Thoughts of inadequacy and how the Bible tells us to deal with it

Hello again my friends and readers, This time I am going to discuss something of greater personal significance in regard to my own spiritual development and current struggles that I have been through in my faith recently.  Over the past few months, I have been dealing with feelings of uselessness and inadequacy, feeling like I am not doing what God wants from me in my life.  I've been thinking about how to deal with these troublesome thoughts, and with some help from my friends, and a little look inside myself, I have been able to discern how to move on in my life.  I had been feeling like I wasn't moving ahead quickly enough; like I was stuck in the place I am at.  Since I am human, I want to be able to move forward quickly with my life, and get on to what I feel God wants from my life.  But in the midst of school, preparing for grad school, and many other things, I have forgotten what God says about relying on my own strength in order to survive in this world.  I have trusted too much in my own strength instead of placing everything I have in Him and trusting in His promise to sustain me.  As a result of this, I have been feeling burned out and drained of energy at times.  My friends and family have reminded me that I am where God wants me to be, and they have been very graciously praying for me.  They have reminded me that even though I have been feeling useless lately, I still have ways in which I can live my life for Jesus while I am still at school.  I don't now what I would do without my family and all of the great friends that I have.  It is important to remember to fill our lives with His Holy Spirit every day, because it's presence is all that we need in order to carry on day to day in this world.  Our troubles may seem like they are unconquerable, but nothing is impossible with God. Amen.

Matthew 11:28-30   Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

Hello and Welcome

I would like to thank all of the people who will read this blog.  I plan on posting whenever I my thoughts become overwhelming and I feel the need to express them, or when I have random bursts of inspiration.  So for this first blog entry I'm going to introduce myself to my readers so you all get to know me better.  My name is Tyler Bartz and I am a senior at Carthage College, graduating with my bachelor's degree in psychology this December, and then eventually getting a doctorate in occupational therapy after 2 years at least.  I'm from Roscoe, Illinois, but Wisconsin is the state that holds my heart.  I see myself living in Lake Geneva Wisconsin, on the beautiful lake, in a nice home, and a medium sized family.  Unrealistic?  Maybe?  Possible? Definitely!  I am a Christian who believes that Jesus Christ is the one who came to save us from our sins, and it is only through his sacrifice on the cross that we are freed from the power of death. This is central to everything that I have done in my life for the time that I have been in college, since I graduated from high school in 2008.  My faith has been greatly supplemented through my having served at Inspiration Ministries for the last 4 years, going on 5 years.  It is truly a great place that has given me some of my best friends, and allowed me to create some of the greatest and proudest memories in my life.  I guarantee that you will all hear more about I.M. in later posts of this blog.  Among the things that I have done at Carthage, my involvement in the Gospel Messengers choir has been the most powerful influence on my Christian life.  I have been greatly honored to have been able to be a part of this amazing group during my time here at Carthage, and I can not imagine life here without it.  I will also say more about my experiences in Gospel in later blogs.  Don't expect all of my blogs to be this serious, some will be more light-hearted in nature, and discuss less spiritual things such as sports, music, entertainment, cars, etc.  Even though I am a strong Christian, I still love to have a good time while I'm serving Him.  Also, expect subsequent posts to be much longer than this.  This one is short for several reasons:  One it's late, two its my first post, and three I don't have a pattern set up for how I want this to work.  So thanks again for reading, and be sure to check back often for new posts!!!!  The next post will be more spiritually based, focusing on the things that the LORD has been stirring up in my heart regarding how everything in this world is essentially meaningless when compared to his glory, and He has a way for me to overcome this feeling of being useless and living a meaningless life.
Psalm 107:1-9      Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.  Let the redeemed of the LORD say this- those he redeemed form the hands of the foe, those he gathered from the lands, form east and west, from north and south.  Some wandered in desert wastelands, finding no way to a city where they could settle.  They were hungry and thirsty, and their lives ebbed away.  Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and he delivered them from their distress.  He led them by a straight way, to a city where they could settle.  Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and for his wonderful deeds for men, for he satisfies the thirsty and  fills the hungry with good things.   Amen