My Goals For 2016

Goals for 2016 and Recap of 2015
If I had to describe my 2015 in one word it would have to “trying”.

I’ve experienced more change and growth in 2015 than expected. From learning to live on my own, managing my money and stepping into roles of leadership to being genuinely happy with who I am and who God has created me to do.

I had some great life changing moments where I thought to myself, I can’t believe I just did that and I’ve also had some “open mouth - insert foot” moments where I thought to myself, I can’t believe I just did that. Through it all God has been with me every step of the way.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I would not be where I am without the generosity of others and the constant provision of my Heavenly Father. I learned the true meaning of Romans 8:28, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”  No matter what I went through this year I was always confident in that fact that God was in it somehow and working on my behalf.

Here is a quick recap of my 2015 goals.

1) I want to buy a car and pay for it in full.
Right off the bat I’ve gotta give all the credit to God. This year not only did I get a car but it was gifted to me as a birthday present. After a full year of riding the bus, taking uber, and bumming rides from friends I finally have my own vehicle. The awesome couple who gave it to me inherited a car from a family member. When they turned around and gave me one of theirs they said that when the time came I was to give it away to someone else who needed it. David and Hannah Dahl, I’m so thankful for you two! You’ve been more of a blessing than you could ever imagine.

2) I want to get my own apartment.
This is another example of Gods provision and the generosity of others. A family from my church had a back-house that was vacant and offer it to me at an extremely reasonable rate. Israel and Rachel Campbell I’m so thankful for you and your family!

3) I want to be intentional and more aware of what I eat.
This has definitely happened. I’m no longer that kid I was in high school who could eat anything and everything and not gain weight.

4)  I want to buy my own guitar equipment.
This year through the provision of God I’ve been able to buy a guitar(the exact one I wanted) and build my own effects pedal board. Still working on buying the guitar amp. That will come in 2016.

5) I want to give more to the local church.
When I wrote this goal out last year it was the intention that I would give more whether that mean financially or by giving of my time. I remember praying last year, “here I am God use me”. He surely did and I have not regretted it once.  One of the things I remember hearing a lot when our church started was that when you build God’s house He will build your house. He surely did.
The Lord has turned me into someone with a giving heart and I’m so glad he did.


6) I want to pray more.
Throughout all trials this year one thing I have to show for it is a strong prayer life. There were times this year when I would face something where I could do nothing but pray and rely on God. He came through EVERY SINGLE TIME.

2015 was a great year and is one I look back on with fondness.

Now onto 2016

It has taken me about a week to write this blog. During that time I wrote out a list of goals and things that I want to see come to pass. But then I went to Church on Sunday and God really gave me a change of heart.
I had 4 great goals for 2016 and I explained them in great detail and it all sounded perfect. Then I deleted it all.

Every Sunday morning at Church during the team challenge(a time when someone from our leadership team gives everyone a quick challenge and encouragement), the person who gave it challenged us to really focus on our relationship with God and being closer with Him as opposed to chasing goals. She mentioned Psalm 37:4, “Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart”.

Our God is a good God. He cares for us(1 Peter 5:7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.) He knows our hearts and what we need. Our God is a God who loves to bless us( Matt 7:11, If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!)  It’s just like when you were a kid and you thought you knew what you wanted for your birthday and then your parents gave you a gift that was 100 times better than what you thought you wanted!

All of this leads me to believe that God knows exactly what we are going through, what we need, and that He gives the BEST gifts. So this year while I do have goals for myself and things that I want to see come to pass in my life I want what GOD wants for me MORE.

This year I’m going to make an effort to spend more time with God, make an effort to be closer with Him and to dig deeper into His word. This year I’m holding on to God with everything I have and trusting Him to take care of the rest.

I’m very excited to see what comes my way in 2016.

Talk soon,
Ian

"When He comes for His own, He will have no trouble recognizing me because my banner will have been clear."

“I’m part of the fellowship of the unashamed, the die has been cast, I have stepped over the line, the decision has been made- I’m a disciple of Jesus Christ. I won’t look back, let up, slow down, back away or be still.

My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, my future is secure. I’m finished and done with low living, sight walking, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed vision, worldly talking, cheap giving & dwarfed goals.

My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions are few, my guide is reliable, my mission is clear. I won’t give up, shut up, let up until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up for the cause of Jesus Christ.

I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till everyone knows, work till He stops me & when He comes for His own, He will have no trouble recognizing me because my banner will have been clear.”


This quote was originally found on http://www.wayofthemaster.com/confession.shtml

My Goals for 2015

I know what you're thinking right now, "Uh Ian, its already March and you're just now writing down  your goals for 2015?" The answer to your question is yes. It's taken me longer than I thought it would to come up with  my goals this year. My life has changed has changed pretty significantly over the past few months and is still changing. Its taken me a bit more time to figure out  exactly what I want to do in 2015 but I think I've got a pretty good idea as of right now so here they are: Ian Harris' goals for 2015.

1) I want to buy a car and pay for it in full. 

This is a real grown up goal of mine. I'm definitely not a kid anymore(okay that last statement isn't completely true).  I'll be buying my first car in a few months(God willing) and would like to be able to pay for it in full. At this point I've been without a car for 6 months and its been tough, so even if I don't pay for it in full, I'll consider it a win.

2) I want to get my own apartment. 

I've been in LA since the middle of August and there is no way that I would have lasted this long here if it were not for the generosity of others. Those people know who they are and I am so appreciative of their love and generosity. Thank you so much everyone. I've down a bit of hopping around from place to place and I'd really love to be able to have my own space. So yea getting my own apartment is definitely a goal for this year.

3) I want to be intentional and more aware of what I eat.  

It is so easy to go to McDonalds in the morning and get a #9 combo( sausage mcgriddle, hasbrown, and coffee with 4 creams & sugars), but that stuff is so bad for you and it offers literally 0 nutritional value. Its just to make sure your stomach is full.  I think this will be much easier when I have my own place also. To be able to cook and not have to worry about being in the way of someone else. I'm actually a pretty decent cook but no one knows that  because I never cook. Need to get back to that. I am also pretty active  According to my Apple health app I walk about 3-5 miles every day, not too bad but could be better. But all the exercise in the world can't outrun a bad diet. .

4)  I want to buy my own guitar equipment.

I have lists and lists of what I want to buy. Everything from guitars with specific models, to amps, to pedals and everything in between. It just costs money. The electric guitar is as very expensive habit. Right now I'm so blessed to be able to use my friends equipment on the weekends when I play at church. I'm so grateful for that.  I have a vision for what I want the music that I create to sound like and to be able to make it come true, I need my own equipment.

5) I want to give more to the local church. 

This is something I've been very persistent about this year so far. Whether that is giving financially, or giving of my time I don't care I just want to give more. One of the things that my pastor says pretty often and that I've been hearing more and more as of late is that if you build God's house He will build your house. As you've read already I'm going after some pretty ambitious goals so I can't stress enough of the importance of this goal in particular.

6) I want to pray more.

Not just pray but increase my time and effort in my relationship with God. My church, Wave Church has set a goal for this year to be a church that prays. I am jumping in to this one with both feet. Since I've been in California its been amazing to watch how God has provided for me. I haven't gone without anything that I need. My most basic needs have been met without fail every single time. He is SO good to me. I want to press in to God more this year.  I want to spend more time getting to know Him and becoming closer with Him. I'm believing that as I do spend more time with Him and spend time in His word he is going to cause my other goals to come to pass. I have no doubt in my mind.

I'd love to hear what your goals are. Give me a link to your blog or write them in the comments.

Talk Soon,
Ian  

"As It Is Well With Your Soul"

Over the past few weeks I've been listening to a series of sermon podcasts from Pastor Judah Smith and The City Church in Seattle Washington. The reoccurring theme of these podcasts has been the state and well being of your soul.

The scripture verse that is used for reference throughout all of the messages is 3 John 1:2. It reads, " Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul."

John is saying that I hope that your circumstances are well and that you are in good heath just as your soul is in good health. What does a healthy soul look like? How does one attain it? How do we have a consistently healthy soul? All questions that are answered by this series of messages that you can listen to by clicking here.

The one that I most recently listened to as of the publication of this blog is about having a quiet soul.

Pastor Judah then referenced Psalm 131 which reads:

" LORD, my heart is not proud;
my eyes are not haughty.
I don’t concern myself with matters too great
or too awesome for me to grasp.
 Instead, I have calmed and quieted myself,
like a weaned child who no longer cries for its mother’s milk.
Yes, like a weaned child is my soul within me.

O Israel, put your hope in the LORD—
now and always."

He then went on to say that in today's culture is loud and travels at an extreme velocity. In today's world of instant updates from Facebook about world wide calamities, tweets from people throwing information at us about everything THEY think we should care about, and the ever famous Instagram selfie about the food you are eating, the besties you are with or how much you heart various things, is it possible to have a quiet soul?

I just want to give you some of the key points Pastor Judah brought out during this message and let you in to how much I was affected by this incredible message.

"If you want a quiet soul you have to accept that you are not in control but God is."

"Reckless ambition can be one of the greatest enemies of a quiet soul."

Now this one hit me. Blindsided me, sucker punched me even. I thought God wanted to me to have ambitions and to have goals and to strive to make it in this world. He does but you have to relinquish control. "We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps." (Proverbs 16:9)

"Do not try to be God. You can make your plans but yield control to God."

I believe that we are to work hard in our jobs and to do everything as we are doing it for the Lord.(Colossians 3:23). But is it Gods will for us to stay up into all hours of the night every night or most nights to do work?

I firmly believe that one of the best things we can do to quiet our soul is get some sleep. Your career is not as important as a quiet and healthy soul.

"WHEN YOU ARE HEALTHY ON THE INSIDE YOU EVENTUALLY IT STARTS TO COME OUT OF YOU AND HELPS YOU TO OVERCOME ADVERSITY ON THE OUTSIDE."

Did you get what he said? If you are healthy on the inside then you will become healthy on the outside. It is imperative for us as humans to be healthy on the inside because our outside depends on in.

When God looks at you and wants to help you, His first concern is always the inside.

In Psalm 131 and verse 2 David says
"I don’t concern myself with matters too great
or too awesome for me to grasp."

David is basically saying, ya know what? I know that I don't know everything in the world there is to know and I don't need to.

David was ok the face that he didn't have to have all the answers. He wasn't afraid to say I DON'T KNOW.

I believe many people are scare to say I don't know when asked a question because it shows "weakness" and we were taught that weakness is unacceptable.

But I would submit to you that its ok to say I don't know. It's ok to not have all the answers.

" In you life create a "GOD" category where you can place things that you don't know and don't want to trouble yourself with."

"Should we give ourselves to to things that are beyond our capacity to know?"

"By the grace of God intake is optional. You can set limits to what you want to take in."

In other words level your soul. Create boundaries so that your soul does not become overwhelmed and unhealthy.

"Do I live from who I really am or do I live from how other people perceive me or how I really wan't to be seen?"

With social media today it is so easy to be able to put forth the best parts of you for the world to see and to hide the parts you don't want others to see. We create this false image of who we are and we try to live according to this false image claiming, "this is the real me", when in reality there is so much more that people don't see.

"By the grace of God you can live from who you really are instead of who people see you to be." This is especially important when it comes to leveling yourself which is crucial factor for a quiet soul which is a crucial factor for a healthy soul.

"Worship is a great way to level yourself."

It points out our flaws and it praises Gods perfection. It makes us aware of how inadequate we are and how graceful, merciful, forgiving, and loving God is.

"If you want a calm quiet soul understand that you didn't earn Gods love, therefore you can't lose it.

And when you realize that you become content with who God is and you just want more of Him.

Which is precisely what our faith is about, living with and enjoying God. Just being with Him and enjoying Him. 

A quiet soul is part of having a healthy soul which is part of having a healthy God honoring life.

There is so much more  in this message that I didn't touch on and I really hope you will listen to this message and really allow yourself to cultivate a quiet and healthy soul. Download it by clicking here.

Talk Soon,
-Ian

The Internet's Own Boy

Over the past few months I've been watching many documentaries involving internet censorship, net neutrality, SOPA, early stages of hacker culture and other internet history.

I know many people who have different opinions of these issues.

However, I found a documentary that struck a chord with me. Its the story of Aaron Swartz - the co creator of Reddit. In case you don't have time to watch this entire video I can sum up his story with the following.

"When Aaron Swartz accessed MIT’s computer network to download a large number of publicly accessible research documents from JSTOR, a non-profit that hosts academic journal articles, US prosecutors charged him with crimes punishable by up to 50+ years in prison and fines of almost $4 million. His two-year legal nightmare ended with the taking of his own life at the age of 26." -Takepart.com/iob

The federal attorneys fabricated a case because against Aaron Swartz because he was trying to expose how the justice system was been morally compromised on the basis of which companies could pay the most money.

Here is the documentary. If you have time I implore you to watch it and if you feel led to please sign the petition to the Department of Justice for the "Better oversight of Federal Attorney Misconduct.

- Steve Jobs

" When you grow up you tend to get told the world is the way it is and you're life is just to live your life inside the world. 

Try not to bash into the walls too much. Try to have a nice family, have fun, save a little money. 

That's a very limited life. 

Life can be much broader once you discover one simple fact: Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you and you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use. 

Once you learn that, you'll never be the same again."

- Steve Jobs

Blimey Cow: "Why I Hate Hashtag Activism"

Anyone who has ever seen any of Blimey Cow's videos on Youtube knows that they are know for putting their own spin on cultural issues and internet fads.  Their most recent video was entitled  "Why I Hate Hashtag Activism", in which they bring up many good points about todays world of (sometimes) shallow hashtag activism. To reinforce their point they put a hashtag at the bottom right hand corner of the video and changed it every time a new frame appeared. You can watch the video below.

Just in case you missed any of the hashtags I took the liberty of compiling a list of every hashtag in the video.

This is a great video! Enjoy!



Hashtag:
blimeycow
blimeycowhashtagfun
blimeycowhipster
donttalktomeuntilivhadmycofffee
livetweet
judging
illuminati
redhands
cowstagram
apple
snack
eating
healthy
natural
orgainic
fruit
diet
follow4follow
blimeycowlovehateconflict
blimeycowexplination
blimeycowexample
blimeycowrunningjoke
blimeycowbacktrack
blimeycowobservation
blimeycowhypothetical
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sadblimeycow:(
homelessjulia
helphomelessjulia
justiceforhomelessjulia
whatsthepoint
seriouslygettothepoint
blimeycowstrawman
turntablescratch
blimeycowcares
blimeycowovergeneralization
butstillweareprobablyright
hashtagnoway
boycottblimeycow
thehashtagjam
hirekevin
hemadethissong
sorrynobloopers

You can connect with Blimey cow all over the internet at these links:
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram
Youtube

If you would like to support Blimey Cow you can click HERE to go to their Patreon page.

These are some really great people and I hope you take the time to check them out!

Talk Soon,
-Ian