There is something Ironic about being home..

   I can't quite put a finger on it.  Maybe its the people I run into.  I have a few different responses when running into old friends, or people that I know.  There's a typical, "Hey, have you left yet?" from those who support me through most things in life, but we might only see each other a few times a year.  A more common, "How was your trip! Tell me the best and worst part?!"  To which I have a common answer of, 'it was hard, but I wouldn't change it for the world.' Most the students I have simply: (squeek!) then "Are you coming back to Liquid?" and I say, "I'm here now aren't I?"   and every once in a while I'll get a "So, how long are you back for?" For this I was confused and not expecting.  I wasn't sure what to say the first time, so I told a long way around story "Yeah... uuhh... I'm not sure, just trying to follow God's call!"  Its very possible that I didn't make myself clear when i left, that I would only be leaving for 8 months, but its also possible, that some of these people understand me and know my call.  You see, while I was in YWAM a few things were confirmed by God and a few new things showed up.  One of the things that was confirmed was that I have a heart of students and the next generation, more specifically for those in America.  And that might be because I understand them and can connect with them, but I think its more because I see the potential a student here has.  One kid, growing up with all the possibilities here, can change lives, easily.  They just have to get the heart for it.     Let me explain.  My last blog I wrote about a student I've had for years named Joey.  I'll never know or understand what ultimately did it, but he has that heart.  He wants everyone around him to understand Jesus and get the Love of Jesus.   That, is what gives me energy.
      The new things that were brought on while in YWAM, well, there were many.  But I can remember one morning during worship, I lost it.   In YWAM they call it the electric fence.  God hits you so hard and in such a real way that you can't do anything else but sit in his glory.  God very obviously asked me if I would give up everything for him.  My passport, my home, my friends, my white picket fence.  I said yes.  And this was huge.  I didn't realize it then, but I was saying yes to missions.  Now, I'm not saying that i'm leaving tomorrow, but I am saying, at some point, I want to be out 'there' whatever that means.  
     So here, the answer to the question everyone has been asking, and I've been asking myself... What's Next?
     Well, I'm applying to Denver Seminary to go after my MDiv.  I'm not going to lie, it will be REALLY hard.  But I'm excited.  I want proper training of the bible to know God, so that I can more effectively teach it.   During this time, I would love to be working with a youth group.  Currently its just on a volunteer status, but the truth is, I don't want to look for another youth group that will hire me, my heart is here, in this place that I'm currently sitting.  For some reason, God has given me a heart for Cherry Hills, the staff, the students, the building, the area.  I mean, I came to the coffee shop by myself just to write this blog, because I know God is alive here, and there's a small chance I'll run into some students that I know and Love.  It only means that I have to work back at Pizza Hut at the same time to pay the bills, can't complain.   Who know's where I'll be in 5 years.  But I'm open to anything.
    I should mention, there's a girl... Nothing to serious yet, but, I'd say she has big potential.



Chained to Him,

Jeremy

Colorado reception of this beautiful couple. 

Dressing up for Wednesday nights. 

The story continues...

Since that moment, I've been trying my hardest to seek after Christ in everything I say and do.  Sure, there have been times when I’m closer to Christ or further away, “walking” with him or fighting against him.  This is all apart of the daily struggle and battle to walk with Christ, and is essential for Christians to recognize in order to see and understand the difference between being close to Christ and running from him.

Soon after that evening in California, my parents moved us out to Highlands Ranch, Colorado.  My mom got a job at Cherry Hills Community Church (CHCC) as the Children's Ministry Director once again, while my dad found a job in Castle Rock with International Network of Children's Ministries. I was at the end of 5th grade and went to the middle school at the church.  I quickly got connected into the Youth group there and met my leader Clayton Howes.  The years to follow, Clayton played a significant role in my life.  He was always there for me, even when I was dealing with silly drama such as girl problems, or having real deep questions like “How do we know God is real?”

Jumping into high school was a transition that challenged me.  I had gone to a Christian school my whole life, and now I would be attending Mountain Vista High School.  I would go to christian camps every summer and experience the ‘camp high’ getting very close to Christ, but this would soon fall with the pressures and temptations that public school brings along.  I pretty much cruised through high school always attending church at my parents request, but never really having a personal relationship with Christ.  Fast forward a couple years and that all changed one summer in San diego, California.

I was 19 years old and working for CHCC as an intern in their JR High program.  We took most of the students, 81, to a camp in California called Hume SD.  It took place at a christian college down there called Point Loma.  I found that I needed some time to be alone in the word and pray and journal before the kids got up for bible study, so one morning I got up just before the crack of dawn and made the hike down to the beach.  I remember yelling, a lot.  Out into the water.  No one was around and I was fighting God in a very real way, in my mind, it was almost like Jacob.  I knew he was there, but he refused to say anything to me.  An hour went by, and my alarm went off, I had to head back to wake up the students and get started.  So I left feeling upset and angry and alone.  But while hiking up, God became so real to me.  It’s hard to put into words what happened over the next 30 minutes, but I left a changed man, and all I really remember hearing was “I’ve been here the whole time.”  The presence of the Lord became so real to me that day, and has been since.

As the years passed, I found just how real God was in my daily life.  Constantly looking to him for comfort and needs.  This is where I got a little hung up.  It became about me, and making me feel good and having a someone always watch my back.  It was a beautiful time in my life because I did come very close to Christ, but I knew that was something more I didn’t quite understand.  Eventually I graduate from Metro State University and I knew that if there was ever going to be a time for me to get out and see the world, this was it.  I took the leap of faith and applied to Youth With A Mission (YWAM), Brisbane, Australia.

Now that I’ve had a little while to process my 7 month excursion with YWAM, I can truly say that I knew nothing about following Christ compared to what I do now.  In all honesty, I hope to be able to say this every couple of years as I constantly pursue Christ.  That being said, YWAM really did a great job of breaking me out of my box, and showing me the box that I had put Christ into.  I spent four months in Australia doing discipleship training and also learning practical ways of how to be effective on the missions field.  Then I went to Darjeeling India for two months where I got to use my newly acquired skills to Glorify God.  It was an amazing experience that I wouldn't change for the world.  Even while surfing in some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, I always knew that my call was in Youth Ministry.

I have been blessed to have amazing leaders around me my whole life, Clayton being one of them.  I truly believe that this played a big role into why I have such a passion for students today.  I started as a volunteer in my JR High youth group when I was 18, from then on I was hooked.  Years passed and I became an Intern, then eventually part-time staff, all while I was in college.  There have been many amazing moments over the last few years that keep my drive going, but one of my favorites happened just 9 months ago, three days before leaving for Australia, with a student named Joey.

I first met Joey on a normal Sunday during church.  Him and I would mess around during the welcome and games time before service started and eventually he came on Wednesday nights to my small group.  He was new to the area, and was just getting involved in the community.  He was a smart kid, and had the ability to think outside of the ‘now’ where kids usually get stuck.  Years went by with him and I connecting at church and during camps, sometimes we even played worship together, but he was always kind of quiet.  The Sunday before I left I went to lunch with him and a couple other guys from the small group, and as I was dropping him off he looked at me very seriously and said something to the regard of:

“Thank you for always being there for me, you have changed my life and helped pushed me towards Christ.”  

I was speechless, we hugged and he got out of the car, and I remember tearing up.  I remember crying out to God and saying, ‘this is one of the most beautiful gifts you can give me.’  Most youth workers would agree, to be able to hear that you’re actually making a difference is amazing.  There had been a countless amount of battles for this ‘job’ I've had over the last 5 years and you never really know if its making a difference, but this said it all.  So thank you Joey, I’m excited to walk through life with you.

That lands me here, writing this essay on a beautiful cold, Colorado morning with a cup of coffee next to me and a candle on the other side.  I know that youth ministry is my call, God has made it very obvious to me throughout my life.  Weather that is as a full time youth pastor here in Colorado, or an missionary somewhere in Africa or India, I don’t quite know, but I want to take the steps to prepare myself for anything and everything and to Glorify God every step of the way. To me, seminary is just another step in this process, Thy Kingdom Come.

Jesus, come into my Heart

When I was eight years old I was living in Milpitas, California with my parents, and younger brother, Caleb, my older sister, Rachelle.  We had a small house in an older neighborhood with bars on the windows and a creek that we could play in just across the street. It was a typical evening in the Robinson house, everyone had just walked through the front door.  Mom and Dad had just left work at our church where my mother was the Children s Ministry Director and my dad was head accountant dealing with all the money.  My mom had picked us kids up from our grandparents house which is where we went every day after school because it was just across the street.  

My grandma would always tell me; “rich people have two homes, and this is your second home!”  It made me feel more at home, because I had always been a homebody, but we all knew that money was tight.  My mom was cooking dinner while my dad helped my brother with homework.  My sister and I were in the back of our house in her bedroom playing “hot wheel and barbies” a game we made up and quite enjoyed which just meant that I would play with my hot wheels while she played with her barbies.

Something was different that night, and I didn't realize it until years later. All of a sudden my mom came back into Rachelle’s room;

“Shell why don’t you go see if you can help your little brother with his Homework.”

For once in her life, my sister actually listened to my mother without saying a word went into the kitchen.  My mother knelt down by me, and by instinct, I handed her the purple car, the one that she would usually play with.  She denied it, and I could tell that she needed to talk to me about something.  

I can remember everything about that moment, and that’s how I know it was real.  From that moment forward, my life would never be the same.  I sat in the hallway right by the book shelf, looking at an orange hard copy of Dr. Seuss’s Green Eggs and Ham.  I remember my mom grabbing my hand and asking the typical important questions of; “Do you believe Jesus is the son of God and came to earth and died on the cross for your sins?”  I repeated after her, and in after a few minutes, I had Jesus in my heart, forever.