Old Songs Fond Memories

So the other day I went to half price books. Someone donated a whole bushel of books to the church and it has been deemed my responsibility to sell, give away, these books, and the proceeds will go to the Student Ministry. Great deal for us.

So I brought a bunch of books to Half Price to see what we could get for them, and while I was there with the great Chris Mears, I came across a CD by a band called Poor Old Lu.

Mindsize is a great CD, it only cost a dollar, and I didn’t know where else I could find it, so I just had to grab it. Best dollar I have spent in a long time.

There is something about listening to an old CD that always brings back memories. This CD in particular reminds me of my friend Dustin Shirley. Dustin is one of the most influential people in my life. He was on youth staff at the student ministry I grew up in. He was responsible for helping me break out of my shell. He was a great encouragement in my life. When he went to do an internship at another church I actually cried. I was devestated.

Fast Forward a few years, Dustin and I reunite to play in a band together. Dustin had a Jeep for a few years while we were in the Band and he and I would always ride together to gigs. Whenever we could we would ride around with the top off and listen to some incredible music. Dustin introduced me to U2 with the Joshua Tree, Sting and the Police, the 77’s and Poor Old Lu. We would crank these albums and ride.

I could never thank Dustin enough for the role that he played in my life. And when I found Mindsize I instantly thought of him and I bought it because I love Poor Old Lu and this is the only Album that I didn’t have. I also bought it because I knew it would make Dustin proud.

Dustin is now married with three beautiful Children, he helped us get into our house, and I have not been a very good friend because I haven’t called him in a long time. But I need to.

Dustin has impacted me in so many ways he’s probably in my top 5 most influential people. When Dustin was on youth staff I may have been just one more kid in the youth group. He probably had no idea what kind of impact he would have on my life, but he did whether he meant to or not.

As a youth pastor I have to be constantly mindful of who I am impacting intentionally and unintentionally. How am I living, what am I saying, am I speaking life to people? You never know if 12 years later that skinny little seventh grader might see a CD that you introduced him to and buy that CD because of the person that you were in his or her life.

Who are you impacting? Who are you living before? If you don’t know, it doesn’t mean it isn’t happening. Because it is. It may be small and inconsequential now, but it may turn into a life long transformation in that person. You might change their life for ever. And all you did was ride around in a Jeep and listen to really great music.