Tag Archives: faith

Walking in Faith

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Last night, my buddy, Phil, came over to the house to look at a job I’m hiring him to do, and we got to talking about life happenings in the past year. I was reminded through that conversation how if I knew what all the steps were to get from the fiery trial I was facing to get to where I am today, I probably wouldn’t have properly stretched and had my endurance grown in the process. I had to take one step at a time, one day at a time in faith that the path He brought me to was the best path for me to take.

“Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.”
-James 1:2-4, NLT

As we navigate the seas of change, I realize how imperfect I am. I realize how susceptible I am to the lies the Deceiver presents to me that says I can’t do this…I’m not good enough…that I’m not worthy of love. But I choose to move forward one step at a time, one day at a time. And I praise God that I’m not walking this path alone.

“Everybody’s scared to death when they decide to take that step out on the water. It’ll be alright. Life is so much more than what your eyes are seeing. You will find your way If you keep believing.”

Thanks for reading,
Jon Cole

The Next Stage of Life

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You never know what God is going to do with you.

I met Joe Rubino 12 years ago at camp. I had just graduated high school, and Joe was starting into his first youth ministry. One of my friends was in his youth group, and they were preparing to run a week of junior high camp the following summer. She kept telling Joe, “You’ve got to get Jon Cole to work camp with us,” as they were looking for extra help, especially in the worship band. It was a fun experience. I found out how much I enjoyed getting to act like a 12-year-old and have a real purpose for it. 🙂 Not long, after that, other friends of mine from camp that were also in Joe’s youth group started to lure me across 2 counties into Wooster to start spending time with them. What happened after that was nothing short of amazing. Continue reading →

30

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If you’re on my Facebook, you’re probably aware I had a birthday today. I don’t have my birthday publicly displayed, so I thought I could fly under the radar.

It didn’t take long for people to break the silence.

Today definitely didn’t go as I expected it to. But, that’s a good thing. I’ve reached an age milestone in reaching 30, and I thought I would have this thought in my head that told me, “meh, look where you are now: 30, single, and sleep deprived.” But, apparently, God had something different planned for me.

Something that I’ve always known became very clear to me today: I am here for a reason. Age is just a number. I’m single because the time isn’t right for me not to be. I’m sleep deprived because I try to squeeze everything I can out of my every waking minute. Being single has allowed me to do things with those waking minutes I might not be able to do otherwise. I get to spend a free evening playing guitar with a student I’ve known since he was little. I get to, on a whim, head across town to my sister’s house to play hide and seek with her kids. I get to volunteer to coach an indoor soccer team. I get to follow around that same soccer team in the fall in their outdoor season giving high fives, baking cookies, and jumping and cheering like a fool in the good times and bad. I get to spend time with my youth group kids in Wooster. I get to make silly videos to promote the youth events. And there are many more things I get to do.

I’m not going to lie and say there haven’t been times where I wondered what the point is of me doing the things I do. When I get to those points, God ends up doing something to show me that there is a reason for it all. And today, I guess He decided he was going to pour on all kinds of love.

This is me trying to publicly thank everyone who showed their appreciation for me today. My co-workers who put together a cake and ice cream gathering without my knowledge, one of my best friends putting my face on a picture of a silly bobblehead for the frosting of said cake, my family for always being there to love and support me, my friends I’ve had for years who always remember me, my church family who loves and supports me as well, my soccer sisters who seem to know when I need a kind word to give me confidence to keep moving whether it be photography or coaching, and the rest of my new friends and family through the soccer program at Clear Fork…

…thank you all. I am the man I am today because of the collaborative effort of you all standing beside me and behind me with your love and support.

Thanks for reading,
Jon Cole

Relationships

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Tonight I had the opportunity to spend time with some friends at their young adult family dinner. As I looked around the room at the many people I didn’t know, I started thinking about how I’ve viewed relationships over the years.

This dinner was held at the church building (when the family dinners started, it was held at one of the church member’s houses, but the group has grown significantly). As I approached the building, there were three guys outside smoking. After I got inside, I heard a guy introducing a pregnant girl to someone he knows saying, “This is my girlfriend.” I saw people of all shapes, sizes and styles.

I couldn’t help but think about how earlier in my life, I would have thought, “Man…how screwed up are some of these people.” But you see, that’s the attitude that gets Christians their “judgmental and unforgiving” label. There is no way I can make Christ relevant to a person if I am going to let a person’s imperfect stand in the forefront. Heaven knows I have imperfections. And I’m sure people could point them out and condemn me as well.

Read Mark 2:15-17. It’s pretty wild when you think about it.

Thanks for reading,
Jon Cole