People of this world....

Okay, so I am meeting people from literally around the world and I thought I would let you in on a few thoughts.  Hmmm where to start?  Lets start with the Germans!  I have become really good friends with a couple hard core Germans.  They are actually on a volleyball team with Eli and I.  We actually named our team "The Bloody Americans" despite the fact that we have two Germans on our team.  It is for that reason that we changed our name to "The Bloody Americans, and friends." :)  It is true that Germans are extremely competitive.  For example, Eli and I decided to play them two on two in beach volleyball.  At first we were just screwing around, but then it got serious real fast.  They were actually beating us by a few points about half way through the game.  This caused them to start a chant about their country that sounded something like this "We are the Germans! We are the Germans!"  It sounded horrible and kinda pissed Eli and I off.  In the end, the AMERICANS came back and beat the Germans.  And for the rest of the night we chanted "We are the Americans!"  They also like to ATTEMPT to steal girls.

Okay, so next I will talk about the Norwegians.  They are sooooo nice!  I actually know quite of few of them and they are all awesome!  They act pretty similar to the Swedish who are also extremely nice.  They seem to always be smiling.  ALWAYS!  I have met a few awesome girls from Switzerland and they are weirdly nice as well.  They smile and laugh at everything I say.  Great accents as well.  I think everyone smiles a lot more than the Americans!  Except the Russians. haha :)  One of the girls here is a Brazilian and she is the biggest sweetheart ever.  She is always super nice and always happy although sometimes I think she is smiling just because she does not understand what I am saying.  I have already talked a lot about the Australians in a previous post, but they still remain to be super friendly and truly worry free.  Lets actually talk a second about the Americans.  I love everyone, but I don't always "like" everyone.  I don't know why some of the girls from America think they are such hot stuff, but I feel like someone should tell them they are surrounded by beautiful girls from all around the world.  It is definitely easy to tell which guys are from a fraternity.  The "frat boys" and "sorority girls" tend to stick together.  They are nice if you separate them from "the pack," but that is not always easy.  So that is my summary of some of the people of this world.  We will see if my opinion changes, but I thought I would put my thoughts into writing so I can compare at the end. 
"We are the Americans!" 

My bedtime thoughts

·         Why do we do what we do?  I realized something tonight as I lay in my bed while listening to the song Kingdom Come by Hillsong.  Everything I have done in the past has been in an attempt to change someone’s perception of me.  Even when I created this post I was hoping to impact your perception of me.  What if I was that concerned with how the Lord “perceives” me.  Why I am so concerned with my “worldly image.”  There are times when I claim not to care, but the truth is that I do.  Even when it comes to my spiritual walk with the Lord, I find myself wanting to impress others with my spirituality.  My goal over the next couple months is to dramatically improve this.  I want the Lord to motivate my actions.  I want to be true and sincere in the way I act.  No more faking.  Winning the approval of all of you, the readers, is ultimately unimportant.  I love you all and I admit that I will probably never be able to “not care” what you think about me, but I hope that my priorities can become a little more Christ centered.  

·         The truth is that I have always been a “people pleaser.”  So of you may be thinking "what? you are selfish Jordan!"  I know that I have not always been perfect, but I truthfully care a lot for others.  I have recently found myself sacrificing my own happiness in hopes of improving someone others.  Why would I do this?  What makes me think that I have the ability to make someone happy or fulfilled?  It’s about time that I start showing the Lord’s true love and the only way I can do that is to be completely and wholly filled with him.  The Lord is a lot better at filling people up then I could ever be!  Despite what I might like to think.  Well those were just a couple of my thoughts tonight as I lay in bed completely awake. haha

·         Btw I miss you family! I have been so blessed to grow up in a family of God.  No one knows how to have fun like you guys do.  And I give a shout out to Brandon and Tyler Czock!  You two are studs and I can’t wait to see the men of God you become.  I am sure you will end up teaching me a lot about life as well as sports!  Keep living for the Lord!  Nothing else will "fill" you up despite what some friends may tell you in the future.  If you ever want to hear examples of that, just let me know! :)

Biking, Surfing, Dreamworld

This past week has been a great one.  I bought a cheap bike that actually is really nice.  Biking everywhere makes me feel like it is summer all the time. :)  I also bought a used surf board from a new friend.  I have a bunch of friends who are really good at surfing so they have been teaching me.   The only problem with learning from experienced surfers is that they tell you "just go for it duuuude."  So I did just that....  haha I have gotten better, but I have definitely had a few crazy wipe outs.  It really does feel like slow motion when you are being thrown around underneath the water.  No worries... :)

I finished the week by going to a theme park with a bunch of friends; Dreamworld.  There is a special deal where you can buy a 4 month unlimited pass to for Dreamworld and Waterworld for only $60.  I am definitely going to get my moneys worth with that deal.  Both parks are huge!  Extremely fun. :) 

So in the end, I have no complaints.  I have a blessed life!

One of the best rides ever!!!

Enjoy everything, rely on nothing...

·       I have recently decided that this is my new way of living life.  I realize I am still young and immature, but I have discovered this in the past couple years.  It is important that we enjoy the blessings that we have received from the Lord, but we need to continually make sure that our happiness or fulfillment does not rely on them.  For example, I discovered that sports was definitely one area of my life that providing happiness.  Sports in it self, is not bad, but the amount of power I gave it was.  My priorities have not always been correct in life.  Without even realizing it, I was getting my fulfillment from many different aspects of my life.  Now that I have recognized my flaw, I am continually trying to make sure that I do not rely on anything “worldly.”  I want to feel happy no matter what the circumstances.  Relying on “worldly” possessions and activities to be happy is giving the Devil too much power.  Life does not always go as expected, so why would you ever want to base your happiness on things of this world.

Okay, the other thing that I have been reading about is the power of your “thoughts.”  It is amazing how much power our thoughts have on our feelings.  The book I am reading helps teach me to let certain thoughts just pass through instead of dwelling on them.  In the past I had a lot of trouble holding onto thoughts that did not benefit me; primary my past mistakes. (some might say I used to be a slight perfectionist) haha  “Our negative thoughts, any thoughts that cause distress and unhappiness, are not worth dwelling on because they take away from our primary goal, a feeling of happiness."  Whatever the circumstance, you have a choice about how you will think about it.  What you think DOES dictate the way you will end up feeling about something.  My goal over the next few months is to develop a thought life that always looks at life in a positive manner.  A lot of stress can be avoided by simply changes your state of mind.

·     

People of Australia

People awesome in Australia! :)  I have met a lot of people from all over the world, but I have definitely noticed a few key characteristics about the Australians.  I am sure they are not always true, but it is definitely common enough that I have noticed.  First of all, Australians go all out in everything they do.  If they are studying, they study hard.  If they are going out on the town, they go crazy.  They have the ability to focus on certain aspects of their life instead of always focusing on everything.  I do not think Americans are as strong at this.  For example, a lot of fathers have trouble "bringing there work home."  They let their job take over their life.  I hope that I am able to learn from this so I can get better at managing my time.  When I come home to be with my future family, I want them to have all of my attention because they will be to important to me not to. (dad, you are good at this as well!)
The other quality trait that I love is how friendly everyone is here.  It is a lot easier to talk to a random stranger here.  They are excited to meet new people.  For example, today while I was in the weight room, some Australian guy came up and started yelling at me.  He began to say "common!  You can do it mate! There you go!  Three more! Yeah! Good job mate."  This was crazy to me.  If I were to walk up to some guy in a weight room in America, they would probably punch me in the face.
The last quality that I really enjoy is that they love to teach new things.  If you want to learn Cricket, they will teach you or tell you whatever you want to know.  If you want to play beach volleyball, but you are not very talented, they will still ask you to join.  They are patient and open to teach you.  This is a great quality trait and hopefully I can bring this back with me.  The social experience is the most important part of any activity.  Over and out.. :)  I will try to think of a catchy phrase to end each of my posts.  If you have any ideas, let me know. :)

overwhelming joy :)

I am back!  Let me explain myself.  I grew up being the type of person that was ALWAYS happy.  I had a constant joy and thankfulness for my life.  God has challenged me in a lot of ways these past couple years and I think I lost my constant joy.  I definitely had moments where I was happy, but I think that I was "faking it" a lot more than I did in the past.  It was easier for some people to notice this than others.  Whether it was anxiety about the future, stress about school, or just a bunch of little problems, I let everything add up and begin to bog me down.  It is easy to become complacent in life and fall into these types of moments.  There is never a reason to stress about life.  God is in control, not us.  So why do we let stuff burden us?
This trip was a leap of faith for me and God has already been working in my life.  Separating myself from what I am comfortable with has encouraged me let go of some of the things that I have been so worried about recently.  I am also realizing how important friends are.  I have been focusing on those who make me feel like a "million bucks" and it truly does make me feel "awesome." (as my good friend Barney says)  Life is too short to invest your time in friends who bring ya down.  I miss MN and all my friends, but I am excited to come back a better man; a son of God who is excited for life and excited to spread joy.  :) 

God is so good!

As I came back home from a great night with some new friends, I fell to my knees and I was overwhelmed with how amazing the Lord is.  I have made so many mistakes yet the Lord has blessed me more than I could ever ask.  A lot of people don't realize how much of a leap of faith I was taking when I decided to go to Australia for four months.  The truth is that it scared me more than anything I had ever done before.  I decided to trust the Lord and try to give him more control over my life and I am so happy I did.  These first couple weeks have already taught me so much about myself: my strengths, my weaknesses, and the opportunities that I have in life.  I admit that it is hard to be away from my family and loved ones, but it is forcing to analyze myself.  I have always been so concerned with "filling" others up that I really have not paid attention to myself.  Each day I feel the Lord filling me up and turning me into a truly better man.
I have always had a terrific life, but that is part of the reason that I became so complacent.  It is definitely a problem when you feel "self sufficient."  Like it says in the Bible, the Lord will spit the "lukewarm" Christians out.  This time here is allowing me to truly strengthen my faith and make sure my faith is my own.  It is easy to "fake it" when you are constantly surrounded by Christians, but that is not the case here in Australia.
In the end, if you are reading this you are someone that I miss dearly right now, but it is that feeling that is pushing me to become a better man.  So for that I thank you!  I love you all and I am grateful for all of you.  Time to go surf! :)