The famous Hymn "I Surrender All" is a wonderful hymn.
I grew up singing the words, but never really understood what it meant.
Today I finally understand what it means to surrender everything to the Creator of the Universe and to the One who resides in my very soul.
It's my last semester at Northwest Nazarene University and I have been trying to attend chapel, especially when there are guest lecturers who bring a different perspective to the table and who speaks differently than the beloved Chaplain Gene. (Don't get me wrong, I love Gene, but I also love it when other people come and speak and open my mind even more.)
This week, Dr. Diane LeClerc from NNU's Theology Department (and currently the expert on Christian Holiness in the Nazarene tradition) is bring her series on Christian Holiness.
Today she challenged everyone who came for chapel, to give up everything--the good and the bad, to be in the right place with God and with Jesus. She called us out to give up everything, to surrender everything, to pursue a life of following and serving God.
I have been struggling with this for a few years. I had given up most everything to follow Jesus. But He still was not number one in my life.
Today, I gave God everything: all my fears, my anxiety, my ADHD, my work, my school, my sins, my everything. I have not experienced so much peace and excitement in my soul in a very, very long time.
For those of you who want a deeper spiritual life with Christ. I encourage you to do the same.
Yes, I haven't live this part of life very long and we are human and I'm sure there will be times where I will let God down, but through God's ever present Grace, I know that with God's help and God's Grace, you can have the same feeling of peace as well. :)
Many blessings and peace.
Cody Marie Bolton
13 March 2013
18 February 2013
One Step Closer
I cannot believe I finally did it (and before graduation too!)
I can finally call myself a Pastor (although Pastor Cody is just weird and Pastor Bolton is out of the question!)
On Thursday, February 7th 2013 my church board approved my local pastor's license!
I am in the process of looking for a mentor, someone who has walked down the road I am just starting. One who I trust to lead with the leadership God has given them.
To be honest, I wasn't even going to try for a local license until I finished my MA in Pastoral Ministry. I wanted to study what it takes to be a pastor before I became one. Apparently, this was not the road in which God thinks is best for me.
Although it has taken me a long time, I have come to the realization that God knows me better than I know me.
In the summer of 2011, I took the Strength's Finder 2.0 test. My strengths are Restorative, Empathy, Futuristic Developer and Individualization.
My head is always either thinking about others, or thinking about the future. And what I was planning on doing changed because of one conversation I had with a person who felt the Holy Spirit's call to talk to me about the future I had envisioned for myself.
If it wasn't for that one person, I would not be a pastor right now.
At the end of 2012, God told me that 2013 was going to be a year of change. (2010 was my last "year of change.") But it is only mid-February and I cannot believe all the changes that have happened so far and the changes that will happen within the next couple of months!
The Outreach Pastor of my home church is resigning.
There will be a new Senior Pastor at the end of March.
I will be graduating with a BA in Communication Science in May.
I will find a career to help support my vocation of ministering to the Deaf (during the summer)
I will be financially stable.
I can start paying off all my debts. (mostly school loans)
I can start saving for a new car and a new home. (Goal is to buy a new car next year. I don't know if I want to live in the suburbs or move to the city.....been thinkin' about buying a condo.)
I can continue to build my credit.
I will be learning what it takes to become a pastor. (I eventually want to be an ordained elder in the Church of the Nazarene)
I will turn 25 this year.
Change can be challenging, but going out on a limb with God is very, very exciting.
Many blessings.
Cody Marie
I can finally call myself a Pastor (although Pastor Cody is just weird and Pastor Bolton is out of the question!)
On Thursday, February 7th 2013 my church board approved my local pastor's license!
I am in the process of looking for a mentor, someone who has walked down the road I am just starting. One who I trust to lead with the leadership God has given them.
To be honest, I wasn't even going to try for a local license until I finished my MA in Pastoral Ministry. I wanted to study what it takes to be a pastor before I became one. Apparently, this was not the road in which God thinks is best for me.
Although it has taken me a long time, I have come to the realization that God knows me better than I know me.
In the summer of 2011, I took the Strength's Finder 2.0 test. My strengths are Restorative, Empathy, Futuristic Developer and Individualization.
My head is always either thinking about others, or thinking about the future. And what I was planning on doing changed because of one conversation I had with a person who felt the Holy Spirit's call to talk to me about the future I had envisioned for myself.
If it wasn't for that one person, I would not be a pastor right now.
At the end of 2012, God told me that 2013 was going to be a year of change. (2010 was my last "year of change.") But it is only mid-February and I cannot believe all the changes that have happened so far and the changes that will happen within the next couple of months!
The Outreach Pastor of my home church is resigning.
There will be a new Senior Pastor at the end of March.
I will be graduating with a BA in Communication Science in May.
I will find a career to help support my vocation of ministering to the Deaf (during the summer)
I will be financially stable.
I can start paying off all my debts. (mostly school loans)
I can start saving for a new car and a new home. (Goal is to buy a new car next year. I don't know if I want to live in the suburbs or move to the city.....been thinkin' about buying a condo.)
I can continue to build my credit.
I will be learning what it takes to become a pastor. (I eventually want to be an ordained elder in the Church of the Nazarene)
I will turn 25 this year.
Change can be challenging, but going out on a limb with God is very, very exciting.
Many blessings.
Cody Marie
02 December 2012
December at Last!!
My favorite time of the year has finally come around again! Maybe it's a combination of finishing school for the year, my birthday, all the Christmas lights and Christmas music and Christmas of course, but I just love this season. :)
As 2012 ends, let us remember the reason for the season--
Sure Santa brings us presents, but he never laid down his life for us.
Christ did. Let us celebrate the birth of our Savior this year!
As 2012 ends, let us remember the reason for the season--
Sure Santa brings us presents, but he never laid down his life for us.
Christ did. Let us celebrate the birth of our Savior this year!
24 November 2012
Change
So....
A lot has happened since my May 09, 2012 post. And for those who have read this blog, I am sorry that I haven't posted in a long time.
(I hope most of you are my friends on Facebook, if not, please add me as a friend, and let me know if you read this blog)
Let me bring you up to speed...a lot can change in 6 and a 1/2 months.
I had a summer internship at my church as their secretary. Three days a week, 4 hours per shift. I have learned a great deal about how a church functions from the inside and what it takes to keep a church going. (I am invigorated at the notion of running a church, some people get burned out. I understand how that happens, but I am blessed to know that it keeps me going when things get hectic--I love the rush) ;)
When the internship ended, it turned into a paid position. (Which helps because I had been without a paid job for 22 months).
I currently still work there as a secretary, and I am still on the worship team playing my flute.
I am in my senior of undergraduate work at NNU. I graduate May 11, 2013 :) 6 years of college should be enough, right? Nope. Gonna go for an online graduate program also at NNU for pastoral ministry so I can become a Nazarene pastor! :)
Look out Nazarene world--this unconventional Christian is gonna take over!
Many blessings friends,
Cody Marie
A lot has happened since my May 09, 2012 post. And for those who have read this blog, I am sorry that I haven't posted in a long time.
(I hope most of you are my friends on Facebook, if not, please add me as a friend, and let me know if you read this blog)
Let me bring you up to speed...a lot can change in 6 and a 1/2 months.
I had a summer internship at my church as their secretary. Three days a week, 4 hours per shift. I have learned a great deal about how a church functions from the inside and what it takes to keep a church going. (I am invigorated at the notion of running a church, some people get burned out. I understand how that happens, but I am blessed to know that it keeps me going when things get hectic--I love the rush) ;)
When the internship ended, it turned into a paid position. (Which helps because I had been without a paid job for 22 months).
I currently still work there as a secretary, and I am still on the worship team playing my flute.
I am in my senior of undergraduate work at NNU. I graduate May 11, 2013 :) 6 years of college should be enough, right? Nope. Gonna go for an online graduate program also at NNU for pastoral ministry so I can become a Nazarene pastor! :)
Look out Nazarene world--this unconventional Christian is gonna take over!
Many blessings friends,
Cody Marie
09 May 2012
The Start of Summer
For the longest time, winter was my favorite season. However, since going to Northwest Nazarene, I have discovered that my favorite season is infact summer. It seems as though I really love my time off from school. I am sure than when I obtain my BA in Communication Science in a year that I will miss it and really want to go back. However, now that school is out, I can finally do the things I have really wanted to do: Blog. And not just any type of blogging. I have always thought that entertainment critics have a fanstastic job: to watch, or read, the newest entertainment books and movies and write their opinions about them. So I'm doing that. Since this is my first week of summer vacation, I think I have taken it a bit overboard.
And, that doesn't stop there. I have an internship for the summer and I am super excited to start it. :) I will be the secretary for Euclid Ave. Church of the Nazarene in Boise. This church has been such a blessings since I started attenting last September. Please keep me in your prayers, because this next year is going to be a challenging one. A lot of decisions will need to be made and a lot of hours will be spent doing job searching.
Blessings to you all!
Cody Marie
This is my secondary blog site. I am sure I have promoted it here before, but there is a lot more I have posted in the last few days. 17 posts (mostly movies, but I am also going to do more documentaries, book and Television shows). Would this be a great communication career to help support my ministry? Oh yeah? Will I ever get the chance to get paid for it? I guess that depends on what newspapers I could do this for.
And, that doesn't stop there. I have an internship for the summer and I am super excited to start it. :) I will be the secretary for Euclid Ave. Church of the Nazarene in Boise. This church has been such a blessings since I started attenting last September. Please keep me in your prayers, because this next year is going to be a challenging one. A lot of decisions will need to be made and a lot of hours will be spent doing job searching.
Blessings to you all!
Cody Marie
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