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

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!

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

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.

http://codymariebolton.tumblr.com/

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

Excitement for the Future

I cannot believe how fast this last month has gone.

Many things have changed in the last month, some for the better, and others not. This has been, not only a hard month, but a very hard semester to accomplish. I might be premature in saying this, but I feel like I did good this semester even with everything that has been going wrong. (I still have final papers to finish and final exams to take), but I feel a sense of accomplishment nontheless.

And though all of this, God was with me. He gave me strength when I didn't think I had anything left to give.

Through all the struggles this semester, there were some times of great peace and enjoyment.


God is so amazing in everything that He does. I do not understand His timing, His humor, or His big picture, but I just love that I am apart of something bigger and that God can and does use me for his purposes.

Last month I gave my testimony to my church about everything that God has been doing through me.
Last weekend God shared with me a more narrow path besides Deaf Ministry: to become a Pastor, leading Deaf people to Christ. :) I told myself, Pastoring isn't my thing. I am not very graceful in front of people and I don't think I do a good job at speeches or anything.

I could lead small Bible studies, but leading a whole congregation, that is a calling I am still getting used to, but the more I think about it, the more peace I get about it. So I know this is what God calls me.

And that is not all. This afternoon I was worried about finding and having an internship over the summer, well, God provided for that too. My church has been in need of a secretary for some time, and the person who was going to do it no longer could, so it was offered to me for summer. :)

Some people find that office stuff (organization, Microsoft Word, answering phones, emails, etc.) is boring. I <3 it. And I cannot wait to start.


Let me give everyone reading a bit of encouragement. When you are faced with tough things in your life, keep close to God, even if that is only through prayer. Because believe it or not, God is especially close to you in your times of struggles and needs. Feel Him with you. God will not EVER leave you to defend for youself.

Many Blessings upon you from the Creater of the Universe!
Cody Marie