Pictures that I have

Here are some pics of myself and my lady friend!!!

Finals...and such

So I halfway through my finals and so far so good. This last final I took pretty much will decide if I pass the class or not. I am a little worried. I think I did alright, but i do not know if i did well enough to bring into a passing grade. If not then I will not be graduating in the spring. Uh oh...I love college. I am experiencing a real feeling of not exactly caring about school anymore. I am tired of classes, of wasting time around here in Bible classes that I do not learn anything in. Two of my youth ministry classes this past semester have been great. All we really did was pray for each other and watch clips of other pastors and youth leaders that had amazing vision. But we did not really learn anything practical that I could apply. So basically even though this semester has really helped me to grow in my spiritual walk, I have really not learned much else. So I am spending ubelievable amounts of money and time doing something that I already do on my own or with my small groups. I feel like I have enough Bible background to get me going and I would like to learn something that will be helpful to my ministry. I feel like I am stuck in the growth stage of a Christian and am almost being overloaded with information that is just coming through me unto that tests I take. After that, I do not remember anything. I retain Bible info that I get at church or through my devo's or in my small groups, because I study and learn because I want to, and I desire to. I jsut cannot seem to translate that into a school setting because so much emphasis is on being able to take a stupid test. I want to learn something in the way of counseling, or acheology, areas that will benefit my ministry. It is not that I am tired of learning, but rather that I am not learning from the classes at LBC and therefore am paying all this money for nothing.
Right now my walk with Christ is awesome. He is showing me new things everyday, and i am learning and growing all the time. But then I come to school and it is just discouraging. So here I am with about a semester left and I want to change my major or even transfer to another school. I do not know. I know that it would not be "wise" to transfer. But I want to be able to grow in my walk with Christ and learn something at the same time. Or even just get out and do ministry full time. That would be the ultimate. I am limited in what I can do in my ministries because my focus is my classes. I gues this is just a frustation post. I guess I should just finish strong. But the more I grow in my relationship with Christ the less and less I feel like this is where I should be. Christians place to much emphasis on what you have accomplished and not enough emphasis on character and your personal walk with Christ. The whole philosphy just makes me so discouraged. I have been communicating lately with some popular Christian worship leaders. I have been setting up different woprship seminars for the upcoming year and have trying to fill some gaps. This has frustrated me even more with Christianity today. Many of them, I will not name names, had unbelievably outrageous demands for them to come and worship. I know that this is how they make a living, and thats fine, but when you demand a certain type of hotel, meals, ride from the airport, temperature in that vehicle, and many other things then you are not in it for the right reasons. When you refuse to give a testimony because you are only coming to play music, you are not in it for the right reasons. The Christian music industry has become the poster boy of all that is wrong with Christians today. We are so consumed with our needs and or success and or fame, that we forget that we are here for the Success of God, to bring fame to Jesus Christ!
I am rambling again, and I am sorry, I am just tired of being bogged down with "christianity" as we know it. I want to be known as a Jesus Follower, completely sold out and commited. I am tired of sitting on my hands and I am ready to act. I am ready to stand for Jesus no matter what the cost. I am ready to go out and radically make disciples. I am done talking and I am ready to start acting.
At this point I am sure people have stopped reading a long time ago. And that is ok, for those who are still reading this is just me getting thoughts out before God. God has something planned for the life of every believer. I am striving to reach that Lord, please direct me and make me your servant, willing to follow you whever you lead me. Thank You Lord.

Bike

If anyone is interested in buying my bike I would love to talk with you. I know it is not hte prime season to sell. But if I get a good deal I can't really pass it up. If I get a good deal on it I'll take it...if not then I am not going to worry about it. It is a Kawasaki Vulcan 750. It is a 1986 with about 15,000 miles on it. Great bike, runs great, but I am jsut not a fan of the insurance costs. But hey I rode all summer without insurance!! Like my wife will let me do that....anywho..ok!

End of an Era

I am very quickly approaching the end of an era in the life of Derrick Howry. I am approaching a wild and exciting new chapter of my life with my new partner, my wife. I look back on how my life has gone and think back to joys and regrets that I have had along the way. All the friends and enemies that have helped shape who I am today, and who I am not today. It is very interesting as i reflect back on the different stages of my life. The various dispensations in the life of Derrick. I am one who enjoys making top ten lists...no I do not steal anything from Letterman!I make lists of my favorite movies, songs, actors, cars, anything really...it just fascinates me. So I have decided to put together the ten moments in my life that helped shape who I am. I know...quite corny right, hey...I thought it was cool!! Some people right now have stopped reading because I am arguing with myself.haha...oh well. here goes, not necessarily in any order:

10. Being born....it kinda changed alot of things for me
9. Moving to Cedar Springs,MI
8. Having no friends for the first year after the move, (made me into a shy guy for awhile)
7. Meeting the Chilcote boys...not sure if that was good thing or bad thing
6. Giving my life over in service for Christ while sitting next to Joe Moonsammy at Pine Ridge
5. Having to move during my junior year to New Hampshire and realizing that I could never be with the first girl that I ever really loved.
4. My friend calling me a hypocrite when I tried to share Jesus because my life did not show it.
3. Getting sick and the end of my music career...God telling me to get back on track
2. Meeting Amy
1. Telling God that I will go anywhere and do anything for Him.

There....I think that is a pretty good list, I know there are many other things that have affected my life. I think that I could have a list of about 500 instances that changed me. However, these all really affected me in ways that changed the whole direction of my life, for the good or for the bad. Again that is it for today. Thanks for your time everyone. have a good one!

Derrick

Photos and video

Here are some pics of my foster siblings. They are about 6 months old so maybe Ill get some new ones up soon. There is also a video of my brother getting tased. This site would not let me post them for some reason...so here is a link to my zanga site where you can view them.

http://www.xanga.com/private/yourhome.aspx?user=dzone552

The baby Jeremy has grown quite a bit and is now walking!! Ill get some more pics up soon!!

Update

I was asked to post an update about me and my family so here it is. I am doing well, as many of you know I am getting married in 24 days and counting. I am planning on graduating in the spring with a bachelors in Bible Studies/Youth Ministry. Amy will have one more year left and then she will have graduted with a bachelors in Bible and Elementary Education. We have an apartment in Ephrata that we will move to when we get married. I am right now the Worship Director at Reading Evangelical Free Church.
My Family is doing well. My Parents are still up in NH. My brother Zach is going to get his associates in law enforcement in the Spring and then will head out to police academy. My brother Joel works at the autobody shop and will graduate from highschool this year. And little Aaron is just hanging out and lifting weights....thats about all he does. Zachary, Candy and Jeremy(the children my parents are doing foster care with right now) are doing well, the judge still will not terminate the parents rights, even though he should. My parents are still praying that they could adopt these kids and give them a good home.
Anywho, Thats the update. For anyone who cares. I am posting alot on here...mainly because I have nothing else to do right now. Haha....well I have pretty much to do but I am just saying no to school right now. I have senioritis....well I think I've had senioritis for a few years now but thats ok. So catch ya later. I kow there is at least two people reading this now...haha. later

Surrealism

First off I want to give a great big congradulation to Mark for being the first to take an interest in my blog. So this one is for you Marky!

I have really enjoyed lately studying the different eras of art. I have just finished my study of the Romantic period with all its realism, impressionism, and expressionism. It is without a doubt a very thought provoking school of art. Then I began to delve into the depths that is surrealism.

Surrealism is a rejection of reality as we know it. In other words, it is an attempt to alter social reality by beginning to explore the irrational. Much of the focus during this time was on the subconscious, taking your dreams, or in many cases nightmares, and putting them unto a canvas, or in music. These people were dissilusioned with art as they had seen so far and also with humanity itself. It is interesting, I read the Manifesto of Surrealism by Andre Breton. His claim was that dreams and other nonrational mental processes were the most important ways to deal with life.

One book that is very fascinating was written by Thomas de Quincey, "Confessions of an Opium Eater." Here chaos and chance are the means to life. Design and order was rejected by Quincey and many other artists during this period.

I would say that everyone should take a look at some of the art during this time. Some of the works, including many by Salvador Dali, are very good and seem to have some sense of order, but when you get into the works during the Dada stage, anything goes. It just goes to show that as a culture when you move away from God and His principles everything becomes chaos and chance. This art really illustrates that without a form or order it all comes down to man's reason which ultimatley leads to the pointless destruction of life, property and morals.

I just viewed a movie by Ingmar Bergman, "The Silence." Very fascinating as much as it is very nihilistic. It examines the emotional isolation of a world without God. Showing again that without God this life is pointless and inane.

Well I thought it all very interesting to see how art is used to portray a very deep theological thought.

Anyway, I got to go to class, probably, have a good day all. And i will catch you later!!

IDEAL MISTRESS
I was delayed that afternoon because I had brushed the teeth of a pretty animal that I'm patiently taming. It's a chameleon. This endearing animal smoked, as usual, some cigarettes, then I left.I met her on the stairs. "I'm mauving," she told me, while I myself crystal at full sky I at her look that river towards me.Then it locks and, maîtresse! You pitcherpin so that at nice vase I sit down if the paths tombs.The staircase, always the staircase that library, and the crowds down there more abyss than the sun only clocks.Lets get back up! But in vain, memories become sardine! hardly, hardly a button doodledoos. Fall, fall down! And here the verdict: "The dancer will be executed the following morning while doing a dance step with her gems sacrificed to the heat of her body: The blood of the gems, soldiers!"And what then, the mirror yet! Mistress you black square, and if the clouds all at once forgetmenot, they mills in the ever present eternity.
Robert Desnos, translated by Johannes Beilharz

Worship Camp

In my last post I had mentioned starting a Worship Camp. Right now I am struggling to come up with a vision and goals. So I am working right now on exactly what this camp would look like.
My desire was not to be like all the other Christian Camps out there. I have been to a few different Christian Camps, even worked at one for a little bit. And for the majority the focus really was on having a good time. I mean there was worship and Biblical teaching being done, but for the most part it was just a good time for Christians to come and hang out. I desire to be part of a camp where the focus is on equipping the believer to be radical disciplmakes for Christ. I desire it to be a place where people can come and spend a whole week or weekend praising and worshipping the Creator, and learning how to be an effective and affective witness for Christ. I want it to be a place where believers are faced with a choice. Either I get serious about what I say I believe and begin to live it out, or to turn away. I lived an extremely lukewarm life growing up. And looking back at who I said I was and who I "really" was I was appalled by my hypocrisy. What I needed was to come to the point in my like where I either followed wholeheartedly after Christ or I turned away. God is not interesed in Christians who want to follow only when it is convinient for them. This is my vision, to see a place where churches can come as a congregation and get so totally sold out and fired up for Christ that they go an witness to their entire community. My desire is to see children come and even at an early age come to the realization that they are part of something so much bigger than themselves and that life ultimatley is about their relationship with the Almight Creator of the Universe.
This is the vision that God has given to me. Whatever happens I pray that it is never about me, but always about the one that I follow. Jesus Christ needs to be the focus of all that we because even in ministry it can so easily become about us. I pray, God, that I will always keep you first in my walk and in my life.

Derrick

Future????

This is interesting. I am getting swamped by all the diffeerent blogs out there. I already have a xanga blog, a sports blog, and a blog for my theological, doctrinal or biblical concerns. This one will be for me just to update and write out where I am and where I am going.
I am currently in my final year at lbc...thank God!! I am getting married in 26 days, yah baby!! And I am beginning to feel Gods leadings in some very strong ways. One thing that I have been struggling with lately is God's will for my life...doesn't everybody. I have come to the conclusion that instead of sitting on my butt and waiting for God to work, I need get out and begin seeking out oportunities to serve and then let God be the one to close or open a door. I had begun to seek out opportunities in which I could serve, but was convicted because every one of those ministires that I looked into were very safe. In other words, I was only looking to serve if my wife and I would be comfortable, a nice house, good paycheck, etc.. And God begun to really be pressing me as if to say, "hey bonehead....what about trusting me, what about doing my work and then letting me provide for you." All I hear from my Christian influences is that I need to make sure that "I" can provide for my family and that "I" make sure that we are financially secure. What about God providing for our needs. If we look back to those in the New Testament at those we were sold out disciples for Christ, they did not wait till they had strong monetary support, or seek out there own financial security. No, they left that to God, because He said that he will provide for us if we follow after Him! Now, its not because I am lazy and do not want to support my wife, becuase I do. I am a man and as in all men it pains me sometimes to know that my wife cannot have the things that I would love for her to have. But she realizes and I realize that we are here to make disciples and to do all that we can to live radically for our Savior.
Wow...what a rant. I guess this should be my rantings blog. HAHA. Anyway, all that to say that Amy and I have really been praying about and seeking out an opportunity to start a Worship Camp in West Virginia. It is going to be an unbelievable stretch, seeing how we have no money, but we know that if this is what God has for us then he will provide. I just know that if step out in faith, I mean really step out in faith then God will take care of us. Am I scared?? Heck yes I am, but God has called me to make disciples and that is my desire. So I wouldask for prayer as we let God lead. I mean, maybe God has other plans, if so then glory be to my Savior, lets go where He wants.
Anyway, I think I am safe to say whatever I want because I doubt many people if any will be reading this. Probably because I am a loser with no friends...jk, haha, have a great day all!

Derrick Howry