20?

yes, you heard it right. i, ronnie lynn frizzell jr am no longer a teenager. i am 20 years old as of friday. i had a great time hanging with the guys and celebrating. in the past, i’ve viewed this day as pretty much just another day. one that comes and goes, just like any other day. i mean, yea, i did have some great celebrations with family and friends previously. but this year, i decided this day could be just another day, or it could also signify something more than just blowing out a candle on a delicious carrot cake at j alexanders. which, by the way, if you have never had the pleasure of trying their carrot cake, get up. this post will still be here when you get back. find out the nearest location of the restaurant and experience life in it’s fullest form.

anyways, i was not even focused on having some type of life-altering thoughts or events that night. i envisioned a great night of fellowship, food, fires, and cigars. which, all occurred by the way. but i was not even ready for what God had planned. he spoke. through a good friend of mine. he said, “how do you feel about your life 20 years into it? and what is one thing you would like to do differently this next year? i sat there, stuffed with the pecan crusted trout i had just enjoyed, not even wanting to ponder anything that took an ounce of energy. i muffled a couple of words in my brain, but nothing of any value came out. i decided to postpone the answer by telling him i would have an answer for him by the end of the night.

as the night progressed, i realized a couple of things. one of which, i realized why i am in nashville. not solely because of the great education, or a cool job, but simply because i have found a community of guys to do life with. to converse with. to joke with. to have numerous “that’s what she said…” moments. to love. and to struggle with. i have richly been blessed by the community of believers that God has immersed my life in.

the next day i sat down in bongo java. opened my bible. i was directed to a passage that i believe the Lord had picked out for me on this specific day for a specific reason. if you ask me, God’s timing, however long it may take, proves his sovereignty and existence in His children’s lives. i found this in Hebrews 6…

“therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity…” (6:1)

i was absolutely floored by what paul stated. i was still and just listened. i began processing the question my friend had asked and it stirred within me. not the type of stir that pleasantly starts, but the one that racks your soul. the one that sickens your stomach to the point of the possibility of ending up with your head in a trashcan blowing chunks because you are so sickened by the thoughts racing through your brain.

i love these moments.

because at these moments are the times in my life where i find God showing up the most. i then realized why it had taken God so long to take His words, which i had read many times before, and have me turn them into action. God moved me to action. i realized my 20 years of existence up to this point had been fun, crappy, joyous, and inconsistent all at the same time. i realized that i have been in elementary school in my faith for the past 7 years of my life as i called myself a “Christ follower.” i realized that God wants more. i realized my life could amount to so much more, if i would just stop being a kid in my faith, and allow God to mature me. i realized that there have been days, weeks, and sometimes months where i kept my heart in the word, but then slowly attempted at doing life as a loner relying on my own wisdom, or lack thereof, and finally ended in a broken spirit clinging for God to reconstruct me. i am sick of being inconsistent.

i know this is a little later than i promised, but to finally answer my friends question. my life to this point, i wouldn’t change for the world. i have lived. learned. grieved. laughed. hurt. loved. etc. but now, i am ready to mature. i am ready allow Christ to continue in the work he started in my heart when i first called his name.

what will i do differently this next year? who knows. i would love to say that i will be in the word everyday and will never falter, but i think i would be setting myself for immediate failure in saying that. because i know this will not be the last time God breaks me and reconstructs me. i would love to mature in my walk with the Lord daily, because i know in doing this, i will truly have peace. i will truly have hope. and i will truly have life. i would encourage you to be still. because in the moments we are still. God is not.

i found this beautiful piece of art in the dining/devotional room at the orphanage i stayed at this past summer in Cameroon.

tonight

tonight i’m going to see sleeping at last. i’ve been waiting for this for about 3 or 4 years now. needless to say, i’m stoked. enjoy this video.

laughter.

i work at starbucks, which i love by the way. sometimes i work the drive-thru and occasionally when the planets align perfectly and the sun so majestically reflects off of me. my one eye-appealing characteristic that God has so richly blessed me with is revealed. my eyes.

funny story. the other day, a lady, kinda heavier set, drives up to the window and immediately says something about my eyes before i can even let her know that she is paying too much for her triple grande, non-fat, extra hot, vanilla latte. i like to have fun with the customers and so we start joking back and forth, but by the end of the conversation, she just comes out and says “well hell, if i wasn’t gay, i’d ask you on a date!” i can not even remember my response because all i could do was think about how much laughter my other partners and i were going to share after she pulled away. seriously, i think i was out of commission for about 5 minutes because of this.

anyways, i hope this brought some laughter to you today and i pray that God is speaking to you in amazing ways today.

insignificant? i think not.

so i’m taking a class called understanding the bible. i’m not doing that great in there, so i guess that means i really don’t understand the bible or something. anyways, we discussed the story of the prodigal son today, which is, by far, one of my favorite stories jesus tells. throughout the discussion, we sort of backtracked and talked about the other 2 parables jesus talks about in luke 15. they are the parable of the lost sheep and the parable of the lost coin.

i would definitely encourage you to read both of them. now. the part that really hit home with me occurs when jesus speaks of the pure joy one feels when they find that “lost sheep” or “lost coin.” then he goes on to say that “there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

i make this point because before i really dug into this passage and saw the beauty in it, i had the notion that we, as individuals, aren’t really that important to God. that we, as individuals, could never have been created and God would be okay. that we, as individuals, are insignificant. i always have been told that God could be completely fine without us, because he is God and that’s it. yes, i am a firm believer in the vastness of our God and i know that the moment i begin to wrap my head around who he is, he slaps me in the face and says, “bubba, you’ll never have it figured out.” and at the moment i am filled with fear and comforted at the same time.

i say all of this because i read the story about one person coming back to God and God being more ecstatic about that one individual than 99 others who are “righteous.” also, i say this to encourage. i am finding out more and more that as much as God is about communal worship, He is about individual worship more.

we are significant to God. we are on this earth for a purpose. we are here to be imitators of Christ.

the same God who created this beautiful earth for us to marvel at, created us. in his own image.

short and sweet.

so here it is. my blog. a chance for you to read about and view some of the experiences and circumstances i will face on my journey. i’ve been wanting to start one of these guys for about 8 months now. yea, i think we can all agree after reading that statement that i am not the most pro-active person. you will most undoubtedly find that out first hand right here. i don’t really know exactly how i will be organizing this guy, but i’ve never been a fan of organization anyways. you can easily draw that conclusion from one look at my cluttered room. for example, as i’m writing this from my bed, i peer over and see 4 loads of clean laundry scattered on my somewhat assembled futon. ambition? i keep telling myself, “it’ll show up tomorrow.” sorry mom.

i would love to make this a journey not only for myself, but for others (you) as well. to be interactive. sharing praises and needs. sharing personal incites and ideas. probing and questioning my thoughts. no, i’m not going to share my deepest darkest secrets with the entire world, but i would like to get deep. and i will be dark at times.

i know that Christ will show up here. i can see fruit in my life already being produced from this seed that is being scattered. i only pray that it will be deeply rooted and in good soil, which is firm and established. i know He is about to do some amazing things in my life. i can’t wait to share the events and experiences with you.

so that’s that. i hope you enjoy.

oh and ps. i’ll try to share an occasional photo or 2 or 345243 of something that i’ve taken or something beautiful that just catches my eye throughout the days and weeks.

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