Happy New Year

Happy New Year to all!! Hope everyone had a splendid Christmas and New Years. Julian Drive has some exciting things in store for the new year. We have a new record coming out soon. It has some incredible tunes on it. If you want a preview just go to juliandrive.com and check out our latest Monday video on the home page. You can also travel on over to itunes and download our EP entitled “Beyond Our Eyes”. Don’t forget to be our friends on facebook so you can keep up with all the latest happenings near you. Hope to see you guys out on the road in 2011. Peace!

Josh

When You Feel Like Giving Up…..

Hey gang! We are out on the road again this week. This morning we are in Mississippi (I still sing the M I crooked letter, crooked letter I song when I spell that state). We stayed over with some great friends that we have met i

n the past few years. Logan Collins and his family have been great supporters of us and just all around great people to hang with and they really just feel like extended family so anytime we are near we plan on staying with them. They came to see us play recently and help with the loading process, which we always appreciate. After the show we sat down to eat and Logan joined us as well as the youth pastor of the church. We began to chat a little and share about stories of times that events had been planned and how the turn out wasn’t what we had hoped for and how it often times has left us discouraged. One event had happened recently to the youth pastor of the church in which we had just performed. They shared about the event and how only 7 of the youth showed up from their church. They went on to say that the kids had wanted this event to happen and even begged to get it planned but when it came time to have it, they chose another, how do we say, less spiritually effective event to attend. The youth pastor was almost in tears sharing this story. They felt like they were let down. Maybe even a little disrespected.

As ministers we all have times like these. Logan has often times shared of times of discouragement in his own ministry with me. I’ve shared times like that in my ministry with him. It happens all the time. I wish there was some magic formula to make people get it, but there’s not. We are not perfect and will always let each other down. We’re human! In the 2 years I have been with Julian Drive, we have gone through times of feeling disrespect, anger, disappointment, discouragement, you name it we’ve had it. It seems like it’s a continuous cycle that repeats itself constantly. Sometimes you even question if it’s worth it to keep doing ministry. It’s a scary place to be. Believe me I know!

Not that we are there now but I believe Julian Drive is in a season. It’s been tough over the last year. There have been ups and downs but God always is there ready to encourage us to keep going. I was reading this morning, with all these thoughts of the past year on my mind. Listen to what I believe God was telling me in 1 Cor. 4: 1,17-18:

Since God in His mercy has given us this ministry, we never give up.… For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

For those of you in ministry I hope this has been some encouragement for you! Keep going and reaching people for Christ!

Mt. Rushmore

Hey everyone. Coming live to you from Rapid City, South Dakota. Yesterday we visited Mt. Rushmore and it’s pretty incredible what man can build and create. It was an amazing site to see and hear how it was built. We even took our own band picture re

creating Rushmore. You can check it out on my twitter or facebook if you want.

I woke up this morning with a passage of scripture, that I had read a couple months ago, on my mind. So I looked it up and reread it. It was in I Cor. 15:10. Paul says, “But because God was so gracious, so very generous, here I am.” You know being around Paul had to be so encouraging because of all that he had been through, his past, so much yet he still passionately pursued after God and the things of God. That guy has encouraged me so much throughout my Christian life. I think because most of the time he always communicates how I feel. When he says things like “I the chief or sinners” or “I’m not worthy to even be called an apostle”. Not that I’m an apostle but I see his heart. I know that there are times that I feel like I don’t deserve to be doing what I’m doing but because God is so gracious, so very generous, here I am. Paul mentions in the verses above Peter, and James, and then says I don’t deserve to be on the inner circle like them. But, he gets the love that God has for him despite his downfalls. That’s why he follows vs. 15 with, “And I’m not about to let His grace go to waste.”

I just want to encourage you today. No matter who you are or what you’ve done or will do, God has a purpose for each of us. I know most of you know that but let the words of Paul eco in your life today. But because God is so gracious, so very generous, here I am. And I’m not about to let His grace go to waste.

God Bless,

Josh Seagraves

The Jordan Stones

Well it’s starting to warm up here in Georgia. I’m gonna miss the winter. I know most people look forward to spring and summer, but I’m a winter lover. I love the cool temps but do love the things that

come along with spring and summer. As I look back at the winter time and look forward to the summer, I’m reminded to always think of what God has done and look forward to what He is doing so that I have strength for today. Or better phrased, a record of God’s faithfulness in the past combines with hope in a better future for one end: to equip us for the present.

I once wrote a paper for college called “The Jordan Stones.” The paper was based on the times that God told the children of Israel to build piles of stones in places that God did things so that future generations would see the stones and ask what they were for then prompting the adults to remember and tell the stories of how God moved in big ways for them. This year has already received some “Jordan Stones” in my book. Many of you that come to our shows have heard about us being in Haiti when the earthquake hit in January. You’ve heard Shane and Shaun share of the things God did and there were so many. It was truly an amazing time! One that sticks out to me was told to me later on after the trip. Our Holt rep., Chris, was just mentioning in passing that every time she had been to Haiti on a Trip with missions organizations and brought artist that they had stayed in Hotel Montana in Port-au-Prince. This was the first time that she came and we stayed in another hotel!! Incredible! I’m reminded once again that God is in control and it still brings tears to my eyes to think of how God was watching out for us because that hotel was completely destroyed. Many Americans lost their lives in that hotel. My parents often times would share with me the time I was a baby and how I managed to get the baby gate open that blocked the stairs going to our basement. I then went down about 15 stairs in my walker with no side railings only to be found by my mom completely unharmed and upright in my walker on the basement floor.

I share these things with you only to encourage you. God is and incredible loving Father that has great plans for us. When external circumstances press in, family strife, job pressures, financial worries, global concerns, think back to how God has been faithful to you. Remember the “Jordan Stones” in your life to gain hope for the future and strength for the present. Paul became frustrated with the people of Corinth in Acts 17 and had to be reminded by God that He was at work there even though Paul did see it in the present. God is always at work around us we just have to open our eyes to see sometimes. I hope that you can view all the distractions of your day from the perspective of eternity. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever!! TRUST HIM!

Holiday Fun

Hey guys and gals. Hope you are all well. It’s been a crazy year. Hard to believe that we are getting close to the end of 09. I really like this time of the year. It’s getting colder and that means

that I’m about to have a ton of incredible holiday food! It also means hanging out with the fam. I don’t know about you guys but it’s always very interesting when I get together with my family. I’m from the country so just imagine when a country boy turned rock and roller shows up with spiked hair and the rock shirts. Yep, I get the stares! At least once at each family gathering some one (usually my grandma) always ask, “Hey, did you stick your finger in a light socket” then they all laugh as do I. Then to keep the joke going I always reply, “Yep I sure did you should try it…now” hahahaha. Anywho, I hope all of you out there enjoy time with your families. I do even though I get the stares and questions but my family is great and they really enjoy hearing about all the places we play and things we do. Well lots of exciting things are around the corner for Julian Drive. We are writing for a new record and hopefully gonna start recording some in Dec. The songs are coming together and are really great. We cannot wait to share them with all of you in the new year. Keep checking back with us so you’ll know when we’ll be in your area. Until then hope you all have an amazing Thanksgiving and great Christmas always remembering to be thankful for all God has bless you with especially the birth of His Son Jesus.

Josh

White Chocolate Mocha

What’s up guys and gals! Just enjoying a beautiful day here in Athens. It feels great outside; not too hot and not too cold.  I spent this morning at one of my favorite coffee shops, buy viagra canada