Andrew Adames

Authenticity is a word that is very "scene" right now. Everyone is throwing the word around due to its popularity. And you know what? I can understand that.  I mean if something is catchy, don't we want to make sure that we promote it, establish it and reflect it?  Of course we do.  But in the midst of marketing campaigns and new slogans, there is one big question that I don't see being answered. Are we really living authentic lives? Or are we just using that word because it is a word that draws in our culture today. I ask that question because I see it talked about, but I don't really see it being lived out.  And I mean, I can understand why many of us, especially some of us church leaders, don't want to truly be authentic.  Because being authentic, hurts. For the past two years, I've worked hard on getting better at being authentic with the people that I lead with and lead over as well as my family and friends. I've ado...

Does anyone else struggle with spending time with God in the morning? Let me explain... For as long as I can remember, we have been told that in order for growth as a Christ follower to occur, we must have a consistent devotional time with Jesus in which we wake up early, spend time in prayer, read some scripture and reflect on what God is revealing to us during that time. And while I understand and respect that some people work that way but for me that has always been a struggle.  It's an even bigger struggle right now being that I am a stay at home dad and I have my 18 month old running all over the house, climbing on everything, and throwing everything as well.  What ends up happening is I don't get to have my quiet time in the morning because honestly, I'm tired... I like to sleep in till 7:30 by which I am greeted not by my alarm clock but by my screaming toddler asking for water.(Its really cute by the way.) I then feel guilty because part of my day goe...

What defines me? I have asked myself this question for a while now. I am currently in the middle of a season in life that I didn't plan on being in and am going through some growing pains. The funny part is that this season isn't really all that bad. It just isn't what I had planned... I have spent most of my time during this season trying to seek out what it is that God is calling me to do and in the process I've also been trying to find out who I really am. I've spent time thinking about my past.... Thinking about my future... Thinking about my current place in life... And what I have found out is that my identity isn't found in a season of life. It isn't found in a career choice, its found in who God has called me to be... And I think that right there is where my struggle begins because sometimes, I don't know who God is calling me to be. (That's tweet-able) Can you smell what I'm stepping in? It is so hard for us to kn...

(The following post was originally written on Nov. 24th, 2014. I am transferring it over here from my previous blog site.) Photo Credt As I sat in the familiar chair… (You know the one. You sit in every Sunday when you attend your local worship gathering.) I expected to sing some songs, say what up to some neighbors, and hear a message from the pastor. What I didn’t expect was to be challenged to my core. Think about that…. (How sad is it that I was going to church and not expecting to be challenge? Anyways that’s another blog for another time.) As our pastor was preaching he challenged the congregation to read through the book of 1 John this week. Seems simple enough right? I mean its only five chapters and I can do one a day. Too easy right? The issue here is not just reading the five chapters, it’s that for the past 8 Sunday’s I have felt God asking me to do something that honestly, I have been too lazy to do. I want to do it, but I don’t. (Side note, I think P...

(The following post was originally written on Sep. 22nd, 2014. I am transferring it over here from my previous blog site.) Photo Credit I have never been mistaken for being a patient person. Most of the time I am in a hurry to get to the next task, next location, or next adventure. I have never, EVER, been a fan of waiting... I HATE waiting... Waiting on the cable guy to show up, waiting for my name to be called at the doctors office, waiting for a pizza that takes longer than 30 minutes to arrive. You get the picture. Patience has never been one of my strong points. It is a straight up struggle for me to wait for something to happen. Which is why this current season of my life is rough... I am currently in a holding pattern. I have been told by God Himself to slow down and wait... (Cue the reason for my anxiety.) I have always been a big supporter and believer of the importance of obedience in the life of a Christ follower, and yet here I am struggling with being ...

(The following post was originally written on May 23rd, 2014. I am transferring it over here from my previous blog site.) Photo Credit For the past few weeks, racial issues have commanded the forefront of our media headlines. From the issues of the owner of the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers Donald Sterlings derogatory comments about the African-American community and specifically Ervin "Magic" Johnson to Dallas Maverick's Owner and Entrepreneur Mark Cuban stating his view, "I mean, we're all prejudiced in one way or another. If I see a black kid in a hoodie and it's late at night, I'm walking to the other side of the street. And if on that side of the street, there's a guy that has tattoos all over his face -- white guy, bald head, tattoos everywhere -- I'm walking back to the other side of the street. And the list goes on of stereotypes that we all live up to and are fearful of. So in my businesses, I try not to be hypocritical. I kno...

(The following post was originally written on Dec. 9th, 2013. I am transferring it over here from my previous blog site.) I don't know about you but I can use some of that in my life right now. Let me explain... I have had a variety of life changing activity occur in the past three months. 1. My lead pastor left the church where I serve as Family pastor. 2. My son was born. 3. I turned 30. I know that these don't sound like a big deal but in my schedule it has been. Between taking on extra responsibilities at our church, caring after my new born son who I am head over heels in love with, and hitting the big three-oh my life has gotten a bit out of whack. For example: my mind is currently thinking about our Christmas series, Christmas eve service, potential plans for Seminary, and other life changing decisions that my wife and I are working through right now. So when I say that I can use some peace, I really mean it. Peace is something that we all strive for ...

(The following post was originally written on Dec. 3rd, 2013. I am transferring it over here from my previous blog site.) This week began the Advent season. Advent is a time of celebration for those who belong to Jesus. It is a season of  Hope ,  Peace, Joy, and Love . It is when we step back from all of the commercialism that life has to offer and we truly meditate on what it meant for God to send His Son to us. I am thrilled that God did this for me and that Jesus is in my heart but I've always struggled with the meaning of  hope ... Is  hope  the same thing as  want ? A lot of the time the things that I  want  are the same things that I  hope  I get. For example, I  hope  that I can get some new clothes for Christmas. I also  want   new clothes for Christmas. So I am a little bit confused I guess as to what the true definition of  hope  really is. My concern is that most of us get the word...

I love new things. I love new clothes, new fitted hats, and a fresh pair of new kicks. Lets just say that I love when things are new. I also love when God brings new opportunities in our lives to pursue a dream. Recently God has done that in my life. He's been moving subtly and strategically and has placed some pretty cool opportunities on my plate. Now the main reason why I love new things is because of what Jesus said in Revelation 21:5 "See I am making all things new." (NLV) In the midst of all of these opportunities I find myself asking one question: how do I handle the new things that God places in my life? Now I know that it sounds like an easy question to answer, but if you look deeply and carefully at it, it makes you think. How do I handle new things? As a child when I would get a new toy, I would get excited and play with it for hours on end. The result from that would usually end up being a broken toy. I share this with you all because I feel that...

I've been here before... Reading Jesus’ words and coming across a familiar passage. I am a true believer in the saying that words speak louder to you depending on the situation or season that you are currently experiencing in your life. I personally feel as if I am in a season of struggle right now. I have a lot of questions that aren't really being answered right now and so I turn to the Word to seek some truth. As I am reading Mark 12:28-34 I am being told by Jesus that I have to love Him with everything. Everything…… Even in my struggle, God wants me to love Him with everything.. That is a big word to use when it comes to love. I love God, I love Jesus, I love my wife, I love pepperoni pizza... But sometimes I don’t love with everything. I honestly don’t know what loving with everything even looks like. To make it even deeper, Jesus then says that I also have to love other people as much as I love Him. That's hard... What’s even more challenging is that ...

(Disclosure: I am in no way bashing single parents in my post tonight. To those of you who have had to separate due to safety, may God bless you as you continue to play one of the most important roles that are out there.) Today at work I over heard a co-worker who also attends the church that I am the student pastor at discussing the concept of children needing both a mother and a father. She was adamant in explaining the importance of marriage and how God didn't create the roles of a mother and father for no reason and how vitally important it is for a child to have his or her parents together... The other co-worker seemed to be on the side that it doesn't matter if both parents are involved or not, what matters is that the child grows up in a house hold full of love... I came from a broken home. I have had to bear the baggage for the past 29 years of never having my mother and father together. I don't have a single memory of seeing both of my parents hugging e...

I am a huge fan of musicals... There is something about the music, lyrics, acting, dancing, and story line that always have me on the edge of my seat. Last week my wife and I went to go see the movie Le Misérables. It was outstanding. If you haven't seen it yet I want to encourage you to go as soon as possible. My wife and I both enjoyed the film and yes, I cried about three times while watching the movie. The next day I shared with my friends as well as some of my students my feelings about the movie and some of them made comments such as: "That movie is for girls, Where's your man card, and that movie was one of the most boring movies ever." (that last statement came from a 17 year old) While I'd like to consider myself to be pretty tough skinned about stuff like this, their comments had me thinking especially the one about the man card. So I thought to myself, what is a man card? What does having a man card give me access to? But more importantly ...

I have been on a journey of silence these past 49 days. When I first started writing I was excited. I had so much that I wanted to share with everyone from the lessons that I have learned from my past relationships and I was in the process of mapping out my first book and something strange happened to me. God called me to take a season of rest. Rest from Facebook. Rest from Twitter. Rest from blogging. Rest from writing period. At first I was in shock because this is something that I absolutely LOVE to do. But at the same time, serving God is more important than any personal goals that one might have. I have been on a journey these last 49 days that I would have never expected to happen. God has shown me so many things and He spoke to me in ways and through people in a season of rest that I really needed. I was wasting way too much time on social networking and realized that my life wasn't really being the type of influence that I am being called to live. It...

I wish that this was my first kiss... I love my wife with every fiber of me. I wish with everything that I could have waited for her in every aspect.  Unfortunately I didn't. You see if my lips had frequent flyer miles, I'd probably be able to circle the entire world twice without paying a single cent.  I'm not saying that to brag. I'm saying it because its the truth.  Here's the other harsh reality.  My lips have kissed women who are now married and have husbands and children.  Wow. We don't really think of things like that do we? I didn't. As a teenager and young adult I just wanted to kiss girls. I loved to make out. I didn't think anything wrong with it at all. Except for the fact that when we do kiss our minds start racing and the temperature starts rising. And when that happens, our thoughts start to wander towards places that they shouldn't be going until marriage.  But back then that wasn't my thin...

A friend of mine wrote a blog today calling hickeys the original tramp stamp. If you want to read that blog I would strongly encourage you to do so  here. You see I'm a little tired of the guys of our generation. After reading this blog I felt compelled to address this issue with guys . The reason why I am calling out guys right now is because there are too many guys  and not enough men.  Guys are the ones that do things like this. Guys are the reason why there are tramps out there. Guys are   the ones who are irresponsible and who have fed off of weak willed women for too long. I remember back in the day when my "boys" would be proud of the fact that the gave their girl a hickey. Seriously bro, what is so cool about sucking someones neck so hard that they get a red mark out of it? That girl is not your girl. You didn't create her. You don't own her. She is not a piece of property. She is someone's daughter. She is someone's future wife. S...

Photo Credit I remember it like it was yesterday. The moment every boy dreams of. My first kiss... You see I wish that I could sit here and tell you a story of how amazing it was. Of how perfect the moment was. How the mood was right and my game was tight. But that would all be a lie. Instead of it being romantic and sweet, it was more like a sporting event. Now before you unfollow me, please allow me to elaborate. She was a friend of mine and we had a lot of the same friends. We would all play together and hang out and it was all good. We even told one another that we liked the other. It was all fun and cute. That was until middle school... When we got to middle school it got really weird.  Our friends were telling us that we needed to kiss because that is what boys and girls who "like" each other were supposed to do. One day after school I rode my bike to her complex and there were about ten of us hanging out. I remember feeling like I was being set up fo...

It all started with this: Photo Credit For some of us this was the scariest moment of our lives. Putting our hearts out on the line, hoping like crazy that the girl would check yes. Dating used to be so simple... We would pen this innocent note, get the response back from the girl and if she checked yes,  you would hang out with her on the black top, push her on a swing and if she was real special you would share your handi-snacks cheese and crackers with her... Today? Not so much. Now we are acting like we are married even though we aren't. Dating has gone from being something that was so simple to something that has no boundaries at all. What happened to the fun days of playing in the jungle gym? Or skating together at the skating rink? Why is is that now we have become so careless in our relationships that we are breaking every rule that there is out there? Men, It's time to re-invent the dating scene... Notice that I used the word men, instead of g...

What is a dream? Is a dream really just a state of mind that we all fall into when we are sleeping and  a myriad of images and scenes jump in and out of our subconscious like an episode of Saturday Night Live? Or is a dream supposed to be something more.... More .... Have you ever felt like there has to be more to life than the mundane, everyday repetition of waking up, going to work/school, coming home, eating, working some more, going to bed and starting it all over the next day? We all go through this phase at least  once while we are in our twenties. I being in my "ahem" late twenties hit this process about two weeks ago and thought surely there has got to be more than this? God has  more  for me then what I am doing right now... One of my dreams has always been to write a book. Writing has been one of my hobbies since I was a child and I have always been good at it. My dad has even said that he enjoys and appreciates my writing ....