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ONE YEAR
April 13, 2004 I wrote my first column for PutHimFirst.com. WOW! A whole year! Actually the first column was just an introduction, but that was the date when this thing all got started. I am truly grateful for this opportunity to write and, as always, I give God all the glory and honor for I know that it is only by His grace and His mercy that He has allowed this site to keep running.
Over the past year I’ve been privileged to take you on a journey called my life. I’ve shared some of my life experiences and some of the things I’ve learned over the years being a Christian. There have been ups and downs and many times where I’ve wanted to quit, but God has always pulled me through. I’ve found myself on many occasions wordless when Wednesdays rolled around, but He has always given me something to write when the column was due. It’s been far from easy, but I have really enjoyed being able to share with you from week to week. I just hope that you’ve enjoyed it too.
I am truly blessed to have each and every one of you be a part of PutHimFirst.com. I’m grateful to all of you who read this column. I thank God for giving me an audience, and I consider you all much more than just an audience. Although I don’t know all of you personally, I do consider you my friend and my fellow brother/sister in Christ. You have no idea how much you mean to me. A lot of the emails I get have really been encouraging, and that’s what keeps me going sometimes.
And, I thank God for my brother Gabe. He’s the one to blame for getting all this started. A year ago he conned me into writing for this website, so now I’m stuck (jk). As most of you know, this website started as a school project Gabe was working on, but it has blossomed into a community of people that love Jesus and strive to “Put Him First” in their lives.
My brother and I went and saw the movie “Fever Pitch” the other day. It’s about a guy named Ben who is a HUGE Boston Red Sox fan and has been to every home Red Sox game for the past 18 years. I won’t get into all the details of the movie, just a line that was said in it. Ben’s girlfriend Lindsey tells him that one thing she loves about him is that he could have such a passion for one thing for the past 18 years (being a huge Red Sox fan). They get in a fight over this later and he throws it back at her saying, “What have you ever had a passion for 18 years.”
That line got me thinking about my own life. Have I ever been passionate about any one thing for an 18 year long period? I can honestly say yes. I’ve been writing for about that long, give or take a few years, but I’ve always loved to write. I wrote my first song when I was about 11 or 12 years old and I’ve been writing ever since. I pray that God continues to keep this fire burning within me and that I always remember to “Put Him First” in all I do.
ONE YEAR! It’s a good start, but I’m praying that God continues to use me and this website for many more years, or until Christ returns. So, here goes to another year. I continually pray that God leads us and guides us in all we do. Let’s continue to remember to always “Put Him First”!!!
w/muchluv,
geno
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