Saturday, April 21, 2007

SCHOOL

OK Everybody I did it! I registered for Hamilton High School! It's extremely exciting, entirely nerve-racking, amazingly scary, and pretty cool (and it's only April! lol)! The craziest thing is that I have been homeschooled all my life (and loved it!) and now this is such a huge thing to me... After having the opportunity to go to Dare2Share i felt compelled to finally get out there and share my faith and at that moment I decided it was time to get of my comfort zone... and this is WAY out of the zone! I can't really describe it, imagine being the only student in any class ever and then imagine being one of 3300! It's SOOO incredible! Now, though I know it is a long time away still-Pray for me, please! I desire to be a light and to really stand firm for Jesus! Thanks!

Sunday, March 4, 2007

DARE2SHARE!!!

I just got back from the DARE2SHARE-Gameday conference with my youth group! and let me tell you it was AMAZING! I could feel God in the midst! there was 4500 students all worshiping together and learning how to share their faith! And that feeling of being surrounded by people your age who want to serve God is INCREDIBLE! I have been a Christian for a long time, but i have always struggled with being BOLD about my faith, with just putting aside my own fears and doubts and putting that persons eternal life in my mind... This conference showed me how! It was a blast getting to hang out with all my friends and hear bands such as Starfield, Rachel Washington, and Superchic[k]; but this conference was sooooo much more then any of that! It was about seeing lives--including my own-- transformed! So because I am so excited I would like to give you the who, what, where, when and why of gameday!

What is GAMEDAY???
Gameday = When you JUMP out of your comfort zone and reach your friends, neighbors, family, school, work for Christ and do it with a fire and a passion that makes them truly want to know the difference!

When is GAMEDAY???
Yesterday is already gone,
tomorrow may never come,
TODAY IS GAMEDAY!

Who is responsible to get off the bench and get in the game at GAMEDAY???
Anyone who is a follower of Jesus Christ is responsible to PREACH THE WORD!
To GO - In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. 2 Timothy 4:1-2
It is time to get out there and preach the Word to ANYONE who will listen!
To FIGHT- For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. 2 Timothy 4:3-4
We are fighting FOR them, not fighting them! The reward is their eternal life. whether they spend eternity in Heaven or in Hell is what we are trying to determine! Christ is giving them the opportunity, and he is COMMANDING us to get off the bench and tell them!
To Win- I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. 2 Timothy 4:7-8
If we are willing to follow God's command, we WILL receive the crown of life which He has promised! so PERSEVERE!

Where is GAMEDAY???
Gameday is EVERYWHERE! your school, home, workplace, neighborhood, and yes even your church!

So let's get our heads in the game!

Saturday, January 27, 2007

Our Journey....

Life... it is a journey, a path to walk on, an unanswered question.
Life is what we never would have expected that happens. God has set us each on own journey and yet given each of us the same choices in different forms. He has sent us people to help us along the way, some that stay around a long time and some that come, teach a lesson or help encourage, and then leave as they follow their pathway of life. Life is not something that can be understood entirely, it is merely something that you go with and try to live to the fullest, and without God we would truly be living in vain or more acurately, not at all. He has gone with us every step of our journey... And the Journey is only just beginning!

Things to remember about this journey:

J-Jesus is the leader
o-Obey His lead
u-Understand He is the Almighty
r-Read His Word
n-Note His promises
e-Encourage other believers
y-You are the light of the world

J-Jesus is the Leader...
Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." -John 14:6
Jesus is THE way, THE truth, and THE life... He is not A way or A truth or A life, He is THE... Without Jesus Christ we would truly have no reason to live and no way to either... He came to earth so that He could save us, and so that He could go through all that we must go through, He has been there. He knows hunger, thirst, being tired, and any other physical feelings; But he did all this without sinning and therefore, HE is THE leader!

O- Obey His lead...
"But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you: to love the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to obey his commands, to hold fast to him and to serve him with all your heart and all your soul." -Joshua 22:5
He promised He would go with us, but He has commanded us to follow Him. He will not force you to follow, which is the true beauty of God, He loves us enough to give us a choice to love Him... But for those who choose to follow Him, He warns them to follow Him carefully... and to OBEY HIS LEAD! Often we want to go our own direction and take our own detour on this journey and usually, we get lost and have to humble ourselves again to the King of Kings get directions back to the straight and narrow... It reminds me of one of my favorite movies "Facing The Giants" that explains better then I could the need for the straight and narrow! (Watch the movie it will amaze you!) So just remember who is leading and remember He DOES know where He is going...

U-Understand Jesus is the Almighty...
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. -John 1:14
There are many people today who say that Jesus was a great man, a teacher, maybe even a prophet... But they refuse to accept who Jesus really is, JESUS IS GOD! The trinity is a dificult thing to understand and even more dificult to try and explain, but I will tell you this, God the Father, God the Son, and the Holy Spirit are One God. And for us to survive the journey, we must UNDERSTAND that JESUS is the ALMIGHTY!

R-Read His Word...
"Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near." -Revelation 1:3
You cannot obey commands without knowing what they are; just as you cannot go on a journey without directions... The Bible (Basic Instrutions Before Leaving Earth) is our map and our lifeline, READ IT!

N-Note His promises...
Not one of all the LORD's good promises to the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled. -Joshua 21:45
God's promises are ALWAYS true! Look at every promise in Scripture, from Abraham having a son, to the flood not reoccuring, to the coming of the Messiah! Be confident in His promises and

note the promises God has given us!

E-Encourage other believers...
But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness. -Hebrews 3:13
Each of us has a need for encouragement... And God desires us to be fully encouraged in our walk with Him, and He has asked for His followers to encourage each other... think of it like this, the coach of a sports team wants his players to be unified, encouraged, and diligent and in order for that to take place he often requires hard practices or difficult sacrifices; but he hopes that the players will encourage each other in their daily life... He gives encouragement as well, but the players needs and relies on both the coach's encouragement and his peers... so I challenge you to remember to encourage one another!

Y- You are the light of the world....
"You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. -Matthew 5:14-16
We are the witness for Christ's message! He has given us a job to do! We are the light in this world of darkness!

Happy trails!!!

Tuesday, January 2, 2007

Happy New Year!!! Resolutions...

It is a familiar countdown, the glorious 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 HAPPY NEW YEAR countdown that is... It is one that brings joy and excitment to everyone (or atleast me) and it is one that gets everyone (again, atleast me) thinking about how in the world am I gonna make this year count... So then i started pondering, it is a new year, a new chance, what am i gonna do about it? How am i gonna serve God this year? What will make the difference from last year and this year?

Here is what i decided:
1. Serve God with all my heart....
2. Help others out of love working for God not for man...
3. Choose Joy when things are not the greatest...
4. Encourage others in the way I speak...
5. Not to be bossy or demanding but to be honoring aand respectful and an example...
6. To give to God first...
7. Read the Bible everyday...
8. Not be jealous of what anyone else has or does, but instead rejoice when they succeed...
9. Be patient in situations...
10. To truly forgive...

Along with all those other resolutions I make:
1. Finish all the half read books i started...
2. Count my shoes and reduce to under 40 pairs
3. get the mail everyday
4. reduce to a max of 4 sodas a day (AHHHH is it possible?)
5. To floss atleast once a month!
6. Attempt to ski! (Pray for me, and i'll pray for you!)
7. try to think of something else to type....
8. still thinking
9. still thinking
10. NOPE, thats about it... LOL

HAPPY NEW YEAR!