That is quite the statement I have been alive now a whopping 28 whole years

I could not think of the best way to begin to share all God has done for me but I am going to attempt to name a few.

1. I am blessed first and most importantly because God will not impute sin unto me! Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. Romans 4:8 Yesterday, many people said very nice things about me. They may have not known it but they were actually referring to the goodness of God shown through me. Your see me, Trent Cornwell minus Jesus, is not a good guy.

2. I am blessed with a wonderful family. I have often wondered if God would ever use my life to make a true difference in this world.. I do not know if my wife has ever wondered that. Her unshakeable conviction that God has big plans for my life has been life changing for me. I have a wonderful mom, sister, brother, nephews, neices and believe it or not I even have some incredible in laws. My “in graces” (we like that term better) has treated me with kindness, respect, and understanding from the first day I met them. They have been greatly used of God and never treated me as a novice even when it was obvious I was. My heart almost leaps out of my chest as I think about my two kids and how God might use them for His glory!

3. I am blessed with a church family that sincerely believes the great commission is worthy of throwing your life into. I know of no other assistant pastor that does not have to do many of the things he is not gifted or called to do. They are there to set up tables, make the bulletins, do design work, you name it – they do it!

4. I am blessed to have friends faithfully serving the Lord around the world. God has allowed me to see strangers become friends and friends to become missionaries out of our church! The common mission has created a bond strong than blood – or better yet the blood of Christ has created family tie that is stronger then the blood man ever could. I know that with very little notice I could have friends from around the world on a plane headed my way to stand by myside and help me through anything.

5. I have been blessed to travel the world.When I purchased a passport 10 years ago I really thought I was paying a lot of monehy for a little book that would only be used once. Since then I have travelled to and preached in almost a dozen countries. Next month I am headed to India!!

6. I am blessed because I have and a front row seat at seeing God work! I have seen many really cool things, like the Great Wall of China, the Equator, Machu Pichu, Rupp Arena (for all the UK fans out there), but nothing compares to seeing God work. I can’t believe it but he has even allowed this hillbilly to be involved in it.

7. I am blessed to serve some of the most wonderful teenagers in the world. I don’t know how to say this and it is by no means an insult to the generation ahead of me.. But I cannot wait to see what the church will look like as our group of teenagers began to come into adult hood and take their place as adult leaders in the church. Their commitment to Jesus and each other is unlike anything I ever dreamed of for a youth ministry.

8. I am blessed to serve in a ministry where the lead pastor is as a father to me. I did not get hired in the common manner. I made a commitment to work with Pastor Austin Gardner as long as the Lord would allow me to. He is my mentor, friend, and shepherd. When he said he would be starting a church it wasn’t even really a question if I would be there with him. I am blessed that this family has allowed me to be part of their family.

I could go on and on and tell you of God’s goodness but I will eave it at 7 for now. Also, I have to run because I need to finish packing. Tomorrow Stephanie and I will be going on a first vacation in quite some time, a cruise, and our first time out of the country for recreational and resting purposes. Sometimes I feel so blessed I feel spoiled.

I never expected in a million years to be living out the life that I get to live out! I would say it is a dream come true but I didn’t even know enough to dream of all this. God has been good. Take away everything from the list above except number one and  I would still have plenty or reasons to worship Him.

Blessed is this man…

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Outgrown is a word parents of a 10 month and 2.5 year old find common in their new list of vocabulary given to them as parents. Why doesn’t he wear those shoes any more? Outgrown. Why do we need to get a new cars seat for her? Outgrown. We work with them to help them our outgrow things such as pull ups, pacifiers, punching people, and any other negative letter that starts with “p” or any other letter.

Some day soon they will outgrow things we won’t want them to outgrow. The hug every time they see us, the need to have a book read to them to sleep, and wanting to eat whatever we are eating. My heart hurts just thinking about how fast they are growing. (yes.. I know sappy.

I am pretty confident my son Thatcher aka Thatch monster aka Thatch Man aka “The Flying Squirrel” aka Bubby will outgrow me in size. He has a healthy appetite and some tall uncles. I am prepared for the day he makes fun of my 8.5 size shoe. I want to put life on pause thinking about the day my daughter will out grow the need for me to carry her around and will ask me to lead her down an aisle.

There is one way that I desire with all my heart not to be outgrown. I want to be the spiritual leader, mentor, example, servant and daddy to these two gifts from God as long as I have breath. I do not want them to outgrow me. I have seen it and it hurts the family. We see kids come to church without their parents. We see kids making decisions about foreign missions their parents in their spiritual immaturity do not understand. We have seen parents draw up and become cold and their kids grow in their passion for God in spite of it all.

Thatcher & Tinsley you may not read this for many years but we want you to know your mommy and daddy committed our lives to grow in our Christian lives so we can be the best mom and dad possible for you two.

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Mom, Granny, GG, friend, sister, aunt, co-worker, Sunday School teacher, ride to church or whatever you call my mom, Gail Franks, you know that she has added value to your life. She is my hero. In her pursuit of being a humble servant she has become a world class leader that is hardly seen in this world.

Some years ago I was in a conference in New York City and after a short conversation about life and ministry he handed me a card and offered to be my “life coach”. I chuckled, not knowing that was an actual term and occupation, and walked away in astonishment. After thinking about the odd nature of his proposal I sat down and began to thank about the term “life coach”. In my opinion this is not a place in someones life you can get by submitting a resume or handing out business cards. I have a mentors/life coaches that have made a huge impact in my life. None have been more instrumental of more loved then my mother. Let me explain why I say this.

1. My mom is always investing in someone. It was nearly impossible for me to find a picture of my mom without someone in the picture. She always has people with in arms reach to pull into pictures. In 1977 her first child was born my sister, Amanda. Six years later as Amanda crawled out of her arms and to her feet to play I found my way there. Then six years later my little brother, Todd, came on the seen and asked both of us to scoot over and make room. Then six years later the first grandson, Joseph Brown. Then six years later the wild man named John David Brown came to join the clan. Then to break the cycle about 6 years later me, my sister, and my brother all had kids with in a month of each other! I tell you this to show you that she has been a nurturing mother and grandmother to many and for many years. These are the names of the kids that were born to her. However, she adopted hundreds of people during these time and loved them as her own. She is always thinking of ways to help her “kids” grow and have every advantage to reach their God given potential.

2. My mom lives for the success of others. I may not fully realize the sacrifices my mom made to help us children have all that we had. Most of my childhood she raised us as a single mom working two to three jobs at a time. She was unappreciated and we ran all over her. Now that her kids are grown she still continues to make the same personal sacrifices to help others that are less fortunate.

3. She knows her strengths and weakness. My mom can do so many things well. However, the things she knows our not her strengths should get people to help us with.

4. She has a huge heart. Looking back on my childhood I think of sometimes that should have felt more difficult than it did. However, my mom tried her best to keep our eyes on other people so we did not notice the difficulties we were facing. People are always calling my mom to tell of their problems. Not just because she is a good listen but because they know that if she knows of a situation she will work relentless to solve it.

5. She believes in people. This is not just a cliche but she doesn’t see people as “bad but broken”. She understands that all men and women are born sinners in need of Jesus. She also knows that when people lash out in anger they are crying out for help. My mom has an amazing ability to look past the symptoms and see into the hearts of people. She has been able to love, forgive, and believe in people that most people would have wanted out of their lives.

I know my mom is one of the three readers of this blog – so she will eventually read this. I want you to know that I love you and happy 50th birthday. If I could pour out my life as a sacrifice to our great God as you have over the last 50 years I would be more than satisfied. You have been a wonderful role model and a “life coach” to so many. Thank you!

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Tinsley Jane Cornwell
Born: Today (Feb. 11th, 2011)
Where: Northside Forsyth Hospital (Cumming, Ga)
When: 4:02 pm
Size: 7 lbs. 1 oz. & 20 inches long

We are so excited about the birth of our daughter, Tinsley Jane Cornwell. We love her cute little face and her desire to be held
by her parents. However, what is most amazing is that the all wise God of Heaven allows two mortal beings to join together and
a soul is created. Tinsley does not have a soul. She is a soul and has a body.

We desire to raise this child for the glory of God. My the Cornwell Clan bring God maximum glory with our lives. Please, pray with us that Tinsley and Thatcher will accept Christ at a young age. They have the potential to be worshippers of the True God for all eternity and this is my favorite thing about them!

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As I sit here by my wife’s side waiting for Tinsley Jane Cornwell to discover America the words of Dean Alford come to my mind. I read these words first in Pushing to the Front, “There are moments that are worth more than years. We cannot help it. There is no proportion between spaces of time in importance nor in value.”. Today will be filled with moments that are worth more than years!

I thank God for these moments and ask Him for the wisdom to see that every moment I have is a gift from Him, not just those that seem most precious. If I knew I had 6 hours to live every second would be “a moment worth more than years”. If I live to the average age of man my days are equivalent to the seconds of the man with only 6 hours. I need to capture every moment and make the most of them!

We have a long day ahead of us. It will feel like years and not just a day. My everyday be so full of adrenaline and passion that it slows down so we can see the incredible value of it!

I will keep you updated throughout the day. Please keep my wife, Stephanie, in your prayers throughout the day.

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My wife and I are expecting our second child around Valentine’s Day next year. While we were expecting Thatcher we found our his gender as soon as possible. I remember the anticipation of the day we went to see our babies gender via an ultra sound. I would really like to wait until our child’s birth to find out this time. However, my wife has some stong and valid oppostion. She is not convinced that we should wait. However, she is open minded.

We are so thankful to God for another child. It does not matter to us if it is a boy or girl. Also, we are enjoying our current debate. We will be both be happy regardless of when we find out. We ask that you pray for his or her health.

We know the greatest preparation we can make is not the painting of a nursery or the putting together of a crib. The greatest thing we can do for this child is to allow God to rule and reign in our hearts in lives. The greatest preparation is spiritual.

We thought we would solicate some help from all of you out there as we think through this! You can click on the image above to be redirected to a site that allows you to cast your vote on this debate!

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I have many people in my life that have been highly influential in the forming of my life. I have a great mother who taught me to look beyond myself and see the needs of others. I have a great mentor in my Pastor, Austin Gardner. He has helped me form a Biblical world view and is helping equip me to make a real difference in my generation. However, no one has had more of an impact on the person I am today then my wonderful wife. Today she turns 26 years old!!

My Steph is a wonderful mother and a loving wife. She is absolutely beautiful and I have fallen more in love with her every day over the last three years. She became my best friend many years ago and I am thankful that God put a love for me in her heart. She is way out of my league and a much better wife than I could ever deserve.

Stephanie is truly a gift for God. God molded her life to perfectly complete me. She is a great example of what the Bible calls a “help meet”. I could not imagine life or ministry with out her. I am a hard headed sporadic mess at times. She has double vision. She can look past the ridiculous boy that I often am and sees the man of God that I can be when I allow God to have His will and way in my life. She gives me great confidence and I know no one loves me more then her. She would believe in me enough to follow me to the ends of the earth. This is not because I am a great guy, but that she has true faith in God to lead us.

I tell my teenagers often that “the right man, with the right heart, taking the right steps, will end up in the right place with the right person”! Only by God’s grace am I able to say that I have complete confidence that I am in the “right place and with the right person”. Every time I think about how perfect my wife is for me I marvel in the knowledge that God knows me better than I even know myself!

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Of course, as a man I have a tendency to be inclined to want a man child. However, I would could never imagine being disappointed about having a little girl.

However, if we are honest we know exactly what we prefer as youth pastors. When I am in my room and I hear so and so is here and they have friend my initial thought is “I hope it is a boy..” As we all know youth ministries and churches seem to attract women. It is often the struggle to get men. Boys just seem to be more fun and have more potential. (in my wrong view of thinking) We do know that God uses men. However, we also know that many men God desires to use are limited by a woman. We also know of men that would not be who they are without a woman.

I want to change my heart from “I hope it is boy” mentality in youth ministry to “I just want to be healthy (spiritually speaking) The Bible does say in Proverbs 31:10 Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. With God’s help and with my wife by my side we could invest into some young ladies who will become virtuous women. That is a pretty good investment.

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