Obligatory First Post: The Inaugural

And so it begins…

First off, this blog will (hopefully) be my humble attempt at sharing thoughts and keeping a record of the goings-on in my life for my close friends, random acquaintances, and anyone else who would care to give me the time of day. Among other things, it will most likely contain thoughts on Scripture, books, music, humor, and anything else that strikes a chord in my mind.

As a word of self-introduction, my name is Nathan Johnson and I’m currently a 25 year-old seminary student who grew up in a decent-sized town in west Texas. The most incredible life-changing thing that’s ever happened to me occurred while I was still in elementary school… God worked in my life and, despite myself, gave me the faith - by His grace - to surrender my life to His will. I was baptized several years later as a senior in high school, which is when my true passion for Scripture and a life devoted to following Christ began. After graduating from high school I made my way down to College Station to attend Texas A&M University where I spent some of the most memorable and formative years of my life. I majored in Psychology and tacked on a History minor before graduating in May '06 and making the move to Fort Worth to follow my calling into ministry. I am now at the tail-end of my seminary experience, and am excited to see what doors God will open and where He will lead me. I pray that at some point I will get the awesome responsibility and blessing of being a husband and father (in that order), and at some point use my gifts to both serve and edify the Church as a pastor, teacher, disciple-maker, and leader.

I do know that God will never leave me or forsake me, and that whatever happens to or around me – be it good or bad – will be for my good and His glory. It is in that hope and promise that I have put my faith. God has seen fit to give me a unique set of gifts to worship and glorify Him, and I pray that through them I bring Him honor and not shame.

Beyond that, I thoroughly enjoy reading, writing, long conversations over cups of coffee, traveling, steaks, hunting and fishing at my family’s ranch, cold weather, snowy mountains, deep Scriptures, and good theology (I’ve also been known to dabble in photography and guitar playing, but I’m an amateur at best in both fields).

I would appreciate any input that you would care to voice on anything that I post... feel free to say whatever is on your mind and we’ll get a discussion going.

The last thing that I would leave you with on this first post is a quote from one of my personal heroes, Martin Luther: “Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me. Amen.”