Update on Facebook Fast

This ditching Facebook stuff is HARD!!  I have done it twice before, but never for a month.  It's really hard not to just jump on Facebook when I'm bored.  It also doesn't help that it comes preloaded on my phone so I can't delete the app.  So I am cramming my time with music (lots of music) instead of Facebook.  I think that the hardest part for me is that I didn't deactivate the account like my good friend Julie, so now I get weekly emails from Facebook telling me that I have 16 notifications, 2 messages, 2 friend requests, and that more than 6 friends have updated their status.  It is extremely tempting!  But, I am really getting work done quicker, I am posting on my blog again, and I am reading my Bible regularly so it is worth it.  Oh, and I beg you to join me, not because I am lonely (I'm not), but because it is really a good thing to do to grow closer to God and to set your priorities.

Walk On the Water

The message at church yesterday was JUST what I needed to hear.
I have really thought lately about why I just couldn't feel God working. I knew that He's there, but nothing was changing.  Of course, my questioning mind needed a reason why.  After thinking about it for a while, I think that I found the reason.  I was crashing after a major spiritual high, the missions trip this past summer.  I had experienced some extremely life-altering things and feelings and when I got back home, I kind of crashed.  I slipped back into a routine.  I didn't really want to, but when you are as close to God as you have ever been for a week, and then you fall back to where you were, it's a pretty steep fall.  I just went back to the way things were and then I got comfortable there, and God couldn't use me.
I think that a lot of times, we get this way.  We come to a point in our lives where the storm is raging around us, and the boat feels like the safest place.  But where would the adventure be if we just stayed inside and never braved the world.  I mean, are roller coasters comfortable, no, but they are sooooo much fun.  Is tubing comfortable, oh no, but we love to do it.  Was Nicaragua comfortable, no way, but I had the time of my life!  My point is that some of the best experiences in life aren't comfortable, and since God is so much better than the things of this world, than shouldn't being uncomfortable serving God be the best?
How much could we be missing out on from just being afraid to step out of the boat?  And even if you do fall, you will fall right in Jesus' arms.  So what are we waiting for?  Join me this week as I step out of the boat and with my eyes set on God, I can set the world on fire!


(BTW: Still Facebook FREE!!!!!)

Stepping Away From Social Media

Honestly, since this school year started, I haven't been as on fire for God as I was.  I also realized that the last time I gave up social media was on my trip to Nicaragua.  So in order to hopefully gain some inspiration for my blog and my writing, and draw closer to God, I am giving up social media (Facebook, Instagram, etc.) for a month.  Starting this Sunday, February 9th, I am going to be off all social media, until March 9th.

The reason why I posted this is to challenge you to give up social media also.  It doesn't have to be for a month.  It doesn't even have to be for a week, it could be for a day or two.  It just has to be a time for you to be close to God.  

So, I hope that you will join me in stepping away from social media and use the time you save to set the world on fire!

(By the way, thanks Julie for the inspiration to do this!)

My Creative Writing Final

The mountains rose on either side of me.  A warm breeze blew over the barren field I was standing on.  The sand wove its way through my toes.  I sidestepped to avoid the cactus.  The little girl in my arms grew heavier every second.  Her hair stung my face and I wished I could put my sunglasses on but she wouldn’t let me.  I wanted to put her down, but she clung tight to my neck.  A smoking volcano in the distance set a backdrop for her tiny village.  Her house, the size of my bedroom, stood among 200 others, painted with pride.  I couldn’t talk to her, she spoke Spanish, but I could tell that she needed hope.  Her eyes told me it all.  Her hug told me it all.  I could already feel the tears that I would cry later that night in the group at the hotel.  How could I just have overlooked an entire portion of the world?  How could I have not seen how much poverty really affects people?

            I heard someone say that we had 10 minutes left, an inevitable fact that ripped my mind into the harsh reality that I would have to leave.  The girl in my arms, Medina I believe her name was, slipped down from my arms and took off running.  The kids sitting on top of the bus scrambled down from their perch.  Our group gathered around for a photo, fitting in as many extra kids as possible.  Then we climbed on the bus for the long 45-minute ride back to the hotel. 

            Later I found out that I was right.  I did cry, a lot.  I think that the cause of this culture shock, as the group leader told us was how wrong and right I was.  You see, I thought that poverty and helplessness wouldn’t get the best of me.  Somewhere in me, possibly subconsciously, I had thought that it wouldn’t be as bad as they say.  That only in Africa is there malnourishment and severe hunger.  One of the hardest things was that you could visibly see it.  When you saw a blonde streak on someone’s hair, it didn’t mean that they got their hair highlighted, it meant that they didn’t get enough protein in their diet.  They only ate rice and beans after all.  The shacks that they called home wasn’t staged for a commercial, it is reality for so many people.  The jeans that they wore didn’t come ripped.  The shirts didn’t come splattered with paint and stained from endless hours on a dirt floor.  They didn’t just decide to not wear shoes, they didn’t have any.

            I can still remember the feeling of sweat pouring down my back and tons of eyes looking at my white skin.  If I close my eyes long enough, I am blown back, and I can feel the gentle warm breeze on my skin.  I can still picture the mountains that I only saw twice.  Those mountains were my solidity, a constant reminder that even in a crazy country nothing like my own, God still reigned.  I can still hear the Switchfoot song playing in my head: “This is home, now I am finally where I belong”.  Yeah, that was home.  Maybe not that village, or city, or even that country, but I was at home because I was where God wanted me.

          No matter what your dreams are, don't forget your Jerusalem and spread His love now to set the world on fire.

Raccoons, Cockroaches, and Jesus

 (Warning: Some details have been modified to keep this story shorter)

This weekend held the most eventful camping trip I have yet to take.  Picture this. 

You are stranded in the woods with 20 or so teens and adults in your youth group family.  You here a high-pitched noise ring through the trees.  You shine your flashlight on the woods in front of you and start to scan the scene.  To your dismay, you see many pairs of eyes looking back at you.

This is almost exactly what happened on Sunday.  We had arrived at the campsite around the time that a group of scouts was leaving.  They warned us of raccoons the size of dogs and cockroaches as big as our finger.  We just assumed that they were trying to scare us, and even the ranger said that if you don’t have food out in the open, you would be fine. 

So we started setting up our tents and moved our backpacks inside.  Then we ate.  As the sun was setting, we noticed a raccoon walking along the path a ways away.  Paying little attention to it, we started singing.  “Light of the world forever … EEEEEE EEEEE EEEEE” The raccoons were out.  It seemed as if they all were let from a cage because you would see them everywhere.  Right behind you, gathered around your tent; they were all over!  When we finally looked at them, we realized that they were trying to break into the tent.  Our youth pastor went to go scare them away, and came back saying that the raccoons had unzipped his tent, and had been walking around inside. 

Instead of leaving, we decided to go to the store to buy some ammonia to keep away the critters.  As one of the ladies reached into the tent for her purse, a raccoon reached for the zipper only inches away from her foot.  When we tried to scare it away, it wouldn’t move!  That was the final straw.  We decided to pack up and go home.  We had to take down a chain, pull the cars through the woods, and shine the headlights at the tents just to see our feet in the dark.

That was when we noticed the cockroaches.  They would scurry over your feet if you kept them still, so we stood on benches.  I have never seen a campsite go down that fast.  A tent it took an hour and a half to put up went down in under 20 minutes!  We quickly got out of there.

We ended up staying at our youth pastors house, or at least the boys that wanted to stay at the camp staying inside.  The girls slept outside in a collapsing tent.  I personally had fun, but I can’t say the same for everyone else. 

All in all though, whether it was fun or not, whether the camping was successful, we did get a lot out of the trip.  An eighth grader that has been coming to youth group since sixth grade accepted Christ as his Savior.  In that case, it doesn’t matter that we had to battle raccoon and cockroach problems, or broken tent poles, because the kingdom of Christ grew this weekend.  And I wouldn’t mind battling rain and snakes next time if it means that the angels in heaven are rejoicing salvation.  This weekend just shows that sometimes, trials can bring triumph.  So lets work to set the world on fire, one wrecked camping trip at a time!

You Move Me

Here's something I wrote in  Creative Writing.

You move me like the cool breeze of yesterday and the light of tomorrow.  A dawn of a new day, an end to all sorrow.  And with every day, I am forced into wonder, of a Savior, a Messiah, whose name brings the thunder. Or the quietest whisper in my ear, spoken so that only I will hear.
You move me like the light at the end of my hall, a constant reminder that you catch me when I fall.  You move me like the sun kisses the water at sunset, and how the moon disappears without a word, and I would be plunged into darkness if you would ever leave me, for only with you can I truly see.  And at night when no one it's near, I call out your name because I can't do it alone and you are the song I am singing.
You move me like the mountains you could, the rain on a sad goodbye, my favorite song, but look : I see the day coming when I can see your face and thank you for your endless love and grace. 
Lord I need you, oh I need you and I anxiously await the day of our rescue.  But until that day I will wait and see, Lord continue to move in me.

Keep the Fire Burning

This week at school and at youth group and with the comments from my blog post last week, I kind of felt God speaking to me.  It really wasn't insane or extraordinary, but it really has given me a new view and purpose for this upcoming school year.  Keep the fire burning.  Yep, that's it.  And I honestly think that my goal for this year, although simple, is pretty amazing. 
Last year, I tried to live by my blog title, set the world on fire.  And this year, the fire that God sparked in my heart will still remain.  I will keep the fire burning.  You all know about the burden that He has placed on my heart for missions; my goal is to keep that fire burning.  The one burning here in my Jerusalem, yep, I am going to keep that fire burning too.
So I will leave you with this.  Whether Christ has been your best friend for as long as you can remember, or you just met Him today.  Whether you have you have acknowledged His presence, or you are still finding your way back home.  Keep the fire burning, and maybe together, with the help of our Heavenly Father, we can set the world on fire.