New Blog: Live [Simply] Free

The Core has been a faithful blog to me for serveral years but it’s time to move on now. I’ve graduated college, and I’m starting a new chapter in my life.  My new blog, Live [Simply] Free, is more focused and really defines and depicts this new journey in my life.

Live [Simply] Free is about setting and accomplishing goals which could include:

• Having no debt
• Living your wildest dreams
• Traveling and living anywhere
• Being more productive
• Enriching your relationships

All through simplifying your life, commonly referred to as the minimalist lifestyle.  The less a person has, the more freedom they have to do.  This is my journey as I seek to live that kind of life, and what I’m doing to make it a reality.  I hope to inspire others to follow.

Hi, my name is Andrew Randazzo.  I’m the sole creator and writer of Live [Simply] Free.

I grew up in a Christian family and lived a pretty good life.  I ended up going to college to study Theology, but I was questioning a lot of things (ie. faith) and getting really tired of the rat race.  After finishing my BA in 3 years, I took a step back to figure out what life was all about.  I became resolute in my faith, and I realized that I can rush towards a goal and die the day before I reach it and miss all the opportunities that were around me in the present.  I’m done rushing around, and I’m all about living in the moment and squeezing the most of life.

I believe there’s more to life than what our society is settling for.  Life is all what you make it to be, and I choose to live extraordinarily.  I believe we all have a higher purpose to serve God and serve others, and that that life is the most fulfilling life one can live, and nothing can be done apart from Christ.  That’s the premise of this blog.  Below is a little bit more about me, and you can also check out my Life Rules:

• I’m a hard core Christian
• I’ve spent a few years living in Venezuela
• I have a degree in Theology from Northland International University
• I currently live in the beautiful city of Knoxville
• I am an EMT
• My future plans are to go through Paramedic school and then get my RN
• My hobbies consist of swimming, blogging, and wakeboarding

You can contact me by email.

I’d love to hear from you on Twitter.

You should also subscribe to get free updates from my blog via RSS or Email

Reemerging

It’s been eight months since I’ve posted anything on this blog.  I don’t have to tell you that a lot happens in that amount time.  So, I’m going to spare you the details right now (perhaps I’ll give some history in later posts), and instead let you know where I’m at in life currently.

I’m a college graduate as of two weeks ago.  It didn’t take as long as I thought for that reality to sink in.  So what am I doing now that I don’t have school?  Well…..a lot!  Now that I’m home for the long haul, my priority has been to organize my life for such permanence.  There’s a website called ZenHabits which has been very helpful in how to declutter and simplify your life in all areas (more on that in later posts).  When I say “organization” that’s probably an understatement, seeing as I’ve been organizing for at least a couple hours everyday for the past two weeks, and I still have a couple days to go.

What could possibly require that much organization?  Well, I’ve cataloged all my books with Delicious Library 2 (view my library).  Digitalized every piece of paper and photo I have in an effort to live a paperless life (not including my current books, but all future books will go on my Kindle).  Throwing out about 6 trash bags full of things I don’t need or use anymore.  Meticulously creating a filing system on my computer.  Going through my Gmail contacts list and editing and whittling it down from 700+ to 200+.  Going into my Google Reader and taking it from 86 feeds down to 11 feeds.  Deleting and adding applications on my Mac to declutter and increase productivity.  Right now my most used apps are Stickies (digital sticky notes), iGTD (advanced to-do list), MacJournal, iCal, and Address Book.

So is that all I’ve been doing since I’ve been home?  Nope!  I’m on staff at Calvary Community Church as a pastoral assistant.  I’ve been getting up to speed with everything going on in the church, and my greatest desire is to empower people to be better ministers of the gospel in church and the community.  How am I doing that?  Good question, I’m still figuring that out by learning about the needs and spiritual gifts we currently have in the church.

Also, I’ve been gone for three years, as a result, I don’t know a lot of people in Knoxville.  So, I’m taking every opportunity I can to meet new people, build relationships, and have some sort of network (personal and business).

Is that it? Not even close, but I’m going to stop there and go more into detail in later posts.

Live Blogging Carson and Piper

I’m here at Park Community Church in Chicago. I’m live blogging Don Carson and John Piper as they talk about “The Pastor as a Scholar and the Scholar as a Pastor”. You can follow the live blog by Clicking Here.

Early Morning of The Gospel Coalition National Conference 2009

It’s 4:45 AM and I’m here with John Fieck and Viz at his house waiting to get picked up. We’re heading down to Chicago this morning for The Gospel Coalition conference 2009. I’m really excited to get there, and hopefully we’ll have safe travels and not run into any heavy traffic.

We should be live blogging the conference, but more on that later. Just putting a quick shout out before we hit the road for the next 5hr.

Upcoming Gospel Coalition and Band of Bloggers

Next week from Tuesday to Thursday, a group from my school will be heading down to Chicago for The Gospel Coalition conference.  This conference is going to have some great speakers like John Piper, DA Carson, Mark Driscoll, Tim Keller, and Ligon Duncan.  Along with the main speakers, there will be a number of workshops available.  I’m excited to go and be refreshed and encouraged by these and other attending brothers.

A joint venture of this conference is the Band of Bloggers which is a fellowship of bloggers that meets for a lunch seminar on blogging for Christ.  We’ll here from a panel of top Christian bloggers as they share and relate their methods and philosophies of blogging with a Christian perspective. Speaking of blogging, assuming there is internet in the convention center, I’ll be live blogging this event.

At both conferences, we’ll be receiving a number of books.  I’ve listed them below, and there will be a number of drawings for other books.

• Finally Alive by John Piper
• Unfashionable: Making a Difference in the World by Being Different by Tullian Tchividjian
• Lost and Found: The Younger Unchurched and the Churches that Reach Them by Ed Stetzer, Richie Stanley, and Jason Hayes
• The Soul of Life: The Piety of John Calvin edited by Joel Beeke
• Tactics: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions by Greg Koukl
• The Advent of Evangelicalism: Exploring Historical Continuities by Michael Haykin & Kenneth Stewart
• Adopted for Life: The Priority of Adoption in Christian Families and Churches by Russell Moore
• The God I Don’t Understand: Reflections on Tough Questions of Faith by Christopher J.H. Wright
• ApParent Privilege by Steve Wright and Chris Graves
• Perspectives on Christian Worship: Five Views edited by J. Matthew Pinson
• Journal of Ministry and Theology
• ESV Study Bible
• The Bookends of the Christian Life by Jerry Bridges and Bob Bevington
• Adopted for Life: The Priority of Adoption for Christian Families and Churches by Russell D. Moore and C.J. Mahaney,
• Jesus: Dead or Alive by John Blanchard and Faith Cook
• Christianity Explored-How to Run the Course
• Getting the Gospel Right by Cornelis P. Venema,
• One Minute After You Die by Erwin W. Lutzer,
• Marks of a Disciple by Lorne C. Sanny
• Total Church: A Radical Reshaping around Gospel and Community by Tim Chester and Steve Timmis
• A Proverbs Driven Life: Timeless Wisdom for Your Words, Work, Wealth, and Relationships by Anthony Selvaggio
• The Gospel Story