A new way of thinking

First off, I wanna apologize for slacking from my blogs lol. Lately, its been a heck of a challenging ride for me but now that I've truly and fully grasped a hold of Gods heart, I'm finally back on track. For the past few months, I have been so distracted by the world and was unable to hear from God. It was like all day and every day, I had certain thoughts enter my head such as, "God, is the person gonna be my wife or will I ever get married, what's my future gonna be like, would I even a successful man, am I good to fulfill your calling?

I'm sure you can all relate to some of the things I've said and its normal to have those because who doesn't wanna get married, have a successful life, etc. We're human beings after all but this morning, God spoke to my heart and told me these exact words, "It's time to stop worrying Andrew and its time to let go." When I felt and heard those words, it was stfirst a tough decision for me to make but at the same time, I was relieved because I just knew that it was God speaking to me. So what did I do, I had no other choice but to finally let it all go and surrender it to God. Like I said, it was tough but when I finally let go, I felt so much better.

I just knew right then that God knows exactly what He's doing in my life and thst He'll never let me down. I was just like, "Ok Lord, You are the Almighty God and you can do anything. So I choose to trust you with all this and hand it all over to you. Whatever happens, Im still gonna trust you and choose to be happy." I truly felt since I've done this, it has made me a much stronger man and more responsible. Was it hard to do, absolutely. Letting go is never an easy thing to do but in life some of the toughest decisions we'll have to make are usually the right ones. I just thank God for protecting me and letting me know that He's got my back no matter what. After foing sll that stuff, I now have a new and positive way of thinking now.

I have decided that in time when God feels I'm good and ready, He will reveal to me who my wife is gonna be, that He holds my future in His hands, that I choose to believe that He will bless me abundantly with a great successful life and that He will give me the desires of my heart. I definitely needed this for myself and I hope it encourages you. Dont rush into anything, such as trying to a boyfriend/girlfriend or husband/wife. Go work on yourself first. Thats what time is there for. For you and God. When the time is right and you have grown and matured as a woman/man and have a full intimate relationship with God, then He'll give you your spouse.

When it comes to these thoughts, I choose to live by these verses: "Seek first the kingdom and everything will fall into place." Also, "Do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow can take care of itself. Focus on the now."  Peace be with you all my friends. Stsy focused. :)


Andrew Farr

Let go of the Past

 

 

This is a topic that I've had a lot of struggle with in my own life and it took years to break free from it but when I finally trusted and gave it all to God, I was able to move forward. It's called Let go of the past. Yes, I know what your probably thinking, that is such a hard thing to do. Trust me folks, I know exactly how it feels. I've been there many many times in my life and honestly, I could say that this issue was one of my main downfalls in life. It took me forever to finally let go but I knew if I didn't, I would live a life of bitterness, misery and regret. It's hard folks I know.

To be honest with you, I don't even like talking about but I know that it's something that must be taught so that others who are struggling with this issue can finally get the strength and courage to finally surrender it all at the alter of God and let Him take of it so that you can move forward in your life. In my opinion, I think that is one of satans greatest tricks on our lives is to keeping holding on and looking back of what's in the past. It could be the death of a loved one, regret, shame, guilt, insecurity, broken heart, negative things spoken over you, whatever it is, satan will use all that to torment your mind so that you'll keep looking back and not fulfill the great future that God has for you.

I was listening to a pod cast by a speaker named Terri Savelle Foy and  she mentioned in her video that she had heard a story about a consultant who traveled over to 100 different cities and he kept a journal of a survey he would ask people. He asked people, "What is the number one fear in your life?" He thought he would get responses like a fear dying, fear cancer, fear of public humiliation, etc. The common response he got from so many people was that they feared that their lives would be meaningless and they would die with their potential untapped. That's pretty serious folks and quite scary at the same time.



I'm stretching buy your just out of reach but I'm ready when you're ready for Me.



Well , the way that can happen in your life is by hanging on to the past. If you do that, you will live a meaningless life and you will go to the grave with all the great things God has blessed you with and never have any of those gifts untapped. You could be going on in your life today but you are living in yesterday, where? In your mind, in your thought life and that's exactly what the devil wants you to do because if you do, he knows he's got his hooks so deep in you and you will never break free. Listen folks, just because I'm a Christian, I've been made new in Jesus Christ and am going after the calling He has for me, does mean that I got it all together.

People, I have my own issues and struggles. So just to give you a heads up, you are not alone but God promises us that He will walk with us through storm and will take care of us. In Genesis 19:17 it says this, "Escape for your life and do not look back." If you know the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, God was going to save Lot and his family from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah because sin was running so rampid in the city, it was crazy, out of control and it was breaking God's heart. So He wanted to get Lot and his family out of there because He was going to destroy the city. He told them, "I will save you from this city but the one command I give you is to keep moving forward and do not look." That was their order, to keep moving forward and to not look back at the destruction the city.

Well as they running for their lives, Lot's wife turns and looks back at the city and instantly, she was turned into a pillar of salt. In other words, she was destroyed because she looked back of what was in the past. I want you to know that you too can be destroyed by looking back. Whatever it was that God had delivered you from, if you keep going back, you will die. Joyce Meyer once said, "When we look back, we sometimes give off the impression that we care more about our past than we do our own future and that's exactly what satan wants to happen to you.

Every scar represents every sin He died for



I believe this a word for somebody out there and you need to let go. God wants to do so much more and new things in your life but you have got to let go. I want you to know that whatever you did or whatever happened to you in your past, God has forgiven you and He wants to heal you and show you what true love and forgiveness is. If you made bad choices that you're not proud of and have a lot of regret, listen God has already forgiven you. That's He came to earth, to be spit on, to be made fun of, to be beaten up for, to be scourged to death for and to die for. He did it all for you and I. If you made bad choices, did it break God's heart, yes it did but you know, He still loves you just the same and forgives and cares only about you and not the mistakes you made. He is longing for an intimate relationship with you.

He was asked, "Lord, how much do you love them?" Jesus said, "This much."

If something happened to you that broke your heart, God will take whatever the enemy meant to do harm on your life, and turn it all around for good. He promises us that He will bind up our wounds and heal our broken hearts. He will, you just have to surrender it all to God and trust that He will take care of you. Everything's going to be ok. Let Go, Let God and He will give you a future that you can't even imagine. When He was being beaten and being nailed to the cross, the only thing that was on His mind was you. He had every opportunity to stop it all and His angels in heaven had their weapons drawn ready to come to His rescue but Jesus said, "No, I love them." I t wasn't the nails who held Jesus on the cross, it was Love. He loves you that much

 

God Bless

Andrew Farr

Inroduction

Hey everyone! My name is Andrew Farr
I'm 26 years old
I'm from Pell City, AL
I love Jesus
I love football
I love fitness
I have a passion inspiring and giving hope to so many people
I went to high school at Pell City High School
I then went to attend college and play football for East Carolina University
I graduated with a B.S. Degree in Communication Studies
I attend church at Church of the Highlands in Birmingham, AL
I now attend ministry school at Highlands College and pursuing God's calling on my life
I'm completely honest
I try to be myself and be a Godly man every single day
I'm not perfect, I'm just forgiven.
So glad you stopped by to check out my blog :)


Well this my first time blogging so if my grammar, spelling or whatever I post doesn't make any sense...Oh well. lol Anyways, just to tell you a little bit more of myself and how I found Jesus. I was born and grew up in a little city called Pell City, Al. Pretty the only exciting thing to do here was just your Friday Night Lights and your Saturday College football games. Here, your either Alabama or Auburn, if your neither, then you are hated. lol but that's the life and city I grew up in. Not saying it is a bad place live where there's a lot of crimes going on I'm just telling that's what to be expected if you come strolling in here with some colors on other than crimson and white or orange and blue.

After graduating high school in 2005, I attended a Military Academy in Chatham, VA known as Hargrave Military Academy . I attended the academy to try to receive another football scholarship and get my grades in order. I was there for 5 months, got my grades in order and received a full ride football scholarship to East Carolina University. When I moved to ECU my freshman year in January of 2006, I can honestly say that I was the happiest I had ever been. I was away from my family, I was on full ride scholarship, had my freedom and was living the dream. Life couldn't get any better for me.

Me in the ECU vs UTEP game in 2008



Well, in August of 2007, I had hit rock bottom. My heart got shattered and fell into a deep depression. I seriously could not function at all. I was just a mess. I fell behind in my studies, football, could not eat, could not sleep. I was basically living in pure hell. People would've looked and though I was happy on the outside, but on the inside I was just dying. So what did I do to try to numb the pain, I turned to alcohol, bars, clubs and porn. It was at that moment when I became so bitter towards my friends, family, other people and began to hate God. I truly had a grudge against God. I was like, "God, you say you love me but my life is falling apart and you don't do anything to help me!" "If you don't care then why should I?!" This went on for a good 5 months.

I would wake up in the morning with a hangover from drinking too much and partying hard the night before and would just cry and be absolutely miserable. So one night, it was January of 2008, I went to the student rec center with one of my former teammates to workout and see if I could just relieve some stress but obviously it still didn't work. So after we were done, we go out to the parking and it was right there I had made up my mind, I wanted to die. I wanted to commit suicide. I just had enough, If God or the things I had turned to wasn't going to end my pain, then my only last resort was suicide.

So with my mind made up, I get in my friends truck and before we could leave the parking lot, his truck dies. So I was like, "Great, now what?!" Well suddenly, we see tons of people walking out of this building that was beside the rec center and my friend tells me to wait in the truck and he'll see if someone from the crowd will jump us off. Well he manages to get 3 guys who we have never seen. They pull their vehicle around and jump us off. I get out of the truck thank them for helping us out. As I was about to get back in the truck, one of them stops me. He looked at me and said, "It's amazing how God works." I was like, "Huh?" He points to the truck and says, "You see bud, this truck was pretty much dead but when we jumped off from ours, it was brought back to life." At that point I had no clue where he was going with all this.

He then says, "You see, a person who is without Christ, is dead inside but when they receive Christ, they're alive." I was like, "Who are you guys?" They were all college campus ministers. So after sharing their faith with me, one of asks me a question, he said, "Son, are you tired, miserable and just so messed that you just wanna give up.?" It was like he read me like a book, I couldn't believe all this was happing. The night I wanted to take my own life, I ended up running into these guys. I told him, "Yes sir, I dying and I want to literally die because I'm just tired of it all." All three of them then prayed over me and that moment, they led me to Jesus Christ. It was a crazy experience but when I said the prayer, I instantly felt the love of God all over me and instantly, I was changed.

Me and couple of my friends at Campus Harvest in Raleigh, NC

Now I will not sit here and say that even though I got saved that night, it was all walking on sunshine cuz it wasn't. As soon as I got saved, I got hit hard by the enemy aka satan because when someone gives their heart to Jesus, he is not only mad but is terrified because he knows that God has a great plan and future for that person's life. So fast forward a few years, I graduated from ECU, moved to charlotte for about a year and a half and then had to move back to Alabama due to being laid off from my job.

So the past year and a half, I was constantly searching why I was placed on this earth. I know that we all were not born just to exist and live in survival mode. Yes, I went to a University, played college football on espn and sportscenter and received a college degree but I still felt like there was way more for me out there than just this degree I have and just going to work every day, coming home and repeating it over the next day. I was like I don't wanna work the same meaningless job every single day, I truly believe that there is something more than what I'm living for.

So one day I went to my room and I just prayed to God. I said, "Lord, this life I'm in now, it's not what I want and I'm miserable and I want something more and better." I then told God that if He would please give me a future, hope and a passion for something great, I surrender my entire heart and life to Him and follow Him. Afterwards, I felt led to do a fast for 21 days. My main focus while doing this fast was to just hear from the Lord and what He wanted me to do. While doing the fast, I got involved in a church which my church that I attend still to this very day which is called Church of the Highlands.

As I attended the church, I met so many great people and it was throught them that God was speaking to me. They would tell me, "Andrew, we since power and authority on your life. God has an amazing plan for you." I didn't know what to think at that moment cuz I was, "Ok, then what is it?" Then after the fast, I went to church on day and it was at that moment where I felt the Lord speak to my heart give me my calling. I could feel Him saying, "Ministry." At that moment, I was like moses when he found God in the burning bush. I told God, "Lord, you got the wrong person." Days I fought with God telling Him I can't do it. I gave him so many excuses like, "Lord, I'm ADD, I can't talk right, I get stage fright, people are gonna think I'm crazy and laugh at me."

That was in fall of 2011 and the entire year of 2012, I ran from it and decided I was gonna do my own thing somewhere else. I told God, "Lord, I'm sorry but I can't do it. I'll never stop serving or loving you but ministry isn't for me." So I made up my mind, I wasn't going to fulfill God's calling on my life and was just gonna go do my own thing but there's one thing I learned, no matter how far you think you can run, you can never and will never out run God. So towards the end of 2012, I hit rock bottom. An unfortunate circumstance happened in my life and then it happened again spring of 2013.

I was like, "Why? Why me God?" Then I felt the Lord speak to me. He said, "Andrew, I love you too much to let you blow everything I have in store for you." I then realized that God is a jealous God towards His children and will do whatever He has to do to get our attention. So it was at that moment I told God, "Ok Lord, I'm done running. I'm yours and I will do what you have called me to do." So now I've just started pastoral ministry at Highlands College here in Birmingham and I can say that God's plan was and is way better than my own. He has given me such a passion and desire for ministry and what I want to do with and where I want to take it.

My great friend/mentor Pastor Rick Dykes preparing to baptize me

Everything that we go through is all part of us reaching God's purpose for our lives. We can think we can either run from God and do things our own way or we can become who He's called us to be. You can try all you want to think you can do it your way but I promise you this, you will never be happy or satisfied until you fulfill God's calling on your life. Don't live a life of what could've been, live a life of who you were born to be. We were all meant to be more than conquers, we are warriors within.

Stay tuned for
God Bless

Andrew Farr