Really Just One of a Kind: Joseph Freeman

So sometimes I like to think I'm a funny guy. Occasionally, I can crack a funny joke or two and maybe get a few people to laugh. For example:

I'm a particularly...odd Ear training and Sight Singing class. Our professor is, I'd be willing to say, mentally insane. While this may be a bit of a bold accusation, you could literally ask ANYONE ELSE in my class, and they'd say the same thing. So anyway, one of our favorite things to do in Music Theory class is vent to our prof. about how terrible our ET/SS class is, and a friend of mine said once, "oh yeah, and something like, EXTREMELY weird happened last class" and I followed it up with a, "Oh, you mean class, right?"

Haha, yeah, it's not that funny, but it got all the kinds in my class to laugh.

Anyway, really the thing I'm trying to get at here is the extent of my funniness/hilarity is smothered by the funniness of one of my very best friends, Joseph Freeman.

Joseph Freeman and I are really only "recent" friends if you will (and by recent, I mean like...3 years? Give or take) but when we met, we were friends almost instantly. I remember the first time we met, we just decided to call each other by whatever shirt we were wearing. (His first name was "Ireland" and I believe I was "Stripes") That wasn't really funny to anyone but us, but that's not really what matters, and that's what I LOVE about our friendship. It's never mattered to us what other people think about the things we say or do together and in a way, I believe that this is how our relationship with God is supposed to be like. NOthing held back, no holds bar, nothing. We should be able to act any way we need to around God and not have any care in the world about what others think about it.

Joe is probably the funniest kid I know. From his quick wit to his well thought out humor, he's always got a joke for anything and everything. What most people might miss about Joe is that he really can be serious and sentimental too, which could potentially be my favorite thing about him. We recently had a conversation about some religious philosophy (haha, yeah, I know. Trying to sound smart.) and it was INCREDIBLE to see how much he knows about all of it, and at a first impression, you may miss that about him.

He's also the best friend you really could ask for. He'll make fun of you all day (you know, kidding of course. And I make fun of him back, so it's cool.) but when you really get down to it, he'll do anything for his friends. He's picked me up from my house on numerous occasions, helped me do dumb stuff like clean my house and so many other things that would just take up space listing.

Really though, Joe, you have been such an awesome friend to me, and your humorous heart for God is something not a whole lot of people can boast about, and the good thing about you is that you don't actually boast about it. God is speaking to you and you know it. Continue to follow Him with all of yourself, and He'll be glorified through your actions. And never, ever, ever let people tell you that you joke too much or that you don't know when to stop because without people like you, this place would be a terrible place to live. You and your jokes, your love, your passion, and your heart, on many different occasions, are what keeps me going.

You know I love you bro.


"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."

A Heart Full of God: Marc Chewning

So. I'm sitting here in front of the largest computer screen I've ever seen. It's 27 inches. It's a mac.
It's a beauty.

However, with such an impressive piece of technology comes the great chance of it becoming what I spend all of my time on. This has been a struggle for me all throughout my life as it is. It's always cooler to have the newest and latest stuff. I mean, I know I'm not alone in this, but for me, it's probably one of the main things that I sometimes let hold me back from a life COMPLETELY and FULLY lived for God. I envy the ones who do not deal with this. One name comes to mind when I think of this:

Marc Chewning.

Marc Chewning is a friend of mine that I've known since who knows when. When we first met, we were really more or acquaintances rather than real friends. I think nothing is to blame for that other than our youth. At good 'ol HRBC, we were learning about the One who would change our lives forever. The one who keeps us and sustains us. Jesus Christ. However, Marc wasn't showing up to church anymore (and I didn't really think anything of it. Sorry buddy. Haha, again, we were young) and I didn't know why.

Who was I to know that our paths would cross in such a radical way many years later?

My family and I started attending a church in Powhatan called Powhatan Community Churchand who would've guessed that's where I would see Marc again. This time however, we were older, and really started getting to know each other. Along with the guys (we would later call ourselves the "five guys") Joseph, Andrew, and Robert, we started to hang out A LOT. And I don't mean like, just a normal amount of a lot. I mean A LOT. We developed Halo nights and would kill each other and aliens and such for 12 -14 hours easily.

God decided He wanted to get in on the action one day, and to make an incredibly long story short, He sent us to China.
And now He's sending Marc to South Africa with a few friends of his.

I'm currently reading a book called Forgotten God (by Francis Chan. Great Book. Great Guy) and just today, he started describing a person he knows that is that kind of person where they're so happy/joyful/"filled with the Spirit" that we almost think it's got to be fake. Well, Marc is one of those people in my life. I've never told him how much he really means to me and how much hes done in my life. It's INCREDIBLE to see His heart for God just constantly leading him wherever the Lord wants him to be. Without hesitation, Marc agrees, gives away all of his stuff, and goes.

We're all called to live the life Jesus did. We're all called to do whatever The Spirit of the Lord calls us to do (and this is different for everyone) no matter the cost. If everyone on this world lived like Marc, this would would genuinely be a much better, God-filled place.

Marc, I love you man. I really do, and I know you don't need any advice from me (actually, it's quite the opposite really) but NEVER EVER EVER stop what you do. It affects those around you in a way you may never be able to realize. Just know that I wouldn't be who I am if you didn't respond to the called of our Father the way you do.

I've never expressed how much you really mean to me (and probably will never be able to) so now, I just wanna say: Thanks.

:)