Matt Short

I have learned SOOO much these past two months since my last blog. God is revealing new things to me about my character, things that He has gifted me with while at the same time things that He’d like to help me change.

A “Short” Recap:

 

I have constantly fought off the frustrations of being hardly employed and struggled to hold my focus on what God has for me in this time of my life. The Lord has blessed me with many things, one of which lately has been a job at a portrait studio. It makes me hardly enough money but doesn’t take me away from having time to invest in people’s lives. Which I feel is right where God wants me, even if it’s outside of what I would consider to be “comfortable”.

I have been leading the Young Adults Ministry at my home church, Thorn Creek, since the beginning of April and it is really coming into its own. I absolutely LOVE this ministry. The young adults that the Lord has blessed me with are hungry and longing for discipleship… and MAN is that my passion right now! I want to see these guys overcome the challenges of their newly found indipendence and come into a whole new understanding of their faith.

 I have been shooting photography as well, anything from macro to engagement photos, but even more exciting is the few weddings I’ll be photographing later this summer. I bought my first Digital SLR in March with some Birthday money my grandparents had given me, and it has proven to be an AWESOME  investment…  however sadly I smashed my nice lens just a day ago… and am waiting to find a way to purchase another, something I DON’T have the money for right now. However, this is  a minor concern when compared to the needs of many others I know, so I will remain grateful for what I still have.

My girlfriend, Larissa, and I are doing very well. Being home with her after being gone for so long, as you could imagine, is amazing.  I’m head over heals for her and I try my hardest to show that. As we’ve pursued a righteous relationship we’ve discovered how much influence we both have in our lives and seen how our actions and choices directly affect those who look up to us. This has been an incredible blessing as I’ve moved from leading one ministry to the next. I find myself able to speak into people’s lives who’ve struggled with impurity or even basic social difficulties with the opposite sex. I know God has blessed me greatly by placing her in my life and I am exceedingly grateful for that.

My father has had a rough spring and I would greatly appreciate your prayers for him. He’s been out of a job since January and has had to move into his sister’s basement just to have a roof over his head. Him and his wonderful new wife, Hillary, seem to be doing well from what I can tell though. She too is an amazing blessing in his life. God really knew what he was doing when he made man “a helper”! =)

The Next Step:

 

One thing I have become sure of is that “God’s grace is sufficient for today” yet not only for me, but also for you. This has been a huge lesson I’ve had to learn. The point is not that it is only sufficient but that He’s longing for us to reach out for it. He waits to see if we’ll truly recognize how desperate we are without it. And BOY am I pretty hopeless without it. haha

For quite some time now I’ve been considering my options of “WHAT’S NEXT” and I’ve struggled to really see my “purpose”. When I was in YWAM staffing and leading schools my “purpose” was evident, at my finger tips, and super rewarding. Being home has been a different story, I have found good things to put my time and hands to work on but I would like to correlate my “purpose” into “what’s next”. I believe I’ve found a way to do that. I’ve considered doing General Education courses at Front Range which I believe I’ll still do in the near future, however God has made possible something that I thought to be impossible.

At the moment I am applying for a School at the Denver YWAM base called a School of Video Productions. The school begins in October and ends in November but you can find more details about this course at www.ywamdenver.org/sovp.htm. The general design of the school is to teach students the necessary techniques in crafting quality motion pictures for ministry. This has been a school that I’ve been interested in attending for about 8 months now but never thought I would be able to until recently. My pastor has stepped in fully behind me on this decision and I believe it is the right next step in my life of pursuing ministry. I will continue to lead the Young Adults ministry at my church while attending this school and hopefully graduate the school with skills that will assist my church in their constant pursuit of higher quality media productions.

I do ask that you will pray for me as I embark on this next step of my life. It’s an exciting one that will undoubtedly present a whole new book of challenges and experiences. I look forward to facing every one of them, knowing that my hope and strength rests in Him.

 God Bless and Thank you for following my adventures in faith.

-Matt Short