Surgery

Well it's been a few days since I've been able to sit down and think and type. So I had surgery on my foot again and that went really well and I am recovering now with almost no pain, which is amazing!! I would like to say thank you to everyone who prayed for me during the week I really appreciate it. It is amazing what can happen when people care enough to say a simple prayer for you. Prayer is so powerful and something that the Bible says is definitely necessary. Prayer is our way to communicate with God, not soley to ask for things, but it is a way to converse with Him. We usually spend too much time talking, whining, and asking for selfish things instead of sitting with Him and just listening or reading His Word. So again I would like to thank all of you who spent the time in prayer for me and would encourage you to continue doing so, because God can do so many things if we give Him the time, glory, and praise. Are you wasting your time?

Life goes on...

This semester is coming to a close and we are finally in the last couple of days of exams! But with that, everybody including myself is extremely stressed out and is freaking out about these stupid exams. I really don't think we should have to take finals, but that's just my opinion. One thing I have noticed is that people change during exam week. Some people become hermit crabs and you never see them, others become really mean and unpleasant to be around. I realize that finals are a good chunk of your grade, but it isn't a matter of life or death. Some people become so caught up in these tests that they think if they do bad (and for most of them that means get a C!!) their college career is over. Au contraire my friends, no matter how you do on these tests I've come to find out that life does go on. It isn't the end of the world if I get a C in a class, shoot for most of my classes a C is GREAT!!! So be encouraged, and know that these tests are a small portion of our lives that will not hinder God's will for you! Know that God has your back and that He has a plan for you. That doesn't mean don't study, you still have to study and at least pass your class, but if you are meant to go to ____(insert Grad school of your choice) then God will see to it that it happens, so long as you remain faithful to Him. Study and try to do well but do not let it take over your life and stress you out! God is waiting for you with outstretched arms. Life will go on...

Santa Claus

Being Christmas time, some of the most often seen symbols are Santa Claus and the Cross. We all know the symbolism of the Cross and the true meaning of Christmas (being the birth of Christ). But, have you ever wondered where the idea of Santa Claus came from? Well the other at the BSU party our intern read us the history of Santa Claus or more precisely named, Saint Nicholas. So Saint Nicholas was a very religious, God fearing man that decided to give gifts to the underprivileged around this time of year to celebrate the birth of Christ, as we do every year. Over the years Saint Nicholas's legacy has continued, but has now become skewed. We have turned one man's sacrificial obedience into a materialistic mythical character. Now Santa Claus is the face of Christmas and we focus more upon Santa and the gifts than we do the true meaning of Christmas, the birth of our Savior. How do you think Saint Nicholas would feel if he knew that his obedience to God has turned into this which has shadowed the celebration of Christ our King? I'm not saying that people who do Santa gifts are wrong but I believe there comes a time in a child's life when they are mature/old enough to understand the true story of Saint Nicholas and the meaning of Christmas.

Anyways that was my blurb about Christmas...so I was rummaging through some of my papers and pictures from this summer and really miss the summer and everybody from Caswell. I love every single person from this summer and miss everybody so much and I really can't wait for reunion now! I thank God that He has put everyone in my path and has allowed me to be a part of their lives also. I came across this promise that we wrote to God and it was somewhat of a wake up call, in that I questioned whether I was living out what I had written. I decided to put it up somewhere that I will be able to read it everyday to just be a constant reminder of how I should be living. Here is what it said...
"Lord, I submit myself to You and am committing myself to You and being faithful to You God. I will not let my relationships, school, work or anything in my life hinder me from having faith in You Lord. Lord Jesus take it all from me, I lift these burdens to You take them and do with me whatever You will. I will be faithful to You and I surrender to Your Will."

Are you surrendering and being faithful?
(Just as a side note: I hope nobody feels as if I am being judgmental towards anybody; I am simply accounting my life and writing things that will be reminders and encouragement for me as I hope they will be the same for you).

Longing...

I've been thinking lately about how we long for things so often, and most of the time we fail to see what is right in front of our faces. There's been multiple occasions where I've longed to be somewhere or with somebody or to have something, when God has provided so much for me already. I have this longing to have love and a relationship only those who've experienced it can explain. But what I've realized is that God has that same longing except it is a relationship and love with us. Unfortunately, at times I myself am too busy worrying about me and what I want to see that God is right here with His arms opened wide. I've never known a love so true, and yet I still don't give God what is His. Instead of spending time with Him I am spending time longing for what I cannot provide. God has provided, but it is I who have to choose to open my eyes and stop longing for something else. "I won't be lonely tonight, because my maker is holding me." "Lord I want to yearn for you, I want to burn with passion." Are you still longing?

Trying to stay positive

Well, I found out today that I am going to have to have surgery on my ankle again. I had surgery on the same ankle about 2 years ago and I have re-injured it and am going to have surgery on December 19, the day before I leave for Ohio for Christmas. While this isn't the end of the world, I know, it is something that continually brings me down. The reason this is is because sports have always been a big part of life and I love to just go out and play around, but with these ankle injuries I have not been capable of going out and playing as much as I want to. For me it is hard for me to see the bright side of this recurring injury, but since I have been through it multiple times now, it is simply a humbling experience. Since I could not play sports I would go and support them and be their "coach" and just provide a good attitude for everyone out there and would conduct the prayers before and after the games. So, while this seems like a downing experience, I am trying to let God use me in new and different ways that don't include me being involved with sports. Since there is nothing I can do about this, I place it in God's hands and allow Him to continue to use me. How are you being used?

Poetry

Ok, so I am taking this class entitled Intro to Poetry. I know what you're thinking, poetry, how easy. This class is definitely not that simple, but today we had an opportunity to read our favorite poems or lyrics. The poem I chose was written by William Byrd and is entitled "Death is Nothing but a Moment's Rest," and it is a great Christian poem that has described how I've felt along the way of my Christian walk. While others were reading their poems and some performing, it just felt like God was speaking and basically laying it out there for those who don't know him. Not only through the poem I chose but from other poems that didn't have to do with God or Christianity at all. One of the girls in the class performed the song "Cathedrals," and there is a couple lines that read as follows, "In the cathedrals of New York and Rome There is a feeling that you should just go home And spend a lifetime finding out just where that is." I continued to think about this and thought about where is home. Home...is it where I was born (Ohio), is it where I've been raised (Southport), or is it where I will spend eternity? So just where is home, it is all three for all three are what make me whole. There was another poem that just caught my attention, I do not remember who wrote it or the title, but these following lines were stuck in my head and I thought about it all day. "It is better to be a part of beauty for one instant and then cease to exist than to exist forever and never be a part of beauty." WOW!! That is all I could say after thinking about those lines. For me I took beauty to be the love of Christ and for me to be a part of the love of Christ and His sacrifice for us for one instant and then cease to exist is better than to exist forever and never experience His love, grace, and mercy. Therefore, since I know how it feels to be a part of the love of Christ it has been laid upon me to share this love so that other will not have to go their whole lives without experiencing the love of Christ. Where is your home? Are you being a part or are you just existing?

Being Broken

So I was reminiscing about this summer and I was thinking about some of the conversations that I was privileged to have. One of those conversations was with one of my good friends who was talking to me about truly experiencing God and being able to show love to everyone. One thing that we discussed is similar to the Shawn McDonald song "Simply Nothing," in that the words of the song are "What are you man, if you do not learn love?" Basically, we were discussing how one cannot exhibit God's love until one has learned and experienced that same love. We got to talking and one thing he said is that we can never truly experience God's love until we ourselves are made humble, which is absolutely true. The one thing that would make us humble is being completely broken and brought to nothing making us rely soley on God. The latter is so true because in my life I thought I had everything lined up, and I had everything perfect, but while that seemed to be enough for me, God took them away and humbled me to the point where I had to rely and put my faith back into God and not in myself. Therefore God broke me and as He will give, He will also take away if we are not giving Him the praise.

The other thing that came to my mind while I was thinking about this was how much we actually take everything for granted. Do we truly live our lives as if today would be the last? Do we enjoy every second in the name of God? I know that I have taken many things for granted and not only life in general but I feel one of the things that we take for granted the most is definitely our friends and family. Without them you wouldn't know what to do. You wouldn't be who you are today if it wasn't for them, I know I wouldn't. How often do we take the time to truly tell our friends that we appreciate them and that God has placed them into our lives for a reason? It should be all the time. More specifically, I've come to realize how much I personally take my parents for granted. Where would I be today if I didn't have two amazing parents? I definitely wouldn't be in college right now, nor would I be who I am today. It is by God's grace that we are able to have such friends and family members that love us so much that they would do anything for us. Therefore, we should be showing them the same love that God shows us, just by allowing them to be a part of our lives. Have you ever thought about how much it means to your parents to just hug them around the neck and tell them you love them? I've thought about it a lot lately, and for all they do for me, it is the very least I can do to just show them that I appreciate them and truly love them and thank God for allowing me to have them. How are you showing God's love?

Long drive home

So basically people cannot drive! I had just left Chapel Hill to come home for Thanksgiving and guess what? I-40 was backed up, what a surprise! Why was it backed up you might ask...well there were no accidents and it wasn't even close to 5 o'clock nor were there cops for that matter, but no, people just wouldn't GO! How aggravating. And to make matters worse, it was pouring down rain and the closer I got to home, the worse the weather got! Sooo about 3 hours and some later I was coming down 133 and this jerk decided to pass about 10 of us and just before he cut off the guy in front of me (causing us to all slam on brakes) he almost hit head on to this car that was oncoming and he came about 5 ft from hitting him! He almost caused a 10 car pile up, but thankfully God was watching out for us and nobody hit or got hurt. So yea that was the excitement for the ride home.

Today my mom decided that she wanted to go to the movies, not a surprise since this what we do a lot when I come home, but I love it. So she figured that she wanted to see Happy Feet. When she told me this I just glared at her like, "Mom are you serious? You want me to go watch some movie about penguins." Well since it was what she wanted to see, we went to watch it, and I have to admit, it really wasn't that bad of a movie, rather it was quite funny and had some good music too! So yea you should all go see it! HAHA! It is great just being able to be home and spend time with my family and get to see some old friends that I haven't seen in forever. There is so much to be thankful for in my life and instead of trying to cram all that into one day of thanks, I will live a life of Thanksgiving and Love as it was Christ who first loved me and now His Love is overflowing from my heart and into my words, actions, and my life. Are you living a life of Thanksgiving and Love?

Testimony and Thanksgiving

So the other night at youth I was asked to get up and share my testimony for the kids. I of course said yes because I knew that they needed to hear my story and get to know me better. The only thing is, is that I've never really spoken in front of a large group before, except for at Caswell and even then it was just like a devotion kind of thing, so needless to say I was a bit nervous. But things went great and I shared for a few minutes and they got to know me a little better from hearing my testimony. If you would ever want to know you can always ask. Anyways after that the youth minister spoke about Thanksgiving and the kids wrote letters of thanks to whomever they wanted and one of the 7th grade guys wrote a letter of thanks to me, which was awesome...here's some of what he had to say: "I am thankful for you to be a new best friend because it's always good to have friends. I also think you're a cool dude to hang around with. One really cool thing about you is that you accepted Christ a long time ago. It was cool to be on your team and getting to know you." How amazing is that!

How awesome is that that some of these kids already consider me to be one of their best friends! It amazes me as to how God is working through me and in the lives of everyone that we are coming into contact with. I love working with these kids and I can't thank God enough for what He is continuing to do. Are others seeing Christ in you?

Diversity...

So about a month or so ago I was sitting in church and God was just speaking to me and I was writing furiously all these notes and scriptures and I put it all together and wrote somewhat of a sermon on diversity. Our BSU used it as an article but unfortunately I do not have a copy of that I only have the copy of how I typed it out as being a sermon...So here it is.......

Whether you realize it or not we still live in a segregated society. Think about your home church and the diversity of it. How diverse is it? The church’s job is to live by example, what kind of example are we setting for society by the most segregated time in America being Sunday morning at worship? Why do we refuse to diversify ourselves? Have you ever opened your home to someone of another race? Have you ever invited someone of another race to attend your worship service? We have subconsciously set racial barriers and we continue to segregate ourselves when we should be working to become One. It is our fault that we have these racial barriers, not our parents and not our ancestors. Yes, our ancestors may have been completely segregated, but to this day we as the body of Christ have done very little to try and reverse it, for fear of I don’t know what, persecution maybe. When we abide by our subconscious barriers we tend to play it off or lay the blame on somebody else or even on society and our culture. If people in your congregation don’t want others of different races and cultures to worship with you then they need to take a look inside and see if they are truly followers of Christ. There is no reason that all believers no matter what race should not be worshiping God in the same room. As it is written in Galatians 3:28, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all ONE in Christ Jesus.” We are One race; the human race. We are told to love one another as Christ has loved us (John 13:34). When people look at us and at our congregations do they see bickering, jealousy, and division or do they know that we are followers of Jesus by our love for one another?

One thing, if you have noticed, I have not been saying that when we go to church we are segregated but rather we as the church are segregated. This is because the church is not a building that we come to, to have a beginning to end worship time. Our lives are to be lived out in continuous worship and our reasons for coming together as the church is not have a 1-2 hour worship time but rather to join together in worship with ALL of our brothers and sisters in Christ to become the church body and to lift our voices, hearts, and souls as One body to give glory and honor to God.

Revelation 5:9-10 states, “And they sang a new song, saying, ‘Worthy are You to take the book and to break its seals; for You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God; and they will reign upon the earth.” People around the world from every nation and every tongue are praising God. God’s message of salvation through Jesus the Christ is not limited to a specific race, ethnicity, or culture. Anyone who comes before God in repentance and in faith is accepted by Him and will be part of His kingdom. We should be spreading the Gospel to everybody! Do not let our own prejudice and racial barriers hinder us from sharing Christ with others. If Christ died for every single person on this planet then why can we not accept everyone and share His name and show them the true meaning of Love which is Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior.

John 12:26 states, “If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.”Here Jesus is saying that anyone who serves Him will be honored by God the Father. Jesus did not say. If the white man, or if the black man, or if the whatever race you want to be man; NO Jesus said ANYONE who serves Him will be honored. Jesus did not care what race you were. He was sent by our Father to save every single one of us whatever skin color you may have.

Acts 10:34-35 reads, “Opening his mouth, Peter said: ‘I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him.”Here is an example of a barrier that first-century believers faced. Since most of them were Jewish the greatest struggle for them was to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles. Back then it was wrong to even think about associating with a Gentile. But here we have Peter obeying God and sharing the Gospel with a Roman Gentile despite Peter’s Jewish background and personal feelings. God had made it clear to Peter and is making it clear to us today that the Good News of Christ is for everyone! Again we should not allow any barrier whether it be language, culture, prejudice, geography, economic level, educational level, whatever it is, do not let it keep us from telling others about our Savior.

Interracial Relationships...
I hope that you will take in everything that is said and take it to heart. Since we have now established that we are all one in the body of Christ and that we are one race, then how can there be interRACIAL relationships? Some of you are ready to spit some scripture at me and I’m going to beat you to it. So many people use these scriptures in their defense of why interracial relationships should not be, but let me tell you something right now: THERE IS NOWHERE IN THE BIBLE THAT STATES ONE SHOULD NOT BECOME INVOLVED WITH SOMEONE OF ANOTHER RACE. Rather what is says is this: 2 Corinthians 6:14 “Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light and darkness?” Deuteronomy 7:3-4 “Furthermore, you shall not intermarry with them; you shall not give your daughters to their sons, nor shall you take their daughters for your sons. For they will turn your sons away from following Me to serve other gods; then the anger of the LORD will be kindled against you and He will quickly destroy you”
Exodus 34:12 “Watch yourself that you make no covenant with the inhabitants of the land into which you are going, or it will become a snare in your midst.”

The previous scriptures again are what people will use to say that the Bible says one should not marry/get involved with someone of another race or culture. Nothing in the scriptures says this, rather it states not to become involved with somebody of a different religion or with a nonbeliever. When it states that you shouldn’t marry somebody from another nation, it is not meaning somebody of a different culture or race. Back then different nations had their own beliefs and own religions therefore to marry somebody of a different nation was to jeopardize your own salvation.

Therefore, I urge each and every one of you and challenge you to tear down these racial barriers that we have set. Invite others of different races to be in your ‘group’ of friends and invite them to your church. Do not look down or have disgust in others when they are in a relationship with somebody of another race, but instead rejoice for they are showing the nation that we are one. Let us begin the desegregation of the congregation now. Let us become ONE as we are the body of Christ. If we do not do something about the segregation and the prejudice in our congregations and our society today then it will continue to worsen. We are the generation that has been called to bring the body back together to become ONE again.

Be the Church

WOW!! What an amzing weekend I just experienced! It was great seeing God work in the lives of our youth at Summit. Our total head count of youth for the weekend fall retreat was 99! How amazing is it that God brought that many youth to hear His word and to allow them to witness others proclaiming His name and just worshipping all weekend long!! It was great seeing God work this weekend in the youth, especially in those who had never had a relationship with Christ. There were several first time decisions mad this past weekend, which is just great to witness. So I didn't really know what I was getting into this weekend, I was assigned to the 6th grade boys! While they were a little rambunxious, all in all they were a great group of kids. I am so thankful that God put me in this spot to be able to work with those kids and to just see Him working in everyone's life this weekend.

One of the t-shirts I have is from campus crossroads and on the front it says Be the Church and on the back it has a verse...Anyways several of the kids were confused as to what it meant by "Be the Church," as they were thinking it meant be the building. Sooo... I sat down with a couple of them and explained to them that the Church is not the building that we go to, but rather it is the Body of Christ. Since the Church is the Body of Christ and the Body of Christ are all believers, we as believers are therefore the Church. So i explained to them that in order to Be the Church they must first become believers and followers of Christ (become the Body), which was amazing to share with them. Therefore, I say to those who have ears to hear...Be the Church.

Being Encouraged

Well...let me catch you up on what has been happening in my life beginning with this past summer....

Going into this summer I really didn't know what to expect and I have to say God really opened my eyes and revealed Himself to me in many ways. I was able to work with some of the most amazing people ever and have made lifelong friends. I was also able to work with some of the local youth, which is great because I am from Southport/Caswell so I was being an impact in my home town. Through my testimony and Shannon's testimony God spoke and His grace came upon the children in the room and one of the girls accepted Christ for the first time, she is a freshman in high school this year. It was amazing seeing God working with these kids all summer. Seeing God work through me and through all those who worked at Caswell this summer was just simply amazing. I can't thank Him enough for allowing our paths to cross this summer and to continue to cross. I am thankful that He allowed me to get to know those people and to grow closer to Him and to mature spiritually. Nothing can compare to a summer at Caswell being surrounded by some amazing Christians and even better by God. I've learned a lot from this summer and I hope that I can stay on fire for Christ.

Since this summer I have returned to Chapel Hill and have tried to remain on fire and to spread the word of God to everyone and to just share about how awesome He is. I have continued to be involved with BSU but I am now involved with helping to conduct youth at Summit. And if you don't know, Summit is huge and we have an average of 75-100 youth on Wed. and Sunday, which is amazing! This weekend we are going on fall retreat to Camp Willow Run on Lake Gaston and I will have the opportunity to grow closer to these kids and to the other leaders and I hope that God will use me and my story to touch their lives (more on this after the weekend). It is simply amazing to see God at work in the lives of these youth and I am privileged to be a part of it and again I just hope God will use me. I have decided that I am going to become a member of the Summit Church and for those of you who do not know, I have never been baptized by submersion; therefore, even though I made a profession years ago I will soon be baptized along with members of the youth group in the coming weeks! How awesome is it that the very Word we are preaching to the kids, I will be able to personally portray to them and show them that this baptism will be my way of saying to them that Christ has been involved in my life for several years and I want them to hear all about it. I am really excited that God has brought me to this place and I am excited to see what He will do with me while I am here.

The reason I titled this "Being Encouraged" is because when I hear or read about how God is acting and what He is doing in other's lives it encourages me to grow closer to Him. From what God has done and is continuing to do in my life I hope it brings encouragement to you and I hope that you will continue to grow spiritually and mature in your faith. There are so many things that God does in our lives that should encourage us and ensure us that He is there and that He will always be there. Ironically enough our theme for BSU this year is "Be Encouraged" which says it all. "May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word." ~2 Thessalonians 2:16-17~. Therefore, I hope that you are encouraged by what God has done through me and I pray that you will come closer to Him and show encouragement and love to everyone.

Be Encouraged!