Hey Everybody! haha Wow I haven't updated in like 3 months and A LOT has happened since then! I dont know how many people still read this stuff but I will try to get back in the hang of this thing and post more often and let anyone who does read it know what is going on in the life of Russ! Well for starters, I am going to be a busy guy this summer! I am playing baseball for 2 teams, working out for baseball, going to Montgomery, going to Washington, going to the Dominican Republic, and working to make a little money anytime in between that I can! I hope you all have a GREAT summer!!

           In His Grip,

                          Russ

Psalm 37:4

Hey guys and gals! Wow it has been a while since I posted last! Sorry I don't know where I have been!! Well not too much has been goin on! But here is a little bit.....

I could NOT be any happier right now!! I have gotten to spend a pretty good bit of time with Tori!! I absolutely adore her and love being around her! She makes me smile constantly!! She inspires me and I look up to her very much!! She is more than just my Girlfriend! She is my best friend! As we grow closer to each other, we are both also growing in our relationships with Christ which makes me very happy!! We both keep each other in line! We can talk about anything and everything together!! I just can't say enough about that girl!! : ) : ) Keep doing what you are doing Tori Gordon and we will keep having great times and many smiles!! : ) : ) : )

Baseball started last Monday which is exciting!! We have been practicing a lot and I am pretty worn out but its all good and I am ready for the season to start!! : ) : )

School is going great! It is all pretty easy except for history!! I have never been too strong in history and it sure hasn't gotten easier!! But its okay! Everything else going good makes up for it!!

Ashley still hasn't gone back to school! She might go back the 10th if the doctor says she can!! She is doing a whole lot better and is back to her normal self!! Her teachers have like video taped them teaching and sent her the tapes soo Ashley is learning even if she is at home!! Isn't that sweet of those teachers??

I love all of yall!! I hope you have been doing as wonderful as I have!! Well that is all I got for now!! I will talk to yall later!!

            In His Grip,

                        Russ : ) : ) : )

                                   1 Peter 5:6

WOW! This weekend has been amazingly amazing!! As you know... It was Disciple Now 2006 at First Baptist! The theme this year was This Is Your Life. It was based on the story of The Three Little Pigs and how they lived their life. I have never thought about it from a spiritual point of view, but if you think about it there are a lot of similarities in our walks with Christ and the story.

 First of all, the first two little pigs just wanted only what they needed to get by. They built their houses of straw and sticks. But the third little pig wanted something more than the other two had. He wanted solid bricks. He wanted his house to stand firm and strong! That is how we need to stand in our faith: Firm and strong(1 Corinthians 16:13). We should be solid so that nothing can blow us down like the first two pigs' houses were blown down. Too many people in our world build their houses of straw and bricks! They make it easy for Satan to blow them over!! Many people don't strive to build solid brick houses that Satan can't touch no matter how hard he huffs and puffs!! Let's build solid brick houses together and live for Christ together!!

Second, Satan is a lot like the Big Bad Wolf in the story.  He is always hungry to take people away from God and pull them toward him.  He will go to many extremes to try and get in our heads.  He huffs and puffs and is often successful in his task. But as I talked about before, if we build strong houses this will not happen no matter how hard he tries and no matter how bad he wants us. We need to build strong houses with chimneys,like the third little pig, that Satan will fall through when he tries to come after us.

Finally, we need to be strong brothers and sisters in Christ. In the story, the first two pigs finished their houses. They wanted the third pig to come and play, but he wasn't done building his house yet. He had a goal to finish his house and he stuck to that even when the other pigs wanted him to play. To me, this paints a perfect picture of how our life should be for several reasons. 1) We need to realize that we don't have time to play until everything is strong. We can't play until we have accepted Christ as our Savior because we don't know when our end will be. Nothing is more important that our relationship with Him! 2) We shouldn't let our friends walk around with houses built of straw and sticks! We should help them upgrade to a house of solid, strong brick! Life is too short and our friends are too important to not let them in on the good news that there is more to life than the normal!

There are many other things that you can gain spiritually from The Three Little Pigs. These are just a few that I wanted to share! Thanks for reading it if you did! Maybe through what I learned this weekend, you will also see things from a different perspective!

Thanks to all who made this weekend possible and great: John Lowe, Dusty Jones, Margaret Ila (Who I dont think knows me but thanks anyways! haha), Thanks to the Howards, and all the other host homes! Thanks to all of the youth who made it all great!! Thanks to everybody at FBC for making it possible! Cool things were done in my life and many others as well!!

Ashley is doing extremely well! Thanks again for the thoughts and prayers! They were answered and for that I am very thankful!! : ) : ) I will talk to yall later! Sorry it was such a long post! I had a lot to say!! I love you all!

                       In His Grip,

                                    Russ : )

                                               Psalm 37:4

Special thanks to Miss Tori Gordon: Thanks for constantly making me smile ! I look forward to many great times with you!

EDIT: Tonight I went and picked up Tori and we went back to church and talked about Disciple Now and what it meant to us. It was very cool! We also watched the highlight video from this weekend!! It was cool! Then I went to Rachel Holt's  house for her surprise birthday party!! Yay Happy Birthday to Rachel!! I saw a lot of people there that I haven't seen in forever!! Then me and Tori left and I took her home! We are dating now! I am very excited about that and look forward to many great times with her! Now I am home and soo exhausted! I am going to bed early tonight I think!! Lotuh Love!

Happy Birthday to Julie Meeks tomorrow!!!!!! : ) : )

Whats up yall? Well very good news....from what I understand Ashley and my Parents are coming home later today!! But...I'm not gonna get too excited just yet because she was supposed to once already!! I wasn't expecting it to be soo soon so that is some great news!!!! Other great news....Disciple Now is this weekend(for those who don't know what that is....its the greatest youth event ever where you get to hang out with your friends and also hear from God as He reveals Himself to you! Pretty amazing!)!! I am fired up about that and the changes God is gonna continue to make in my life and the change that will be made for the first time in many other people!!

Even through the random stuff that has been happening in my life, I am extremely happy right now!! : ) : ) : ) : ) : ) : ) : )

To all the Michigan people that I haven't talked to in a long time......I miss yall and hope everything is going great UP THERE!  Hopefully I will talk to yall soon!!!

I will update again sometime after D Now!!! I love all yall!

                              In His Grip,

                                              Russ : ) : )

                                                     Psalm 37:4

Tell me if this song messes up on yall...like at the very beginning!

Audience of One

I come on my knees
To lay down before you
Bringing all that I am
Longing only to know you
Seeking your face
And not only your hand
I find you embracing me
Just as I am

And I lift these songs to You and You alone
As I sing to You in my praises make Your home

To my audience of one
You are Father and You are Son
As Your Spirit flows free
Let it find within me
A heart that beats to praise You
And now just to know You more
Has become my great reward
To see Your kingdom come
And Your will be done
I only desire to be Yours, Lord

So what could I bring
To honor Your majesty
What song could I sing
To impress the heart of royalty
When all that I have
Is the life that You've given me
So Lord let me live for You
This song with humility

And Lord as the love song of my life is played
I have one desire to bring glory to Your name

                 -Big Daddy Weave

Hey people! So Ashley is still in the hospital in Birmingham....she started getting a lot better and was planning on coming home Wednesday but she got worse!! The doctors are now saying something about her lungs! They are confusing all of us and I am not sure whats going on! But please continue praying for her and my parents especially! I know the Lord has it all written out in His book of how this is gonna end up! Thanks soo much for the thoughts and prayers and the food that people have brought and everything!! It meeans more than anybody will ever know!

okay so yesterday was my birthday!! I passed my driver's test yesterday morning! Thank you all for making it the best birthday ever!!!!

Well I gotta run I will finish my post later!! : ) : )

                   In His Hands,

                                Russ : )

                                           Jeremiah 29:11