Hi There!

Hi there, my name is Daniel, allow me to introduce myself. I am an 18 year old boy that lives in a little town of Southern Oregon. I love it here, I was born a few towns over because we didn't have a hospital here, but I have lived and been raised here my entire life. I am the middle child in a family of five. I live with my mom, dad, younger brother, and older sister. Of course we're not perfect but I love my family to death. I go to a local Baptist church where I have my second family, I have grown up with so many people, and aside from my immediate family, I have a rough family life. Sadly I hardly talk to anyone in my family, uncles, aunts, cousins, grandparents, etc. The only one I talk to on a regular basis is one of my uncles and for the time being that's because until he gets back on his feet, he'll be living with us. I wish I had a better family life, but for different reasons, God had different plans. Although what I have lost in family he has made up in loved ones. Church family of course is a big part of my life I have adopted so many people out as my "grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, etc." that God has blessed me so much with. No, it's never quite the same seeing families get together on Thanksgiving, all ninety nine of them (just exaggerating a little) and sit and laugh around the table. Play monopoly with the cousins, go out fishing with grandpa, go to all the cousins birthday parties and have a great time, but as I said before, God has blessed me so much! My church family is very special to me, they invite us over for holidays, we get to spend birthdays with them, and while it isn't quite the same, God sure gets pretty close. Another special family is my theatre family. I love the theatre, it's a big hobby of mine. I can't seem to get enough of it. Stage managing, acting, singing, dancing, etc. I love it all. I have been in several local shows, and involved in a few different theatres in town, God has surely blessed with that too. I always come home thanking Him for the wonderful times, the wonderful experiences, the great opportunities, and the amazing friends he has given me. I have a lot of adopted family there too. I love everyone I have ever been involved with. Of course I've been through some rough patches, It's not an easy profession at all, but it all ends up great in the end. I have met some amazing people in that. I have no job yet, but I'm earnestly looking for one right now. It's not easy, but I keep reminding myself that God will provide in His perfect timing, because after all, He has a perfect plan for my life, so why should I ever doubt that. Another thing I love besides the theatre is juggling, It's a new passion of mine. Of course it can get discouraging from time to time dropping the balls over and over and over and over, but God has truly blessed me with that too. I have a wonderful teacher, who is a great inspiration to me. He's always encouraging me, and helps me stay on track. He's been giving me lessons for the past few months now, and I think I'm finally starting to get it down. My teacher is a great guy, He knows who he is, so I won't bother mentioning names in case he would prefer me not to say it online, but He's a great guy, I'm always bragging about him. If he wasn't my teacher I probably would've quit long ago, but He's a little younger than I am, always has a great positive attitude, is a homeschooler, and most importantly a great Christian. I'm proud to call him a friend. He also has an amazing family. The parents are great, and there are eight kids in his family. They as well are a real inspiration to me. You can tell that they geniunely love each other. You can tell they truly love the Lord, and they are always so welcoming to me. Always giving me hugs as I see them, and before I leave, and always showing me love as well.They have been a real inspiaration, and joy to be around. The Lord has truly blessed me a lot with them too. So now you know a little bit about me, about my family, my church, theatre, and juggling. Since I'm on the subject of one of my good friends, I'd like to tell you a little bit about my friends too. I am so thankful for all of them. I love them a lot too. They've made some great sacrifices for me, and I know I would do the same for them as well. I have friends all over, whether it's teaching me juggling, from the theatre, or at church, I am so thankful God has blessed me with them. They have kept me accountable to God, and I couldn't ask for much better than that. They as well show a real love for God, and they always show me love too. They are always there for me, we can tease around, or be serious and talk about some deep stuff. God has been so good with the friends He has given me. I now feel bad for my family though, I have been so busy talking about how wonderful other people are, I forgot to mention how wonderful they are. As I said, there aren't many left in my life. For some reasons or another, I don't talk to hardly any of my outside family any more. But God has blessed me with my immediate family. A brother who, even though throws things on the floor of our room just so he doesn't have to take care of them, or sleeps in until late in the afternoon, or procrastinates, God has blessed me with a great brother, we mess around a lot, have a lot of the same friends, wrestle around, even though dad won't let us much, and talk about a lot of stuff, even though I still have a few secrets up my sleeve. He's a great brother. We tease my sister a lot too, which brings me to her. She can spend five hour straight in the bathroom, use up all forty gallons of hot water on one shower, leave hair in the bathroom sink, and a few other thngs, you wouldn't care to know about. She's a great sister. She has a love for people, and shows it.We tease her a lot, but as we say, we tease her because we love her. She's just another puzzle piece to God's perfect plan. Which now brings me to my mom and dad. I am so blessed to have the parents I have. My mom is hard working, she works on a regular basis as a nurse at the hospital. She as well loves people and does whatever she can to help. Dad is the Mr. Mom of our family. It's always different having a stay at home dad, and a mom that works, but it's another one of those things, that God has a perfect plan for. I wouldn't have it any other way. Of course if he could work I absolutely know without a doubt he would, but he is almost totally blind, and can make things difficult for him sometimes. he's a real inspiration in my life. My parents have been committed to each other for the past twenty-five years. Not too many people in this day and age can say that they have two parents in the same house that have been together for so long, It's a sad thing, but it's true, and God has truly blessed me with them. Then there's me, the middle child. Always the odd one out, I have a little bit of my mom in me, a little bit of my dad, and a lot of........well we don't know where I got it, but God still has a perfect plan for me. So now you know my family too, I love them a lot, and while it's not always easy, God always works it out. I am a Christian and I wouldn't have it any other way, I was saved at the young age of five, so I've grown up with the wonderful relationship of Christ working in me. I don't have much of a testimony, but if you'd like me to share it, I'd be more than happy to. Just leave me a comment, and I know that even though it's not much, God still did a wonderful work in me. Which brings me to God, He's my rock, my shield, my fortress, my strength, my defender, my all in all, and that doesn't even begin to describe what He is to me. Without Him I couldn't do anything. He loved me enough to send His one and only son to die for me on the cross. He saved me, ME!!!!!!! A lowly undeserving sinner, but he loved me enough to do that for me. He's forgiven all my sins, past present and future, and even though I don't deserve it, He has guaranteed me eternal life in Heaven, and He can do the same for you. Which is the whole reason for this journal. The title of it isn't much, it has no catchy name, but it says above "Daniel Pierce   ~ Doing All for God's Glory~" and that's exactly what I want in my life. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 10:31 " So whether you eat, or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God" It's a command in the Bible. One of the biggest questions in the world today is "Why am I here", or "What is the purpose of life" and that's exactly what the answer is, God made us to glorify Him, and that's exactly what I want to do in my life. I want to do everything for His glory! I know this journal entry was a little long, my future ones should be shorter, but I am going to try and update it with things that God is showing me, whether it's through his word, through a song, through a personal experience, or just something He reminds me of, I want to share it with you too, and I hope it'll be a blessing to you, as much as it is to me. I would love to hear some feedback too. I like seeing different people's points of view on different subjects, so feel free to follow my journal, comment on the entries, and discuss it, I want to know what you think too! Sorry again it was so long. Have a great day, God Bless!                                                                                           ~Daniel~ :)