The F Bomb

It has come to that part of the year again where the big F Word starts to creep into the back of my mind and as it starts to creep towards the front, it brings with it a whole bunch of questions. I am talking about the future of course and all of the question marks that lay ahead of me.

I feel as if I am at that part in my life where I am facing a real fork in the road and have to make some hard decisions. I am standing at one point in my life and I don’t know what the next point is or where God will lead me. With this uncertainty it brings about some anxiety, fear and a little bit of stress because I want to be faithful to follow God wherever he may lead me. I want God’s will to lead out in my life and not my own. I want to be faithful and obedient to go where he has planned for me to go, to stay where he has planned for me to stay and do what he has planned for me to do. I just want God to win out in my life.

Since my senior year at Texas A&M, I have felt as if I was suppose to be a youth pastor; as if I was suppose to walk through life with students and show them Jesus and the character of God. I still hold on to that calling and I am doing my best to pursue it. I have talked to some churches about openings in their student ministries and I am excited to see what the outcome is! But what I know for sure is that I want God’s plans to win out.

When I came to North Carolina I came with the purpose of learning the Bible so that I can go and teach students the Bible. I never stopped to think about what God would do with me during the time I was here because I was so focused on what I was going to do when I left. I feel like I have never really stopped to enjoy the ride and the scenery that surrounds me because I was so focused on the end goal. These past 2 years God has put me in a place where it is safe to grow and safe to make mistakes with no one judging or condemning you. He has opened my eyes and showed me His character and I have fallen in love with him in a way that I never thought was possible. Lately I have been realizing the truth in the saying that the journey is just as exciting as the end goal. All of this uncertainty has made me stop and look at how God has been faithful to me in the past. This has helped me realize that He will continue to be faithful as I walk into the future.

I guess what I am trying to say with this is that the future is a scary thing at times, be we have a good God who is loving and caring towards His people. I know this about Him and I trust that His ways are better than mine. So God, I just ask that you will make your path clear in my life and lead me where you will. I trust that you will provide and weave together all of the little details. I want your will and your plans to be the ones that shine through in the end. I love you and I thank for loving me and for providing for me.

Random Life Update

So I know that it has been over a month since I wrote on this thing and with that being the case, I wanted to take some time this morning and just give you one of those Random Life Updates!

There has been a lot that happened since the last time I blogged: we finished the first have of the school year for the ESBS, Christmas and the New Year has come and gone, I studied and studied and studied some more for my Leviticus teaching, there was a wedding in Florida and Caitlin comes to North Carolina for her second visit!

I am happy to say that the first part of the new semester at the ESBS is going well, the students are working on Deuteronomy and finishing a long and exciting look at the Pentateuch. I was given the privilege to teach the book of Leviticus and I was excited for that opportunity. It is something that I honestly didn’t think that I would ever do! I feel like God truly blessed me in my studies and my teaching. If you want to listen to it here is the link (http://www.esbsonline.org/audio-2011-12/). And all the studying for that is probably the reason why I haven’t written on this thing in a while!

For Christmas and New Year’s I was back in Texas spending time with family and friends and of course the most beautiful Caitlin Bailey! J We spent the Christmas holiday out in California and the whole Livingston side of the family was there. It was great to catch up with my Grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousin and my family! We got to do some awesome things in San Francisco which includes walking the Golden Gate Bridge and looking at some BIG trees!

My cousin got married last weekend down in Boca Raton, FL and it was a great time. I rode down from NC with my Aunt Mary and cousins Victoria and Josh. It is always great to spend time with them and just laugh and play. It was also great to see the Buwick side of the family and you know whenever we all get together it is going to be a party! I am praying for a happy and healthy marriage for Brian and Cori!

Miss Bailey gets in this afternoon and I am really looking forward to seeing her today! We have a fun few days planned and its just always nice to be with her.

This is the completion of my Random Life Update and I look forward to surprising you again with the happenings of Todd Daniel Livingston!

ESBS Financial Situation

Hey Everybody! As many of you know, the staff and the students here at the Emmaus School of Biblical Studies raise support in order to pay for their monthly needs, tuition and random life events. Last week in one of our prayer times, we came together and talked about where everyone was financially for the rest of this school year and we have some need.

I just wanted to write this post and put it out there that there is a need for financial support within the ESBS community. Right now we are in need of about $23,000 for student tuition for the rest of the year. Also, one of the staff members’ van just died and they are in need of help to raise funds to get a new one for their family of 6!

I do not want you to feel obligated to give, but I do ask that you will just be open to the Lord if he is asking you to do so. (If you do give, unfortunately it will not count towards a tax deduction, but it will go towards someone’s investment in the Bible!)

If you want to give you can write a check to: Camp Lurecrest Ministries and in the Memo line write: ESBS Student Tuition or Van Fund.

You can mail the check to:

Emmaus School Of Biblical Studies

207 Charlotte Dr.

Lake Lure, NC 28746

I appreciate all of you and I thank you for your continued support of me and the ministry that we are doing here!

Stuffed With Turkey

So the awesome thing about being a teacher is that you continue to get the vacations that you had while you were in school! It was great to go back home for our Thanksgiving break and see some smiling faces!

For Thanksgiving dinner we had the normal crowd over at the Livingston house and it was fun to see them again and catch up on the past year. My Grandma (aka Grammy) on my mom’s side of the family was also in town and it is always great to see her because we joke, laugh and watch sports together! I personally love it when we are rooting against each other’s teams because it just makes things more interesting!

It was also a special trip home because I got to see my beautiful girlfriend, Caitlin. She is from The Woodlands and it is the first time since we have been dating that we got to spend time in our hometown together, so it was special to me! We got to spend time with one another’s families which was fun, we ran a 5 mile Thanksgiving morning Turkey-trot, went to The Woodlands High School football game and just got to spend some quality time together.

So all in all it was a good trip home and I am thankful for the time that I got to spend with my parents and my sister’s family. I am really looking forward to Christmas Break and an extended stay back home!

P.S. For all of those who are interested, my James lecture is now online if you want to listen! Here is the link to the page where you can see all of the lectures from this year. (http://www.esbsonline.org/audio-2011-12/). So please feel free to scroll down and listen!

Changing Perspective Isn't Always Bad

So I guess I haven't written on this thing in a while ... ya know ... life got in the way!

Its funny when you ask God to show you where you need to improve in life and what needs to change, and then he reveals it to you and starts breaking you down in order to build the pieces back up. That is what took place inside of me as I was preparing to teach the letter of James, which I taught today.

While I was doing all of my prep work and studying the content, I would go on runs and just ask God to show me what is going on in my life and what needs to change. Then throughout the weeks, as I prepared, God started showing me the heart behind the book of James and how we are to love our neighbors and we do that by living out the Gospel. We do that by not complaining about your job and continue to do it because that is where God has you. We do it by doing the act of service that will never be acknowledged. Or by speaking a kind word to someone that is down and needs encouragement.

The main idea of James – how we are called to love our neighbor as yourself, has had a great impact on me. It has shown me that my motivation shouldn’t be on getting the glory, but instead it should be on revealing the glory of my Savior through the way that I go about living life with those around me. My attitude shouldn’t be about going out everyday and receiving awards for the things that I do, but instead it should be one where I am hoping to be used by God today in order to make a greater impact for his kingdom.

I thoroughly enjoyed my studies and teaching the book of James and I think that it is a book that is very practical to the way that we live our life.

On a side note: The month of November is being celebrated in a great way here in North Carolina. They guys from school are going for the “No Shave November” look and I just want to say that we look good!

I have given my mustache the name “Mustacheo” and I see him as my Latin crime fighting alter ego!