Tuesday, December 19, 2006
panama 3
yeah so i´m still here things are getting a little better. tomorrow is my grandpa´s funeral and I know that it will be very sad. I am also changing my flight home for the 26th and I will be spending Christmas here. Please continue to pray for us, and if I can I will get on the computer again, it´s pretty cheap only a quarter for a half hour but the trouble is getting anywhere with this Christmas traffic.
Sunday, December 17, 2006
Panama Part 2
Well actually I guess I could have named this Costa Rica, because that is where I'm sitting right now and it's a cool 85 degrees, and I believe hotter in Panama. I'm runnin on 2 hours of sleep and one meal in the last 24 hours. It's an odd feeling being here because it feels like I am on a vacation but I know it will be very different once we are in Panama. To those of you who I talked to and are praying for us, thanks a bunch I really appreciate it and trust me it has helped because God has gotten us through some crazy roadblocks to actually get a flight and be there.
In Panama I don't think I'll have easy access to a computer, but I think that I will be back on friday so if i don't talk to you or update this then thanks for the prayers again, and see you this weekend.
In Panama I don't think I'll have easy access to a computer, but I think that I will be back on friday so if i don't talk to you or update this then thanks for the prayers again, and see you this weekend.
Saturday, December 16, 2006
Panama
I received some bad news today, my grandfather in Panama passed away of unknown complications as of right now. It was completely unexpected, and we all thought he was a very healthy man. Right now I am in the middle of packing, getting sick, feeling sad, and getting ready to drive to Atlanta tonight so that we can make our flight in the morning.
I'm not sure what God is trying to show me through this and it's been really difficult all day. I know my grandad loved the lord from the little that I have seen and what my mom has told me so I'm not worried about where he is at all, but I am very worried for my mom and those closest to him.
If you could keep my family and me in your prayers this week I would really appreciate it, we depart at 10:20 in the morning from Atlanta and I won't be back until Friday. Hopefully things will get better and I have complete faith and trust in what God is doing. Thanks, and have a good week before Christmas!
I'm not sure what God is trying to show me through this and it's been really difficult all day. I know my grandad loved the lord from the little that I have seen and what my mom has told me so I'm not worried about where he is at all, but I am very worried for my mom and those closest to him.
If you could keep my family and me in your prayers this week I would really appreciate it, we depart at 10:20 in the morning from Atlanta and I won't be back until Friday. Hopefully things will get better and I have complete faith and trust in what God is doing. Thanks, and have a good week before Christmas!
Friday, December 15, 2006
Cold
Wow, for whatever reason I decided to check the weather from my birthplace, which is in Fairbanks, Alaska. Right now it is -19 degrees and the hight tomorrow is -3. Haha, today it was 75 degrees and I was sweating all day. It's funny to think that I was born in Alaska... I wouldn't be able to survive there now.
Tomorrow morning at 9 AM I have my last exam in terrorism and counter-terrorism. It has been probably my favorite class somehow. It's very thought provoking which is cool because I do a lot of good thinking about Jesus in that class. I was studying my notes and a figure that my professor gave us is that there are about 1.7 BILLION Christians in the world (at least people who proclaim to be Christians). That's a lot. But even if all of those 1.7 Billion were legit believers in Christ's death for our sin and resurrection to prove that death has no hold over him, then there are still over 4.3 Billion people out there who don't have an intimate relationship with him. That's crazy.
I got an e-mail the other day that had a count of people at Mount Horeb youth who have accepted Christ as Lord and Savior just this semester, and that number is 29. I know in comparison to the 4.3 billion I just mentioned that 29 seems small, but don't let that fool you. If a small group of staff and volunteers can have that impact in just a few short months, then there is no telling what God can do through those 29. If those 29 witness to 2 people a person then that's 58 more, and then you can just imagine how quickly that would multiply. It's good to know that I am involved with very passionate people who have made their goal to Know Christ and to make Him known. It's working, people want to know Jesus because he does amazing things.
Mount Horeb rocks because Jesus is the center of what we do. Yeah there are some way cool people that are involved but they would all be nothing without the sacrifice and grace that Christ has given us.
yeah well that's it for now, I've got to get some shut eye in order to knock out this last Exam.
Tomorrow morning at 9 AM I have my last exam in terrorism and counter-terrorism. It has been probably my favorite class somehow. It's very thought provoking which is cool because I do a lot of good thinking about Jesus in that class. I was studying my notes and a figure that my professor gave us is that there are about 1.7 BILLION Christians in the world (at least people who proclaim to be Christians). That's a lot. But even if all of those 1.7 Billion were legit believers in Christ's death for our sin and resurrection to prove that death has no hold over him, then there are still over 4.3 Billion people out there who don't have an intimate relationship with him. That's crazy.
I got an e-mail the other day that had a count of people at Mount Horeb youth who have accepted Christ as Lord and Savior just this semester, and that number is 29. I know in comparison to the 4.3 billion I just mentioned that 29 seems small, but don't let that fool you. If a small group of staff and volunteers can have that impact in just a few short months, then there is no telling what God can do through those 29. If those 29 witness to 2 people a person then that's 58 more, and then you can just imagine how quickly that would multiply. It's good to know that I am involved with very passionate people who have made their goal to Know Christ and to make Him known. It's working, people want to know Jesus because he does amazing things.
Mount Horeb rocks because Jesus is the center of what we do. Yeah there are some way cool people that are involved but they would all be nothing without the sacrifice and grace that Christ has given us.
yeah well that's it for now, I've got to get some shut eye in order to knock out this last Exam.
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
Accountable
One of the coolest thinks about being a christian is meeting other christians out there who share the same goal. To know Christ, and to make Christ Known. I am very fortunate to share a room with a guy who is passionate about Jesus and wants people to know it.
In my journey since becoming a christian 5 years ago, one of the things that has helped me most in terms of growth and struggling with sin has been having someone to hold me accountable. For example last night it was getting to be pretty late, and I had told Josh that I wanted to have a quiet time. After working for a really long time on school work I was ready to just go to bed and forget about God for the night. My roommate, fortunately, asked me before I went to sleep if I had my quiet time, and when I said no he then pulled out his Bible, and began to do his quiet time.
That's all he had to say for me to get out my Bible and spend some time with God. It's a little thing I know, but it's so cool to know that he cared to even ask. A lot of friends don't have an open relationship like that. It is key to have one of those relationships, because both he and I have told each other what we struggle with, what we think God wants us to do about it, and then ask one another to help us get through the problems.
Both of us in essence are saying similar things to what we have confessed to Jesus. I can't do it on my own, I need help! We both recognize that if we don't trust God and then have each other to help along the way, then we are risking a lot. It also says that we both want to glorify God. We aren't content with where we are, but we constantly want to improve our lifestyle in order to show the power of Christ's sacrifice.
If you don't have at least that one person who you can talk to about anything or who can check up on you in any area, then please pray about it, because God can do some amazing things through his people.
In my journey since becoming a christian 5 years ago, one of the things that has helped me most in terms of growth and struggling with sin has been having someone to hold me accountable. For example last night it was getting to be pretty late, and I had told Josh that I wanted to have a quiet time. After working for a really long time on school work I was ready to just go to bed and forget about God for the night. My roommate, fortunately, asked me before I went to sleep if I had my quiet time, and when I said no he then pulled out his Bible, and began to do his quiet time.
That's all he had to say for me to get out my Bible and spend some time with God. It's a little thing I know, but it's so cool to know that he cared to even ask. A lot of friends don't have an open relationship like that. It is key to have one of those relationships, because both he and I have told each other what we struggle with, what we think God wants us to do about it, and then ask one another to help us get through the problems.
Both of us in essence are saying similar things to what we have confessed to Jesus. I can't do it on my own, I need help! We both recognize that if we don't trust God and then have each other to help along the way, then we are risking a lot. It also says that we both want to glorify God. We aren't content with where we are, but we constantly want to improve our lifestyle in order to show the power of Christ's sacrifice.
If you don't have at least that one person who you can talk to about anything or who can check up on you in any area, then please pray about it, because God can do some amazing things through his people.
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Exams are here
1st Exam was a big success. After I turned in my first half, my teacher said I was guaranteed an A in the class which is very nice to know. I'm doing a big portfolio for my university 101 class right now which is tedious but hopefully that will give me yet another A. It's crazy here, everyone is freakin out and going all over the place to take their exams.
One thing I was thinking about today that made me giggle was the fact that I've heard some people find it offensive to have the word Christ in Christmas. I guess some people really don't know that Jesus was born on that day or at least that is the day that his birthday is celebrated. It's kind of funny to hear the argument but also sad that some people are offended by the single most greatest human being to have ever walked on the face of earth.
I took the challenge that Ferris has partaken in and began reading the gospel of John because I'm memorizing chapter 3 from John and plus this way the next gospel I start on can be Matthew for the new year. If you don't know what the challenge is then you can check out her blog, but basically it's a challenge to "follow your rabbi" in which case mine is Jesus Christ. I can't follow my rabbi unless I know his instructions and those instructions are found in the Gospels so I will be reading a gospel a month for the next long long time. I'm excited it should be cool and I've never really read all of the gospels all the way through in succession like this, so I can't wait to see what God is gonna do through this.
Anyways I gotta get back to exams.
One thing I was thinking about today that made me giggle was the fact that I've heard some people find it offensive to have the word Christ in Christmas. I guess some people really don't know that Jesus was born on that day or at least that is the day that his birthday is celebrated. It's kind of funny to hear the argument but also sad that some people are offended by the single most greatest human being to have ever walked on the face of earth.
I took the challenge that Ferris has partaken in and began reading the gospel of John because I'm memorizing chapter 3 from John and plus this way the next gospel I start on can be Matthew for the new year. If you don't know what the challenge is then you can check out her blog, but basically it's a challenge to "follow your rabbi" in which case mine is Jesus Christ. I can't follow my rabbi unless I know his instructions and those instructions are found in the Gospels so I will be reading a gospel a month for the next long long time. I'm excited it should be cool and I've never really read all of the gospels all the way through in succession like this, so I can't wait to see what God is gonna do through this.
Anyways I gotta get back to exams.
Monday, December 11, 2006
Update
Yeah so I just switched to blogger beta and I must say I'm digging the changes. If you don't like it then I'm sorry. Just let me know how I can make it more appealing to the eye, and I'll work on it. What is nice is that it has a numbering feature whereas lists had to be created all by yourself on the other. For being free this is a pretty sweet deal. Anyways back to school work and then quiet time and then bed. Good night world!
Exams
ahh the beauty of exam week is upon the USC campus. I luckily didn't have one today and have just been able to prepare for my first one tomorrow. I'm not nervous which is good and I'm preparing for an exam which is a new feeling because I didn't do much of that in high school. But it's good to see God inspire some work ethic in me because it's a way to be able to witness to people, if I know what I'm doing with school and can help them out, then it opens up conversation. Plus God wants us to be the best that we can, as long as we love him first.
This is always a really weird time of year, because there are tons and tons of things going on right up until you have that last exam, and then you have a glorious break. So although my body and mind want to be in break mode right now, I know I've got to put in my best effort right now. I just hope that in a spiritual sense I don't take a month long break from doing God's work.
God's definitely doing some big things this holiday season, and I'm excited to be a part of it. The live CD that Wade was working on has been pushed back, but I think that gives him and everyone involved longer to prepare and be able to do an amazing job of presenting his insanely good worship to people. I can't wait for that.
Friday for those of you in College in the area then you should come out to the Christmas Sweater Party, it's gonna be good times with highly cheesy outfits.
Well that's it for now, nothing too in depth, but I've gotta study my butt off.
This is always a really weird time of year, because there are tons and tons of things going on right up until you have that last exam, and then you have a glorious break. So although my body and mind want to be in break mode right now, I know I've got to put in my best effort right now. I just hope that in a spiritual sense I don't take a month long break from doing God's work.
God's definitely doing some big things this holiday season, and I'm excited to be a part of it. The live CD that Wade was working on has been pushed back, but I think that gives him and everyone involved longer to prepare and be able to do an amazing job of presenting his insanely good worship to people. I can't wait for that.
Friday for those of you in College in the area then you should come out to the Christmas Sweater Party, it's gonna be good times with highly cheesy outfits.
Well that's it for now, nothing too in depth, but I've gotta study my butt off.
Saturday, December 09, 2006
Light
Today was weird. I was all over the place all day and I was busy, but here I am at 11 o' clock feeling like I've done nothing. I guess it's because I felt really convicted today. There were two things that really got me.
1. I realized how much sin messes everything up - sin happens all the time, I sin pretty much everyday, and I realize I probably won't be sin free until I die. BUT it still hurts every time I fail, and today I just felt dirty. I felt like I let all my friends and family down, like I let myself down, but worst of all I let God down. I broke his heart all over again and it's like I'm putting Jesus back on that cross. I hate it, and I think being conscious of it is definitely a good step towards sinning less. My sin took what would have been a very good day and totatlly jacked me up.
2. I noticed that I'm pretty lazy when it comes to serving others - I'm guilty of eavesdropping. I overheard some people talking today and really it was nothing knew to me. A girl seemed surprised to learn that darkness is defined simply as being the absence of light. Pretty simple but then I started thinking about people who are living in darkness. There are tons of people out there who are in unfortunate circumstances and are broken and feel like there is no hope or no escape from this world. There are people who haven't heard the message of Christ which is entirely full of light, that same message lives in me, but where am I? I am a part of causing the darkness. If I have the light in me and I'm not showing up then obviously something is wrong. I want to serve, and not just for the holidays but as a regular part of who Christ wants me to be.
Today wasn't bad, I did get to hang out with some fellas who I really love and that's always good, but God definitely kicked my butt. I want to get out there and do something so if you have a suggestion please let me know, or if you want to join then let me know.
1. I realized how much sin messes everything up - sin happens all the time, I sin pretty much everyday, and I realize I probably won't be sin free until I die. BUT it still hurts every time I fail, and today I just felt dirty. I felt like I let all my friends and family down, like I let myself down, but worst of all I let God down. I broke his heart all over again and it's like I'm putting Jesus back on that cross. I hate it, and I think being conscious of it is definitely a good step towards sinning less. My sin took what would have been a very good day and totatlly jacked me up.
2. I noticed that I'm pretty lazy when it comes to serving others - I'm guilty of eavesdropping. I overheard some people talking today and really it was nothing knew to me. A girl seemed surprised to learn that darkness is defined simply as being the absence of light. Pretty simple but then I started thinking about people who are living in darkness. There are tons of people out there who are in unfortunate circumstances and are broken and feel like there is no hope or no escape from this world. There are people who haven't heard the message of Christ which is entirely full of light, that same message lives in me, but where am I? I am a part of causing the darkness. If I have the light in me and I'm not showing up then obviously something is wrong. I want to serve, and not just for the holidays but as a regular part of who Christ wants me to be.
Today wasn't bad, I did get to hang out with some fellas who I really love and that's always good, but God definitely kicked my butt. I want to get out there and do something so if you have a suggestion please let me know, or if you want to join then let me know.
Friday, December 08, 2006
Things I'm Enjoying Right Now
Yeah today a lot of little things made me happy so here is a top 10 list of goodness.
10. Getting into a warm car to get away from unexpected cold weather
9. Christmas lights
8. Lights that you can see coming into Columbia (me and my roommate were staring like kids on Christmas morning on the way back here)
7. Reunions with friends and even people who I barely know
6. Getting a busy schedule because it feels like I actually have stuff to do
5. Rush's Chilicheeseburgers (i'm going there tomorrow with some friends)
4. Memorizing Scripture, I'm memorizing the entire John Chapter 3 and Jesus is blowing my mind with how much it helps
3. U2 I just found my tribute album and it's cool to hear some classics redone by some Jesus loving folks
2. Being Home and just relaxing, which I will hopefully get a chance to do over the weekend for a while
1. Serving a pretty incredible savior, and trying to pursue him with all this pathetic guy has to offer
Except for Jesus being number one the others were in no particular order but yeah, there is a lot of goodness to be thankful for. There are too many heart-broken people out there this holiday season so hopefully I can be a part of changing that.
10. Getting into a warm car to get away from unexpected cold weather
9. Christmas lights
8. Lights that you can see coming into Columbia (me and my roommate were staring like kids on Christmas morning on the way back here)
7. Reunions with friends and even people who I barely know
6. Getting a busy schedule because it feels like I actually have stuff to do
5. Rush's Chilicheeseburgers (i'm going there tomorrow with some friends)
4. Memorizing Scripture, I'm memorizing the entire John Chapter 3 and Jesus is blowing my mind with how much it helps
3. U2 I just found my tribute album and it's cool to hear some classics redone by some Jesus loving folks
2. Being Home and just relaxing, which I will hopefully get a chance to do over the weekend for a while
1. Serving a pretty incredible savior, and trying to pursue him with all this pathetic guy has to offer
Except for Jesus being number one the others were in no particular order but yeah, there is a lot of goodness to be thankful for. There are too many heart-broken people out there this holiday season so hopefully I can be a part of changing that.
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
Last Week
Tonight at the Horeb we had our Christmas party, Mexican themed with Nacho Libre. Good Stuff. I briefly translated numbers in Spanish which generated a few laughs and it was fun to see three girls beast a piñata. It's good to have a break from volunteering at the Horeb because it lifts a little bit of the load and allows me to relax in between trying to cram everything I've learned this semester to do well on my exams. It's cool to be able to also take that time and just tweak the way things are going between me and God right now and really focus on how I can contribute to the kingdom once we start up the next semester.
Matthew has an example of what was goin on.
Matthew Chapter 8: 23-26
23Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. 24Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. 25The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Lord, save us! We're going to drown!"
26He replied, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.
I had let a storm come in and honestly I was freakin out about the way things were going last week. I was thinking "How can I get a paper done, study for tests, be there for my family, keep my friends in mind and hold everyone accountable, make time for God, work out, figure out what classes to take next semester, do a presentation, and still make it to class?". And all the while I'm wondering where is Jesus? Why is this hard?
Jesus was probly sleeping, because I was just like one of his disciples, lacking in the faith area. It was pretty much impossible for me to calm the storm without trusting him, so this past weekend I took a break, I joined Jesus in just chillin. It completely reversed everything. It has been amazing to see everything fall into place after having a good weekend relaxing and just talking to Jesus and letting him know that I trust him with it all. He does pretty good work too. I guess I need to know that even when things get rough and the waves are crashing into my boat that Jesus can just calm the storm in a second if he wanted.
Matthew has an example of what was goin on.
Matthew Chapter 8: 23-26
23Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. 24Without warning, a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. 25The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Lord, save us! We're going to drown!"
26He replied, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm.
I had let a storm come in and honestly I was freakin out about the way things were going last week. I was thinking "How can I get a paper done, study for tests, be there for my family, keep my friends in mind and hold everyone accountable, make time for God, work out, figure out what classes to take next semester, do a presentation, and still make it to class?". And all the while I'm wondering where is Jesus? Why is this hard?
Jesus was probly sleeping, because I was just like one of his disciples, lacking in the faith area. It was pretty much impossible for me to calm the storm without trusting him, so this past weekend I took a break, I joined Jesus in just chillin. It completely reversed everything. It has been amazing to see everything fall into place after having a good weekend relaxing and just talking to Jesus and letting him know that I trust him with it all. He does pretty good work too. I guess I need to know that even when things get rough and the waves are crashing into my boat that Jesus can just calm the storm in a second if he wanted.
Monday, December 04, 2006
Steven Furtick
So for my fellow Mount Horebites, (I guess that's what we are) I was checking out Steven Furtick's blog today. If you don't remember him, he was the guest speaker last spring for our Chi Alpha/discipleship now. He was pretty stinkin cool and if you remember some of what he was speaking about then one of the things he was excited about was planting a new Church. He started from scratch with a handful of dedicated people, and this past sunday they had nearly 1000 people there after being around for less than a year. Wow! It's pretty awesome to hear about that and it kinda makes me feel cool because now if someone talks about his church then I can say "oooh I know Steven Furtick". It's lame I know, but I am really excited to know that God is working in huge ways really close to where I am. Elevation (his church) is in Charlotte, and there is also another cool church (Newspring) up in Anderson, SC that had nearly 8000 people in attendance the other weekend. Yeah that's a lot of people that want to go deep with God.
I can feel the hunger that people have for knowing God in an exciting, relevant way, and I want to do something about it. I remember another thing that Steven Furtick said in the spring was that you need to be creative when it comes to reaching people. He told a story of how when he was in college he requested to live in the dorm that all the football players lived in. In order to try and get to know the guys and be a witness to them, he thought it would be a good idea to go grocery shopping and stock up on food for the guys. After the first day of opening his room to them he realized it would be very expensive to feed those guys but he got a group of people that had faith in him and he made it work. It's good to remember it because I want to be able to be creative with the people who I can have some influence over so that they can get to know Jesus. I've been lazy as mess and I need to get something done.
I've been thinking about the future a lot and I really do think I want to be in ministry, but for some reason I have tried to convince myself that ministry is a job that I will eventually have in a church, but I can feel the Holy Spirit telling me to do it right now. So if you come into contact with me and remember then please try and hold me accountable to actually doing something to further the kingdom. Thanks and may Yahweh bless you!
I can feel the hunger that people have for knowing God in an exciting, relevant way, and I want to do something about it. I remember another thing that Steven Furtick said in the spring was that you need to be creative when it comes to reaching people. He told a story of how when he was in college he requested to live in the dorm that all the football players lived in. In order to try and get to know the guys and be a witness to them, he thought it would be a good idea to go grocery shopping and stock up on food for the guys. After the first day of opening his room to them he realized it would be very expensive to feed those guys but he got a group of people that had faith in him and he made it work. It's good to remember it because I want to be able to be creative with the people who I can have some influence over so that they can get to know Jesus. I've been lazy as mess and I need to get something done.
I've been thinking about the future a lot and I really do think I want to be in ministry, but for some reason I have tried to convince myself that ministry is a job that I will eventually have in a church, but I can feel the Holy Spirit telling me to do it right now. So if you come into contact with me and remember then please try and hold me accountable to actually doing something to further the kingdom. Thanks and may Yahweh bless you!
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