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.