hey there,

havent wrote in a while but i was thinking why is it that non christians seem to act more christian than most christians?? like they seem to be more accepting of other more willing to see other peoples sides and just overall sometimes better people. i am not saying that all christians are horrible cuz thats not the case i have several that i know that are just plain amazing but its not true for all and i guess that can also be said for non christians some behave or act worse than others. but i dunno this was just a thought i had tell me what you think

God bless

Andrew  Joseph

hey there

God always seems to put a smile on my face everyday some how even if im not happy or completely out of it. So today in church to major things made me smile:

one was something my priest did. normally he rambles on in his sermons about random things and somehow relates them to the Bible in a way i do not know because mostly you have to be born in the 40's to have a clue what he is talking about. as well on to that he says umm and uhh a lot 3 weeks ago 75 times in a 15 minute sermon i was bored give me a break alright. but anyway hes a good guy. So today he read the Gospel of Luke and then he talked a little bit and he said something like well to start this new year i think we should just spend some time thanking God and just being with God and he sat down. i was immediately stunned. i didnt know what to do at first i was sitting there waiting for a chorus of umms and not knowing what he was talking about but this time i knew exactly what he was getting at. so i prayed and praised God for that 5-7 minutes he gave us and just thanked God for what he has given me and what he has done in my life and during this i also came up with a resolution for new years something i have never done before and this resolution is to read the Bible in a year. this is something that will obviously benefit me a lot more rather then saying i want to lose 10 pounds or something i will stop before the end of january comes. so that was one of the things that made me smile just that time with God.

the second was my sister erin. at the end of mass we sing a song of course and i normally dont sing because well i dont know the songs and im not sure why else maybe i should start. but erin my eldest sister in which we have had all the problems as you know was doing what else singing. and not just like lip singing the words she was belting these words out. this also quickly brought a smile to my face because lets face it she just started coming to church with us less than 2 months ago. and its the first time shes come to church since everything happened my freshman year so you can just imagine my jubilation. so like i said before God always regardless of how i am feeling puts that smile back on my face everyday. and i cant wait for tomorrows smile and i can only pray that everyone of you can find something that God does in your life everyday to smile about to remind you that he is there.

God Bless

Andrew Joseph

hey guys

i just feel like praying so thats all im going to do.

Hey God!!

Wow where to start. well Happy Birthday to your son as of yesterday. Thank you for him so much! without him i know i would not be here at all and i can only pray to be 1/100th of the man He was. You and Him together have seen me through my tough times and have found me a way out like it says in your book. You two have surrounded me with the best people i could have asked for that just show me the way i want to live with brooks joe mike tj kacey chelsea chrissy chris chelsie meredeth james mark katie derby  and several others that i meet and interact with everyday not to mention my family. with my friends i just thank you for joe and the role you have given him for my life keeping me alive and just always being there to listen like a true friend i know i can count on him and with mike the same he could easily say he doesnt want to drive but he always does hes a true good guy and for brooks with your words that you put in his mouth brought me to you through young life. as for my family I pray for Erin lord for she has come through a lot since the whole thing my freshman year and now that shes finally coming to church again it just makes me smile. I pray that she will continue to want to go to church and learn about you more and that i can understand her more with her disibilities everyday. i pray for Erika lord that she can get through this tough time with shaun and that she sees that she can get someone that makes her smile constantly rather than fight. i pray that she will look to see you more as well. i pray for my dad as his time comes closer to going overseas and that he can stay strong and be a rock for this family because he is my hero i pray that he will continue to be slow to anger and for my mom that she can get through the rest of this tough year and be able to deal when my dad leaves. i pray that i will be able to grow in my relationship with them as well. Finally and i think most importantly with my family members i pray for my brother God he is having a really rough time and i dont know how to help. he has struggled with school as you know and it just seems his self esteem is the worst. i pray that he will be able to graduate somehow from somewhere and that he will be able to get out and meet new people and just be the outgoing guy he used to be before the accident. and lord i just want to praise you for just being there for me whenever i need you. i know i can turn right to you immediately as you should be the first. i thank you for showing me the way i should live my life and helping me with the temptations i encounter on a day to day basis. i pray that you will continue to help me with those temptations as i go off to college in like 8 months. i thank you for Kacey Lord. for putting her in my life and her family as well. they resemble what a family should look like and i just love being there. and as for Kacey i pray that our relationship will grow together as well as grow in you. i pray that we can help eachother become closer to you and again just thank you for how sweet she is. all i can do is thank you for all that you have given me and i just pray for your continued strength in my life and that i will always continue to grow in you. it is in your glorious name i pray

Amen

hey there

so yesterday i had my usual moms side family christmas which is always fun its my favorite side they can actually take jokes and come back with one at you. well while i was there i was thinking about how saying merry christmas is not politically correct and saying happy holidays is. i think that this is quite stupid. its America our religion is Christianity. no matter what people say that is our religion. this country was founded on Christianity and because of this that is our native religion. so with this what is the big deal about merry christmas. what is the point to say happy holidays when 8 out of every 10 people are christians (80% of the U.S.) and yet in actuality 9.96 out of 10 celebrate christmas. so why not say merry christmas are those .04 people going to get that upset. i mean most of us know the people we say merry christmas to so why cant we say this. this point came to me again today as i sat at the msu b-ball game and after the raffle the guy said happy holidays. to this i said to my sister he means merry christmas. i just dont understand why someone would get that upset about a simple joyful saying. so im sorry if your jewish just tell me that and ill say happy hanakuah and if you celebrate kwanza ill say happy kwanza or whatever is said for kwanza. but lets face it in America we celebrate christmas. its a christmas country. so to all those people in the political world that make sure we say something correctly so we dont "offend" that .04 of people i say this. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

Andrew Joseph