Just Stop and Think

Just stop and think.

http://crazylovebook.com

Videos/Just Stop and Think

It is as simple as that, I want you to just stop and think about your life right now. For some of you this could be the first time in a while that you have had time to just sit down and relax, and for others this could be just part of your daily routine. For all though, I want this to be a time before you go on in the reading of this blog to just sit with the creator of the Universe. He has offered us the greatest proposal known in the history of the earth to be His bride. So for however long your heart desires I would love for you to reflect on your life with the creator. Some of you need to just come to the Lord with a heart of thanksgiving, some may be angry, some may feel unworthy, the great thing about our Lord is that no matter what when you call upon His name, the mighty one, savior of the World, Jehovah, King, Jesus meets you right where you are with his arms open wide welcoming you into the household. Lay everything at this time at the feet of the King. May he speak to you.

“For I know that the Lord is great, and that our Lord is above all gods. Whatever the Lord pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps. He is who makes the cloud rise at the end of the earth, who makes lightning’s for the rain and brings forth wind from his storehouses.” -Psalm 135:5-7

I love how when I walk outside I can see the beauty of what God has created. I sometimes wonder if I was in a people group where there was no bible translated in the language I spoke how the Holy Spirit would speak to me through his nature. Going back to the video clip, I loved how Francis talked about how God is Love. It is sometimes hard for me to grip onto the fact that the God who created the nature when I walk outside my front door desires a personal relationship with you and I. He is Love. He loves us so much that he sent his Son to the cross to die for us. Thanks be to God for the blood that washes us clean, because without grace no one would be able to stand before a all sufficient savior. The modern day church needs to get back to that simple truth of the blood of Jesus is the only thing that can make you and I whole again. How precious is that simple truth? It is so simple but yet so profound.

A short update on my life, I am home from Orlando and I do apologize for taking a week off from the blog. I am now back to posting every other day. Sage and Betsy’s wedding was fabulous and we had a great time. I am in Brentwood till August 15 and then I will return back to Auburn. It is miserably hot here. Currently I am headed off to the river to hang out with the boys for the afternoon about to leave work for an afternoon at the rope swing. I hope everyone is doing well and I challenge you today once again to just take some time and stop and think about what the Lord is stirring in you today. Just lay it all out on the line, living a life in risk for his Kingdom to be known. Glory be to the King who is worthy of my praises.

In Him,

Nathan

The Awe Factor of God and Orlando Update

I want to start this blog off a little differently. Instead of jumping right into what I have been doing the last couple of days here in Orlando, I want you to do me a favor. Go to:

http://crazylovebook.com/

And once you go there click on the video tab and watch the video titled “The Awe Factor of God.” To give you a heads up my next blog will be about Just Stop and Think video. So if you want to cheat watch that sometime soon.

I now assume that you all have watched this video. I think every time I watch it I find myself thinking “Wow, the God that created all of these Galaxy’s wants a personal relationship with me to bring his name glory.” His love has overwhelmed my life and is always refining my character of who I am in Christ daily. More than ever the enemy is trying to bring me down. It’s a raging battle that is going on daily due to the fact that he knows the Lord is stirring in me and even you a great plan to impact the kingdom. I am going to use something that I heard my dad say not to long ago in his message that has stuck with me since I heard it. When I wake up, I want the angels to salute me, while all of the demons and the devil are shouting oh no trouble has just woken up. But I wonder today even for myself, does the devil even flinch when I wake up? Does he even think that it’s going to be a fight today for himself? Its something that has stayed on my mind since the first time I heard it. Thank the Lord though even though the devil might think he has his way there is a higher force that one day the devil himself and all the demons will have to bow before the throne and declare that Our God is the one and only Savior of the World, the Holy and Righteous one that is worthy to be praised.

My prayer is that not only will you be reminded when you read this that Our God is Mighty to save and even though he did create massive galaxy’s for His glory, he desires to use you as a shining light for His ultimate glory. May your day be blessed by just taking a moment to stop and think of how wonderful the Lord has been and forever will be.

Back to an update of life. I am still here in Orlando, FL. Tuesday really was not filled with a whole lot of out of the extra ordinary for me to tell you about, but I will give you a brief synopsis of what went on. Woke up around 9 A.M. ate some breakfast and watched sportscenter. Sam went to a meeting at 11:45 so I just stayed around the house and got ready to do whatever when he got back. He came back and we went over to Sage’s where he and I fished for a little bit, but the fish weren’t biting at all so Josh (Sage’s Cousin from Texas) and I took a trip to Rainbow Snow Cone here in Winter Park. For all you people that love SnowBiz in Auburn, this place is like a New York Strip at Flemings compared to a T-Bone at Waffle House. Basically the point is that it is way better. After Rainbow Snow Cone we went to a place called Crispers to eat with the whole Steele Family (Betsy’s Family), Hirschy Family, a couple of Sage and Betsy’s friends from Nashville, Sam, and myself. This place was a good sandwich/salad place that was quick and easy. I saw The Dark Knight for the second time last night after dinner and that was how Tuesday rounded out to be.

Today was a big day in the life of Nathan Ring. I woke up and was off to the Mall at Millenia to the Apple Store at 8:30 A.M. to wait in line for the new Apple iPhone 3G. Getting there the line was already way out the door, so I just took my placement and waited patiently for a whopping 4 and half hours to get to the front of the line. That’s right somehow I waited patiently by myself for about 3 of those hours in line for a little new gadget. The guys in front of me were so different that I found myself dropping in on their interesting conversations filled with many funny but crude jokes. Sam waited in line with me for a little bit and was kind enough to bring me some Chick-Fila for breakfast but he had no reason to stand in line with me so he checked out. I finally got to the front of the line becoming really nervous at the time because at the Apple Store they tell you only account holders can purchase the phone. I knew all the answers to the questions they would ask me but was worried that somehow even though I have my dad’s name in my name they would tell me that I couldn’t get the phone. I found myself people watching the employee’s to see which one was going to be cool and then the older men who think there cool and trendy because they are working at the apple store who wanted a power trip with younger people like myself. The guy that ended up helping me was one of the people I labeled as cool. We went through with the process and about 20 minutes later my new phone was up and running as I walked out of the store. Sage happened to be in the mall at the time when I got my new phone so I met up with him and he drove me home. As I returned back to Sam’s, I put my old phone up for sale on Craig’s list and within 15 minutes I received a phone call from someone who wanted to purchase it. I ended up selling it to him for 300 dollars, which I was happy with because the new one cost me a little 200 after taxes. Sam, his mom, and I killed more time in the mall after selling my old phone until I picked up a publix sub for dinner and then just went to Sage’s to end the night. So now you are caught up with what has been going on here in Orlando.

At the request of Mr. Hirschy and Ned (Sage’s Uncle a.k.a. Dennis What?) I will add something in about the hog hunt that they have wanted me say something about after reading the blog. After it took me about five or six shots to kill the hog on about my 5th shot when I knocked it down for good even though it was still moving, I yelled out “See Ya.” The hog was not even dead yet but I was yelling that it was. It ended up being a good story to laugh about the rest of the day since it was the first animal I had actually hunted. Hope you enjoyed this long blog post! Thanks for continuing to keep up with me.

In Him,

Nathan

Orlando Update and Africa

Hopefully all of you are enjoying the start of your week. I am still down here in Orlando, Florida where we are having a great time. Sunday night was filled with dinner at Pei Wei and then a little card game called Nertz. It is a fun game I actually learned to play at Auburn and hadn’t played in a while so it was good to get back into the swing of things. Yesterday, Sam had a lunch meeting so I slept late and then just chilled till he got home. Around 2 P.M. Sam, Kent, Clay, and myself went to play a public course of here in winter park. It was good to get back on the course, haven’t had a chance to play all summer, which was definitely not a good thing. The round went all right, being able to get off of the tee box was my best part of my game all day hitting around probably 85% of the fairways. I couldn’t do much outside of that part of my game. Last night, we played some more nertz at Kent’s house and just chilled the rest of the night. So now that you are caught up with what has been going on here in Orlando, I want to take you back to a trip that I took to Africa at the end of May through the first of June. I pray that God will really speak to you through this.

On May 19, 2008, a group of thirty-four students from Auburn, AL departed to dedicate the next eighteen days of our lives in service to the wonderful people of Uganda. As a team, we spent around nine days in Bethany Village, an orphanage through Africa Renewal Ministries, running a VBS for the children and laying the foundation for a guesthouse. Upon arriving in Bethany, each person on the trip had been assigned to a different house to spend the week with. There were eleven different houses of kids; housing anywhere from twelve to 20 kids, a housemother, and sometimes a housefather. The house that I and two other girls on the trip had been assigned was called the Favor House. It housed twelve children, the housemother, and her daughter. As the week went by I began to wonder, “Lord, how can I leave an impact on the lives of these children in just nine days? What can they learn from our team about how to live for the King?” About halfway through our time at Bethany I came across Matthew 8:1-4:

“When he came down from the mountain great crowds followed him. And behold, a leper came to him and knelt before him, saying, ‘Lord if you will, you can make me clean’ And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, ‘I will; be clean’ And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. And Jesus said to him, ‘See that you say nothing to anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded, for a proof to them.’”

The creator of this world came down from heaven and touched the sick and the lame—which was a foolish deed in the eyes of the world—but in the Lord’s eyes this leper was more than a conqueror. As I continued to look into what kind of impact could be left in just a short nine days, I came to the understanding that everyone needs to feel loved by someone. Whether it is just saying “I’m thinking about you today” or actually reaching out to them like our Lord did with this sick man. The world will tell you they feel remorse for the continent of Africa, where thousands of children are diagnosed with HIV/AIDS daily, but words and actual actions to do something about it are two different things. In Bethany, I had the opportunity to hear numerous stories about children orphaned due to parents passing away from AIDS. While at the same time, these same kids told me they were thankful for their lives and what the Lord had given them. I noticed that they might know their earthly parents are gone, but they have an eternal Father who will never leave or forsake them. There are individuals all over this nation of Uganda, and all over the world, going to sleep every night dying for someone to give them this hope of knowing that there is an eternal Father that will never leave them. As the realization of how to live out Matthew 8:1-4 set in halfway through our stay at Bethany Village, my mindset changed completely on how to live life. It can be really easy to love the people who from the outside look like they have everything together, but who would want to love a lonely disease stricken child? At times, I am just as guilty of neglecting the kids that might not be the easiest to get a long with, the sick, or the unsightly. We so often have the mindset that this is someone else’s job, and not our responsibility.

I happened to have the opportunity to go to Africa to learn this simple truth about impacting individual’s lives. As I round the corner to bring this car home, you do not have to go to Africa or India to see needy people. You can see them in your own community. They are people in your neighborhood, class, church, or even at your workplace. I can guarantee that there are countless people in your community longing for you to call them your friend. All it takes is for you to put your trust in the cross while taking a big step out of your comfort zone and allow God to use you to impact His kingdom.

In Him,

Nathan Ring

It's all about the Hirschy Hog Hunt

The past 48 hours have been fantastic. My plane touched down in Orlando shortly after typing my last blog post. That night was filled with entertainment at the Hirschy Household. It was good to meet some of his family that is in town for the wedding and also to just hang out and relax. That night I didn’t get to bed until about 2 A.M. and had to wake up at 4 A.M. for our Hog Hunt….

The Hog Hunt excursion happened to be one of the most fun things I have done in my life. Sam and I woke up around 4 to get over to Publix where we met before we headed down a couple hours south of Orlando. In my car was Sages brother-in-law Jason, Kent (Senior at Alabama), Clay (Senior at Alabama), Josh (Sage’s Cousin), and Sam (Senior at Auburn, my roommate next year). In the other car was Romin (Sage’s Brother), Roger (Sage’s dad), Luke (Works for Sage’s dad with Romin), Sage (Wedding Boy), and Ned (Sage’s Uncle). It took around 2 hours to get down there. Before the hunt we stopped at Micky D’s for some breakfast and then out to the property. Upon arrival we get into this large vehicle, I mean very large that we would be riding around the property in. We had two dogs that served us in the finding of the Hog’s. The dogs would find the Hog and then chase them around until they had them cornered so at that point we could kill them. This was my first time hunting in any sort of fashion so I was a little timid at first. Luke was the first one to go and kill one of the hogs. Then Sam went and got himself one, a rather large one to say the least. These two guys used pistols to kill their Hog’s but when it came to me next I elected to use the shotgun. I took my seat at the front of the vehicle waiting for the dog’s to bark for us to go see if they were running a hog for me. We were coming up on the hog and the dogs were still chasing it through this thick brush. I took my first shot at it when I could tell where it was at and missed. I then took my second shot and wounded my hog then. We were unsure though where it had gone when I hit it in the back. We then drove around and found it again and I pretty much shot it from point blank but this animal did not want its life to end. Sage and I hopped out of the vehicle and I shot it one more time and it went down. Sage ran up to it and it was still moving some so he thought he would get a little trigger happy and shoot it with him pistol to make sure it had died. So, that is how I got my hog. It was an incredible adrenaline rush for me. Josh got his after me and then Sage killed his after that. The next story about the hog hunt is a little gory for some to even read about but if you think you can handle it feel free to read it….

We went back to the house, where our cars were, to drop off our dead hogs when Kent and Clay the two who had yet to go said they wanted to use a knife to kill theirs. The guide immediately made sure they felt comfortable to do it. He told us he would have to get a different dog though; he then called his other co-workers to get out Rocky. This dog was a pit bull that was ready to go in for the kill. We still had our other two dogs that were in much better shape for running the hog’s long distances. After Rocky was in the cruiser we were back out on the hunt looking for the hog Kent was going to kill first. After a couple of false alarms, we found the hog we would release Rocky on. He was let out of his cage and headed strait to the hog with Kent a little behind him. As Rocky struck the hog first in the face and then grabbed his ear, Kent came in with his knife and just started stabbing it all over his backside, due to Rocky being on his front side. We were all going nuts, typical guys out in the wilderness stabbing an animal I mean how much better of a man type event does it get. He ended up taking it down shortly after Rocky attacked him. This whole time Rocky was biting the hog on the ear. It was one of those moments for me when I just was like imagine if that dog was set loose on a human. There is no way a human would survive. After Kent killed his, Clay set out to kill his hog the same way Kent did. He ended up getting one shortly after and after Clay got his we headed back home. This hog hunt was just a good guy trip, I would definitely recommend doing it. I would love to do it again.

We returned back to Orlando in the afternoon to fill the rest of the afternoon swimming at Kent’s place. Clay, Sam, and I went fishing in Sage’s lake where we did not catch anything which was frustrating but still a good time out there. Kent joined up with us for dinner where we ended the night at Cheesecake Factory around 10 P.M. We were all hungry to say the least. This day was like the ultimate outdoorsmen guy day. It was definitely a blast. I fell asleep around 12 P.M. finding myself sleeping like a puppy because of how much stuff our day had been filled with.

So far today, Sam and I woke up and went to church at my old Church (First Baptist Church of Orlando) and then went to lunch up at the country club. After lunch we had homerun derby at a little league field where I can say baseball is definitely not my forte. This blog is getting to be a little to long so I will post next time about the rest of today and about the message Pastor David Uth gave this morning at church. Thanks for reading my third blog post and I continue to look forward to hear your comments back.

In Him,

Nathan Ring

Planes, Wedding, Thoughts about Life, and Batman

Well here I am back again posting live from my seat on Southwest Airlines flight 363 row 20 seat C heading towards Orlando, Florida. No I actually am not posting this on the plane live but am in the process of typing it. For all the non-flyers out there I am sitting in a aisle seat, which has its advantages and disadvantages. One of the many privileges of sitting on the aisle is that you can stretch your legs out into the aisle, but yet at the same time can be one of the biggest disadvantages of an aisle seat when the five year old obnoxious kid (like myself at that age) walks up and down the aisle stepping on the toes of every person on the aisle. So enough about the current setting I am in and lets get to why in the world I am going back to the city I spent the first ten years of my life.

I will never forget the day that I was sitting at my desk in Auburn, AL probably just browsing the web or maybe facebook, when Sage walked in to my room to ask me a simple question yet at the same time such an honor. He said, “Nathan, would you like to be in my wedding?” I responded with, “Sure, as what a usher or something?” He followed up with, “No, as one of my groomsmen.” Well at this point I was absolutely thrilled to have the honor to be involved in Sage and Betsy’s wedding. It caught me so off guard because we had some talks a month before this about how he wanted to keep his wedding to just family but then he decided to bring a few of his close buddies in also. I am heading to Orlando for the next nine days to hang out with old friends from my childhood while at the same time be able participate in Sage and Betsy’s wedding on July 26, 2008. Sage and I knew of each other in elementary school but since he was a year older than me we did not hang out. To make a long story short, I started at Auburn University fall of 2006 where I roomed with my best friend Scott Hosey from Orlando, FL also. One of our first nights in Auburn he asked if I wanted to go to dinner with two guys from Orlando that were a year older than us at The First Academy. I was all about it and ever since then Sam (my roommate this next year, also in the wedding) and Sage have been two of my best friends. This week will be full of adventures across the city of Orlando so keep posted to the blog to check out what we have been up to.

With Sage being the first one of my close friends near my age to get married it brings about many thoughts. I am thrilled for him and Betsy, but then I try to picture myself in that situation. A year from now what if it was myself getting married in less than a week? All of the people who really know me are probably thinking, “Nathan you need to find a girl first, start dating her, and then worry about that.” In my head I realize that realistically I am nowhere near getting married, but it is just a scary thought to think about. Rob Silverii (best friend from highschool and also at Auburn University with me) and I were talking on the way home from diner last night about this topic and I think its easier for girls to dream so big about the day they get married than it is for guys. I was telling Rob about just think about the first day you get back from your honeymoon and you are no longer living with guys in an apartment or house but instead spending the rest of your life with the same roommate. I guess that is why God made marriage so special because to be able to spend 40 some odd years with the same roommate that you love dearly is quite special. I don’t even think right now I could live with Romeo (one of my dog’s) for the rest of my life. With that said though, I think this just proves how much God values who he chooses for you or me to be future spouse. I am absolutely thrilled about this upcoming year to see what God has in store.

By the way, I saw The Dark Knight last night with Rob at midnight. It was definitely a great movie that kept my attention pretty much the whole time. Heath Ledger did a phenomenal job of playing the role or may I go as far to say as buying into the role of the Joker. It is kind of sad to know that he has passed away and I really think that after seeing the movie I now know why he was warned to be careful about taking this role. The movie is definitely not a light film but instead rather dark and gloomy. I would definitely recommend it.

Well this plane is about to land and the blog is getting to long, but once again stay tuned to the blog for hopefully daily post on what is going on in O-Town (Orlando, FL). Last post, I didn’t get to many comments but would love to hear from anyone and everyone.

In Him,

Nathan Ring

Introduction/Thoughts

First time blog posting. I always thought about having one of these, but at the time I thought I would probably not be able to keep up with it. Here I am though past those thoughts encouraged to really make this happen. I have had many influential people influence my creating of this blog. The list would have to go Francis Chan (pastor out of Semi Valley, California), April Ring Stephens (my older sister who you will I am sure hear about sometime), and Chris Wheeler (Fellowship Student Ministries pastor). So to start I have to thank them for influencing my decision.

I feel like most people know me who would be reading this, but I will give a brief introduction. Born in Orlando, Florida. Moved to Brentwood, TN at the age of 10. Graduated high school in Brentwood and then went onto Auburn University where I am currently a student entering my Junior year as a communications major with a focus on Public Speaking. I desire to go into full time ministry after I finish up at Auburn, during seminary. My family is very important to me. I have three sisters who have taught me a lot growing up. April is 26, Ashley is 23, and Amy Joy is 18. My dad is a evangelist (www.davidring.org) and mom has a full time job of making sure my life runs smoothly. For this summer I have been working with Fellowship Bible Church right here in Brentwood, TN as a youth intern. It has been great to see what youth ministry looks like while at the same time hanging out with individuals whom have been very influential in my walk with the Lord. I had a chance to go to Africa in the middle of May to the beginning of June with my campus ministry down at Auburn. Check it out at (www.gracecampus.net). All of this stuff you will eventually/hopefully hear about in later posts but I said this introduction would be brief so these are the headliners of Nathan Ring's Life. Now onto like a real blog post.

I am a avid listener to Hillsong/Hillsong United out of Australia and recently I happened to land my hands on a copy of their most recent CD to come out called This is Our God. Once again they have somehow incorporated incredible worship music that I find myself listening to about everyday. If I was musically inclined I would say that the bridge of a song called Desert Song has really hit me in the face.

"All of my life in every season, you are still God. I have a reason to sing, I have a reason to worship" Desert Song - Hillsong

Desert Song story and song:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZE33ejdgWIY

I found myself really wondering can I really say that? Can I proclaim that when I am pretty frustrated or just not really wanting to pursue God that I even have a reason to sing or worship? It really just hit me about the love of our Father. Many times I wake up and don't even think about pursuing God instead just move on with my busy life filled with different objectives going on around me. The more I listened to the song I started to think about how my Lord never gives up on us even when we wake up not wanting to pick up the Cross and follow him. God sent his son to Calvary seeing me and you coming down a long road that we cannot face without his mercy and grace overwhelming us. There are so many characteristics about God that I just become so overwhelmed with trying to comprehend. The love that comes from our Father is one of those characteristics. I just challenge you today to think about the love of the Lord Jesus and how when you don't feel like pursuing Him he has never forgotten about you. No matter where you stand spiritually when you call upon the Lord he will meet you right where you are even if you feel like you are not worthy to even call upon his wonderful name.

That is where my heart is right now. I am so thankful for a loving Father who meets us right where we are spiritually. My prayer is that I will never become forgetful of what it means to serve a King with all my heart and to remember that it is a daily walk to choose to follow Him daily.

Hope you enjoyed. Give me some feedback on what you thought about the first post! Have a great night if your up late reading this or if you are in the middle of your day Have a great day!

In Him,

Nathan