Linked with Heather

Our Everything

2009-12-07T23:43:00.003-06:00

Christmas is such a hectic time. It's a great time, but it can be very crazy too. Tonight I was reminded of a great way to keep your mind focused in the right place this season. I read Isaiah 9:6 and I was reminded about how truly amazing this time of year really is.

Isaiah talks about a child being born unto us and that the government will be on his shoulders. While these are important parts, they were not the best part of it for me. The beginning part of this verse tells us that Jesus is coming for us and that He will hold a position of power. The next part of the verse is what touched me in a new way tonight. It says, "And he will be called Wondeful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."

Every Christmas I focus so much on the things I "need" or what I "have" to go out and get for others. We shell out a lot of money to buy the coolest gifts. People go to great lengths to buy exactly what people want for Christmas. The problem is that we already have the greatest gift. When Isaiah mentions all of the names of Jesus, he does that to tell us that Jesus is everything we need. He is the greatest gift that we could ever receive because He is our everything. He provides for our every need and holds us dear to His heart.

So, this holiday season, think of who Jesus has been for you and share it with someone. Help someone else realize what the greatest gift is!

Warm Welcome

2009-11-30T11:36:00.002-06:00

Wow! 2 weeks is such a long time! I felt like I was gone forever. I missed Galveston and Moody so much! It felt nice to be back in my apartment and to see my new office, but those weren't the best things at all. The best part was when some of the junior high walked into the Student Center last night. The second they saw me, they came running to give me hugs. It was the best feeling in the world! It was so nice to know they missed me.

I got to thinking last night as I was driving home, what a great illustration about God. It doesn't matter how long we're gone, God misses us so much. We can be "gone" for 5 minutes and God is so excited that we're back. He loves every moment he gets with His children.

One of my favorite Scriptures is Zephaniah 3:17. It says, "The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing." I love those words and that picture. There is no time limit or number of days to be gone before God will do this for you. He is crazy about His children and wants to be with them as much as He can.

So, think about how much you miss people when they're gone and then relate that to God wanting to spend time with you. Know that God is always waiting and wanting to spend time with you!!

Step Out

2009-10-27T20:34:00.002-05:00

It's so cool to see how God shows up when we decide to take that step of faith. That is something I have been experiencing lately. God has been asking me for years to step up my committment to Him. I have been nervous, afraid and just unsure. I didn't know what it meant or how it would all work out. Finally, through the words of some friends, I finally decided to take that step.

For those of you that are wondering, the step I'm talking about is ordination. I'm going back to school to get my Masters degree and will be working toward becoming a Youth Pastor or Associate Pastor for the next few years. It's an exciting but scary thing all at the same time.

From the moment I took that step, God has shown up in awesome ways. He has just continued to clear the path in front of me and opened all the right doors. God has just been blessing me in ways I could have never imagined. He has taken a situation that I was so afraid of and allowed me to learn to depend on Him. I fully trust now that God is going to see me through. I know that things are still going to be tough and I may still question or doubt St times, but I will remember how God has already come through.

In the new Transformers movie there us a quote that says, "Fate rarely calls on us at a moment of our choosing.". While I don't believe in fate, I think this statement is very true for God too. He may not call us when we expect it, but He will see it through.

What is God calling you to do? How can you vet out there and allow Him to use you? What have you been too afraid to do that you can try to trust God with this week? As long as we stay focused on Him and the direction He is calling us to go, we can't go too wrong.

Just a thought for you this week! I can't wait to hear stories of how God has come through for you!

Is everyone really welcome?

2009-10-08T22:55:00.002-05:00

I'm at the Leadership Institute at Church of the Resurrection in Kansas City. I am having a great time meeting new people, learning new things and getting to worship with tons of people. Out of all of the great things that I have learned, seen and heard, the biggest lesson came tonight at the close of the General Session. We heard the story of a young man named Vincent. Vincent has had to deal with turrets syndrome since he was 9 years old. The church he went to as a child made him feel very uncomfortable and didn't know how to love him through it. For that reason, Vincent left the church for 10 years. He found his way back to Church of the Resurrection and almost experienced the same thing. As he would yell out things in the middle of the services, people would move away from him and sit somewhere different the following Sunday. Several people in the congregation decided they had to embrace him and help him. Tonight, we saw the extent that the church had embraced Vincent when he got up and sang Shine by Collective Soul. It was awesome!

The church had a choice to make. They could let Vincent fall through the cracks and be driven out again or they could figure out how to deal with it and love him through it. They chose the right option and they welcomed him into the life of their church and learned to be better Christians because of it.

What would you do in this situation? Who would be welcomed into "your" church?

Those are tough questions to wrestle with. We know the correct answer is anyone and everyone is welcome in my church, but what does that mean? What does your church being open to everyone look like? I would love to say that I would not hesitate at all to let everyone come in, but I only hope that my actions and my attitude would follow that. I hope that I would be welcoming and loving to everyone, even those that are very hard to love. I hope that I would be enough like Christ to show them a good model. I hope that I would be a loving enough member of the church to embrace anyone that walks in the door.

Vincent had a great lesson to teach us tonight. So, when will you be faced with a situation that you have to decide who is welcome, who knows?! The most important part is that we do our best to be the most like Christ that we can be and allow Him to do the rest through us. If people really began to understand that there really is a place for them in the church, how do you think our world would change?

Take my life...

2009-09-14T21:49:00.002-05:00

I heard a song tonight that spoke to me. The lyrics were just amazing! The chorus says:

Take my life and let it be

All for You and for Your glory

Take my life and let it be Yours

These words can become a simple, but extremely powerful prayer for your life. I love how it uses the word take instead of give my life. Giving my life over to God is the most difficult thing for me sometimes. It's so hard to truly let Him have his way. Sometimes, I really need to use the word take. Sometimes I need to tell God, ok, I'm trying to give my life to you, I just can't seem to hand it all the way over...I need you to take it from here.

That has been a big part of the story of my life lately. I had no problem handing my life over to God when it came to youth ministry. I was pumped and excited to serve Him in that way. I love spending time with you guys, so it wasn't a tough decision! Over the past few years, I've been going back and forth on if I felt like God was calling me into ordained ministry. I really didn't know what to think. I really wasn't sure if I was hearing God call me or if I was making it up in my head. I was scared and didn't think I could handle it.

I was right...I can't handle it, but God can. I finally took a leap of faith a couple weeks ago and started the process to become ordained. I guess I finally had to stop trying to "give" my life to God because I wasn't actually giving it over. I had to ask God to take my life and use it for His glory. When I did that, everything changed. God was able to move in a way that I hadn't let Him move before.

So, read the words of that song again. What are places in your life that you need to ask God to go ahead and take your life. In what ways can you imagine God using your life to bring Him glory? Be ready to see the exciting and amazing places God can take you!

God's Beauty

2009-09-09T12:58:00.002-05:00

It's been awesome this past week to really have a chance to take in all of God's beauty. I love moments when you can really see the masterpiece He has created.

When I went to New Mexico to see my parents I got to enjoy the mountains and the beauty there. It's funny because a lot of people don't see the desert as pretty. They see the dirt and the strange plants and think it's just funny looking. I look at it and see beautiful. It's where I grew up, so I guess I'm used to it. Waking up every morning and looking out to see the mountains from my house is just amazing. The mountains just hold a special place in my heart.

Then to come back to Galveston and see the beauty on the beach. As I drove back over the causeway on Monday night, I saw the moonlight dancing on the water. It reminded me how glad I am that I live here now. Then to see the waves and the sunlight on Tuesday on my way to work was amazing.

It was amazing to see both places and remember what I loved about them. God has placed so many things of beauty in our lives and I fail to appreciate them so much of the time. It was nice to have some time to slow down when I was home and be able to remember and appreciate that. It reminded me that I pass by so many beautiful things everyday. We are fortunate to live on an island where we are surrounded by beauty. This short little blog is an encouragement to notice what is around. Take time to notice the beauty you pass by each day and thank God for it. I was able to do a lot of that this past week and hope to make it more a part of my life everyday.

Brainfreeze

2009-08-20T22:11:00.005-05:00

This Sunday we are having the BRAINFREEZE back to school bash and I can't wait. We are going to have so much fun. In all of the promo for the event, I keep saying take some time to freeze your brain before you go back to school and have to use it all the time. It's just a goofy statement, but it really got me thinking.

I have a very hard time turning my brain off or "freezing" it. I'm always thinking about what is coming next or what I need to accomplish. If I don't take notes while I'm listening to a sermon, I have a tendency to start thinking of what is on my to do list. If I don't really focus while I'm praying, I start wondering if I remembered to return an email or if I finished what I was working on earlier. It's not that I think God is unimportant...I just can't seem to stop thinking.

I have to wonder, what am I missing out on by not "freezing" my brain through some of those moments? What am I not hearing from God because my mind is racing? What peaceful, restful moments am I thinking my way right through? What is so simple that I make so complicated because I think too much about it?

So, while we need our brains to function and be useful most of the time, are there times that it might help us more to have a brainfreeze? Just a thought for you as you come enjoy yourself on Sunday and then get back into your school routines.

Not forgotten

2009-07-06T22:55:00.002-05:00

Tonight I attended a worship service that I hadn't been to in quite a while. It had gotten so easy to just stay home on Monday nights instead of go to worship. For some reason tonight, I really felt like I needed to go. It was a great thing because God had a big message for me.

We all have times in our lives when we feel lonely. We can be in a crowded room and still feel alone. For some reason that feeling has been haunting me lately. I've just felt kind of weird. I've spent plenty of time around people, but just felt kind of lonely even in those times. On a side note...this isn't a please feel sorry for me...I'm just sharing my heart.

Tonight, when I got to the service they were beginning the song Your Grace is Enough by Chris Tomlin. It's a great song, but the bridge was the part that really spoke to me tonight. It says:

So remember your people

Remember your children

Remember your promise oh God

I've sang these words so many times and not thought twice about them. After singing it once, the worship leader began to talk about that we are never forgotten. He reminded us that we have a God who has great promises and great things for His children.

For some reason, the simple words that He spoke echoed so loudly in my heart. They changed my whole attitude. I had that reminder that God is always with me. God is always right by my side and has so much better for me than this down in the dumps attitude I've had. He reminded us as we sing the words to declare those things that God has for us.

The next song we sang, only reinforced what I needed to remember. The chorus talked about how Jesus went to the cross to die for our sins. It talked about how Jesus came to seek and save the lost. It all clicked as we sang. Of course I'm not alone. Not only is God always with me, but He went to great lengths to make sure that I could be with Him for eternity. Jesus death was purely to build a relationship, which is the complete opposite of being alone.

So, we're all still going to struggle with those lonely moments, but we've got something that we can remember in those moments. We've got a God who is always there no matter what. It is difficult to remember His presence sometimes because He is unseen, but that is what faith is all about!

Summer

2009-06-15T15:22:00.003-05:00

Wow! The summer is in full swing. It kind of blows my mind how quickly it seems to get here and then how quickly it seems to end. Summer is a great time to go on trips, to relax, to be lazy and to just enjoy the sunshine. Summer is also a time that can lead to boredom and being completely unproductive if we let it.

A lot of times we sit at home in front of the TV and watch the same boring reruns or we play our video game that we have played and beaten hundreds of times or we waste time on facebook and myspace. All of those things can be good, but they can consume us without us even realizing it.

Though this may sound crazy, the summer is actually a great time to start a new habit. It's a time when we don't have homework and all of our school activities to worry about, so we've got some spare time on our hands. It's easier to start something when you have a little bit of time on your hands instead of when you're in the middle of everything.

So, what is something you need to start doing? Is it spending time in prayer? Is it reading your Bible? Is it taking time to appreciate all that God has done for you? Is it coming to church on Sunday mornings? Whatever it may be, I would encourage you to take the time to do it now! If you get it started now, by the time school rolls back around, you will be in the habit and it will fit nicely into your schedule.

Instead of wasting all of the summer away, get motivated and do something great for you and for your relationship with God. I know it's not always the easiest thing to do, but it will help so much in the end. You will be so glad you did it. And...don't worry...I'm right there with you. I will also be trying to develop some better habits this summer. Let's see what we can accomplish!

Recording my life

2009-06-01T08:39:00.002-05:00

The last several weeks, we have been talking about this whole idea of recording our lives...about what life would be like if we had a remote control. This past week, it's really been making me think. Is my life really worth recording? Am I doing anything in my life that other people need to pay attention to?

My first thought to that question is well, not really. I'm just living my life like everyone else and there isn't really anything that I do that is so out of the ordinary. Then when I step back and think about it, I think that maybe that's wrong. I do have things in my life that are worth other people seeing. The biggest one of those things being God.

You have probably heard people say phrases like, you are the only Jesus someone may ever know or you are the only Bible people may read. I know those sound so cheesy, but they are so true. People listen to the words that come out of our mouths, but they watch how we live our lives so much more. They pay attention to what we do when everyone else around us is talking trash about the "nerd" over at the lunch table by themselves. They watch how we act while we're at school. They pay attention to who we hang out with. They watch how we play sports and our other extra activities.

So, we have a chance to record a life that shows everyone around us how much God loves them. We have a chance to change our friends' lives by being the best Christian we can be. We have a chance that we can't pass up!

It's the last week of school, the last time you're going to see some of these people for a few months. For some of you, you're about to change schools and this is your last week in elementary, junior high, high school. What do you want to leave with those people? What do you want them to think about when they think of you this summer? Will they think you're just like everyone else and there's nothing different about you or will they see that you're a living example of how great God is? Let's show them that being a Christian is fun and that it's the best way to live!

The Way We See Things

2009-05-11T14:49:00.002-05:00

As most of you already know, I wear glasses/contacts. I have a lot of trouble with my eyes and it gets very frustrating sometimes. Without boring you with all of the explanations, when I wear my contacts, my vision is much clearer. The glasses I had been wearing helped a little bit, but my vision was still fairly blurry.

I got new glasses a couple days ago and it's been interesting. They help my vision more than the old glasses did, but I'm not sure what I think about them. I'm not sure if it's the different shape of the glasses or if something is wrong with the lenses. It's definitely better, but still not great.

How we see what's around us is a funny thing. We can see things different depending on which "glasses" we put on. For instance, if we look at everything through God's "glasses" it is going to be drastically different than if we look through our own "glasses." If we look through a positive lens instead of a negative lens that makes a difference. If we look through child lenses instead of a adult lenses it's going to be different.

I get frustrated that I can't fix the problems with my eyes. I have to remind myself that I can fix the way I see even with the problems. I can wear the correct contacts and glasses to help me see the best possible. When we look through God's lenses it just might help us to see the world and to see people in a completely different way. It might be clearer sometimes, it might just be a new way that we have never seen it before. Put those different glasses on and see what you see!

Yes, another song

2009-05-04T16:54:00.003-05:00

Last night we got to hear Zach Hendricks lead worship. He was so much fun! He sang some fun goofy songs (still have Love Story stuck in my head, thanks Zach) and then sang some great worship songs. One song that he did last night that I hadn't heard in a long time was Cannons by Phil Wickham. The chorus of the song says,

You are holy, great and mighty
The moon and the stars declare who You are
I'm so unworthy, but still You love me
Forever my heart will sing of how great You are.

Wow! What powerful words. This great and holy God who even has the moon and stars bowing down to Him cares about us. I know that is something that I blog/talk about a lot, but it just blows my mind. I just cannot believe sometimes that a God that is so big has time to care about me.

It's an overwhelming thought in so many ways. It makes me feel important, yet so unworthy because I haven't done anything to deserve this great love. It makes me feel loved beyond words, but sad that I can't even begin to do enough to give that love back.

It all comes down to that my heart can forever sing of how great God is. I continue to be amazed at who He is and all that He has for my life. I hope you can discover that and find that in your life!

Storms

2009-04-28T16:15:00.003-05:00

Man, it's been raining so much. Normally rain doesn't bother me at all. It's great weather to take a good nap, read a book or watch a movie. I kind of like cloudy, rainy days for those reasons. The rains lately have not been that cloudy skies with a drizzle happening outside.

Friday night, I was at my old house packing and trying to get ready to move the next day, which you know from my last post, is not my favorite thing to do. It started raining and I just hoped that it would only rain through the night and be dry in the morning. The rain kept getting worse and then the lightning and thunder started. I scrounged through my roommate's stuff hoping she had a flashlight and some candles because I had a feeling the power might go out. About 5 minutes later, bam, there it went.

I continued packing by candlelight and watched the lightning strike every few seconds. So much of it looked like it was right outside my window. I tried not to be freaked out, but it got the best of me. I kept thinking to myself, I know it's going to be ok, God is going to protect me. I know He loves me and He will make sure I'm safe. That thought lasted for about 2 seconds while the crashes of thunder got even louder and the lightning got worse.

All in all, I was fine and the storm didn't really affect me too much at all. God did take care of me like He always does. What are the moments in your life that you wonder if God is really going to protect you? We all have them. I encourage you to write them down and write down when He does come through so that in your moments of doubt, like mine on Friday night, we can read back over those things and be reminded that God does protect us.

Moving

2009-04-23T15:29:00.002-05:00

Can I just say right up front, I really don't like moving. It's such a pain to pack everything up and haul all of the boxes. Then when you get to the new place, you have to unpack everything and figure out where it's all going to go. You have to come up with new ways or organizing everything and things aren't in the same place they have always been (at least always were while you were in your other house). It's just a big pain.

Even in all of my dislike, there is something great about moving. I have only lived in the house I'm in right now for 7 months and I can't believe how much junk I've accumulated. I can't believe how much mail I had that needed to go through the shredder and how much stuff I needed to get rid of, I've had a bunch of stuff in the garage for those 7 months and I can't believe how much of it I have gone without using and been just fine.

So, now I've got a new apartment with a new start. I get to start off with a clean and uncluttered place to live. This one is great because everything in it is brand new, which I've never had before!

Think about this concept in our lives. How much stuff just clutters up that we don't want to deal with? How much junk just sits there and gets in the way? What if we were to clean our lives out like we clean our houses out to move? What if we reorganized everything and got to start off clean and beautiful? Our lives might look drastically different if we did that every once in a while. We might have less junk to haul around and less stuff getting in the way of our relationships with our friends, family and most importantly God. We might just be happier people.

Just a thought for you....you can tell what I'm focused on right now. I will officially be an Islander as of Saturday!!

Beautiful

2009-04-14T17:09:00.002-05:00

Man, it's so pretty outside today! I love when the sun is shining, but there is a nice breeze to keep you cool. You just can't ask for better days.

It's days like today that remind me that God created this world for us. God created the beach, the water, the grass, the trees, the flowers, all of that for us to enjoy. It just amazes me. I have to think that God wouldn't give us gorgeous days like today if we weren't supposed to be outside and enjoy them.

It leaves me not able to do anything but be thankful. I appreciate so much that God did all of this for me. I feel the closest to God when I am out enjoying His natural beauty. In fact, it is a constant reminder of all that God gives me. If you're ever unsure that God loves you, just take a look around. Look for something beautiful and see it as His gift to you because that is what it is! Easter has come and gone, but we still have a God that is alive and active and worth celebrating, so go outside and enjoy what He has given you!!

Easter Sunrise Service

2009-04-10T15:16:00.002-05:00

The Sunrise Service on Easter is one of my favorite things of all time. It's really early in the morning, but it's so worth it.

When I was a kid, my family didn't go to church together. We would do things at church occasionally, but never attend services as a family. You know, things like weddings, funerals, carnivals and some other special events friends had.

Anyway, once I started going to church in junior high, my parents started coming to the service with me every once in a while. My grandmother lived with us, but never came to church because it was very hard for her to read anything. On Easter Sunday, we would all get up incredibly early and go to church as a family. We would go to the Sunrise Service and my grandmother would stand next to me. She would link arms with me and sing her heart out because she knew all of the songs. It was so wonderful to see how special this morning was to her. That is a memory that I hold very near and dear to my heart.

Easter Sunrise Service is also important to me because it's the service I was baptized and confirmed in when I was in 7th grade. It was such a great time to celebrate something so wonderful in my life.

I hope that you will take some time out of your morning on Sunday and join us. There is just something that is indescribable about spending that time with God. Watching the sunrise as we think about our Lord and Savior rising from the grave. If you've never experienced it before, this a great year to start. Be careful though, it's kind of like potato chips, you can't come only once.

Driving Thoughts

2009-04-02T20:54:00.002-05:00

I drive in each day from League City, which is a nice time to enjoy being by myself and think. Today I was dreading making that drive because I saw how hard it was raining and didn't really want to drive in it. I knew I had to go to work, so I didn't really have a choice. I got my stuff and got in the car.

As I drove, the rain slowed and the sun started to peak out from behind the clouds. I saw the rays of light that came down through the clouds and I started thinking. All of us have a lot of clouds that come into our life. They hide the sunshine and sometimes make it tough to get on with our day. Those cloudy yucky days are days that I don't even want to get out of bed sometimes. We need some help getting through our cloudy days.

We have a God whose light can penetrate through any clouds. He can brighten us up on our worst days. When I saw the clouds and the light today, I couldn't help but see it as God reaching out to me. I was looking for a rainbow, but got another great reminder instead. I was reminded that God's light is so powerful and can change any situation.

Where do you need His light in your life?

Spring Break

2009-03-16T16:51:00.003-05:00

So, its hard to think about anything too serious this week. Besides, my last couple blogs have been a little heavy, so let's have some fun.

We're all on spring break this week. We get to sleep in, play outside, watch tv, eat junk food, all of that good stuff. We get to that point when we just need a break from school. We need to be able to just have fun.

It got me thinking...does God ever get a break? I know God had a day to rest when He created the world, but has He had one since? Does God even need a break? If He took a break, where would He go? What do you think God would do?

I guess it's probably good for us if he doesn't take a break because that is when we would really need Him. That would be my luck anyway.

So, there are some random thoughts for you to ponder as you enjoy your spring break. Got to keep that brain working so you don't forget how to use it when you go back to school next week! Have fun!

Rest

2009-03-09T16:06:00.003-05:00

It's funny how our bodies tell us we need rest sometimes. As you saw in my last blog, I've had a lot running around in my crazy brain lately. I've been working, trying to keep up with all of the junior high and running around like crazy. I haven't had a lot of time to just truly rest.

Well, my body decided this past week that it was going to rebel. It didn't like how busy I was and so bam, here came strep throat. I stayed in bed all day Friday and a little bit of Saturday. I came to church on Sunday and then went straight home and went to bed.

Even though I really dislike being sick, I take it as a sign sometimes. In the Bible it talks about us having a Sabbath. That is not a word we hear a lot these days, but it means a day of rest. A day where we put everything aside and focus on God. I think God intended it not only for us to spend more time with Him, but also for us to just get some rest. We work and play hard and just need some time to recharge.

Friday was a really nice day to recharge for me. I didn't realize how much I needed it. Thankfully, my body knows how to force me to rest.

Loss

2009-03-03T21:23:00.002-06:00

Sometimes life just throws things at us that we're not ready for and it changes our plans. In the past few months I have experienced a lot of loss. My Great Aunt Virginia passed away in October, I had to put my dog to sleep in mid-January, my youth choir director passed away at the end of January and then my Great Aunt Udene passed away last week. I don't think I really ever took time to deal with any of the deaths. I think I felt sad for a minute and then just tried to get back to everything else going on. For some reason it all hit me when my Aunt Udene died this week.

These are the times when it is so easy to just give up on God and be angry at Him. Even though I feel like having that attitude sometimes, I can't help but still being thankful. I look at all of the great things that God has done and know that He is going to get me through anything. I may have lost four people recently, but the list of good things that God has done is two, three or four times as long.

I know I've still got some rough days ahead of me coping with the loss and finding time to deal with it, but I'm going to try my best to cling to the promises that God has to offer me. I know He is good and His love endures forever. Remember the good things that happen so you will have them to cling to when the bad things come.

I AM WHO I AM

2009-02-23T11:17:00.002-06:00

So, we just finished our series on Superheroes here at The Link. I absolutely love that we ended with Moses because I relate to him so much. Moses had a great power of leadership, but he didn't really know he could use it. He didn't see the power in himself. Moses was afraid. He didn't think that God could use him and he was afraid that if he said yes, he might mess it up. Moses dealt with fear before he was able to be the strong leader.

At a worship service I went to on Monday night, the pastor said to quit looking at the "what ifs" and start declaring the "I knows". Man, he was talking directly to me! I am so bad about looking at the what ifs. I think I would have talked God in circles forever if I had been Moses. I would have asked every what if question in the book. God had that exact answer for Moses. He told him to quit focusing on the what ifs and the I can'ts and declare the I know. The "I know" that He told Moses was I AM WHO I AM.

All Moses needed to know was that he had the God of the universe on his side. He had the ultimate power, ultimate strength and ultimate victory on his side. What are some what ifs or unknowns in your life right now? Give those things over to God and begin declaring the promises that He has for us.

Saying YES is powerful!

2009-02-16T10:41:00.002-06:00

We've been talking about SuperHeroes at Moody this month and it's been a blast! We've looked at Daniel and his faith in God, we've talked about Joseph and his "forgiveability" and we talked about Mary this week and her willingness to say yes to God. It doesn't seem like saying yes is that big of a deal, but it was a yes that changed history and changed our lives. Such a simple word made such a difference.

I can't help but think, it seemed so easy for Mary to say yes. I know I wasn't there watching it all happen and hearing her thoughts, but it didn't seem like she questioned it at all. Despite everything that could have gone wrong, she said yes and trusted that God would take care of her.

As I was importing my CD's into Itunes yesterday, I listened to a song that I had not heard in a very long time. It's by a band called Geoff Moore and the Distance (I know you've probably never heard of them, it's all good, they are kind of old) and the song is called The Vow. The chorus of the song says:

Right here right now in the midst of the crowd, I stand alone and I make my vow. Whatever it takes I will be faithful. This is my vow.

Standing alone in a crowd can be a very hard thing to do. It's that time of knowing that we may stand out and look different because God doesn't always call us to the easy things. He called Mary to do something that made her very visibly stand out to everyone and He may do that to us. In the song it reminds us that it's whatever it takes to be faithful. The great thing is that we have a God on our side who says He will be faithful too and will walk every step of the way with us.

So, stand alone in the crowd and make that vow. Say yes to whatever God is calling you to, do whatever it takes to be faithful and know that it's going to carry a lot of power behind it!

Kickball

2009-02-09T15:01:00.003-06:00

Yesterday was the JV vs. Adult kickball game and it was great! We had a blast playing and everyone enjoyed being together. That is what I love about church! Despite all of the different ages, races, groups, everything, we are all one big family. We come together all under one purpose and suddenly some of those things are not as big of a deal.

When I moved to League City, I didn't know anyone and my family was 1000 miles away. It was the family at church that helped me adjust and love living here. Now, I'm so excited to be a part of a new church family that has helped me adjust and will help me love being in Galveston! Being a part of a church family has been a very important thing to me.

It is also one of the reasons I can't wait to get to heaven. We can all spend time together and not think twice about differences. That has been something that has been a blessing to see after Hurricane Ike. It has seemed that people have all come together to help each other and to help Galveston. It's been great to see.

So, now that I have the song We are Family stuck in my head....I'm going to let you think about what it means to be part of this great family!

The race is on!

2009-01-27T11:59:00.003-06:00

This weekend I got a chance to go to MidWinter out at Lakeview. It was a great weekend! We got to worship with the Wayne Kerr Band and got to hear Wayne speak. Wayne talked on Saturday about his wife running the Houston Marathon a couple years ago. He talked about how our Christian walk is like running a marathon and not like a sprint.

It really got me thinking about all of the training and preparation that goes into a marathon. People work so hard to accomplish those and it's such a great feeling when you cross the finish line. How great would our walk with God be if we trained like that and worked hard to accomplish that goal.

That evening we took communion and the pastor called the bread and the grape juice our fuel. I had never thought about communion that way. It is so true. Communion is something that keeps us going. It reminds us of a God who gave so much to allow us to spend eternity with us. It keeps us focused on our first love and on the basis of our faith.

So, what are some other "fuel" items that we have in our faith? What is your fuel level right now? Are you a little low or do you have some to spare and give to others? How is your race going?

Lots of thoughts for you to consider.....

The things our dogs teach us

2009-01-13T20:00:00.002-06:00

On Monday morning, I had to do the hardest thing I have ever done. I had to take my dog, Margo, to the vet and have her put to sleep. Saturday morning I got the news that she was 5 years older than I thought, had diabetes or a tumor, was half the weight she should have been and not really eating very well. I got the blood work done and everything else I needed to do to actually find out what was wrong with her. Over the next 48 hours, she continued to act very strange and was not herself at all. It left me with the decision of how to handle it. Do I spend the money and work really hard to try to get her healthy again only to live a matter of months or possibly a year? Do I let her stay as she is for the time and wait to put her down until she gets worse? So many questions went around in my mind until finally I just knew putting her to sleep was the right thing to do.

Monday morning rolled around and I went into the vet's office. He asked me the questions he needed and had me fill out all of the forms. He asked if I wanted to stay during the process and I said no. I gave her a big hug and a kiss, said goodbye and left.

It got me thinking about God making the decision that Jesus had to die for our sins. He knew that there was no other way. He knew it had to be done at that time and it couldn't be put off any longer. He just knew it was the right thing to do. I can't imagine how hard that decision was for him as a parent though. Then, he had to watch the men beat his son almost to death and then nail him to a cross. He had to watch the pain and the suffering of his only child. I had the luxury of leaving Margo with the vet and walking away without having to see her actually die. I knew that this was by far the best thing for my dog because it would end her suffering.

God knew that this was by far the best thing for his children because it would keep us from the suffering of hell. I would have done anything to make Margo feel better and to take her pain away. God does the same thing for us. He did not even think twice about sending his son to the cross because he knew that it would give us a way to escape the suffering and pain of hell.

After I got over the shock of putting Margo down, I was so overwhelmed by the fact that God did that for us. God made a decision for his son to die so that we could live. Our God is such an amazing God. Be thankful for all that He has done and will continue to do for you.

Plans, I like plans

2009-01-07T10:13:00.002-06:00

Yes, I am one of those crazy people who loves to plan. I love details, organizing, calendars and all of that stuff. It's okay to think I'm nuts because I know that I am. The other night I heard a sermon that was just for me. It was all about having a plan to be successful in our New Year's Resolutions.

Every year we finish up our Christams celebrations and then start getting ready for New Years. We make plans with friends and families and figure out where we want to be when the New Year rolls in. The thing we always forget until the last minute is our New Year's Resolution. It's almost midnight and we suddenly realize we need to find something to make ourselves better in the new year. With these last minute decisions we make, 70% of people don't even make it until the end of January with their resolution and 90% of people don't even make it past the end of February.

Coming up with our resolution at the last minute isn't so bad, but we need to take time to make a plan (this is where I got a little excited and happy because he was speaking my language). We need to figure out what our goal is, what steps we are going to take to get there and who we need to help us. That just makes so much sense and is so simple, but I hadn't even thought of it. We were encouraged to have a physical goal and a spiritual goal, which I think is a great start!

So, I can use your help to reach my goals, here they are....

My spiritual goal is to spend more time reading my Bible. I get lazy sometimes and only open it when I'm trying to get youth lessons together and that's not ok. I enjoy reading it every time I do and I always learn something, but its so much easier sometimes to go to bed instead. I was given a Daily Bible last year and didn't make it very far. This year, I'm going to commit to read the chapters for each day and make it all the way through the Bible. You can help me by asking if I've read my Bible whenever you see me!!

My physical goal is to lose weight and get healthier. I want to try to spend some time working out and watching what I'm eating. You can help me here by slapping my hand when I pick up that pizza or a candy bar from the cafe. Remind me that I can get a grilled chicken salad instead of that pizza!!

Take some time to think about what you want to accomplish this year and find a way to make it happen. Figure out your plan and then share it with someone else so they can help you do it. It's much easier when you've got help and support than when you try to do it yourself. Also remember that we've got an awesome God on our side who can help us accomplish anything! Give your goals over to Him and allow Him to help you achieve them and you won't be able to fail!!

Christmas

2008-12-11T15:11:00.003-06:00

Today I got to enjoy singing some Christmas Songs with a great guy some of you may remember, Wayne Kerr. I finally feel like I have gotten a little into the Christmas spirit, which is exciting because I really do love Christmas (I think the snow last night helped too). Anyway, I always enjoy getting to sing with Wayne because he always gives me a new spin on things. We sang the classic Christmas song, Do You Hear What I Hear? and it was awesome. Wayne encouraged us to take some time to listen and allow God to speak to us. We are all so tied to our cell phones, our ipods, our tv's and everything else that we have a hard time taking time to listen to God. When he said all of that, I have to admit, I sat there and thought yeah, I know listen to God, yada, yada, yada. I know you're all thinking, but you're a youth director, yeah, we're not perfect. The next thing he said really caught my attention though. He told us to drink deep so that we can pour out.

I started thinking of all of the great things that we can drink deeply of at Christmas...God's presence, His joy, His love, time with our family, giving to others and so much more. We have so many opportunities to get filled to overflowing this holiday season in preparation to pour out like crazy in the new year.

Take every bit of God in that you can this holiday season and begin to think of people, places, situations you can pour all of that out onto.

Hey!

2008-12-05T12:37:00.002-06:00

Hey guys! Welcome to the first edition of a glimpse into Heather's crazy world! I hope you've had a great week back at school after Thanksgiving. I know all of you are counting down the days until Christmas vacation starts. It's only a couple weeks away! I'm pretty excited for it to be here too because I get to go back to New Mexico and see my family. Yay for a little spoiling from mom and dad! It will be really fun to see them and just to enjoy Christmas together.

Anyway, come back to this blog every week for some other thoughts on things going on at youth, things going on in my crazy world, things that God is teaching me and so much more. I know we will get to have some fun with this, so get ready. You never know when a random question is going to appear in here that might get asked at youth or when you might miss a funny story that I won't share anywhere else.

Have a great Friday and Saturday and I can't wait to see you on Sunday!