Humbling Summer

Well, I know it's been quite some time since I've written on here, but man I have been so busy with my Churchs' Summer Internship this summer. I have grown so much physically and Spiritually because of this program. Summer Internship was an 8 week leadership development program where we learned to grow physically with workouts, and spiritually through teachings and experiences. On our kickoff weekend for summer staff, we all drove to the Hyatt Hotel, and spent hours in one of their conference rooms getting to know each other through the likes of games. Our Pastor then gave us a message on Repentance, where he started to name off just a few of the sins in the Bible, and we had to write down all of the ones we had committed on a sticky note, and then stick it to our bodies. As you can guess, we were covered in them. But then some worship music was put on, the lights were dimmed, and he had us pray for those sins one by one. It was quite astonishing to see all of those sticky notes laid out before you. My favorite moment from that night was that we prayed and worshiped for four hours straight. Worship music was playing, and we were all singing along. I got goose bumps many times throughout the night, it was indescribable.


Every single Wednesday and Thursday we had to be at the church. We did workouts in the mornings, and many different teachings in the afternoons. We would all spend 14-15 hour days at the church on Wednesdays, but for what we did, it was well worth it. On Sundays we would have field trips, and we did everything from camping out at the church, to getting stranded on an island called Cayo Casta, to even helping out with an event that our church puts on every year called Project Backpack. For the last 8 weeks, every Wednesday and Thursday, that's what my life consisted of. It was such an enlightening and humbling experience to be apart of. Sadly, yesterday, 8/2/12, was the last day of summer staff. But what we did I will never forget.We went back to the beginning, back to where it all started. We went back to the Hyatt Hotel. Will thought the perfect ending to this internship would be to do what Jesus did. Jesus washed his disciples feet. In order to be a leader, you must serve. So, there were four bowels of soapy water, and on each one of our chairs was a small towel that said summer staff 2012. We got in groups of four, and washed each others feet. As my Pastor says, not only is it humbling to wash someones feet, but it's also humbling to have your feet washed. And he was right. It was the most odd, yet meaningful experience. The absolute perfect way to end Summer Staff. I thank God that I had the opportunity to serve and be a part of this incredible group. 


(The First picture is a few people getting their feet washed, and the second is our entire group shot. I wouldn't want to do life with anyone else but these guys.) 

Change Before You Have To

Tonight at Collide, one of our Pastors Mike Ash spoke to us about change, and what happens when we don't do what we know we need to do. He gave us 6 different areas of our lives to begin to change. 

• Physically
• If people in your family are overweight, you know there is a good chance of you becoming like that too if you don't do anything about it. Change yourself before you have to. Start working out. Even if it's just walking. Do something.
• Spiritually
• Pray, Read your Bible daily, Attend Church, and most importantly Apply it to your life. Live it out.
• Emotionally
• Bitterness- Who are you avoiding? Who do you have bitterness towards? Think positive thoughts about that person.
• Victim Mentality- Get rid of that. The world isn't out to get you, I promise.
• Past hurts- Most people probably deal with this one. You need to surface that past hurt, talk about it, and don't let it stop you from possibly making a great decision because you're afraid to get hurt again.
• Insecurities- Ding ding ding! This everyone deals with. You need to know that God love you for who you are. Not who you're trying to be, not who you want to be, but who you are. He created you that way! 
• Relationally
• There needs to be boundaries between you and the opposite sex. I know for a fact that I struggle with this one. I'm just a really friendly person. I befriend everyone, old, young, guys, girls, doesn't matter. I tend to show the same amount of care towards both sexes too, so you can see how that could be misinterpreted sometimes. I'm working on that now, and man, it's so difficult. It is needed though.
• Socially
• Who are you hanging out with? You need to be careful who you surround yourself with, because if you're hanging around with idiots who do bad things, you're more than likely going to be doing those things as well. Proverbs 13:20 "He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm" and also 1st Corinthians 15:33 "Bad company corrupts good character" Your friends do have an impact on your character, whether you think so or not.
• Financially
• Give 10%, Save 10%, and spend the rest. 

These are just a few things to think about, for you to try and begin to change, before you have to change it. 

Humbled at Heart

Yesterday was 4/21/12, the day that was filled with so many adventures and learning for me! My church did this service project called One Day, where 250 students from 6 different churches all converged to one Church, and then went out to perform 30 different jobs all around Southwest FL. My job was to go clean a Widow's home, and man did we clean it. We vacuumed her house, cleaned out her pantry, which meant throwing out so many outdated cans. One can I found was dated from 1991! We also flipped her mattress, made her bed, cleaned her bathrooms, cleaned the kitchen, and cleaned out her China set! Though it was hard labor and took a few hours it was so rewarding to see how happy and grateful she was of our help! I really enjoyed going out a serving the community! Later that day, I went to the 6:30 church service as I always do, and it was Baptism weekend! 4 of my amazing small group girls all got baptized that day! I'm so incredibly proud of them all and I don't know what I would do without them! It's so incredible to see people get Baptized. Something in you just stirs, and even if you don't know the person, you still feel proud for them. Watching all those lives change in just one day is overwhelming! My heart is so full of love for these guys, and my church. 


Check out my church on Fox News!

Fox-4 News on One Day Next Level Church

My girls and their baptisms!!

Sam and Eli's Wedding Day - March 9, 2012

March 9, 2012. What a day. The two coolest mentors that I have ever met got married, and I was there to witness the true magic of love. Even more special was that this was the very first wedding that I had ever been to, and I was blessed and privileged enough to be invited. This marriage was truly like a fairy tale, and as I think back on it, it still seems very surreal to me. Watching them say their vows on the stage, putting on the rings, and then having their dance was no doubt the sweetest thing I have ever witnessed. You can see the love that just radiates off of them both. The reception was quite literally insane though. I have never had that much fun dancing, or been this sore. As I walked back to my table to get a drink, I looked back and observed the crowd. It was like nobody had a care in the world. Everyone was focused on the rhythm of the music, and dancing with their friends. You know the term "Dance as if no one is watching" ? I'm pretty sure I saw a ton of that. Heck I did it myself. I believe that the true magic came from being around the most amazing people. The people at my church are just so selfless and ready to help anyone at anytime. Oh, and did I mention that we had a flash mob? >:) The look on Sam and Elizabeth's faces was priceless. First flash mob I have ever attended, and it was incredible. So thank you Sam, thank you Elizabeth. You guys have turned my life upside down. Thank you for the advise, thank you for the love, thank you for investing in me. But thank you most of all for allowing me to be a part of your incredible lives. My life certainly would not be as entertaining without you two. You guys mean so much to me, and to convey all of that into words is probably the hardest thing to do. I'm so honored to know you guys. Thank you, for everything. :)


                                       Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. McDowell 

The day of Jeff Bethke

For those of you who haven't heard of Jeff Bethke, he speaks and makes these poems about God, about how you don't need to "earn" Gods' love, but that he already loves you. That even when you push Him away and say you hate Him, He looks down and says "I want that man." Well, tonight my entire youth group had the privilege of listening to him speak to us. His words amaze me. For the few guest speakers that I have seen at my church, never have I said "Wow" or "Holy crap" throughout the entire service because the words that Jeff spoke pretty much slapped me in the face. There is nothing you can do, no sin great enough to make God not love you. He loves you all the time, with unconditional love. If you think you need to earn his love, you need to reevaluate. One thing I love that Jeff mentioned was in Romans 5:8 it says "But God demonstrates His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." So while you are, or were running away from God He still loved you. In fact that made Him want you more. No matter how much you push Him away and hate Him, God looks down and says "I want you." I think the biggest thing that hit me, was when he spoke of two types of people. Good, and bad. We always compare ourselves to worse people than ourselves, "Oh, well I'm better than that person, so I must be good." But he said "that's like looking at your reflection in a pool of mud. It won't give you the proper reflection, try looking in pure water, and then you'll see you're not too good." That line right there was like a punch in the gut. It really turned around my perspective on things and made me ponder. But Jesus said there's only one type of person in the world, evil, and himself. And addictions? You don't have to hide from those. You don't have to hide from your shame, your filth, your guilt, because Jesus has already forgiven you. I love this one too, that we should boast in our weakness. That's powerful. We should boast in our weakness because we have God. A question that had been asked was if you have friends that are not Christians and sin, should you avoid them or pour into them? As Jeff said, pour into them. Plant the seed, and then leave the rest to God. Often times people try and try again to get certain people to come to God. Just plant the seed, and see what God does for them. I'm going to end it here, because I want you guys to watch the message. :) But, one last thing, I love the 3 Hebrew words for love, which are Rayah, Ahavah, and Dod. Look them up because they're pretty neat. 


                                            Here's an awesome photo of myself and Jeff. :)

And here's the video link!!

Jeff Bethke Live at Collide

UnCommon

Just this past weekend, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, I had the most memorable nights of my life thus far. I went to a retreat with my church called UnCommon, and you would not believe the life change that happened there. God was working in every single person that was there. The messages that were spoken, the worship that we had twice a day, the intimate time we had with our small groups, it was all incredible. The thought of someone's life changing that dramatically in a matter of 3 days astounds me. The stories that I heard that weekend of people's lives and encounters with God were so inspiring. Sounds emotional right? Well of course it was. It was indescribable. As much as we needed it to be, it wasn't all just seriousness though. We had tons of fun. We went through obstacle courses, got extremely muddy and wet, and played Capture the glow stick in the pouring rain at night while it was cold. We had a bonfire, and had s'mores, and picked oranges while riding in the bed of a truck on a ranch! Or, at least a few of us did. But I think my favorite part was the worship times and intimacy of the small group talks. I love the chemistry you develop with everyone. There's just this feeling of trust and love that fills the air. It's like we all know that we're there for each other. Even if you don't know someone. I heard stories of people speaking to others that they didn't even know, and they told them some personal things. I love the trust that we develop. Another favorite thing of mine is, when we all finally got home, so many people got on facebook and posted about their experience at camp. It's amazing to read everyone's thoughts and feelings, and what they learned, and what they'll never forget. This was definitely a life change for me and so many other people. We are not meant to live the common life. We need to stand out as Christians, and well, be uncommon. :)

The Rest Stop

Collide last night was, well very emotional. I know so many people, myself included, who have just felt so stressed and exhausted. We've been running ourselves ragged with school, work, home life, friends, complications, you name it. It seems as if it's a never ending process. We stay up late, drag ourselves through school and work, attempt to do homework while we're on the computer or TV, and it's the same thing all over again the next day. I know with some of the things I've been going through lately, I've been just beyond exhausted, and I just feel weary and empty. But it's because I haven't had rest. And I don't mean rest as in sleep, thought that's probably a factor. I mean rest as in quieting my mind, sitting in silence and solitude. Just me and God. We all need a chance to rest. We all need a special place to go to be alone, where we won't be disturbed. If you're anything like me, the idea of this scares you a little. Silence is not something that I much like, so I don't often sit in it. I've realized though that I need to. We all do. The myriad emotions I feel when I'm alone, and in complete silence is overwhelming. Even though I've realized that I need to do this, to essentially rest my mind, I still struggle with the thought about actually performing the task. I used to have this place where I used to live in Ohio, that I would go to all the time. It was the perfect place to just be alone and think. It was a  small section of woods, and I would always quietly wander through, going to the deepest part that I knew of. I would sit on a log, and just be still for hours. Occasionally I would see some deer pass by, or even once a coyote. Nothing could keep me from those woods. I would even go there in the winter, when a good 2-3 feet of snow was blanketing the ground, or gently falling from the sky to create the typical canvas picture of wintry woods. The solitude and beauty of this place was astounding. I'm not sure what drew me to that place, because as I was there, I was never thinking about God. That was before I truly became a Christian. I was always thinking of other things though. But it's the ability to calm your mind, organize your thoughts, and just connect with God. Want to know why you're weary and exhausted all the time? You're running on empty (Which makes me think of the song Running on by Jackson Browne) with your connection with the Lord, and it needs to be filled again. Your soul needs to be replenished. Find yourself a quite, beautiful place, and rest and refresh your mind. I'm trying to do the same. It will do you wonders. Psalms 23 "The LORD is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake."

Check out our Sermon! It's goofy, but very insightful as always. :) 
The Rest Stop

Giants

Everyone in the world is dealing with giants right now, whether it's depression, guilt, or whatever. We're all dealing with some form of giant. Wednesday at Collide, Pastor Will talked about David and Goliath, and how every single person in the Army was terrified of Goliath. With good reason too, the man was 9 feet tall and weighed like a bajillion pounds. His armor alone weighed 5,000 sheckles! That translates to 125 pounds, but saying sheckle is more fun. So David, this tiny 16 year old kid, goes to King Saul and asks to fight Goliath, because at that moment something came over him. He wasn't afraid to fight this giant. He knew that God was there to protect him. So David, with his slingshot and 5 smooth pebbles, walked over to Goliath. After throwing insults at each other, David ended up killing Goliath. We all have problem we're dealing with. Some of ours bigger than others. But no matter how big they are, we can overcome them with Gods help! I know when I'm going through something, I tend to shy away from everyone. Including God. but I know that when I ask Him for help, He delivers. He won't deny you. 


Check out the sermon! You'll get a good laugh out of it too, my pastor was so hyper that day. 

The Charted Course


Also, shout out to Sam because he pleaded me to mention this. Elizabeth, you have the most adorable ears ever. Stop worrying about the way they look. It's who you are. Remember the song Beautiful Things? Yep, that's you. Absolutely gorgeous! :) Love you girly!!

Jesus is the Reason

So I'm a bit preoccupied with other things, but I thought I would take the time to at least inform you on the latest Collide night. I feel a little bad for the continuously slowing pace I'm at with my blog. So to get to the point, Jesus' story is not just a myth, or a fairy tale. It doesn't begin with "Once upon a time" or "In a land far far away.." It's compiled together by eye witness accounts. People that were still alive to write what they saw, and were seeing. It's historical evidence. Check out this video for further information!

Jesus is the reason!

Our need for a Savior

This past week at Collide we started a new series called "For A Season". Pastor Will talked about how Christmas is mostly everyone's favorite holiday, and how it's spent eating lots of good food, and being with friends and family. But he also mentioned how Christmas is a time that tends to bring out our worst memories. How Christmas can actually be very depressing and upsetting to people. Maybe you've had a family member pass away close to Christmas, or a girlfriend or boyfriend broke up with you. Will also talked about "Stuffing". How we as people often tend to stuff down our problems. We stuff them down into the recess of our minds, until eventually we forget about them. But do we really forget about them? Are we truly over our problems? You may be with your friends, and at that time you could be the happiest person ever. Yet as soon as you get home, you sit in bed, and cry because of the loneliness. You cry because that issue that you thought you had escaped from, comes rushing back to the forefront of your mind. And at that time it feels like the world is just collapsing upon you. I know. We all know. We've all been through it. The reason why Christmas sometimes leaves us feeling so upset, is because it makes us aware that we need a Savior. It makes us realize that we can't handle our problems on our own. That no matter how hard you try, no matter how many friends you think you have to lean on, you need a Savior. You need Jesus to take away your problems. To give you a sense of peace. But the reason why we feel this pain, is because if we didn't, we would never realize how much we need a Savior. We would never know. If you were always happy, you would never need anyone to lean on. You would never have the idea of having someone greater to call on when you need to. Do you have a Savior? Who do you have to call on, in your time of need? You can't rely on yourself. You're not strong enough. Do you have a Savior?


Check out the video!!


Our need for a Savior

Listen

So during prayer today at Collide, we sort of talked about how a lot of people at Collide, are burdened.  That we're all carrying so much weight, and it's just knocking us down. There's a heaviness that you can literally feel in the room. So Pastor Will said that he wanted us to have five minutes of silence. No praying, no thinking about anything. Just silence. And the reason being, is because we often get so overwhelmed and so wound up with our own problems and stresses, that we either forget about God, or we just don't listen to him. And then when you really need him, and when you pray, you sometimes feel like He's not there, or He's not helping you. But He is always there, and He is always talking to you. We're just too busy with our problems to listen. We don't listen like we should. Being in solitude and silence is a good time for you to listen to God. It's a good time for you to lay out your problems to the Lord, and say "Here I am, here's all the hurts, here's all the wounds. Fix it." He will. And if you ask, He will help you with your problems. You may not see it, or you may not get it, but he does. You're just not listening. And sitting in silence is a good way to do that. And no one likes to sit in silence, I know. I hate being in solitude, and I hate not having my mind preoccupied. I don't like the idea of all my worries rushing in to my mind at once. That's what silence does to me. It scares me. And it scares many other people as well. But we need to move past that. We need to discipline ourselves to get over the fact that yes, we have problems. And yes, we need to deal with them. Lay them out to God. He'll help you. All you have to do, is listen. 

A Hero-less Generation

Who are your heroes? Is it family? Friends? Mentors? Teachers? Do you even have a hero in your life? Some people if you were to ask them, would say their hero is Spiderman, or Superman. Someone that we can make up. Why do we see these figures as heroes though? I think it's because  we know there's no risk of being disappointed by them, or getting hurt. We can keep our distance, and even make up our own ending for them. But it's because we're all so terrified of getting too close to someone. We're all afraid of being mislead, and back stabbed.  If you look and pay attention to society, and what's going on in the news, you'll plainly see what the world is obsessed with. If you go to a store and look at their magazines, right now all you're going to hear about is Kim Kardashian and her tragic 72 day marriage. But why? Do we as people enjoy seeing others fail so that we can feel better about the mistakes we've already made? Is it so we know that we're not alone? You should have a hero in your life. Jesus. Jesus is the best hero that you could ever have. He's the redeemer, the rescuer, the savior. He is the one that you know you will always be able to count on. He will always be there for you. I'm going to be a little frank, because unlike people, who often let you down, or even put you down, Jesus will never ever do that. He will lift you up if you ask Him to. He will help you through any rough time you're going through. Get to know Him, because He changes your life.

Watch this video! It's amazing. :))

A Hero-less Generation

Venom and Carnage VS Sin and Evil

Alright, so last night my father and I were having a discussion about God, and Christians and the like, when I randomly thought of the coolest analogy, for our, as in humans, sin and evil. That analogy is exactly what the title says. Yes, I'm that cool to make a Spider man reference that correlates with Religion. Anyway, here we go. :) So obviously the episode of Spiderman that I watched last night was where he encounters Venom and Carnage. Later in the episode, Brock (Venom) is in a constant battle to try and overcome the Symbiot (The alien that turns him into Venom) Now the way Brock is now, is in a way similar to people who haven't found or connected to God. These people are constantly battling temptations, and right from wrong decisions. They're battling with the evil that the Bible specifically says we all have. These people are in a daily battle with Sin and Evil, and they have no one to help them with it. Towards the end of the episode, Brock is taken to Dr. Conner's (The one armed doctor who turns into a big alligator) and Dr. Conner's is able to rid Brock of the evil Symbiot once and for all, and Brock is finally free. This reference is similar to those who seek and worship God. We, as Christians, still deal with sinning, and evil, and temptations all the time. But it's much easier to deal with and overcome if you have God to help you. When you take the oath to serve and worship and love God with everything you have, God renews you. The way Dr. Conner took away Brock's evil, God does the same for us. He takes away our past mistakes, our screw ups, our bad decisions. He takes it all away, and makes us new. We get a fresh start. And yes, we still make mistakes and bad decisions even after that, but with God to help us it becomes easier to bear. Having God on your side changes your life. And if you're one of the people that wants to get to know God, but isn't sure on how to begin, just simply ask Him. Just say, God here I am, I need you. I want to know you. He won't deny you. He may show you that He is with you in a small way, or a big impactful way. But either or, He will show you. You just have to be willing to see. God will change your life. I know this from experience, and it's the best thing that will ever happen. You will still have hard trials, and He may even be the one to put you through them. But with God on your side, with God to help you through the storm, it becomes easier. Take a leap of Faith. Get to know Jesus. What's the harm in trying? It could be the best decision you ever make.

Practical Steps

So, this post is about "redefining" the word dating. Wills input, is he thinks we should date...-ish. He also thinks we should not date.....-ish. There are 5 Practical Steps to take, which are 1.Friendship. 2.Dating. 3.Deepening 4. Engagement and 5.Marriage. If this caught your attention and you want to know more, watch the video dude! :3 Otherwise, you will never know what any of this means. 0.o Check it out. :)))




Going All The Way-Part 3- Practical Steps

Free At Last

"No apologies. For who I'm meant to be. The only thing that matters is, I am free. When I am overwhelmed, holding pieces of my heart. When I feel my world start to fall apart. To the cross I run, holding high my chains undone. Now I am finally free. free to be what I've become....Undone"


So I've been thinking a lot since I was Baptized, and these lyrics really tell it all. I am free. Free from my heavy chains that held me in place for so long. Free from all my past mistakes and screw ups. I was made new, and I feel it! It's so incredibly hard to describe, but I can just feel something is different. I felt the need to share this. C:

Finding the One- Part 2

So, as I figured, I'm not really going to write anything about this entire series. Just because, I'm not quite sure on how. Sooo as I said in Part 1, you needeth to doith yourself a favor-ith.....? Favor-ith? Ahh whatever.  And watch the video that will soon be posted down below. So as soon as I am able to do that, watch it!! Edify yourself!




Check out the video!

Finding the One- Part 2

Being a Helper

So Sunday, October 16, I went back to Next Level Church to see a few of my good friends get Baptized! And it turned out to be another amazing day, because I had the honor of helping my best friend make the decision to get Baptized. She had come to Church to see her two brothers get Baptized, but hadn't been planning on it herself. And every time pastor Matt spoke about there being no reason for anyone, to miss being baptized today, I would nudge and look over at her. She would just laugh and continue to listen to him speak. When the time came to go outside and watch the Baptisms begin, she looked at me and told me that she did want to be Baptized, but she wasn't sure it was the right time. So I told her to wait until she absolutely knew. A few minutes later, she smiled at me and told me she was sure. That she wanted to get Baptized. So we both ran inside, got her signed up, and she went into the bathroom to change. When she came out, I stood in line with her until it was almost her time, and the next thing I know *BAM* She was dunked. I am so incredibly proud of her, and to top it off, one of her brothers who had also been Baptized, got to participate and help Baptize his sister! That's so incredibly amazing!! The three siblings, all got baptized that day. That just makes my heart so happy! Lol. You know, I think the best part about it, was that she made that decision on short notice. I think the people that are spontaneous about getting Baptized, can sometimes mean the most. It was just another incredible day, at Next level Church. :)

The most Memorable night of my Life....(Thus far)

So today, on October 15, 2011, I was Baptized at the most incredible Church, by the most incredible people. Words cannot even begin to describe how I felt, but I'm going to try anyway because that's how much I want to share this with everyone :) When I arrived at Next Level Church, I went to sign in and get my Baptism T-shirt. I'm going to be honest. I was so incredibly nervous. I had no idea why, and still have no idea why. But my heart was racing, and I just couldn't sit still. When the time finally came to walk outside and line up by the pool, I was a nervous wreck. (In a good way) I was so excited, and nervous, and anxious, and a whole other myriad of emotions. You know, it's weird, even writing about this is making my heart race again. Anyway, when I saw the first person get Baptized, I was just in awe. When it was almost my turn to step in the pool, I thought my heart was going to just explode. But it didn't. I'm still here :) There were bright lights all around, and the Baptisms were being filmed live for the people inside the Church to watch, so that was a little scary too.  But finally, after long seconds ticked by Pastor Kyle signaled I could go in. I stepped into the pool, walked up to Mike Ash and Scott Drummond (Two of the Pastors) and here comes Will with a microphone in hand, standing in front of the camera, talking about my blog. Then he turns to me, and unexpectedly (to me at least) starts asking me questions. Questions about what God has done for me, why I started writing my blog, how my life has changed, things like that. Completely and unexpectedly put me on the spot. Thanks for that Will :p Then, Pastor Mike and Scott started praying and finally, I was dunked... When I came back up, everything just felt, weird. I can't really explain it, but I knew something was different. My face was tingly. I stepped out of the pool, grabbed my towel, and walked over to my parents. First thing I did when I hugged my parents (Which I didn't think I would do) was cry. I don't know what came over me, but the tears just kept on coming. Lol. After the last person was Baptized, we all went to dry off and change, and as usual I went to go get hugs from my favorite people. Which, if you haven't already figured it out, I love hugs. I could live off of hugs. :) And now I'm at home, still in awe by what just happened, writing this post. And I'm sitting here thinking, my life is so incredibly blessed. I'm blessed take every single breath, I'm blessed to have all of these amazing people in my life. I couldn't ever ask for anything more. I have it all right here. Tonight will be a night I will never forget. So thank you to everyone at Next Level Church. Thank you to everyone who made my night memorable. I couldn't ask for better people to be in my life. I have the best of the best. And I have to thank God for that. :) <3

Check it out!!!


My Baptism

Finding The One

Well, I'm not exactly sure on how to write about the last message given at youth group, so you're just going to have to do yourself a HUGE favor, and watch this video. Please check it out, it'll be worth it. Will puts a lot of effort into these messages, and he does a great job. It could change your life, and this video will give you a good laugh too. :)

Going All The Way- Part 1

Be Dangerous and Crazy!!

So tonight at Collide, we had a guest speaker come and preach to us, and his name was Mario Hood. His message was about being Dangerous. Praying dangerous, being dangerous Christians. Now I know you're probably thinking the same thing I was. "Christians aren't supposed to be dangerous, what the heck?" But the term dangerous is used in a different context in this message. What he meant was I guess in a way to be bold. Fight with people spiritually, try to get people to be involved with God. We need to pray dangerously too. Pray for your school, for your family, for your nation, for people that need help. Don't pray for silly things like getting a B on your test because you haven't studied, or praying that you'll see that certain someone that day. We all need to pray for meaningful things. Prayer is the most powerful thing we have to use, and yet, it's the very thing that we hardly ever use. Some people only pray when they feel they really need to, like when a family member is sick or something goes wrong. We need to pray every. Single. Day. Mario said, "If prayer is something, Prayer is everything." I'm pretty sure that's how it went anyways. Haha. We also need to be crazy! And as Christians, if you're a Christian, you are already half-way there. :) Being crazy, we need to show EVERYBODY that we love and worship Jesus! We need to tell and explain to people how He has touched, and changed our lives! We need to tell people about the Gospel, and about what Jesus has done for you, other people, and what he could do for them! Tell them to just give Him a chance, and their life will change forever if they do. Life with Jesus is better than anyone could ever imagine. Just remember to be Dangerous, and to be crazy. You're probably almost there anyway. Drop the rest of your guard and just be all out crazy!