Peace.

I'm determined to get back in the habit of blogging. Determined. Sorry its been so long... anyways... here we go... :)

Recently, I've had a lot going on, whether it be homework, skating, church, or whatever. I've been struggling with making decisions and trusting the Lord completely. At Elevation, Kristian sang a new song called "He's holding my world in His hands"...

So I will not worry or fret,
My God is the God who will never forget,
All of His goodness,
All of His promises,
He's holding my world in his hands.

How perfect. Psalm 55:22 says "Cast your burdens on the Lord, and he will sustain you". And Psalm 37:5, 7 says, "Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will act... Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him". Luke 12:22 says, "Then Jesus said to his disciples: 'Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear'". These verses and the song by Kristian Stanfill have comforted me so much these past few weeks. If I trust the Lord, He WILL work things out. Another new song that Kristian sang goes like this...

Day after day,
Our God is reigning,
He's never shaken,
My hope is in the Lord.

Time after time,
Our God is faithful,
Trustworthy Savior,
My hope is in the Lord.

My hope is in the Lord. I trust him, and I literally could not live without him. I would be a mess if I didn't have Jesus Christ as my Father that I could constantly turn to and trust with anything. Just wanted to share that. Love yall. :)

Prayer of my heart.

Okay, yes, yes, yes, I knowww. I haven't posted in like a zillion years. SORRY!!! I've had a crazy crazy last few months! Mission trip- 1 week; camp- 4 weeks; Sawyer's house- 1 week; home- 2 weeks; mountains- 1 week; Home- 1 weeks... then school started! Anyways, I'm finally getting around to posting again, and hopefully, it will turn back into a semi-regular routine for me :)

On Sunday morning, Pastor Kallam challenged us to let this verse be the prayer of our hearts:

"Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law." ~Psalm 119:18

This should describe our prayer life. Psalm 119:41 says "Let your love, God, shape my life." If we're letting the Lord's love shape our life, then we will have a crazy desire burning inside us to see wonderful things in his law. Psalm 119:47-48 says "I cherish your commandments- Oh, how I love them!" Hmmm. Not exactly our first response to rules, is it? Not for me, thats for sure!! But, if we pray that God's love will shape our life, then we will desire to see wonderful things in the Word. If we begin to look for the splendor in the Bible, we will find it everywhere.... not just in praises and promises, but in rules as well. The Lord's rules will bring us freedom and we will begin to see goodness in his law, the more and more we love him and are drawn closer to him (vs 33-34). Tim challenged us to pray for three things this week as we strive to seek the Lord:

1. Incline my heart to LOVE your word. (vs 36)
2. Give me understanding to LEARN your word. (vs 33-34)
3. Give me strength to LIVE your word. (vs 33-34)

After Pastor Kallam gave us those three things to pray over ourselves this week, Mrs. Melick leaned over and wrote down "Love. Learn. Live." I'm sure that was Tim's point as he challenged us to those three prayers, but smart me never would have figured it out :) Those three things completely sum up what our lives should be: an offering to the Lord. We should LOVE his word, want to LEARN it, and strive to LIVE it. This week, let the prayer of your heart be Psalm 119:18... "Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law." As you pray that the Lord would open your eyes, pray specifically that you would LOVE his word, LEARN his word, and LIVE his word.

summer picture update.

home.

just got home. from hale county. from camp. from greenville. from raleigh.
sorry its been so long.
i dont even know what to write about... im exhausted, missing friends from church and hale county. missing camp. missing nc friends. but its good to be home. so good.
thank you, lord, for blessing me with amazing friends. for giving me the opportunity to go to hale county, for all i learned there. it feels like forever ago. thank you for camp. for the best summer ive ever had. a faaaaaantastic way to end my camper experience. im so blessed.
thank you.

Photo Update :)

TRUST.

Ohmygoodness. Every time I post, I SAY I'm gonna post again soon, and then I don't. Sorry :/. And, after this, I'm not sure if I'll post again for a while. Possibly next week when I get back from my mission trip to Hale County, but probably not til after camp in like 6 weeks! Butttt, anyways. I've been like insanely busy. Exams, end of the year parties, babysitting, Em came!!!, packing... its been kindaaa crazy. Only kinda. ;) Because of all thats been going on, I feel like I've drifted away from the Lord and just not spent enough time in the Word. So, this past week I've been trying so hard to give myself fully to the Lord. I mean, yes, I'm still packing like crazy getting ready for this summer, and although that needs to happen, God is more important. I often forget that and stray away from him when I "dont have time". The thing is... it should be the other way around. God should be FIRST in my life. If I keep him as my first priority, then everything will fall into place after that. This is kinda random... but once I explain, I promise it'll fit in :) Last year, I thought about going to public school, but ended up deciding to stay at co-op. However, this year, I've prayed and prayed and prayed and I strongly feel that the Lord has called me to leave co-op and go to Vestavia. Its one of the hardest decisions I've ever made... all my very very best friends go to co-op, and I can't even begin to imagine school without them. I mean, DUH, I'm still gonna see them, but not like every other day. (Lex and Kay and Ash, I'm gonna miss our parking lot conversations... BIG TIME. Soooo, we can still have those kind of discussions on the phone :)) But, anyways, for a while when I first started thinking about Vestavia, I prayed so much and thrived by living in God's word. But, lately, the more I think about it, the more I get mad. I mean, yeah, I am excited about going to Vestavia. I know people from church and stuff, but its not like my same group of best friends. I really can't wait, but I just wish I could stay at co-op. But, I just don't get why me of all people has to be the one to leave. So, I've kinda... not like intentionally... but because of my frustration over that decision, thats also been part of my drifting. This past week, the Lord has laid the topic of trust on my heart. "When I am afraid, I will TRUST in you. " "TRUST in the Lord with all you heart and all your soul and all your mind." "But I TRUST in you, Oh Lord. I say 'You are my God.'" And, one of my favorites:

"Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord; TRUST in him and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun." ~Psalm 37:4-6

By trusting him, the Lord will reveal his plan for me. HIS plan. Not my plan, but his. I trust in him that he will use me as an example at Vestavia, and let the "justice of my cause [shine] like the noonday sun." I'm gonna miss my friends so much, but I am CONFIDENT that I will still get to see them! They can come to Vestavia football games and I'll still go to ECS games :) As hard as God's plan is for me to grasp, he has a purpose for my life and he will use me in ways that I can't even imagine. One last thing, then I promise I'll quit rambling :) When I was flying home from North Carolina about two weeks ago, we saw and AMAZING rainbow as we were heading down to the ground. Took it on my phone so its not a great picture butttt.... its still pretty :)

Then a few days ago, I was in the car and I saw another one! It was aboslutely amazing! (Okayyy, well forget the picture on this one.. its not loading, but it was a beautiful rainbow and you could see every single color!!) Anyways, both times, I was reminded of the Lord's promises. He will never leave us or forsake us. He is with us all the time, guiding us and walking with us through everything. Even though I've been busy and had such a hard time with my school decision, the Lord is right there with me!!!

The Battle for Lucinda's Heart: Briarwood Ballet 2010

Ohmygoodness. I do not have words to describe how amazing the B'wood Ballet performance was!!! Like, ohmygosh. I just, I just don't even know. It was AMAZING! All my friends were beautiful and I'm so proud of each and every one of them!! Here are some pictures :)



Love these Immanuel girls :)


Mrs. Barker!!!


Empress Shelly ;)


McKenzie was the main character, Lucinda, and she was absolutely perfect!


Kay and Anna as the Spider and Little Miss Muffet :)


Sarah as the ballerina doll! She danced beautifully!!


Emily and all the other trees from the forest scene!


Dawn :)


Courtiers! LOVE their costumes!


Finale :)

Aren't they gorgeous?! Yep. So, if you didn't come this year, you missed out big time, buttttt that just means you'll have to come next year!! :)

Pslams 105:1-6

"Hallelujah! Thank God! Pray to him by name! Tell everyone you meet what he has done! Sing him songs, belt out hymns, translate his wonders into music! Honor his holy name with Hallelujahs, you who seek God. Live a happy life! Keep your eyes open for God, watch for his works; be alert for signs of his presence. Remember the world of wonders he has made, his miracles, and the verdicts he's rendered- O seed of Abraham, his servant, O child of Jacob, his chosen."

Testimony.

So I just did a post but... here's another one! For missions training, we had to share our testimony, so I thought I'd share it on here :)

Probably like many of y'all who are reading this, I grew up in a Christian home with great parents who taught me all about God's word and his love for me and how he died on the cross to forgive my sins. I loved Sunday school and when I learned how to "read" in Preschool... more like my parents read to me so much, I memorized my favorite books... I loved reading these Bible stories that we had that had like 4 words on a page... literally. I love that about a little kids faith. Its so simple, and they know so little, yet they trust the Lord. I wish I could be like that now! But, anyways, two of my favorite stories were when Jesus calms the storm (Matt. 8:23-27) and Jesus' first miracle, when He turned water to wine (John 2:1-11). I feel like now, we so often overlook miracles and how real they are. God is a powerful God and he works miracles every day. Some are obvious, more physical ones, but the Lord also moves mountains in our lives. As strong as my faith was when I was little, I drifted from the Lord when we moved to Pittsburgh. I had lived in North Carolina all my life, so as a 12 year old, I was NOT ready to experience something new. It wasn't like I hated God or even necessarily blamed him for my family having to move, but I just kinda quit caring. I hated leaving my friends and didn't think I would ever make new ones. So, when we moved to Pittsburgh, I just pretty much shut God out. After living in Pittsburgh for 9 months, we moved back to Raleigh. 3 months later, my parents announced to us that we were moving to Birmingham, which of course set me off all over again. I had just made friends again in Raleigh, we lived right down the street from one of my best friends to this day, my grandparents were 5 minutes away and I loved my school. Then we just picked up and left my life that I loved to come somewhere new... again. Moving to Birmingham was even worse, because I was so excited about moving back to Raleigh and then it lasted for 3 months. When I moved to Bham, people were so sweet and welcoming and I made friends fast... friends that I still have 3 years later. But, I was still just mad, and I didn't make the most out of that year. I didn't like going to church and I was mad at my parents for moving again. Over the year, things got better, but I still had just kinda put the Lord out of my life all together. That summer, I got involved in the youth group since I was headed into junior high and made even more amazing friends, but still didn't have a personal relationship with Jesus. In August of my 7th grade year, I went to Elevation, and annual in-town weekend retreat at my church with amazing worship and a great speaker. It was the first time I had felt the Lords present. I was overwhelmed with a peace, but I didn't really get that it was coming from my Father. I accepted Christ as my Savior, but still didn't really get it. At Breakthru, a retreat over Christmas break that same year, I understood more and more what it meant for Jesus to live in my life and to have a PERSONAL relationship with him. Elevation and Breakthru were both unlike anything I had ever experienced and the Lord moved my heart. Ever since that August, I've been a Christian and committed myself to becoming closer and closer with the Lord. My life is still far from perfect, but without Jesus, I couldn't do it. That 7th grade year, I learned a verse that I love! "Be kind in the way you act toward outsiders, making the most of EVERY opportunity. Let your conversation be full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone." (Colossians 4:5-6) Lately, I've felt myself busy and not having time for the Lord. With finishing up school; taking tests, writing essays, studying for exams, I've pushed the Lord into a corner of my life where I think if I do my devotion every day thats fine. But, thats wrong. Jesus is my FRIEND and if I talked to my friends for 5 minutes a day and that was it, we wouldn't be best friends. So, despite my busy schedule, I'm learning to make more time for my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. "I am the vine, you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit. Apart from me, you can do nothing." (John 15:5). We must ABIDE in God and TRUST him in ALL circumstances. There have been some situations lately making it hard to trust him and I constantly have to remember to "Trust in the Lord with all my heart, and lean not on my own understanding, but in all my ways, acknowledge HIM and HE will make my path straight." (Proverbs 4:5-6). So, thats pretty much it. Sorry it was so long :)

Blessed be your name.

Blessed be Your name
When the sun's shining down on me
When the world's 'all as it should be'
Blessed be Your name

Blessed be Your name
On the road marked with suffering
Though there's pain in the offering
Blessed be Your name

Every blessing You pour out
I'll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name
------

That song is such a challenge to me. Like for real "Blessed be your name on the road marked with suffering"? That is so hard! Yesterday was just not a good day. Well, actually, it was a really really really good day, but then there was just some not good stuff mixed in with it. Last night, I sat on the phone with Ash and we just both cried for like ohmygosh I don't even know how long. And then she started telling me how her problems felt so little compared to so many others, and here we were crying over them. People are dying, struggling through cancer, trying to find food and don't know where there next meal is coming from. Its crazy how insignificant our problems are, yet we think they are so big. I was so reminded of God's plan. Through EVERYTHING. I don't know what His plan is....

okay, hold on, pause... Ash, American Honey is on ;)

...But, like I honestly don't know what the Lord's plan is for my life or anybody else's and so frequently, I don't trust the Lord with my life! He CREATED me, I'm pretty sure he does indeed know what's best for me. So, God, Blessed be your name, even on the road marked with suffering. Help me trust you, FULLY, with my life God. Let my lifesong sing to you. As I was talking to Ash, we were doing my Bible study together over the phone. Just looking up verses and stuff. And, every single verse we looked up was exactly what we needed. Talk about a God thing. Okay, wow, another God thing. I was flipping through my Bible to find the verses to put on here, and guess what verse I came across. "Cursed is the strong one who depends on mere humans, who thinks he can make it on muscle alone and sets God aside as dead weight... But blessed is the man who trusts in God and the woman who sticks with God." (Jeremiah 17:5, 7) Wow. God is amazing.

Here are some of the verses:

"You use steel to sharpen steel, and one friend sharpens another." ~Proverbs 27:17

"Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that." ~James 4:14-15

"Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken." ~Ecclesiastes 4:12

"For God has not given you a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of self-control." ~2 Timothy 1:7

"By an act of faith, Abraham said yes to God's call to travel to an unknown place that would become his home." ~Hebrews 11:8

"Give [God's word] plenty of room in your lives. Instruct and direct each other using good common sense. And sing, sing your hearts out to God! Let every detail in your lives--words, actions, whatever--be done in the name of the Master Jesus, thanking God the Father every step of the way." ~Colossians 3:16-17

So, God, BLESSED BE YOUR NAME. God, even in trials and suffering. No matter what we're going through, Father. We will trust you. We love you so much.

Doesn't understand.

I don't really understand a lot of things. Like a whole whole WHOLE lot of things. Like math. Period. It makes NO sense. And, books... like The Great Gatsby... um talk about CONFUSING! And, pretty much anything else that relates to school... cept history makes sense :) And, lots of things my mother says... like getting in trouble for not wearing sunscreen because I might burn up and die or something. I'm not even burned! And, why things can't just BE clean, without me having to clean them. And why my sister has to hog the computer. And, a whole lot of other things. But I'm rambling, so now I'm gonna stop. But, I really don't get how a judges brain works. I personally think I would make a much better judge than some of the ones in Alabama. But whatever. No, not whatever. It's really totally super kinda a lot not fair! So, one of my very best friend on the entire earth ever's little sister got taken away by DHR and now she's not coming home. Ever. Loooooong story short. For the long version, go to the "Bring Kayden Home(Please Join)" group on Facebook. But, basically, its not fair. But, apparently, its God's plan, so we're gonna have to trust Him. Even though I'm pretty much failing in that area at the moment. But, for real, I truly TRUST that God does indeed have a plan, but at the moment, thats another thing I don't understand. AT ALL. God's mind is like way hugely bigger than mine (clearly... since I've already listed off half a million things I "don't understand"...), but sometimes, I would just love if he would let me in on his plan just a little bit in advance. But, then again, then that would defeat the point of having faith.

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart. Lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." ~Proverbs 4:5-6

"Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified, do not be discouraged, for the LORD your GOD is with you, WHEREVER you go." ~Joshua 1:9

"'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you; to give you a hope and a future'". ~Jerimiah 29:11

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition, let your requests be made known to God. And let the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts and minds in CHRIST JESUS." ~Philippians 4:6-7


Those verses are all such overused and misunderstood verses. Or a better word/words would be not thought about. People.. including me.... frequently use all four of those verses without thinking about them. God has a PLAN. For EACH one of us. Not just A plan but a PERFECT plan. We have to TRUST his plan though. We often look past the "lean not on your own understanding part". I mean, I think I've clarified my lack of understanding about a lot of things... which is the whole point of that verse. Lean NOT on YOUR understanding but TRUST in the LORD's. Do not be anxious, but let the PEACE of GOD which surpasses all UNDERSTANDING, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. What a powerful verse! God is with you WHEREVER YOU GO, so do not be terrified or discouraged. Despite my lack of understanding, I thank the Lord that he has a plan. God, help me trust you!

Not my will, but YOURS be done! (Luke 22:42)

Soo... Its been awhile. Yeah, I know, I'm doing a terrible job at updating... ; )

But. Okay. Here are just some verses and thoughts from our mission training for the Hale County 2010 trip!

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a cloud of witnesses, let us throw off all that hinders and the evil that so easily entangles, and let us run with PERSEVERANCE the race marked out for us." ~Hebrews 12:1

I think its significant here that we are to run with perseverance. God doesn't just call us to run, but to run without giving up. To stand out and be different. To Persevere.

"Let the message of Christ COMPLETELY fill your lives, while you use ALL your wisdom to teach and instruct each OTHER. With thankful hearts, sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. And WHATEVER you do, whether in word or deed, do it ALL through the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to him to God the Father." ~Colossians 3:16-17

Ohmygosh. I love this! (Even though I didn't exactly memorize it like I was supposed to...) Clearly, we are supposed to give God 100%. Completely, whatever, all. Those words mean not just half way, but all the way. For God. To HIS glory. Serving others. Not once does God's word say 'Use ALL your wisdom to serve YOURSELF'. Or 'Use some of your wisdom to serve others'. No, He tells us, no try commands, us to give him our all! To give thanks to Him as we serve others. Yeah, thats kinda not what our world operates on is it? Nope. Thats why its GOD'S word. Because God is different... an EXCELLENT kind of different! We are called to stand out by serving others while giving thanks to God. I pray that for myself as well as our whole entire team of students going on the mission trips. That not only would we serve God with willing hearts, but that as we work for others that we would THANK him for such an amazing opportunity to be salt and light to the world!

"The grass withers and flowers fall, but the word of God stand forever." ~Isaiah 40:8

This one is simple, but still amazing. Things on earth, including us, are temporary and don't last forever. But the WORD OF GOD lasts FOREVER. For all of eternity!

"All scripture is GOD-BREATHED and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be THOROUGHLY equipped for EVERY GOOD work." ~2 Timothy 3:16-17

This verse just shows me how useful the Bible is. I mean, duh, God wrote it for a purpose, but I love the specifics of this verse. Scripture has God's breath on it! How amazing! It helps us be COMPLETELY prepared for anything!! Don't you just love God? He makes things so easy for us, giving us his word as a guide, yet we ignore the Bible and make everything so difficult!

"Do not be anxious about ANYTHING, but in EVERYTHING, through prayer and petition, let your requests be made known to God. And, let the PEACE of God, which surpasses ALL understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." ~Philippians 4:6-7

Again, notice the anything, everything, and all. God isn't a half-hearted God, He does everything full out and wants us to do the same! Also, peace is so amazing! We rarely let Christ's peace fully soak in us, but when it does, it can help us accomplish amazing things! Let God's peace GUARD YOUR HEARTS AND MINDS!!!

Oh, and I almost forgot the whole title of my post... haha. Okay, well my favorite favorite verse from mission training so far is "But please, not my will, but yours be done." ~Luke 22:42

Such a great reminder to focus on God's plan for our lives instead of dwelling on what we want!

Random songs... :)

My God is not dead,
He is surely alive,
Living on the inside,
Roaring like a lion
***

I need you, Jesus
To come to my rescue,
Where else can I go?
***

Because my sinless Savior died,
My sinful soul is counted free,
For God the Just is satisfied,
To look on Him and Pardon me
***

You never give up on me,
You never give up on me,
Though I'm weak and I'm strong,
You've told me I still belong,
No, you'll never, Never give up on me
***

We will shine like stars in the universe,
Holding out Your truth in the darkest place.
We'll be living for Your glory,
Jesus we'll be living for Your glory.

We will burn so bright with Your praise O God,
And declare Your light to this broken world.
We'll be living for Your glory,
Jesus we'll be living for Your glory.
***

Without Thy sweet mercy, I could not live here.
Sin would reduce me to utter despair,
But through Thy free goodness, my spirit's revived
And He that first made me still keeps me alive.
***

:)

"GOOD Friday"? ...A cry of VICTORY not defeat.

Happy Good Friday. Or not really happy, or good for that matter... because our Lord died, but on the other hand amazing, because he died for US. The "Good" Friday service at my church tonight was AMAZING! Marcus, our pastoral intern, did the sermon and it was soooo good and SaraBeth sang (!!!) and ohmygosh, I just absolutely loved it!! We sang In Christ Alone, The Power of the Cross, There is a Fountain, Lead Me to the Crosss, and I can't remember what else.


In Christ alone,
My hope is found,
He is my strength,
My life, My song...
----
This, the power of the cross:
Christ became sin for us;
Took the blame, bore the wrath—
We stand forgiven at the cross.

This, the power of the cross:
Son of God—slain for us.
What a love! What a cost!
We stand forgiven at the cross...
----
There is a fountain filled with blood
Drawn from Immanuel's veins
And sinners plunged beneath that flood
Lose all their guilty stains

Lose all their guilty stains
Lose all their guilty stains
And sinners plunged beneath that flood
Lose all their guilty stains

The dying thief rejoiced to see
That fountain in his day
And there may I, though vile as he
Wash all my sins away...
----
Lead me to the cross,
Where your love poured out,
Bring me to my knees,
Lord, I lay me down

Rid me of myself,
I belong to you
Oh, lead me,
Lead me to the cross...

Well, that was a lot of songs, but honestly, truly, take some time to read through those lyrics. No joke. Do it... yeah now.







Okay. Wasn't that worth five minutes of your day? Did you think about the words? Because tonight I did. They struck me in a whole new way. Lead Me to the Cross gets me every single time... "Rid me of myself"??? Talk about humbling. It's not everyday that we say "Rid me of myself". I mean, really. That's completely admitting you're wrong... telling God to TAKE OVER your life... your full life... not just the parts you tell him to, but surrendering your WHOLE self to him. Trust me. You have NO idea how hard that is for me. You shoulda seen me this morning, fighting with my mom. Um, yeah, to say the least, I was NOT letting God "rid me of myself". Not at all. We all have our moments... I will be the first to admit that! We're are sinful; not a day goes by that we don't sin. But sin isn't necessary. Can't we at least try our hardest to keep God in mind... truly IN MIND... THROUGHOUT the ENTIRE day? That is my prayer this Easter. To LOVE the Lord with my whole heart. To TRUST him with my life. To SURRENDER my whole self, yeah, you heard me. WHOLE SELF. To Him. Him ALONE. God shouldn't be "first", but he should be "only". I'm proud to be in a RELATIONSHIP with Christ. A relationship. That means two people... not just God. ME and God. Which involves me LOVING the Lord with a whole heart, TRUSTING him with my life, and SURRENDERING my whole self to him. So, I got a little off topic with what we talked about at church tonight, but on my blog posts I normally just type out my thoughts as they come to me. And, as I'm SURE you've noticed, I have quite a random brain ;) But, back to Easter...

Marcus talked about how loving Jesus was to die for us. Well, duh. Everybody talks about that at Easter. Yeah, I know. But think about it. Jesus' death was unlike ANYBODY elses. EVER. He took on the SIN of the WORLD. Even his own father turned from him. Imagine not just the physical pain, but the spiritual pain. And yet,
Jesus cried out
"In anguish, not anger.
Compassion, not resentment.
Submission, not rebellion.
Victory, not defeat."
His last words "It is finished". A cry of VICTORY, not defeat. THAT is the true meaning of Easter. Jesus, a humble, sinless, perfect man. Son of God. Died. For US. His father turned away from him. The people mocked him. Spat on him. Pierced him. Stabbed him. KILLED him. Yeah, KILLED. Like as in dead. Not only dead, but died the Most. Painful. Death. EVER. Ever seen the Passion of the Christ? Um, yeah. That sorta sums it all up. (And, I haven't even seen all of it!) Throughout all of it, JESUS CRIED OUT IN VICTORY, NOT DEFEAT. Victory? Over being killed? Doesn't make much since, does it? But, Jesus paid the ULTIMATE PRICE. The price that was so worth paying. He loved us so much, that he DIED to save a bunch of scrappy, sinful men that were mocking him and killed him. Talk about LOVE. So, that's pretty much it. VICTORY. Just think about it : )

Tavern or Crackers?

Sooo. This blog thing hasn't been working out too well... obviously. I did a good job for 3 months and then I kinda just quit. I've been so super busy, but things have settled down some, so hopefully I'll get back into updating more frequently : )

Yesterday was our first Mission Training session for the Hale County Mission Trip this summer. (We go to Hale County, AL and serve for a week. Our team works on/with different churches in the mornings... anywhere from construction to landscaping to tutoring kids... and we have a day camp at a local part for the kids from the area in the afternoons. Last year it was my favorite thing I did the whole entire year! Such an amazing way to give back some of what the Lord has blessed me with, develop relationships, share the Word, and draw closer to God!) The reminder text Mark sent out said "dinner provided". Turns out, that wasn't exactly the case. For most of us, "dinner provided" meant saltine crackers with peanut butter and water. When we walked in and sat down Troy passed around a hat filled with pieces of paper. Every one had either and A, B, or C on it. (And, thanks to Mark, most of the C's looked like J's :P) Most people had C's, but two people had A's and four had B's. We had no idea what they were for, so anyone who had an A or B was nervous. Then Mark called up the two A's and gave them food from the Tavern, gave a pizza to the four B's and told everybody else to dig into the saltine crackers, peanut butter, and cups of water. Of course I got the crackers. Awesome. After we ate, or snacked... Mark talked about how people aren't always given the option of being rich or poor. Certainly if you re lazy you're going to have less money, and if you're a hard worker you're generally going to have more, but a lot of times people can't help their social status. If someone in Africa is born into a dirt poor family that lives in a shack and becomes determined to work hard and move to America, they might never get that opportunity. Not because of their work ethic, but because there is no money to be had and they started out poorer than most. But if that same person was born into a middle class family, they would likely have the opportunity to become one of the richest people in America if they continued their same work ethic. All that goes to say is when we go on mission trips, wherever they are, we shouldn't look down on the people that we're serving. Often, they work harder than anybody on the mission team, but still don't have a lot of money. I think that is an amazing reminder to think about people's lives before we judge them! We are given a perfect example in James 2:1-6, 8-9. "My brothers, as believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ, don't show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, "Here's a good seat for you," but say to the poor man, "You stand there" or "Sit on the floor by my feet," have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my dear brothers: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? But you have insulted the poor... If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, "Love your neighbor as yourself," you are doing right. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers."

Clearly, we are NOT to show favoritism, but to love everyone equally just as the Lord has loved us.


"For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver..." ~Isaiah 33:22

"For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." ~Matthew 7:2

"Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven." ~Luke 6:37

"And [Jesus] has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man." ~John 5:27

"You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? For we will all stand before God's judgment seat." ~Romans 14:10


My challenge to y'all this week is to LOVE like you have never loved before. Do as Jesus commanded and "do not discriminate among yourselves or become judges with evil thoughts". Remember that it isn't a person's "fault" if they eat at the Tavern or eat crackers. Bring a lunch to someone less fortunate than you. Next time you go on a mission trip, talk to the people you are serving on the same level and let them be independent. Help them if they need help, but remember that we were ALL created equally in GOD's image. God doesn't make mistakes. We are each designed by him to be our own unique person, no matter what our social status is!

Love.

Ohmygosh. It has been FOREVER since I've posted! I've been so so busy lately! Between ice skating, school, church, friends, and everything else I've had NO time whatsoever! So, I'm finally updating :)

So, today I was supposed to leave for BreakThru, a church retreat in Pulaski, Mississippi, but because of snow, it was canceled. Yes, I know... its crazy for something in Alabama to be canceled because of snow!! We never ever ever get snow. Never. But today we got a good inch, probably closer to 2! I'll attach some pictures :) Anyways, I was really really disappointed at first, because the weekend of BT is one of my favorites of the entire year and I've been looking foward to it for a long time. So, when I got the text from Julia, I was not happy. Hannah-Katherine ended up coming over, though, and we have had such a fun day! I mean, for real, you gotta take advantage of snow when you live down South!! We took pictures, made so much snow cream that its not even funny, walked to the park, and just hung out! Although I am still disappointed that BreakThru is having to be rescheduled, I had an amazing day and realized a lot. Its not where you are that brings you closer to God. You can spend time with him anywhere! Sure, its fun to be on a retreat with a band and a speaker, and you certainly learn a lot, but sitting at home you can also spend time in the Word and learn a lot too!

I'm going through the book of James, and today I read more about faith and deeds. Think that maybe God's trying to tell me something? I think thats such an awesome reminder to each one of us not to just act like Christians. Ghandi said "I like your Christ, but not your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ." Maybe, if we would all live out our faith and be who we say we are, then the world would be a better place, with more apostles of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. As you go through the week, strive to live sold out fully to the Lord! Be salt and light for him!

With Valentines coming up on Sunday, here's a familiar love verse to think about. I'm sure most of you have heard it before, but try to truly soak in the meaning. Think about Christ's perfect example and how you can follow him and live out this verse every day. In your relationships with friends, family, classmates, even your enemies!

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." ~ 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

I am so incredibly thankful for all my friends! As Hannah-Katherine is sitting across the room, I can't stop thinking about what an amazing friend she is! So full of Christ, such an example to me! She teaches me something literally every time I'm with her. And I'm pretty sure if she turned around and saw me typing this right now, she would say she loves me most, but I can tell you thats not true! I love her to infinity and beyond :) I am so blessed to have her as a friend and I thank my Lord for her!!

Happy Valentines to all of y'all!! Love y'all!!

Hungry, I run to you.

Okay, so if you haven't already picked up on it, I write a lot of songs in my blogs. Thats because I think worship through music is such an amazing way to show the Lord our love for him. I'm not an amazing singer... actually, most of the time I'm quite the opposite :P... but I always feel so close to the Lord when I am singing praises to him. I guess you could say that songs put my feelings into words, except for I don't have to write them :)

Anyways, yesterday at Switch, Mark talked about starving for God. For a relationship with him. The mindset of him. Being his hands and feet. The Lord is the only one who can satisfy us. Not relationships, not material things, not activities, only the Lord.

Hungry, I come to you
For I know you satisfy
I am empty, but I know
Your love does not run dry

Broken, I run to you
For your arms are open wide
I am weary, but I know
Your arms are open wide

God alone. He truly is all that can satisfy us. I don't know why we turn to people or things before the Lord. Like for real. I mean I do it to, but its stupid!! God is always there for us. Always. Just as he is starving for us, we should be starving for him.

Romans 7:18-19
I want to do what is right, but I can't.
I want to do what is good, but I don't.
I don't want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway.

That pretty much sums up my life :P Starving for God means trying as hard as we can to do what is right and good and not to do what is wrong. Another verse that Mark shared with us described what we should be like if we truly love the Lord with all our hearts.

Jerimiah 20:9
But if I say, "I will not mention him or speak any more in his name,"
his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones.
I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.

Oh, Lord. Precious Savior. God, this is who I long to be. Sometimes its easy to share your fire with the world. But, Oh, Lord. It's not always easy. And, Jesus, you know that. You came down to earth as a humble baby and you were mocked and tortured way worse than I am. You are such an amazing example. I long to be like you, Lord. Give me your eyes, so that I will see the world from your perspective. Make me your hands and feet, God. I'll go where you send me. I love you. Amen.

So what can I say
What can I do
But offer this heart O God
Completely to You

So I’ll stand
With arms high and heart abandoned
In awe of the One who gave it all

So I’ll stand
My soul Lord to You surrendered
All I am is Yours

Back to the starving thing, and also just along with giving ourselves completely to the Lord, Mark also talked about literally starving ourselves. Okay, maybe not literally starving... but fasting. By fasting, you show the Lord that he matters more than food. Its also a symbolic thing of saying, "God, you are all that can satisfy me. I don't live on bread alone, but on your word." How amazing to think of putting God ahead of even food! He is all that matters; without him, my life is pointless. Church of the Highlands is going on a fasting retreat this weekend called Saturate. I really wanted to go, but I talked to my mom, and for several reasons, she decided it would be better for me to stay home this weekend. I was really frustrated at first, but when I was praying about it at Switch last night, I was thinking "Why do I want to go on this retreat?". I know that those going to Saturate will have amazing speakers and great worship, but I can spend my own quiet time with the Lord from my very own bedroom! I pray that God would teach me, as I also pray for everyone going to Saturate. For those that don't know the Lord, that their lives would be dramatically changed. And for those, who are followers of Christ, that they would learn amazing things. God, you are all that can satisfy us. So, I run to you, hungry. God, teach me to be more and more like you. Amen.

Enough.

Wow. I haven't updated in a while and I have a ton to write. So, get prepared, cause this is gonna be long :P

First of all, this morning in City Gates (our Sunday morning youth stuff at MBCC), Mark talked about encouragement. This week has been crazy and I've hurt a lot of people's feelings, just as they've hurt mine. Encouragement. Okay, for real, this whole week, I don't think I thought ONCE about how I could encourage someone. Just one person. It shouldn't have been that hard. But, I was frustrated and I chose to get angry and because of my anger, I sinned. God says its okay to get angry as long as we don't sin. As long as we still encourage one another. As long as we are still doing the best we can do to benefit HIS kingdom. But, I totally did not do that this week. I am so sorry to the Lord and to the people I have hurt and I hope they forgive me.

Second of all, my huddle group is going to be going through Acts in the second semester which I'm really really excited about!! We read chapters one and two today, and I already learned so much! One neat fact I learned is the difference in the meaning of disciple and apostle. Disciple means someone who is learning, like a follower or an apprentice. Apostle means a messenger or a missionary. Jesus calls us to be his witnesses "even to the ends of the earth". What a challenge to be such an example for him. His followers certainly were! They brought about 3000 people to Christ in ONE DAY. The Bible says there were about 120 Christians there at the time, which Alison told us, makes each person to have brought 25 people to Christ in one day!! Amazing. The Holy Spirit can use us in such amazing ways, if we just allow him to work in us. They were gathered together constantly in prayer (1:14). What an amazing example. I pray that I will be more like that.

Also, tonight, we talked about being "in the world and not of it" (John 17:3). Mark talked several verses relating to this one. The first one is 1 John 2:15.

"Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him."

This verse doesn't mean you can't love people on earth, friends or family, or you can't like where you live. Nothing like that. It just means that God should still be most important. We can't be under the influence of the world. God is our everlasting Father and we should follow his ways, walk in his footsteps, and daily try to be more and more Christ-like. The next verse reminds us that our true home is not on this earth, but in heaven with the Lord. (Philippians 3:20) It encourages us to store up our treasures in heaven, because "where your treasure is, there will be your heart also (Luke 12:34)." 1 Peter 1:1, reminds us that we are aliens or strangers in this world. Once again, our true home is in heaven. Mark told us three things to do to keep the mindset of looking forward to heaven:

1. Pray regularly for Jesus to come back. (1 Corinthians 16:22)
2. Keep watch over your accumulation. (Matthew 6:20)
3. Accept suffering and hardship as God's way of separating you from the earth.

So, all of this goes to say, this has been a hard week, but today the Lord has shown me so so much and I am ready to humble myself before him. I love you, Jesus, with all my heart.

All of you is more than enough for all of me
For every thirst and every need
You satisfy me with Your love
And all I have in You is more than enough

Faith.

Wow. It's been awhile. Merry Christmas!! Happy 2010! Did any of y'all make new year's resolutions? I never have before, but this year, Hannah-Katherine and I decided to both make one. HK decided to read through the Bible in a year and I decided to finish my memorization of the book of James. (I started it 2 or 3 years ago and then I just kinda quit when I got to chapter 2ish... So I decided to finish it. :)) We also made a goal to text each other every day to hold each other accountable. We are told that "When two or three are gathered in my name, there I am with them". I had memorized this part before, but going back over it and reviewing it, it totally took on a new meaning. Before, I was just reading it to get through it, but this time, I've been really soaking it in and trying to understand and relate it to my life.

What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily good. If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if not accompanied by action, is dead. But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds. Show me your faith without deeds and I will show you my faith by what I do." You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that--and shudder. You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered hi son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. ~James 2:15-22

This passage was a great reminder to me about WHY we do the things we do. Sometimes, I for sure feel like I do things for the right reason. But then, I'll get bored, or think of other things I have to do, and I get a bad attitude and I'm just serving to look good or get it over with. I pray that I would have a Christ-like attitude more often. I know I'm not perfect, but I am saved. I am saved by Jesus Christ. He died a terrible death to rescue me from my selfish sins. Thank you, Lord. When I think about it, I am overwhelmed with an peace I can't even describe. I can relax in his presence without stressing out about school or drama or relationships. God, fill my life with youre peace. Let me be a light for you and shine for the world. God, thank you, thank you, thank you!! Its all I can do but be thankful for the amazing life you've given me. I take it for granted so often, Lord, but it is a gift from you. Use me as a tool to spread your word. Help be to truly be your humble servant. God, let my actions prove my faith. Thank you. I love you. God, I love you, because you first loved me.