What would it look like if someone followed Christ with the drive, determination, and tenacity that Kobe practices and plays basketball with, lil wayne raps with, or Steve Jobbs runs apple with?

thoughts?

Amidst my dad going to the hospital twice for a stomach infection (he’s okay), getting a new job, and a weeklong experience of the day-to-day tasks of ministry....I don’t think I have ever thought about God so consistently and predominantly than I have this week. 
It’s Friday afternoon, and I feel like i should be drained beyond belief - but I’m not. I want to include a 'thanks to coffee joke' but really, I have been praying for strength, endurance, and rest, and I believe the Lord is showing me that He really does that. 

I’ve felt a prompting lately to withdrawal from situations that i would classify as “my friends and I having nothing to do, so were gonna get together and fill it.” 

I guess you could, but it would be a stretch to call it beneficial fellowship. Not that it’s a bad way to spend our time, but considering eternity, I would call it wasteful. So i’ve been saying no to lunches, movie nights, and other things to spend more time worshipping, reading, and spending intentional time with people that I wouldn’t normally gravitate towards. Oh my goodness has God blessed it! 

Like I said, I have been feeling this prompting for quite sometime and questioning how lazily we spend our time, and it has taken me a season of recurring “Billy, you’re so stupid, you just wasted 4 hours watching sportscenter reruns.” to finally start trying it. 

Another strength that has pushed me over the hump to actually start living these desires was something my pastor said on Sunday. “You better be prepared to let people down over letting God down.” And strangely, just seeing it from that different angle made it so easy to tell my friends “no thanks man, I’m trying to spend more time with God this week.”

All to say, the Lord has began teaching me such an important truth about how seriously I need to value and almost in a sense, ‘be selfish’ about my time with Him. At base, spending time with God is the most basic pillar of spiritual growth, but it’s so shocking at how we unconsciously place so many things above valuing our time with Him. 

Matthew 6:33 owned me this week. 

FIRST FIRST FIRST! Nothing should compromise our primary devotion to our time with God. Not work, not school, not relationships, not anything. 

and ALL ALL ALL - literally EVERYTHING appropriately flows when we’re seeking Him first. 

Hi, CIRCLES!

Hi guys!

My name is Billy and I'm so excited to start CIRCLES and grow together with all of you!

About myself:
I'm sure Facebook could help with that :)
Aside from that, I would say a significant 'about me' is that about a year and a half ago, my life changed considerably. Upon graduating, my schedule slowed down and I realized I was in a terrible place with God. Combined with that, all of the "fact based, 'knowledge is power'" tone I had been hearing throughout college, caught up with me and I needed to go on a search of the existence of God. He satisfied my search about 4 pages into a book I was reading on God's existence.
Pretty much immediately after that, God began revealing to me an incredibly new and enlivening understanding of Him, His character, His desire to have an every-second continual relationship with me, and His desire for my career and life plans to be thrown away completely and relearned in Him. This past year has been awesome, difficult, sorrowful, joyful, excited, depressing, and between all of that emotion the Lord has been teaching me the importance and difficulty of disciplining ourselves to stay steadfast through valleys by holding onto Truth and continuing disciplines when things get trying.

I don't currently attend RockHarbor all that often (about 2 Sunday nights a month), but am excited to become a part of the high school or college ministry through CIRCLES. I am currently involved in the college/young adults ministry and attending church at Beachpoint Church in Fountain Valley.
I am currently working (and will be ending shortly) for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society doing fundraising development with them.
I hope to spend the majority of my working hours over the next 8 months doing CIRCLES, ministry @ Beachpoint church, and learning God. I'm sure a part-time job will also need to fit somewhere in there;)

Looking forward to meeting you guys this Saturday!

Best,
Billy