Seryn concert!

I got to see seryn for the third time last night :) It was great as usual. The best part...THEY PLAYED NEW MUSIC! :D YAY!

Here are some vids!

We Will All Be Changed

some new music

Cool!!

Check this out!!
FINISH HIM!

Driving.

So I'm going to be doing a lot of driving this year...Atlanta, home, Manitou, Pagosa, Angel Fire, home, Atlanta...

All of this will be done solo. Ha

Home for the summer, Manitou for nostalgia, Pagosa for SS, Angel Fire for friends, home for Christmas, Atlanta for Passion...

It's a good thing I love driving. 

boring

Writing blog posts is boring. I don't have any motivation to constantly relay my exciting experiences to a digital medium. I'd rather just talk about it in person, or have more awesome experiences! Haha maybe I'll start doing a video blog, or vlog, because it's like I'm talking.

Funny quotes for the day...

At blueprint "I love how Jesus rescues us from the nets of emotion and of the situation. Or a literal net - maybe you're are literally stuck in a net and Jesus will help you out of it."

Hannah E. "It's so sad that my armpit is purple."

I'm sure there are more to come.

Poetry

I've gotten a little into poetry recently. My roommate is really good with words and he shared this really convicting work. Check this out:

Roses are red.
Bacon is also red.
Poetry is hard.
Bacon.



hahahahahahahahahahahahaha that's awesome. :) Thank you David F. for making my life just a little more amazing.

To See God in His Sacnctuary

Have you ever read Psalm 63? You might recognize it if you heard it. I'd like to focus on the first two verses right now.

Psalm 63:1-2: "O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; my soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. Thus I have seen You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory."

It took me about 10 times reading this to understand what David was saying. Let's look at the context, shall we? The author is David (the one that killed the giant and becomes king, well, he's not king yet, so don't spoil the ending for him). When he wrote this, he was on the run for his life because the current king of Israel, Saul, wanted to kill David because everyone liked him more. David was running and trying to live off the land, but the land provided no resources like, I don't know, water.

So David is praying to God. The first times I saw this, I thought he was remembering the fellowship he had with God back in Jerusalem. Life was easy, comfortable, and secure. He could go to the temple anytime he liked. I thought David was saying that those were the good times - the times where he really saw God best. Then, the Spirit helped me out. (Thank You, Spirit.)

At the beginning of verse 2 is the word Thus. This means "therefore" or "because of the previously stated conditions, the following is true..." so let's reread that passage with that knowledge.


Psalm 63:1-2: "O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; my soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. Thus I have seen You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory."

Because the circumstances of David's life sucked so bad, because there was no way he could survive on his own, because the most valuable thing to a man (his life) was in danger, he was able to see God move in power and see His glory more than ever before. 

I connected the dots. If I want to know God more. I need suffering. I've got an easy life filled with blessing after blessing. So, my next prayer went like this: "Hey, God. I don't know if this is really happening, but I guess I'm praying for suffering. Amen" And that was that. 

Suffering came.

It was something completely new and I had no idea how to handle it, so I went to God. I asked Him for three things: contentment with not knowing the outcome of things, joy despite my remorse, and peace to know that He is God (sovereign and in control). He gave me all that and more! 

He used me as a blessing to one of my best friends. What I went through was for me and for my friend to both get to know God better! How amazing is that?! I prayed over my friend to bless Him with the peace that had been granted me. We hugged while we prayed, the best way to do laying-on of hands. By the end of the intense prayer, my whole arm was shaking, tingling, and vibrating. The Holy Spirit showed up! Right then and there, I knew my friend had been given what he was looking for, peace to know that God is God. It was an amazing experience. 

Since then, my joy has been unmatched by any experiences in my past. I have been so happy and the weather here is only a complement to my current state. Then, God used my experience that night to bless another one of my friends with wisdom.

God is so good.

"God, bring on the pain. If it means knowing you more, it's worth it. All I need is You. Amen."

DBU campus visit

I'm having an awesome spring break and yesterday was certainly no exception. I planned to meet my friend from Summit, Amy F. and remember I have two more friends that also go to DBU. I pulled up to the campus and almost couldn't believe how beautiful this place was. It's on a giant hill and there's a huge church with a magnificent steeple. I drove up the hill (which I desperately wanted to longboard down) and finally found a parking spot and Leah K. (one of my oldest friends) walked me into a building. Being a small campus and Leah being very friendly and extraverted, I met lots of new people. Amy showed up and I gave her a big hug. Then Leah and Amy finally met each other. They both love Jesus so so much and they are so sweet and encouraging. Serious wife material right there. haha Then, the astounding and handsome Kemp T. walked in and I got to catch up with him for a soli 30 minutes. :) I miss that guy. He's getting married in June. Crazy. From 1:45 until 5:30 I sat and talked with my old friends and my new friends. I especially remember Cam. Leah was very excited for us to meet each other. He was friendly. He asked me what my life story was and I responded that he'd find out more about me by asking questions rather than me coming up with stuff to say about myself.
"What's your favorite color?"
"Blue."
"When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?"
"First, an astronaut, then a car designer, then a pilot."
"Do you like music?"
"No...of course I do!"
"I like this guy."
He asked if we could be best friends and I thought it was a wonderful idea. All 5 of us prayed right then and there. It was AWESOME. I ate in the dining hall and it wasn't too bad.

My family and I went to a Fun. concert later. The opener was Avalanche City and they were really good. I bought the EP on iTunes. Then Fun. came out and it was a really good show.

Today is my last day in Fort Worth for awhile. But I'll be in New Mexico later and watching the Hunger Games tonight. Maybe I'll go snowboarding tomorrow, no big deal. :)

Spring Break

I flew home to Texas for Spring break and it is such a pleasure to do nothing (read, hang out, sleep, eat, etc.) for a few days. I spent the first two nights at my grandparents' house with my brother, sister, and cousin. I finished reading the first hinger games book and now I'm in chapter ten of the second one. It's not too bad. There was a guest preacher at church today; he preached the gospel and it made me joyful.

I've decided to fast from secular music on Sundays. It's not a huge sacrifice, but hopefully it will be a first step to greater sacrifices to strengthen my intimacy with God.

At Mimi's Cafe, an old man started to have a seizure and it kinds freaked me out. I called 911.

I visited my uncle's grave today at the cemetery. It got me thinking about death which obviously got me thinking about life. How fragile it is. How we take it for granted. How it's really the only thing we all have. So many people live their lives without considering death and just try to have a good time. Foolishness. Some are prepared for death and try to build a legacy of their name and memory. Foolishness. Few know that giving up one's life for God's sake, and forsaking their own life leads to eternal satisfaction, satisfaction that continues past the grave.

Don't live as a dead man; rise up. Get off you mat and walk. Be forgiven. Accept grace. Lose this life and gain life that lasts.

Big Update.

It's been awhile and much has happened. I co-led a D-Now group this past week under the astounding and dashing John P. I loved my 7th graders. They did what I said and were so nice to each other. Plus, I got to tell them the gospel! :D Tonight we had City Groups and it was legit. Then I tuned into the Passion 2013 Podcast and that was awesome. I pre-ordered the Passion White Flag album deluxe edition and downloaded it as soon as I could. I've been listening to it for awhile and I love it! :D I'm almost done with this hectic week. Then it's Spring Break! God is SO SO GOOD!

Exponential Curve

My to do list just increased by a fair (ginormous) amount, so I don't have much time to write a blog post. Just pray that I can still represent God with a busy week. :)

May grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure.

Advance

I just got back home. What a good time. I had a really splendid Friday. In my last class, the one that has a quiz each Friday, our professor had some "important" things to do after class so he rushed through the already shortened material and gave us the answers to half the questions on the quiz (which I got a 100 on). :) How awesome is that?! I hung out at the BCM with Eric until we decided to get some McFlurries from McDonalds. The traffic was awful but we had a good time just hanging out and listening to good music. The time came for me to head to Cedartown, GA for Advance, a yearly retreat for the BCM students. This weekend was centered on prayer. How awesome is that?! It was a wonderful time. It was at an old school house about 2 hours away from Atlanta. I brought a hammock, my Bible, and my pillow pet. There were about 30 of us and only 4 girls. Haha that's Tech, though. We spent almost the whole time in prayer. I got back and hung out at the BCM and watched a movie called "O Brother Where Art Thou" with Schwa(ziland), Kyle, Caleb, Eric, Billy-Bob, and Erin. I had never seen it. It was funny but it had a lot of cursing. I am hoping to become better friends with Schwa, BB, and Eric, and hopefully work some things out with Erin; I haven't seen her in a long time and it's kinda sad. Tomorrow, I'm going to Blueprint church. Hannah E. and her parents will probably be there so that's cool. After that is Ultimate. :D I really need to run around...I broke my fast today and ate SO MUCH FOOD.  -___-  I need to run a LOT. I am so satisfied in Christ right now. :)

72 Days for Freedom

Tonight marks the start of something very important.

The purpose of the Passion 2012 conference was to open our eyes and our hearts to the problem of slavery. Over 27 million people are a slave right now. We are not okay with this. We are doing something now to end slavery and share Jesus. Passion City Church held an event tonight to help us take the next step to end slavery. Go to the official 72 Days for Freedom web site to 1) sign a petition for Mr. Obama telling him we want to fight slavery as a nation, 2) give money to help rescue, restore and redeem those afflicted by the slave industry, 3) host a screening of the freedom film to as large a group as possible to spread the knowledge of this injustice, 4) pray every day starting tonight for God to move in power and for Him to use you, and 5) a unique way for God to use you to shine His light to the nations and end slavery. This is such a big deal. Let God move you.

Go to http://slaveryfootprint.org to see how many slaves are working to provide you with things you used today.

Pray.

Savannah is here.

What a great day. It is beautiful. I cleaned my room. I listened to the soundtrack from the movie Hanna. Savannah arrived (finally). I went to the grocery store and got a bunch of drink for Lent. I got Fiddler on the Roof from the GT Library. I got a cup with a straw built in, the kind I used when I was a youngster. What a great weekend this is turning out to be. :)

Life is busy.

I have not posted in a while. That may be because I have been super busy recently. The past two weekends I spent leading a D-Now in Conyers, and then training for SWAT (Students With A Testimony) in Athens. I thoroughly enjoy my time spent with D-Now stuff; essentially I just grow closer to Jesus. So that's legit. My weekends from now on are going to be pretty busy. I find it extremely difficult to put care toward my studies when Jesus and His Kingdom are so important to me. Oh well. For just under 2 months, the Lord has taught me about prayer. It is almost disheartening; what am I not getting? These are the important characteristics that every Christians' prayer life should possess:

• constant (Isaiah 62:6-7; 1 Thessalonians 5:17; Luke 18:1-8; Romans 12:12)
• solo (Matthew 6:6)
• yet corporate (Acts 2:42, 12:5)
• desiring God's will - the expansion of His Kingdom (Luke 22:42)

So I need to work on all of those. It's hard to pray constantly and fervently. It's hard to do it on my own. It's hard to do it with friends. It's hard to pray for what should be prayed. I want to get better so I'm asking God (in prayer) to enhance my prayer life.

Valentine's Day - it's over 2000!!!

I looked at my blog and saw that it had 1,999 views. So, I typed this up real fast so someone can read it and get me to 2,000. :) haha

But in all seriousness, let's talk about life. Some of my friends are realizing there is only one way to be content: when you are wholly dependent upon God. Pray they will find their joy and peace again.

I get to lead my first Bible Talk tomorrow. I'm really excited about that. :)

God is good. I'm eternally joyful about that. :)

D-Now

I had a legit blog post about this weekend and my experiences leading my first D-Now, but the whole thing got erased. :'( Ask me in person for some legit stories of God's handiwork.

Love vs. Hate

I've heard it said that since God is love (1 John), God is incapable of hate. This doesn't really make any sense. Paul W., a southern baptist preacher has said that since God is holy and God is love. He must hate; He must hate that which is opposite of Him: sin. He must hate arrogance, false witness, and pride because they are for what Christ was crucified. Jonathan Edwards put it very eloquently:

"And there are some affections wherein there is a composition of each of

   the aforementioned kinds of actings of the will; as in the affection of
   pity, there is something of the former kind, towards the person
   suffering, and something of the latter towards what he suffers. And so
   in zeal, there is in it high approbation of some person or thing,
   together with vigorous opposition to what is conceived to be contrary
   to it."

He uses a lot of pretty words, but here's the gist: If you have an affection (approbation, zeal) to something (God's glory), you must also have a disdain (vigorous opposition) for whatever is opposing it (sin, death). You cannot tolerate sin and also have a reverence for God. It is conceptually impossible. It's like trying to be on Hitler's side and the Jews' side.....you can't. 

As disciples, we are to be a representation of God (Galatians 6:19-20). If we sin, we are giving God an unholy representation of His name. This is another reason why we are to be righteous! Perfect, even (Matthew 5:48)! We will sin, but if you are not seriously brokenhearted because of or opposed to sin, go read your Bible. 

God please break my heart. Send suffering my way if that's what it takes. Mature my faith by allowing me perseverance through trials. Make me a man of God. Amen. 

Savvy Skype Sesh

I got to Skype one of my favorite people ever: Savannah S. She is so awesome (meow). I did not get to talk to Hannah B. though. :/ God is continuing to bless me and provide for me in many ways. Despite the heavy work load and little hours of sleep, I am feeling refreshed physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Maybe so that He can use me to help out my friends when they get exhausted. :)

God, fill me with Your Spirit, use me to help my brothers- and sisters-in-Christ as they keep me accountable as well. Bring trials to strengthen my faith. Amen.

Good Weekend

I had a fun weekend in FoCo. I got to meet Melissa M.'s family more and hang out at their house. I kept to myself mostly and it was a good time to be with God and sit on a very comfy couch. The next morning I ran 3.2 miles and went to church at Browns Bridge church with David F., Hannah E., and her parents. It was cool meeting Mr. Earle again and meeting Mrs. Earle for the first time. The best part of the service was the chance to praise God in music. The worst part was everything else, especially the "sermon." I won't gripe about that here. I came back to Tech and played some Ultimate. It was really fun except I injured my knee and I thought it would just get better, but that hasn't happened. I might have to get it checked out. Life is great and my God is with me, guiding my steps. What a comfort.

God continue to fill me up and lead me to the good works You have prepared in advance for me to do. Bring me to sacrifice everything. Bring me to repentance. Don't allow me to try to bring You glory on my own. It is miserable. Don't leave me. I love You. Amen.