Peace

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.


John 14:27

Transparent

Normally I don't post things that deal with very personal things because I feel as though my life is an "open book" already. However, when I feel as though something will help someone else, I will be transparent with you. As it has been told, I'm trying to plan a wedding. I'm probably going to get heat and scripture thrown back at me for this but that's okay...I don't see the point in a wedding. I DO see the point in two people getting married but why does getting to spend the rest of your life with your best friend mean going in debt? I don't understand nor do I see the relevance. Last night I had an emotional breakdown and seriously questioned everything that had to do with our wedding. I don't understand why "color choice" or "flower choice" becomes a big deal and I don't understand why making people feel "full at the stomach" requires you to rob a bank and sell your organs. We just want to make everyone so happy, however sometimes that can make you lose your mind! Lastly, If the point of getting married is to glorify God and commit to the person that He has created for you can you not do that for free?

On a lighter note, I AM excited about spending the rest of my life with Michael and I AM excited to be able to see people that I have not been able to see in awhile. I have also been blessed beyond belief to have so many awesome people step up and agree to help us out financially. God is good! Please just pray that the enemy will not take over this period of "planning" and our eyes will commit to the big picture and not just a ceremony.

The countdown: 191 days!

Lamb

John 1:29 (New International Version)

Jesus the Lamb of God

 ²⁹The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

Crowns & College

My weekend included a pageant and an intent to play baseball signing. I've been going home on weekends in an attempt to knock out wedding stuff early!! This weekend, however, I got to watch some of my favorite girls participate in their high school pageant. They did AWESOME! Miss Lauren Rudd won Miss Sophomore, my girl Lindsey Paschal got 1st runner up, and John's girlfriend, Rachel Ethridge, got 2nd runner up! 

Also, another AWESOME event that took place was a baseball signing! Stephen committed, to paper, to play baseball at Spartanburg Methodist. Granted it took two seconds, it was pretty cool!!

=

Fire

"for OUR "God is a consuming FIRE."


Hebrews 12:29


This made me think of my father's sermon a few weeks back! He said that God's fire could light a pile of "sopping, soaking, water-consumed" pile of wood!

Worship.

I do indeed complain about school .... A LOT! I just feel the anxiety of actually using what I've learned to actually go out and DO! However, I do learn crazy-awesome things in the majority of my classes. With the things I learn, I feel like I would be doing everyone a dis-service to hold it in...so I will share! I'm taking a "Worship Leadership" class as a part of my major and we're going through a book that has things that I agree with and don't agree with, of course. For the most part, it's completely full of truth. Here we go...

* It's not always HOW we worship but WHOM we worship!

* "To many, WORSHIP is MUSIC, and MUSIC is WORSHIP, and many WORSHIP MUSIC!"

* "We've humanized God, deified man, and minimized sin."

* "Most know God for what He does for them rather than for who He is!"

* "What if getting to know God was the ONLY benefit for going to church?" // This is how it is for the persecuted places...they have no "rockin' band", "crazy games", or "cool graphic videos".

* 1 Peter 1:15-16 is THE STANDARD..."Be holy"

* "We shall show the world the image of God..this is a PRIVILEDGE" <--This will be a separate post later on!

* "The fact that we are an unpersecuted nation, is a bad thing for Christianity!" // We are so COMFORTABLE and CONTENT with just praying to God for good grades or a raise on our paycheck! Think of how dependent upon God we would become if we were daily being persecuted.

Mark Batterson

I'm taking a "Communication for Ministry" course with some people in the masters program on Tuesday nights. Last week Mark Batterson, pastor of National Community Church in Washington, D.C., came and led our class - one of the perks to attending a private Christian University!! **I have to share this as a "side note"..but Perry Noble escorted him to our class and when I saw him, I got scared...he's tall!** Mark didn't have a "thematic message" but rather a whole bunch of points that were so good! I'll share some of them with you...

• “When you compare yourselves with others, it will either lead to pride or jealousy and both will eat you alive.”
• “If you get to a place where you don’t have raw dependence on God, you’re in the wrong place.”
• “Don’t let any arrow of criticism pierce your heart unless it passes through the filter of scripture.”
• “Leaders understand the times.”
• “Many people can exegete scripture but they can’t exegete culture…and they wonder why people won’t listen to them when they speak.”
• “Shrewd as snakes” – (Genesis 3)…we are going to have to out-smart a witty enemy. Satan is brilliantly using technology.
• "Christians are more known for what they're AGAINST than what they are FOR." // Truth!!
• "When God gives you a vision, he will give you PROvision!"

For more info on Mark Batterson and his ministry (which by the way, they meet in movie theaters and coffeehouses...pretty COOL!) check out...http://evotional.com/ or http://theaterchurch.com/