O Holy Intern Night...

so this Christmas season has brought many things to life of an Intern (me)...

I have been through my first Christmas Eve services while not being back at home. Now most people are like, they didn't give you the weekend off?...I had the option of staying here or going home. I chose to stay here, because I know how the Christmas Ever services are back home, I've seen that, I've been there. Time for something different and just getting the experience of how it works elsewhere would do me some good. Gotta take advantage of every learning opportunity possible...

On Christmas Eve, a family invited me and my host family to their house for dinner. While there, something pretty cool happened. As we prayed for the food, we had a guy from South Africa with us who prayed in Spanish, then it went to my host family who prayed in Arabic, then to the family we were joining who finished the prayer in English. Needless to say, it was a really cool moment to have people from different origins coming together to celebrate the one thing we all have in common. Christ.

My favorite part of this Christmas season was the Candle-Light Service. It was awesome. So many people packed into a little chapel. While growing up i loved the part when it would come time for Silent Night and the candles would be passed and lit. Such a beautiful scene. However, the best part of this service, was when it came time for the song O Holy Night. This song gets me everytime. As I stood in the doorway of the chapel and heard this song being sung, with watery eyes, again i was reminded of how blessed I have been.

On Christmas Day, I received a few shirts from my family. After being asked if they looked like they fit, I made the comment that I thought they were a bit big. Now these shirts were all Mediums....I looked at my mom and said that maybe if they were Small they'd fit and asked if there was a gift receipt and i'd just get a smaller size, cause i really do like them. She replied "you'll grow into them"
I'M 24, I FORGOT, WHAT WAS I THINKING, EVERYONE GETS ANOTHER GROWTH SPURT AT THE AGE OF 25......I CHECKED OUT OF THE LINE OF GROWING AT 17!
My mom then went onto say that i'll grow a belly and fill them up. I reminded her that the last time i checked, i haven't gained weight since sr. year of high school...until my metabolism decides it hates me and quits, i'm good to go...she said my dad had a gut at my age....my dad also had been married and 2 kids by the time he was 24....he had an excuse to have a gut....

oh what a week...

well, in a matter of 1 week, i've done the following...

I was a shepherd in one of the largest Christmas/Live Nativity/Walk through thingy's ever...Journey to Bethlehem. It was amazing. With over 12,000 people walking through this thing over a span of 4 nights, it simply broke me. I have never seen such a sight in all of my life. I mean, it was amazing. I was in awe as I walked through the trail for the first time ever. It was probably one of the best things i've gotten to do while on my internship.

I traveled to Hannibal, twice this week. Once on Sunday for my dad's side of the family to have their Christmas. It was good to see my cousins and dad's side of the family because I haven't gotten to see them in almost a year. It was kinda weird though. Everyone else in "countryish" attire while i walked in with a nice button down dress shirt and my suit jacket...now, noting that i drove straight from church sunday morning to visit them and then drive straight back to be there in time for Journey...the second trip to Hannibal was made on Thursday. My uncle on my mom's side of the family flew in from NY City. So we had our Christmas together. Oh my grandparents are great. Just a snipit of what how they crack me up:
Grandma "Josh, did you sleep alright in the recliner?"
Me "yeah, after i got comfortable"
Grandma "oh good, well, i just lay there, put the blanket over me and sleep and say don't wake me up unless my kids are sick or the world is about to end"
Grandpa "i don't wake her up...she's ugly if you wake her up"

Oh what a trip it was. Oh and I went to Mason City to Super Dave's this past Monday. Let's just say, it was good to see everyone again, but man, i paid for being out too late on Monday night/Tuesday Morning....goin on 4 hours of sleep, i dragged myself into the office on Tuesday...

Tonight I went ice skating for the first time ever!!!! It is possible that i've found my new calling in life...now let me explain to you that i pretty much did amazing at my first time skating...i didn't fall down once! and i only held onto the side railing about 1/4 of the way around my first time...so i pretty much had an amazing time and by the last time i went around i was going as fast as everyone else was going....and it was fast! I see gold medals in the future!

Ah, this week was amazing...next week is gonna involve the zoo and maybe another trip to Forest Park to go ice skating...we shall see....

Hunt....Josh Hunt

So i had recently gone to see the new James Bond movie and after pondering on how amazing i would be to actually be James Bond, i think he's a pretty cool guy. I mean, lets be honest, Bond is a stud and flat out has some pretty amazing gadgets...his amazing one-liners and very quick wit is hilarious. So now i sit here thinking of how sweet it is when Bond says his infamous line....Bond, James Bond....and how flippn' sweet it would sound if I would just walk up to someone and say...the names Hunt, Josh Hunt....okay, so maybe it wouldn't be as great, but it does roll off the tounge....
Although, if you've seen the new movie, i think i would fail in playing the roll of Bond when the torturing would take place...i'll stop there...because i doubt if i'd be able to survive one minute...or one swing...of what Bond went through...
...but being Bond would have it's advantages...like all of the cool suits and cars he gets...as well as the amazing chase scenes and fight scenes....i mean, i didn't want to brag, but i did sort of teach him everything he knows...so with that in mind...the names Hunt, Josh Hunt...

an open ended book..."My Life"

so i've been sitting here for awhile now with this blank text box...the cursor is blinking...blinking...blinking...i have so many thoughts going through my head it is seriously giving me a head-ache...so many feelings, thoughts, and emotions in my mind that have been bursting to escape me and be released unto the world for others to hear...

...i sit here thinking that no matter how much of it bleeds through me out of my fingertips and onto the keys of this keyboard up to the monitor, that it never quite feels, sounds, or seems to be the same as how it is going through my mind...you see, i have these very vivid thoughts and they just never seem to quite come out how i picture them...

...lately, i've been searching and calling heavily around for a job...all of the way from Louisiana, Colorad, California, Nevada, up to Wisconsin...tonight it has hit me that i had been so worried about moving away, leaving this area...going to these places where i know no one and doing what?...a job?...no, i would go to do ministry....but you say, Josh you have talked about finding a job in the 'secular' world, how is that ministry...well lately i've been told that i wouldn't be used to my fullest potential w/o finding a job in the ministry...i would try to volunteer my time and become frustrated cause i couldn't still do what i wanted to do cause i'd not have the time. I don't know what to do, everyone has been saying, hey get a job here, i can get you a job there...do what you want to do...well that would be easy if i knew what i wanted to do...i've become confused and troubled w/ what it is that God has specifically called me to do...i understand my calling is ministry...but where should i go?...i have had trouble dealing w/ several people telling me how they haven't felt called to go somewhere, they've just gone...and that if i know i've been called to ministry...then just go...all of my Christian life, i have felf God calling me to go where i've gone...to college, to go to LCC, to major in Mass Communications, to intern at Harvester...and now nothing...
...am i where i'm supposed to stay?...but thats not something that is rationally possible right now...even 3 months from now it seems very unlikely that i'd stay where i'm at, doing what i'm doing...i'm not limiting God, i'm being reasonable....which in turn, i guess could be limiting God...even when i've been searching for places...nothing has seemed to be tugging at my heart...all i want to do is find a place and serve...but what i want, isn't exactly always what God has planned for me...how true this is...and i've learned this over and over again through the past 2 years...it's really hard to think that i don't know where i'll be 3 months, when 3 months ago, i didn't know i'd still be here today...funny how it all works out, especially when we don't anticipate it working out the way it does...

so i guess i'll turn this over to you, whoever you are reading this...suggestions, comments, ideas of where i should head next, i'm open and ready and willing to search into anything right now...it's a dangerous thing to say, but i'll do it...i'm willing to go anywhere, as long as i'm able to serve...i'm willing to go wherever God leads me, as long as i'm able to continue serving Him and bring Him glory...