there and saw the damage first hand. Someone had taken the electric lifts and ran into several walls, busting the sheetrock, tore up ceiling grids, and busted several door caseings. I couldn't believe it, I was obviously very discouraged. The detectives investigated the scene and took fingerprints, so hopefully we will find out who did this soon. So, that's what's up? This evening I received a phone call from my sister telling me our dad has been admitted to the hospital with severe chest pains!! The latest update is that he has pneumonia and an infection in the lining of his lungs, which is very painful. So, that's what's up!?
Well with all this going on, I have had to ask God that very question...So, that's what's up? This is how it's going to be? This is the hand I've been dealt? And, I have felt Him speak to my heart and say....YES, it is FOR NOW. It has been very frustrating and discouraging, and I know that it may not be over yet. God has laid a couple of verses on my heart to encourage me through this time.
James 1:2-4 Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
Romans 5:3-5 Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.

If you are reading this and are asking God, "So, that's what's up?" please hang on and let the verses above speak to you and know that God is in control and has a plan! It's not easy, but God wants us to become like His Son, and it may take some tough stuff to get us there.

Still running the race,
Bholda

What God is doing...

I just got back last Friday from 2 weeks of youth camp and needless to say I was exhausted!! So I decided to take this week off and just chill around the house and recuperate. It has been nice for sure just to be able to sleep in a little and basically lay around and veg! While doing that, God laid it on my heart that I need to also recuperate spiritually this week. I have purposed to do this by really focusing on His Word and prayer. I started reading Ezekiel last night, because honestly, I never have read it all the way through. I was able to get through the first 4 chapters before calling it a night.

This is one of the parts that really jumped out at me:

And he said to me, "Son of man, eat what is before you, eat this scroll; then go and speak to the house of Israel." So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat. Then he said to me, "Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it." So I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth. He then said to me: "Son of man, go now to the house of Israel and speak my words to them. Ezekiel 3:1-4 (NIV)

This really confirmed to me that in order to recharge and be prepared for what God has called me to do, I have to eat His Word. Ezekiel was headed to speak to the people of Israel, and what he was going to say had to come from God, because the people were "hardened and obstinate" (vs 7) If I try to go and reach people within my own strength, I WILL FAIL!! I have to eat, digest, and benefit from the sweet Truth of God's Word. It's kinda like what happens when we eat foods that are good for us... we eat that food, digest it, and then benefit from the nutrients it provides us. I really want to take this week and focus on God's Word and benefit from the life change it will bring. Check out Ezekiel sometime and let me know how it has spoken to you.
I hope you have a great 4th of July weekend, and remember to take some time to thank God for allowing us to live in a free country!!

Much Love,
Bholda

Does this really work?

I don't know if you can tell what's going on in the picture, so let me explain. I was at an intersection yesterday and there were 4 men standing at the intersection holding signs. The signs read "Homosexuality is an abomination to God", "One day every knee shall bow and tongue confess", and other statements similar to these. Now let me explain something about these signs. I agree with the statements on the signs, however, what I'm really wondering about is if this is effective in reaching people. In reading the Word, I have never seen Jesus use this "technique" in bringing people to Himself. Jesus focused on building RELATIONSHIPS with people, not standing on the side of the road screaming or pointing out sin to others. It almost made me feel like these guys were doing this to earn some type of points with God for their "extra effort" standing in the heat wearing a tie holding "holy signs". I wish people would realize that there are much more effective ways to reach people for Christ. Sorry for the rant, but I just had to get it off my chest.

Bholda

Surge

I'm really to exhausted to post everything that happened right now, but my wife did a great job giving updates. Check her blog out at www.crystalholder.blogspot.com I'm off to Pigeon Forge Monday morning for middle school camp, so pray for us!!

Bholda

Break from the blogging world

Gettin' everything wrapped up for Surge '08 down in St. George Island Florida. There are 8 of us leaving early Saturday morning to get down to the island and prepare for the students who will be arriving Sunday night. I will try to blog at Surge if I get a chance, but I wouldn't count on it!! Pray for our safety, and I can't wait to blog about the AWESOME things God did while we were there!!

Much Love,
Bholda (soakin' up some rays!!)

Productivity

Productivity is a beautiful thing, and I like it ALOT!! Today was very productive in preparing for Surge '08. The productivity really kicked into high gear yesterday with our parent/student meeting and then our Surge leader meeting at 7 last night. I am so pumped about the leaders we have going on this year, and last night was confirmation we have the right volunteers going with us. Each one of them are sold out to Christ first, and then the calling God has placed on them to work with students. They are incredible and are so passionate about seeing God bring about change in our students. We spent time going over the schedule, explaining our challenges, and going through the small group material. We finished up by spending time praying for the week and our students, it was AWESOME!! Surge is crazy busy, but it is all worth it seeing students experience God and then bring it back home and live it out!!

************This just in, my dog just vomitted on my favorite pair of flip-flops as I am sitting here writing this********** I suppose this could be training for parenthood? If so, I'm gonna be gagging all the time!!!

Ok, back to productivity. I was able to meet with our chef for the week, Chef Bek. She and her husband Eric are awesome cooks and I can't wait to dig in next week! Oh yes, we are having low country boil one night!! YUMMY!!! Anyway, we went through our storage building and pulled out the stuff we are going to need to take to Florida with us, so that was a big relief to get that stuff together. The main food shopping day will be Friday at Sam's because the closest Wal-mart is 50 miles and Sam's is 70 miles from the island, so we gotta haul a good bit of the stuff with us. Tomorrow we will film some videos and start shopping for challenges and getting that stuff together to pack on Friday. It's going to be a great week and I can't wait to see what God does!!
Well, it's off to check on the flip-flops and try not to puke!!

RUNning my Race,
Bholda

The latest

Well, as I have already made clear in other posts, summer is wide open for us Student Pastors. This summer is going to be no different it appears. We are leaving for Surge next Saturday and the high schoolers will head down on Sunday. So the planning for Surge has been intense and productive. We will start packing stuff up this week and wrapping up the final details. I have a Surge parent/student meeting Sunday at 1:00, wedding at 3:00, and a Surge leader meeting at 7:00!! Tonight we have a graduation, and tomorrow there are a couple of graduation parties we've been invited to. All this is going on and we found out a couple of weekends ago that we have been approved as adoptive parents. Which simply means any day now the phone could ring and we could have a little boy coming our way!!! Talk about being on pins and needles!! We are so excited and anxious at the same time, it's great!! Please be praying for us because our world is about to be rocked in an awesome way. God is definitely reminding Crystal(www.crystalholder.blogspot.com)and me that we NEED to trust Him for everything, especially when things are out of our control. I will keep you updated on the progress of the adoption. Thanks for stopping by!!

RUNning My Race,
Bholda

Just hold on!!

Sorry for not posting lately, it's been crazy busy with Surge coming up in 10 days!!! I hope to post tomorrow about some stuff that's been going on. Please be patient with me.

Much Love,
Bholda

What a night

Last night at AMP'd was very interesting, to say the least. The band did great, the energy was high, and everything was rolling nicely along. I was on stage speaking and all of a sudden I saw one of my volunteers make a really quick move to the row behind her. My first thought was some kids were talking or something, but I quickly realized it was more serious than that. There was a student who started having a seizure. This was a first for me in ministry and I have to be honest it rattled me a little bit. It was just one of those things that catches you off guard and you have to make some kind of decision. So that's what I did. I prayed for the student right then and had everyone else dismiss for the night. I have to give a huge shout out to our volunteers and Justin, our police officer. Everyone responded quickly and calmly and we were able to get EMS there and the student was taken to the hospital. I haven't heard anything as far as status, but I plan on following up later today. Needless to say, it was an eventful night, and I have had trouble sleeping. That would explain why I am posting at 5:15 am! Please pray for the student and his family, as I'm sure this was a tramatic experience for him. This is just another reminder to me that God is in control and He has a plan, even if we can't see it yet.
Well, I'm off to try to get some sleep...hopefully!

RUNning the Race,
Bholda

Hot-Lanta

So, Crystal and I decided to get away for a couple of days, since things are about to get REALLY, REALLY busy for us. We have Surge '08 (high school beach camp) in about 3 weeks, then Summit '08 (middle school camp) in about 4 weeks, REACH '08 (high school mission trip to Memphis) in July, plus we keep AMP'd rollin' on Wednesday nights!! Summer is wide open, but it is well worth it. Not only is all that coming up, but we are waiting to hear from DSS about our adoption. We have completed all of our "requirements", so we are just waiting for placement, which as far as we know could happen any time now!!! WOW! that is CRAZY!! Anyway, we decided to head to Atlanta for some much needed chill time. We got in late last night to the Marriott Marquis downtown. Sounds fancy don't it? Well, it is, but Priceline.com works miracles because we got the room for about half of what it would cost, which is nice, real nice. Today we got up and hit the town for a while and just walked around before we toured the Coca-Cola factory. It was sweet....literally!! I tried ALL the flavors, including BEVERLY, which if you have ever been to the factory, you know what I'm talking about, if not, then you should go check it out sometime. After that, we got rained on a little bit but forged on and hit the MARTA. Very interesting form of transportation to say the least. We checked out Underground Atlanta, and Lenox Square before heading back to the hotel to just chill. It's been a nice change of pace for sure and a much needed mini-vacation. Tomorrow holds more walking around and a trip to IKEA to check out some furniture. So, I better get some rest and get ready for some shopping!!

Bholda

Graduation Sunday

WOW!! Sunday was a blast!! I really enjoy getting to speak on Sunday mornings even though doing 3 services in a row wears me out, it's still fun. This year for graduation recognition I spoke from Matthew 9:35-38, but I won't bore you with the points right now. Not only do I get to speak, but our student band gets to lead worship. I've gotta say that rocked it out!! I was so impressed by how they did. They put a lot of hard work into preparing and it showed Sunday!! During the 11:30 service we recognized our graduates (or least those that signed up) and gave them props for their accomplishments. That is always a bittersweet day for me as there Student Pastor. I know they are excited and relieved, which is understandable. But for me it's tough because I have been their Student Pastor for a few years, and as each year goes by the kids I have known the longest graduate and move on to different things. Please don't get me wrong, I am very proud of each of them, and I feel that it is my calling to prepare them the best way possible for what lies ahead. It is my prayer that they leave our student ministry not just challenged, but CHANGED!!!
On another note, be sure to check out www.marathonamazingrace.com for updates on The Garage, our student facility! I should be putting a new post up at some point today. Well, I'm off to continue getting ready for AMP'd tomorrow! We will be asking the question "How do you know when God is speaking to you?" Should be a good night!!

Much Love,
Bholda

Busy, Busy, Busy

It has been a crazy week!! Let me take a moment and break it down for ya. I spoke at AMP'd on Wednesday night, then spoke at a graduation service on Friday night, spoke all three services this morning at Marathon (check it out, www.marathonchurch.org), led a mission trip meeting after the last service, and finally just got home from a cook out for all of our student small groups!! So, needless to say it has been hectic, but all very much worth it. It's what I love to do, hang with students and teach God's Word. This week will be a little better, but preparation for Surge is still in full swing. I am looking forward to Memorial weekend and a little time away with my wife in Atlanta. It is going to be nice!! I will update later this week. It's chill time for awhile!

RUNning the Race,
Bholda

Ima twoblogger

WHAT? I know that probably makes no sense right now, but be patient I will explain. No, it's not the name of my neighbor down there in williamston, pronounced "wullmstun". It simply means I am a two blogger now. I am "maintaining" 2 blogs, this one and one at www.marathonamazingrace.com That blog is all about the progress of The Garage, our new student facility slated to open this fall. Go check it out and see what's goin' down. In other news, I was the victim of an unprovoked attack by 3 "stoners" ie..staff members of Stonebridge church (www.stonebridgechurch.tv), which I will leave nameless at this time. I can call them that because they call me a "Maraturd", but it's all in good fun, so don't get all upset and think there is a bunch of drama or something. Anyway, I received a picture on my phone of my wife's broken down 1998 Honda Accord with 3, yes 3 big Stone bridge stickers across the back window. What a terrible thing to do, take advantage of someone's broken down car and use it as a billboard to promote your church. Shame, Shame!!! I haven't decided if I am going to retaliate yet or not? The last time something like this went down, I was cleaning up 2000 straws in my office. Long story, just ask Sammy.
In other news, AMP'd was great last night! The band rocked it out, and the energy was electric, hence the word energy. I tackled the question "Who Created God?", and got a lot of positive feedback from students. Send me a message is you would like to hear my answer-not enough patience to type it out tonight. Next week we will be answering 2 questions: 1) Does everything happen for a reason, even the bad stuff, and 2) Is it a sin to drink or smoke a little bit? Should be an interesting night next week. I will let you know what goes down.
Well, that's about it for now, I'm all blogged out-2 in one day is intense!!!

Much Love,
Bholda

Feel the heat!!

I can already begin to feel the heat of summer!! Not literally, but in the sense of busyness. We are only a little over a month away from Surge (our high school beach trip) and that takes tons of planning!! We started a couple of weeks ago getting the details together, but we still have a ways to go. There will probably be time set aside each day to plan and pray for Surge, it's gonna be AMAZING. This years theme is "Surrender by the bay" and we will be talking about surrendering EVERYTHING we are to God (Mark 12:30). The "bay" part comes from the place we will be staying. We will be surrounded on one side by a bay and the other side of the island is the Gulf! Surrender by the gulf just doesn't ring as well!! After Surge, we have middle school camp up in Pigeon Forge, Tn for a week and we are trying something different, so it should be pretty cool as well. Then the last week of July we head back to Memphis for REACH '08 our mission trip. We had an interest meeting this past Sunday and I am pumped about the students that are wanting to go. It was an incredible life-changing trip last year, and I am anticipating the same for this year. We have all this planned as well as several different events around the church for the students on Wednesday nights at AMP'd. We try to mix it up at AMP'd by doing different things throughout the summer, so I'm looking forward to that. While most ministries in the church slow down a little, student ministry hits on all cylinders and with all barrels blazing. I love it though, and can't imagine doing anything else, even when the "heat" is on!!

RUNning the Race,
Bholda

Time

Is not on my side right now!!! Lots going on, so hopefully I will have time to blog at some point this weekend. Check back.

Bholda

A Whirlwind

Since last Thursday things have been like a whirlwind for me. Crystal and I left for Memphis on Thursday night at about 8 pm and made our first stop in Knoxville. From there, we got up Friday morning and traveled 6 more hours to Memphis. We grabbed some grub downtown and took a nice carriage ride around the city. Saturday morning we got up and went to our pre-project meeting from 9:30-3:00, then hit the road to Nashville. We spent the night in Nashville and hung out with one of our friends there before heading through Atlanta and making a stop at IKEA. We were exhausted to say the least! Then Monday morning we had staff meeting and from there I went to hang out with students at Wren middle to try to offer support during this terrible tragedy. It was very solemn and I have never been in a middle school lunch room that was that quiet.
In more encouraging news, we had our commitment Sunday this weekend for the student building and our folks pledged 1.3 million dollars!! God is so AWESOME!! That should get us really close to paying the building off over the next 3 years. If you wanna know more about the progress of The Garage, go check out www.marathonamazingrace.com I am responsible for updating the blog with pictures, videos and commentary on the progress, so watch for more info soon!!

RUNning the Race,
Bholda

Memphis here we come!!!

The wife and I are headed to Memphis for this year's mission trip pre-project meeting. We went to Memphis last year and it changed our student's lives completely, so it was a no-brainer to return this summer. I will hopefully post an AMP'd rewind when we get to the hotel (if Crystal brings the laptop), and share some other cool that's been happein' in the life of Bholda. I don't have time for a long post right now, but be on the lookout for more late tonight, or tomorrow (hopefully!)

RUNning My Race,
Bholda

My Bad!!

I have to say sorry to all of you. I have not been in a blogging mood lately, so i've shunned my responsibilites as a blogger to update. It has been a very crazy week with a lot of good stuff going on. I am performing the wedding ceremony for Jamie and Alison tonight at 7, so the rehersal was last night. It went great, and then there was the rehersal dinner. It was AMAZING!!! It was bar-b-que from some place up in Westminister and i literally haven't eaten that much in a long time. I will update on my progress in the fitness/wellness pursuit later, but last night i abandoned all that in celebration of Jamie and Alison getting married. Speaking of food, i am still safe from having to buy Sammy(www.sammyclary.com) lunch at Zaxby's, because i have only received about 4 e-mails. I say the contest is over, but if it were up to Sammy it would go on until i got the amount of e-mails needed to lose the contest, even if that took a year!!!
AMP'd was great this week! The students had tons of energy and responded in a great way to worship. The "Garage" is still rolling along and on Wednesday we had a cookout for the construction workers that were there. It was cool just to do a little something for those folks that have been working so hard out there. I don't think the crew even realizes that they are building a place for students and families to come that is safe, and a place where lives will be changed. It's a pretty awesome thought! We are still on track for a September grand opening which would be perfect timing.
Well, that's about all i've got today, but hopefully i'll be updating again soon.

RUNning the Race,
Bholda

Chick-fil-a and Spiritual stuff

Today has been pretty cool. I met up with some students in our ministry who are on spring break this week to eat lunch over at Chick-fil-a in Easley. I got a grilled chicken club, but i ain't gonna lie, their chocolate milkshakes are AMAZING!!! I was strong and didn't have one, but man...those suckas are good!! I really love hanging out with our students when the opportunity presents itself. It may not be much, but i think if you are a youth pastor you should take every opportunity to hang out with students AWAY from the church building. I think it says a lot when we as youth pastors take the time to go on campus, ballgames, recitals (just not middle school orchestra!) or whatever our students have going on, just to show them we support them. It was a blast to just sit and listen to what they have been doing over spring break. Eat more chicken!!
Now on to the spiritual stuff. Last week i met with a student for about 2 hours who had made a bad decision and got caught. The students mom thought maybe they would open up more if they talked to me, which did happen, but it wasn't the result i was looking for necessarily. The student really didn't respond with a remorseful attitude or even a attitude of "man i really screwed up this time". It was tough because everything i said seemed to just slide right on by. I was literally praying as we met that God would give me the words to say, and i believe He did. After about an hour and a half, i finally just straight up asked the student what role God played in their life, and the response was "i don't really think about it that much." Wow, not what I wanted to hear. I left the meeting feeling beat up, frustrated, discouraged, confused, and a little angry, not at a certain person, or God, but just at the situation. I called my friend Robert (www.robert4tnr.blogspot.com)and explained what had went down and asked him for some advice. He was in student ministry awhile back, and i think he is very wise and i respect and listen to what he has to say. He reminded me of something REAL important. You see, we tend to be real quick to give the credit to God when good things happen in the lives of our students. We say things like "that was a God thing", or "that was all God, not me" and so on. Now, don't get me wrong, those statements are all true and we should obviously give Him the glory. But what about when things don't go the way we think they should? When students don't respond to the Gospel, or drop a bad habit, what do we do? We end up saying things like "i'm not being effective", or "i can't relate anymore", or "i must not be doing something right". Here is what Robert reminded me of last week. It is ONLY God that does the work in the lives of people, including teenagers. We can have no effect on students unless God has gone before us and prepared their hearts for the message we have. We are still accountable and responsible to deliver the message accurately and in love, but that is really where our part ends. God is the one the calls people to Himself. If we think or act any other way, then essentially we are kicking God off His throne and telling Him we know better and we have a better plan. Thanks Robert for the reminder, you ROCK!!!
Well, sorry for the long post, but i just had a lot to say today. It's off to wrap a few loose ends up before AMP'd tonight!!

Running my Race,
Bholda

D-Now and DSS

WOW!! What a weekend so far! Last night we kicked off "Awakening '08" our D-Now weekend with High Praises Church at Marathon. It was a great night of worship and it was awesome to see our churches come together and hang out. We are heading to the "MAC" which is High Praises youth building tonight for dinner and more worship, so I'm looking forward to getting to hang out more with all the students. I'm really pumped about what God is going to do in the lives of students this weekend. We have our students in host homes with college leaders from College of Charleston, Citadel, and North Greenville. So i have to give a HUGE shoutout to the host homes and college leaders for all their time and effort this weekend!!! I will post some good stuff next week with highlights from the weekend.
On a completely different note, Crystal and i are having our first home visit with our social worker from DSS for our upcoming adoption. I think they end up
doing like 3 visits during the process so we are getting the ball rolling. I am very excited/scared to death to think that i will be a dad soon! WOW!! my world is about to change, but i can't wait!! I will definitely keep the blog updated on the progress we are making. Guess that's it for now.

RUNning the Race,
Bholda

Tonight

I'm really tired, and it's been a long day. I will do a for real post tomorrow, but for now, it's off to "chillville"! Big weekend ahead with our students....D-Now "Awakening '08"

Until Tomorrow,
Bholda

Lots and Lots...

Goin on right now for the Bholda!! Of course the student building is still coming along, so I'm answering questions about where this and that goes and air handling units, and lights, chairs, paint and the list goes on and on. We are looking at a projected completion date of August-September, which would be perfect timing with school kicking back off. This weekend we are having our D-Now weekend called "Awakening '08" and I'm pumped about that. It should be a great weekend and I can't wait to see what God has in store. Crystal and I are meeting with our assigned social worker from DSS about the adoption. That's right, ADOPTION!!! We feel like God is calling us to adopt a little boy. We have been in the process for a couple of months now, and each day we get closer to getting our little buddy!!! We still want to have "our own" children eventually, but feel very strongly that God is calling us to this step in our lives right now. Please pray that everything will go quickly and smoothly. I can't wait to have a pal to take fishing, play golf and to ride go-karts with (just don't tell Crystal!)
This Wednesday we are starting our new series called "Invasion" and I think it is going to be a big success! I will definitely keep you posted on how it goes. Well, that's about it for now, I'm off to the gym to DO WORK SON!!

RUNning the Race,
Bholda

The highlight of my week

I've had a very busy week this week getting ready for D-Now next weekend, dealing with the student building, planning our next series "Invasion", plus just handling phone calls and e-mails. But fortunately, there was one highlight that stuck out in my mind the most, i got to hang out with some students for awhile on Tuesday. We ate lunch at Zaxby's (i had a grilled chicken salad and diet coke) then headed back to the church for a good 'ol planning session. I have determined that students are the best resource for finding out what students need to hear about. DUH!!! I don't know how many youth pastors try to incorporate their students in their message prep, but i think it's a great idea and after Tuesday, i'm completely sold on the idea. Yeah, it's difficult at times due to short attention spans, but i think it's worth it. I am passionate about us having a student-led ministry and i believe this is just another step to build on that vision. They did great Tuesday and we have the whole series planned out. That includes videos, songs, message topics (they leave the teaching to me, at least for now!). I am excited about the future of the meetings and i think it is going to be one of the best things we can do for our ministry. I will keep you posted on the development of this student team.
In other news, i have reached my first weight goal of 200 lbs and it feels great. I'm still plugging along at the gym and trying to eat right, so the next goal is 180! I saw my "trainer" today and she wants to do a follow up assessment which should be positive. I will let you know the results when i find out. Well, it's off to watch some Sweet 16 action.

RUNning the Race,
Bholda

Sheetrock is goin up!!!!

WOW!!! Progress is evident and I love it!!! Our student building, "The Garage" is finally looking more and more like a building and less and less like a big concrete pad!! These are a couple of pictures I took with my camera phone, because it was all I had. The projected open date is Sept-Oct which would be perfect timing since school will just be kicking back in. God's timing is ALWAYS perfect!! I have a picture on my wall of us putting a shovel in the ground in 2005!! That was a long time ago, but I can look back and see how God orchestrated(watch out, big word!!) the whole thing. Interest rates are at a low and just the difference between the rate we had and the rate we locked in we can just about make the payment!!! God is AWESOME!!! Well, I hope to have more pictures coming soon. These pictures show sheetrock on the walls around where the stage will be. I'm so pumped about the future God has for the families and students that are going to be reached in "The Garage"!!

What a weekend

This weekend was awesome!! We did 4 services at Marathon and they were all great. It was very moving and really helped me focus on what Christ did for us. Pastor Eddie quoted Tony Campolo during his message, and it went like this: "It's Friday, but Sunday is coming" I think so many people are right there in their life. They are at wits end, frustrated, discouraged, depressed, hurting, scared, confused and lost. But there is great news, Sunday is coming, meaning what Christ did has given us HOPE, which is more powerful than all that other stuff. I have to admit, there have been times recently where I was wondering if "Sunday" was coming, but this weekend I believe it came for me. God spoke to me this weekend and just reminded me that He is in control, and nothing catches Him off guard or surprises Him. It was a great weekend and I hope you all had a great weekend as well. I will be updating later this week.

RUNning the Race,
Bholda

AMP'd Rewind and the Lord's Supper

Last night at AMP'd was a very unique night. We observed the Lord's Supper and took some time to remember the sacrifice Christ made for us. I say it was unique because AMP'd is typically a service where our Christian students invite their "un-churched" friends and it is geared more with that in mind. Last night however, was much more focused on what Easter and the week of Easter means to Christians, as Jesus prepared to endure the cross for us. It was very moving and awesome to see so many students abandon themselves, their problems, distractions, and selfishness to get focused on Christ. Here are some comments students sent me about last night:

"I really really like AMP'd and the Lord's Supper. I think it helped me feel like more connected and closer to God. And it helped me realize that i'm not as close to God as i should be, but it's helping me strive towards being closer to God."

Bryan, i thought that AMP'd was AMAZING and so moving for everyone! Lots of people were saved and were able to let things go and feel good and clean! It was the best! Thanks! :)


I thought it was beautiful, man. More Wednesdays should be like last night! You could feel God in the room, touching out hearts. Usually, the Lord's Supper doesn't mean anything to me; you just drink some grape juice, eat a cracker, put on a serious face, and then go back to normal. But last night was anything BUT normal. I really didn't even want to leave...


It was a powerful night, and I believe Jesus was lifted up and exalted last night. I believe our students were more than challenged, they were CHANGED!!! I encourage you to take time to remember what Easter is all about this year and really focus on who Christ is and what He has done for us.

Set list:
Lead me to the cross-Hillsong
Where the love last forever-Hillsong
You Reign-United
To know your name-United
Jesus paid it all-Kristian Stanfill
There is nothing like-Hillsong
We Shine-Fee

I hope to have some pictures up soon of the service. Have a great Easter and take time to REMEMBER!!!

RUNning the Race,
Bholda

A close call

Well, I was on the way back to church from Wren High and made a quick stop by Carolina Rod Shop to talk to my good buddy Rick about a project we are working on for the new building. The rod shop is only a couple of miles from the church, so I got finished meeting with Rick and jumped in the truck to head back to work. I wasn't even thinking and never put my seatbelt on. With that being said, I know that's not smart or safe. I came around a curve and there were 3 highway patrol officers doing a traffic stop. Needless to say, I couldn't get my belt on before they saw me. I pulled up and the officer asked for my drivers license. I obliged obviously, because I didn't want a beat down. He took down some info and asked why I didn't have my seatbelt on to which I responded "umm...I just didn't put it on this time" He then proceeded to do something unusual, he yelled out to the other officers "anyone want a seatbelt?" The other officers responded quickly by saying "NO". Which to my surprise and happiness, he said the same. I drove away with a warning! My birthday was last week and he asked me if I got a lot of money for my birthday, and I said "No sir, not much" to which he kindly answered back, well good thing I'm just giving you a warning. Thank you Lord, for protecting my life and my wallet!! I have learned my lesson for sure. CLICK IT OR TICKET!!! Unless the officer doesn't wanna write it up!!

Wearin' my seatbelt always,
Bholda

The salty spear of death

So me and Taylor (student ministry intern) are headed over to Wren High School for lunch today with our students. It is really an awesome time to connect and hang out with our students and they seem to enjoy the company. I try to do this every so often, and I would like to share a story that happened at a lunch a couple of years ago. And yes, I have been back since this episode happened. So, here ya go, enjoy.

Ok, here's what went down. I went to all 3 lunches at Wren high today and had quiet an experience. The first 2 lunch periods went great, with no drama or anything like that. However, the last lunch period is freshman lunch, ALL freshman lunch. So i'm just sitting there chillin sipping on some good 'ol Wren high sweet tea and all of sudden, out of nowhere comes a flying french fry! Not just any flying french fry, but a sharp, pointy, salty spear of death !! This special flying french fry proceeds to hit me right in the eye, more specifically, right in the middle of my eye!! Now, imagine if you will a bunch of freshmen who see a 30 year old youth pastor get hit in the eye with a sharp, pointy, salty spear of death!! The crowd went wild with laughter, needless to say. Now, I tried my best to play it off, but honestly, it hurt, BAD! After I regained my composure and crawled out from underneath the table, I challenged the big bully to meet me outside on the band field and we would settle this once and for all. But, luckily the bell rang and the afore mentioned bully had to go to class. Now, as if that wasn't eventful enough, I return back to my table to finish my sweet tea and upon taking a swig of the tea, I quickly realized that someone had poured 7-Up remix in my tea!! Gee thanks!!!
So all this reminded me why I never really enjoyed high school in the first place. I'm 30 years old and still get picked on by freshman in high school!! What a miserable existence!!

Hopefully today will not hold the same fortune for me. I can't wait to have one of those square/rectangular type pizzas! Those were always my favorite!! YUMMY!!!

RUNning my Race,
Bholda

AMP'd Rewind

Last night was another great time night at AMP'd. We have some serious momentum going and it is exciting. We have had 2 staight weeks of record attendance, and lots of first time visitors. It is so exciting to see what God is doing. The youth building is cruisin' along and they have almost got all the metal studs up, so now you can see all the rooms, offices, game room, and worship center clearly. Hopefully the sheetrock walls will be going up in a couple of weeks. Hopefully i will have pictures up soon. Well, back to last night. Here is the band's set list:

What the world will never take-Hillsong United
Made to love-Toby Mac
On Fire-Switchfoot
You Deserve-Hillsong United(In a valley by the sea EP)

The guys did an awesome job,and we are looking forward to adding a couple of female singers in the next couple of weeks which should be really sweet sounding. We are going to be observing the Lord's Supper next week and i am expecting that to be a very powerful service. I will update the outcome next week in the AMP'd rewind.

Well, i guess that's about it for tonight, i'm going to just chill for awhile, it's been a busy week and i'm looking forward to the day off tomorrow!!

Running the Race,
Bholda

The Big "3-2"

Today was my 32nd birthday and it was a good one. I did go to work, even though as a staff member of Marathon, we have the option of taking our birthday off, which is a nice thing but i had to much to do today. Pastor Eddie took me to Copper River for lunch which was very good i must say. I had several meetings about various things, including a meeting with the sound, light and video people for the youth building. Just an update, the youth building is moving along quickly and is almost all framed in with metal studs. The company did all that just since Wednesday, so they are working like mad on getting it ready to sheet rock. I am extremely pumped and excited about the progress. I will hopefully be posting some pictures of the work on here soon. I came home and the wife and i ordered a couple of stromboli's and are sitting here watching tv together. It's been a good day and i'm enjoying the opportunity to just sit and chill basically. I guess that's about it for now, it's back to Jon and Kate plus 8 on TLC!! Don't judge me, it's my birthday!!

1 year older and 1 year better lookin',
Bholda

How do you say no?

How do you say no to high school students who want to get up and be at church at 6:30 am on a Wednesday morning to eat breakfast and pray together? That is the question that went through my mind at 5:00 am as the alarm went off. We started this prayer breakfast about 2 years ago with a group of students that went on our first mission trip. It has changed a little over the 2 years, some students have gone to college, others work, and some just don't show up. But this is the kicker, the group has gotten smaller, but much more committed!! A couple of months ago I dropped the gathering down to once a month, much to the dismay of the students. I gotta be honest, I'm not much of a morning person, but more than that, I felt like God was saying it needed to get refocused and back on track. This morning was an awesome time of prayer with the students and I feel they genuinely want to show up to take the time and pray for each other, their friends and their family. Having been in student ministry for 12 years now, I have learned that there are things from time to time you have to say "NO" to, but at this point, I don't think a prayer breakfast with committed high school students is one of those things. Who knows, I might even add another Wednesday each month for us to meet!

RUNning the Race,
Bholda

An Awesome Day!!

I gotta say that Friday was definitely in the top ten best days of my adult life!! It started really early, about 5:15 am to be exact! We (me, sammy, melissa and isaac) headed to Charlotte for the Richard Petty Driving Experience at Lowes motor speedway, and it was incredible!! I was a little (ok a lot) nervous, but once we took off out of the pits and hit the first turn, the nervousness was replaced with excitement. I've never been 170 mph, much less around a 1.5 mile oval. The 3 laps around the track only took about a minute and half, but it was the most intense minute and a half I have ever experienced. After we finished there we went to Hendrick MotorSports and isaac hooked me up with a behind the scenes tour of the place, and it was sweet! We got to see all kinds of awesome stuff, like Dale Jr's new #88 car that he won a race in last month, Mr Hendrick's personal pet bird named George, trophies, and other cool stuff!! Thanks isaac, you tha man!!! After that, we made a few more rounds to other race shops and collected some more cool stuff along the way. It was a great day, and i have to say a special thanks to the Clary's for giving me an awesome birthday present!!! The dvd of my ride should arrive in a few weeks, so maybe i can figure out how to post a segment on here for your enjoyment.

RUNning the Race,
Bholda

Gearin' Up

This week is going to be like none other! There is a lot going on that I am pumped about to say the least. Tomorrow night we are continuing our "Undressed" series and we will be talking about SEX for the next 2 weeks. To say it is going to be interesting would be an understatement. Our students have responded well to the series so far, and so have parents. I have started recording my messages on CD at AMP'd for a couple of reasons: 1. To protect myself from someone misquoting me and 2. For parents and students that want a copy of the message to take home. It has worked out really well so far, and I feel far more comfortable talking about all this Love, Dating and Sex stuff knowing it's being recorded. Thursday should be a good planning day with the interns for our upcoming series and Disciple Now weekend, and also just a chance for us to catch our breath after AMP'd. And then there's Friday!!! oh Friday, the day off. For my day off this week I am going with Sammy and Melissa (www.sammyclary.com)along with a handful of other people to the Richard Petty Driving Experience in Charlotte. Last year for my birthday Sammy bought me a ride along ticket, and we are just now getting to use them, so it should be a blast!! We are heading out at 6 am to get there early and get in line. It's first come, first serve. I am just praying I don't mess myself, because I'm not a big risk taker, and I think going around the speedway at 180 mph is a pretty big risk!!! I'm not driving, simply riding in the passenger's seat, but still it should be a rush!! I'm sure there will be pictures and plenty of stories to follow!!
In other news, we are closing on the loan TODAY for the "Garage", our student facility!! We should be seeing construction start back up within the next couple of weeks. I'm so excited about being able to provide our students with a place they can call their own. It's going to be great. I will try to keep the blog with pictures of the progress. Well, it's back to studying for tomorrow night!!

RUNning the Race,
Bholda

AMP'd Rewind and Stuff

Well, it's a little late, but better than nothing. AMP'd went well Wednesday night, we had record attendance which is always cool. I shouldn't be surprised by this because anytime you talk about Love, Dating and SEX, students tend to show up to see what's goin down. Wednesday night we looked at both good reasons to date and wrong reasons to date. We went something like this:

Good reasons:
To grow spiritually-Heb. 3:13, 10:24
To develop socially-Prov. 27:17
To have fun- 1 Tim. 6:17 (this verse may seem strange, but when God is the focus and things are done in the context of HIS plan, it's all good)

Wrong reasons:
For physical involvement-Eph. 5:3
For emotional security-Philip. 4:7
Because everybody does it-This is just simply not true!

Obviously, if you are dating someone just for the above reasons, that can be a very dangerous road to travel. God has a plan and has set up boundaries within the context of dating and if students will stick to that, there would be a lot less heartache and pain!!!

The band did great with the exception of one song, where apparently they all had a brain fart and forgot how to play!!! I think it was a great learning experience and hey, things happen.

Here is the setlist:

First date-Blink 182
We shine-Fee
O for a thousand tongues-Passion/Crowder
Revolution-United

We played a version of the dating game which was pretty cool, the winning couple, Brittany and Cade won a $25.00 gift card to Applebees, so that should be a nice little date one night. The next 2 weeks of the Undressed series is going to be all about sex and God's plan. It should be pretty interesting to say the least.

Well, that's about it for now, I'm off to the gym (I've lost about 14 lbs so far, so I'm pumped!!) Tonight we have a ball game so hopefully we can keep the 1 game win streak alive! I'll be studying tomorrow, since I'm speaking all 3 services at Marathon (www.marathonchurch.org) this Sunday, so I'm looking forward to that. Have a great weekend and keep it real!!!

RUNning the Race,
Bholda

R.U.N.?

This is a post I have been looking forward to doing for a while, and I finally have the time to sit down and pound it out on the keyboard. A couple of months ago, myself, Eddie, Bryan and Kip went on an overnight planning meeting to seek God and a renewed vision for Marathon. Marathon has been around for almost 11 years and has effectively reached a lot of people, and we really sensed God leading us to make some vital changes. So, we locked ourselves in a conference room for about 7 hours and just prayed, brainstormed, threw ideas on a white board, prayed some more, and just diligently sought God's vision for Marathon. After many hours, God basically dropped RUN in our laps!! Let me explain: the "R" stands for REFLECT, which represents worship, the "U" stands for UNITE, which represents service, and the "N" stands for NAVIGATE, and represents small groups. So basically God showed us that in order to grow and become more like Him, these are the things we need to move toward, Worship, Service, and Connection. As a Church, we believe this should be our focus, to help folks move through this process and become DISCIPLES, not just Christians. There is a huge difference! Salvation is instantaneous, but discipleship is an on going process and Marathon is committed to help people move through the process. Notice I said "help", that's because we have to make a decision to grow outside the walls on Sunday mornings or Wednesday nights or whatever times the church building is open. If you are a Christian and all you count on for growth is your Church services, then something is wrong. Obviously, that time is important, but it shouldn't be all you put into your walk. I am pumped about this renewed vision and direction and I have already seen how our people are taking notice. You can watch the first 2 weeks of the RUN services here: www.marathonchurch.org
This weeks message should be up by Wednesday, so be on the lookout for that as well. We have a new logo, website and all that to go along with the change, but by no means is this just marketing, it is the foundation and vision of Marathon. Just remember, we are all in a race, and we are called to RUN!!!! This was a very quick explanation, but I'm sure I'll revisit it from time to time. Until next time, Keep Running!!!!

RUNning the Race,
Bholda

We Won!!

It finally happened, our over 30 basketball team at Marathon won our first game last night!! I guess technically it was our second win, because the first win was a forfeit by the other team a few weeks ago. But this time we actually scored more points than the other team!! We ended up winning by 5 points down the stretch, and it felt good, because we avenged our first loss of the season by this team. I have realized that I can't move and react like I could 10 years ago, and quite honestly it's been a tough pill to swallow, but I'm working on it. We have 1 more regular season game and then the first round of the playoffs (yeah in this league, every team plays in the first round).
Well, enough about my mission to return to my glory days of high school basketball. Tonight I have a student ministry volunteer dinner/training and I am excited about it for sure. I can see God bringing us the right people to put into the right places and it is awesome. I just want to spend some time with my volunteers tonight and hear what God is doing in their lives, hear stories about how God has used them to reach students, and how students have touched their lives. It should be a great night, and I am looking forward to it for sure. I guess that's it for now, so enjoy your weekend!!

Keepin'it Real,
Bholda

Happy V-Day!!

Just wanted to give a quick shout out to everyone and wish ya a happy valentines day. I don't know what you have planned, but i hope it has something to do with the love of your life :) I myself, have plans to go out with my wonderful wife of almost 7 years and grab a bite to eat and hang out with her!! I will hopefully be updating tomorrow, because there are certain people in the blogging world that have threatened to kick me off of their blog roll if I don't update every 3 days, so I am trying to get into a routine of posting!! Well, have a good night!!

Keepin' it real,
Bholda

Undressed

Tomorrow night we start our new series called "Undressed", the truth about Love, Dating, and Sex. I am really looking forward to this series because our students need to know the TRUTH about all these things because they are getting inundated with lies from the enemy. I shot a video last week asking students how they know when they are in love, and man did I got some scary, crazy, clueless, answers along with a couple of really solid answers. It just shows me that this is a much needed series for our students.
On a lighter note, the workout routine is going great! Not to brag or anything, but to date I've lost 12 lbs, so I've got 6 more lbs to go to reach my first goal. It's been really tough at times, but it is well worth it. It's actually kind of addicting watching the "lbs" drop, and obviously very encouraging. I credit my victory over Justin Kay in the youth pastor grudge race on Sunday to my lighter frame, and no I'm not talking about the frame of the go-kart!!! Sorry Justin. Well, that's it for now, I'll be updating again in a day or so.

Keepin' it Real,
Bholda

AMP'd rewind, Surge '08, and the backyard 500

Well, it's a little late, but here is the AMP'd rewind. It was a great night of praise and worship as we wrapped up our series called "Beyond the Music". The band along with Steve-O and Jamie did a set list consisting of 10 songs, too numerous for me to remember, but it was an awesome sight to see the students loose themselves in worship. I challenged the students with a story out of Mark 5:24-34, which is about a woman who had a bleeding issue and how she knew if she could just touch Jesus' clothes she would be healed!! I encouraged the students that during worship their goal should be simply to touch Jesus' clothes. If we can just experience that, it will completely change our lives!! It was a wonderful night. Next week we are starting our new series called "Undressed", the truth about Love, Dating and Sex. I'm pumped about this series because I want the students to take a real look at the relations they are in and the dangers of saying "I love you" too soon, dating the wrong person and not setting boundaries, among a ton of others stuff too!! It should be interesting for sure.
On a different note, the dates for Surge '08 have been announced!! The first week will be June 8-13 for current 7-8 graders and the second week is June 15-20 for current 9-12 graders. We will be going to beautful St. George Island Christian Retreat Center in Florida. Check out the pics at www.sgichristianretreat.org, it's incredible!! Keep a look out for more details!!!
Well, I guess that's about it for now, it's time to get ready to head out to the gym and get my workout on!! I have to get ready for the go kart backyard 500 over at Sammy's house!! I think it's going to be a break through day for me and my career in go kart racing!!

Keepin' it Real,
Bholda

Moving Forward

Yesterday was a historic day at Marathon. We had a unanimous vote to move forward and borrow the rest of the money to finish our student facility, The Garage!! It was awesome to see all those hands go up and vote YES. Just to update you, the building is basically in the dry now, and is paid for, about $600,000 worth. We voted yesterday to borrow up to $1.2 million to finish the project, because rates are great right now and we have already been approved by the bank for the $1.2 million. I know what you might be thinking, "that's a lot of money to borrow", and I would agree, but we have prayed HARD about this and we have a strategy to attack the debt aggressively and pay it off quickly. I love the fact that Marathon has never been about buildings, but about reaching people. There has always been a great understanding that The Garage is not the end, but a means to the end, which is to reach children, students, and families for the Kingdom. I' m sure I will be posting pictures of the progress soon, as we hope to see construction start back up by the first of March. It's gonna be AWESOME!!!

Keepin' it Real,
Bholda

AMP'd Rewind

Last night at AMP'd was...interesting to say the least. For the first time in my 12 years of student ministry I had to ask students to leave the worship center during the message. They were being very disruptive and being disrespectful. It was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do, but after much prayer and thought, I am confident it was the right thing to do. I have learned there is a fine line we have to walk as student pastors. The line between knowing that kids need to be at church and hear about Christ, and the line that says enough disrespect is enough. I want students to be here and experience Christ more than anything! But at the same time, they have to understand that God deserves our respect and reverence. We are in our worship series, so I have tried to explain that worship is simply placing value on something or someone. So, for a student to come to AMP'd and be disruptive and disrespectful shows me they are putting no value on who God is or what He wants to do in their life. This has been a very tough subject for me over the last few weeks, as I know we are reaching students that need to be here and find Christ. We have a ton of kids that come from tough situations, broken homes, drug abuse, parental neglect and who knows what else. It breaks my heart, and I just want these students to know that there is hope, and His name is JESUS!!!
Any feedback or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. On a lighter note, here is the set list from last night:

Revolution-Hillsong United
Signature of Divine-Needtobreathe
Oh Praise Him-Crowder
Break Free-Hillsong United

Keepin' it Real,
Bholda