It's Christmas Time!

Advent is here! Can you believe it? Can you believe that it's December already? Can you believe that Christmas is 21 days away?

If you are like me, I feel like I don't have very much time to get my heart ready for the greatest Christmas gift of all time. And yet, we don’t have much of a choice…Christmas is definitely coming – and FAST!

With all the stuff we have to do this season, how will we ever get ready in time? With all the parties, lock-ins, shopping lists, wrapping, cookie baking, and decorating, how will we ever find the time?

I’ve been thinking about this a lot this year. How can I make sure that my heart is focused on what really matters this season? How can I be sure that I am really preparing my heart for the coming of Christ?

Well, I’ve decided to do a few things. First, I found a great Advent devotional that I have and will continue to read every day. This is a way that I can center myself on what really matters.

Another thing I’ve been really called to do this year is spent less on gifts and more on missions. If you were at church Sunday, you saw that cool video about the Advent Conspiracy (if you missed it, check it out at http://www.adventconspiracy.org/). This video talks about how much we spend on Christmas, but how little we spent on missions.

So, this Christmas, I’m going to be giving to missions. Did you know that $1 can provide water for 1 year for an African? ONE BUCK saves a life for a year! Can you imagine what we could do if we gave several dollars? Well, I hope you will consider giving to the Advent Conspiracy this year that our church is supporting. We could really make a difference.

So, what will YOU do this season? How will you prepare your heart for the coming of Christ? What will you do to make sure that you focus is on the real reason for Christmas? I hope you will seriously consider these questions and choose something that will be meaningful to you.

Let’s all work to make this a season to really celebrate!

Fall Retreat!

Well, it's that time of year again! Can you even believe it? Fall Retreat is upon us!

I wanted to take a minute and tell you all about how amazing our retreat is going to be this year.

We will be headed to Lake Williamson in Carlinville Friday Nov. 7 - Sunday Nov. 9.

For those of you who remember our retreat last year, this post will hopefully remind you of the great time we had. Or, if you didn't go, maybe it'll convince you to go.

On retreat, we do tons of fun stuff. Like what, you might ask? Well, here's a run down:

• Hayride
• Bonfire (with s'mores, of course!)
• Open Gym time
• Lots of laughter
• An AWESOME t-shirt
• Time with friends
• Enjoying Cool Weather
• Football (and this year, perhaps, a rousing game of toilet paper football!)
• And most importantly - Time with God!

And let me just say one quick thing about the last item listed. Fall Retreat is a time for us to connect with God. Time to step outside our normal day to day lives and really get a glimpse of God and what God has planned for us. It's a time of great worship and learning about the Bible. You definitely don't want to miss it!

So, I hope you will join us on the trip this year. It's going to be great, I promise!

Interested in coming? Only $50! Sign up on the youth bulletin board (scholarships are available!).

When it rains, it pours!

Tuesday the youth were asked to go around the neighborhood and hand out door hangers about VBS which is next week. So, we head out to begin our jobs. We get about two blocks away from the church and what happens? We find ourselves in the middle of a downpour! We were all soaked. I mean SOAKED! We laughed the entire way back to the church, knowing that we had at least made a good memory!

This sudden summer storm was a reminder to me about how things unexpectedly come up in our lives. Sometimes it’s a good thing. Sometimes it’s not. But one thing I know for sure – life is always unpredictable!

This got me thinking about a passage of Scripture that I read this week. The passage was John 5:1-9, which is the story of paralyzed man who waited at a healing pool in order to be healed. We are told that every time the water is stirred, the man would try to get into the pool to be healed. This never happened for him.

One day, Jesus walks by and asks the man if he wants to be healed. What the paralyzed man didn’t know was that something, SOMEONE, unexpected had just walked into his life. Needless to say – Jesus heals the man, who gets up and walks for the first time in 38 years. How unexpected is that?

It’s true that Jesus isn’t walking around on earth these days, but he can still unexpectedly move into our lives. When was the last time you unexpectedly felt God move? When was the last time you had an unexpected blessing from God? I bet if you really think about it, you could think of several times God has moved in your life as of late. Isn’t it good to know that God is still working amongst us?

Yes, God can be quite unpredictable. But, you know, I can’t imagine serving a predictable God. How boring would it be to always know what was going to happen in our spiritual lives or how exactly God was going to use us during our lifetimes. I am so glad that my God is unpredictable, because it means that He can do things that I cannot even imagine! I love those moments when God blows my mind by doing something totally unexpected!

Let us all take time this week to thank God for the unexpected moments he works in our lives. And the next time you get caught in a rainstorm, remember how awesome it is to have a God that is full of the unexpected!

Apology

Camp!

This past week I was away for a week of camp. I went down to Little Grassy Camp - which is near Carbondale. I was the preacher for the week and got to speak to jr. and sr. high kids about God.

It was an amazing week. We had wonderful weather, the camp site was awesome, and the kids totally rocked.

I was pretty excited to go back to camp because Little Grassy held some significance for my life. See, I went to Little Grassy as a kid. I started going there when I was 9 and continued until I was in jr. high. I remember so many things from camp - meeting new people, having cool counselors to hang out with, buying fun things at the concession stand, swimming in the lake...the list goes on and on.

My best memory of camp, though, was from when I was 9 years old. We were sitting in the dining hall for worship because it was raining outside. And the guy preaching was an army chaplain by the name of John. He spoke a message and at the end invited anyone to come up who wanted to pray to accept Jesus into their heart.

My friend Melissa, who I had come to camp with, and I looked at each other and we both said "will you go forward with me?" It was at the moment, praying with Chaplain John, that I invited Jesus into my heart for the first time.

Every time I step foot onto Little Grassy's camp grounds, something comes over me. I was told once that God lived there in the summer. I think that must be true. It is obviously holy ground. Who knows how many people have come to know Christ there throughout the years. This year 3 people invited Christ into their hearts for the first time. I guess it's just something about that place.

Hopefully you can join me next year. God will still be moving there.

Out of Gas

This week a bunch of church members went to go see the Gateway Grizzlies game together. We had a fantastic time. I mean there were $1 hotdogs! What could be better? The weather was gorgeous, and the Grizzlies won. It was a perfect night.

As we were driving home in the big white bus, we heard a big backfire. Then another. Thankfully, we had just pulled off the interstate and were on a more rural road. I immediately stood up to see what was going on.

Our bus driver exclaimed, “we are out of gas. I guess I forgot to look at the gas gage.” What followed was an hour of sitting on the side of the road, waiting to be rescued with some gas.

I thought this was a perfect metaphor for life. We are cruisin’ along, having a wonderful time, and then BAM. We feel spiritually exhausted. At some point along the way, we forgot to check our spiritual “gas” gage and we simply run out. How unfortunate…but let’s face it, it happens, doesn’t it?

Let’s think about the woman at the well. If you are unfamiliar with the story, take a few minutes and read John 4:1-26. This woman is tired. She is worn out – emotionally and spiritually. She craves something to fill her up, to fill her tank! And then Jesus comes with an offer, “Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."

Jesus offers to fill up our spiritual gas tank so that we never run out, but it takes effort on our part! This is why we constantly need to be connected to God – praying, fasting, reading our Bibles, going to church, talking about our spiritual lives with others, etc. All of these things are like checking our gas gage. All of these things ensure that we do not run out of spiritual gas.

Thanks be to God that we have each other to help remind us to check our gage before we run out of gas!

You Are My Joy

Yesterday was our last day of confirmation class. Pastor Allynn spent our time talking about joy. Each of the students were given a piece of paper upon which they could draw the things in their lives which brought them joy. Needless to say, it was a pretty interesting exercise.

The entire time they were drawing away, I could only think of one thing - a song by David Crowder Band. It is called "You Are My Joy."

In the song, DCB sings "you are my joy" over and over and over again. He is singing this praise to God, saying that nothing else in this world matters because it is you, God, who brings me joy.

At one point in the song he says that he is letting himself go. In other words, he's not going to focus on himself or getting himself stuff or doing stuff that he thinks is fun. All is is going to focus on is God being his joy.

And towards the end of the song he says (after singing "you are my joy" several times), "I need to catch my breath." I love this part because I love the thought of being so caught up in praising God that you forget to breathe. Doesn't that sound amazing?

Anyway, watch the video of the song below, and read the lyrics if you want. I promise it is an amazing song.

But mostly, I want you to spend some time today telling God that he alone is your joy. Nothing else. Not summer vacation. Not sports. Not hanging out with friends. God is our joy. Tell him so many times you need to pause and catch your breath. After all, he is pretty awesome.


lyrics:
And He set me on fire, and I am burning alive.
With His breath in my lungs I am coming undone.
And he set me on fire and I am burning alive.
With his breath in my lungs I am coming undone.
And I cannot hold it in
Remain composed.
Love's taken over me
So I propose the letting myself go.
I am letting myself go.

You are my joy.
You are my joy.
You are my joy.
You are my joy.

And He set me on fire, and I am burning alive.
With His breath in my lungs I am coming undone.
And He set me on fire, and I am burning alive.
With His breath in my lungs I am coming undone.
And I cannot hold it in and remain composed.
Love's taken over me and so I propose the letting myself go.
I am letting myself go.

You are my joy.
You are my joy.
You are my joy.
You are my joy.

I need to catch my breath, I need to.
I need to catch my breath, give me a moment now.

You are my joy.
You are my joy.
You are my joy.
You are my joy.

I'm laughing so hard
And I'm laughing so hard
And I'm laughing so hard

Almost Summer!

I find it hard to believe that school is almost out for summer. Who doesn't love summer? Long days, softball games, snow cones, vacations, lemonade, and cookouts. There are lots of fun things to look forward to during summer.

This summer we are going to have lots of fun things to do at church. We are going to continue to have Bible studies on Tuesday nights and Sunday school. But, you can also expect lots of fun hang out days and outings.

Summer is a great time to ask friends to come and join us for youth. Bring them to a fun event, or ask them to come for free pizza day before Bible study. Either way, they are welcome to join our group for any activities that we have.

So, be sure to save some time this summer for all the activities we have coming up! You won't want to miss it! Oh, and be sure to check your e-mail for the summer calendar coming soon!

Mother's Day

Today is a day that we dedicate to Mom. Mom's are pretty great, aren't they? They take care of us when we are sick. They change our diapers and put up with puking when we are little. And, some how, they just have a way of making everything better.

When I first went off to college, I called my mom every day the first year I was away. Every day. I missed her a lot. Some days I called excited to tell her about a good grade I got. Some days I called her crying with something that had gone wrong. Some days I was laughing; others I was tired. But mom was always there to talk, no matter what time or day.

I remember in particular the first time I was sick at college. It wasn't anything severe - just a cold or something, but man, did I miss my mom. There is just something about a mom that knows how to make you feel better when you are sick or comfort you when you are having a bad day, and they do it like no one else can.

In short, Moms rock. I hope that you take time today to let your mom know that. She definitely deserves to be told.

You know what else reminds me of mothers? God.

Usually, when we think of God, we think of him as our Father. And there is nothing wrong with that at all! But, I think sometimes it is helpful to think of God as our mother as well.

I know it's a little strange, but think of all the ways God is like our mother - God is caring, compassionate, loving, and tender.

In fact, there is a scripture where Jesus talks about being like a mother. Luke 13:34 says, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!"

Jesus says that he wishes he could gather us together, just like a mom hen gathers her chicks together. I love that thought of God gathering us up, protecting us, and shielding us, just like a mother would do.

So, today, as you honor your moms, make sure you also thank God for being motherly and taking care of you when you need it most. God is definitely awesome like that!

May Day!

Ok, so I'm one day off, but yesterday was May Day. Perhaps this doesn't mean anything to you, but in my house, it was a day of excitement!

Every year, on the first of May, my 4 siblings and I would wake up extra early before school, run out into the back yard and pick a host of wild flowers that grew out there. There would be daffodils, lilacs, spring beauties, sweet williams, and lots more.

Then came the fun part - we would put them into construction paper cones that we had made the decorated the day before and pile into the car. Then Mom would drive us to church friends and family members homes. She would park down the street and we would get out of the car with our homemade bouquet (giggling all the way, of course), run down the street, put the flowers on the door, ring the bell and run!

You see, May Day was our day to surprise those we loved with some flowers. I'm sure they figured it out every year that it was us, but it was fun to leave a surprise, anyway.

Remember this fun holiday got me thinking this week. How many times in our lives does God leave us a surprise. Quite often! If you've looked outside lately, you can see surprises from Him everywhere! Have you looked at the church parking lot? There are huge lilac bushes that are just bursting with beauty and wonderful scents. That's a gift from God! We've had a couple of really nice days this week...that's right, another gift from God!

How lucky are we that God is always there - surprising us with the beauty of nature, blessing us beyond what we could even ask him for! He is truly an amazing God!

Take some time this week to ask your family members how they have been blessed by God. You may be surprised at how much He has blessed you and you didn't even realize it!

Happy (belated) May Day!

Spring has Sprung!

Unless you've been living under a rock - or in your basement - for the last couple of days, then you have undoubtedly noticed that it is finally spring outside! After a long winter of snow, melt, snow, melt, and a super rainy and cold spring, it seems that we have finally entered into the nice part of spring.

I can always tell because tulips have begun to bloom and the red bud tree in my front yard is looking particularly pink these days.

This time of year always gets me excited. I love the clean smell of spring. I love the super green grass that is sprouting up every where. I love all the flowers in bloom. And, I definitely love that I get to walk to and from work every day.

Yes, spring is nice, isn't it? But, don't you think we appreciate it more because of the nasty winter that we had? I think so. When I lived in Georgia, and winters were never that bad, we enjoyed spring, but not like you do in Illinois! In Illinois, you have to suffer and endure for spring. You put up with days and days of grey skies and freezing weather; ice and snow. And it makes spring feel all that much better.

I think that's how it is in our lives too. Many times we ask why bad things happen to us. Why are we forced to go through hard times. Its definitely not fair that bad things happen to good people, is it?

But, God can use those bad times for good. He can help us to come to appreciate the good times better. After we've endured a hard time, and we rely on God for help, He is there to help us pick up the pieces. He helps us to realize how good life can be when we rely on him.

Just like spring is always so good after a hard winter, life can be better appreciated after we've been through a hard time.

Praise God for always being with us - in good times and in bad. Praise God for helping us to realize how wonderfully blessed we truly are. And praise God for this glorious spring!

Sick.

So, I've been sick for the last few days. It has not been fun. I've basically been a lump on the couch for the past 72 hours.

Today, I was trying to think about the last time I remembered feeling "normal." As I was figuring that it was probably around Saturday morning, I realized that I definitely take for granted when I am feeling well. You know what I mean, when we are healthy, we don't really take time to thank God for feeling good, you know?

That, in turn, got me wondering about what else we take advantage of on a daily basis. One thought - Jesus' death and resurrection.

Sure, a few weeks ago, we spent a lot of time thinking about Jesus on the cross. We celebrated a beautiful (and snowy!) Easter morning. We took time to thank God for taking away our sins.

But how often have we thought about it since Easter Sunday? Have we taken time daily to thank God for all that he has blessed us with? Have we taken a few moments to think about what Jesus went through for us? Probably not.

So, I want to challenge you all this week. Take time EVERY day to thank God for his sacrifice on the cross. Thank him for everything he did on your behalf. Spend some time with God - he's always wanting to spend more time with you!

SNOW!

Wow. I have been in the office for roughly 1 hour. When I came in, it was flurrying, but nothing major. There was hardly a flake on the ground. But now, its blizzarding outside. There are already several inches of snow on the ground and in the office we have decided that we need to take a half day to make sure everyone makes it home safely (myself not included...since I live across the street).

But the craziest thing about this snowstorm is that 2 days ago, it was a lovely 78 degrees outside. What is up with that?

This whole weird weather thing has really got me thinking about the way things in our life can change so quickly. We never know when we are going to get a call from a loved one saying they only have days to live because of cancer or news from a family member that they are moving across the country. Life is crazy and unpredictable.

But fortunately for us - we have one thing in our life that will always stay constant - God. God is always there for us, whether we are happy or sad, freezing cold or warm. We can always lean on him because he is always there. Isn't that good news to hear in a quickly changing world?

I think so.

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day is almost here!

If you are like most people, you have one of two opinions about this holiday - either you LOVE IT or you HATE IT.

You either love Valentine's Day because you have someone in your life with which to share this holiday with. This could be parents, bf/gf, best friends, whatever. But regardless, you find this holiday awesome. It could be that you simply love candy.

Or, you hate Valentine's Day, or "Single Awareness Day," as you may call it. Valentine's Day is just another day that reminds you that you have no bf/gf. Perhaps all your friends have someone special to celebrate with, but you do not. For you, its a really tough day.

Whether you are in the first camp or the second camp, I want you to think about a new reason to celebrate Valentine's Day. Sure this holiday about showing your love to others , and there is nothing wrong with that. But, I think that we need to focus on V-Day being about something much more significant - God.

I always like to think about Valentine's Day as a day for me to truly appreciate the love around me - from my parents, my brothers and sisters, my friends, my husband, etc. But mostly, I like to focus on the love that God gives me.

Most people get that God loves them. But, I don't think we get HOW MUCH God loves us. So, I like to encourage others to spend the 14th of Valentine's Day trying to recognize all the ways that God shows his love for us. I walk around all day waiting to see it.

This isn't an uncommon thing to do on Valentine's Day, you know. Most people look for signs of love all day. For example, you see flowers delivered and (especially if you are a girl) you wonder if they are for you. Perhaps you see a bright red envelope in your mail box. You quickly check to see if its for you. Most people tend to look for signs of affection on Valentine's Day.

So, why not look for signs of affection from God? They are much more common than the random vase of flowers or box of candy. They are all around us. All we have to do is open our eyes! It could be a particularly beautiful sunset or a comment on your myspace from an old friend. It could be something out of the ordinary that happens or your favorite food for dinner than night.

Whatever it is - I hope this Valentine's Day you will open your eyes to the love that God wants to share with you.

Ashes to Ashes

Yesterday was Ash Wednesday. Can you believe it? Its been a little crazy around the church lately. We've gone from preparing for Jesus birth, to celebrating the Christ child, to seeing the magi come for a visit, to the baptism and beginning of Jesus ministry, to the beginning of the end...and all in the matter of a month and a half.

This may seem a little insignificant to you, but for pastors who keep up on this stuff, its been a whirlwind. Lent definitely came out of no where this year. Ususally, there is more time to prepare for this season, but this year it just landed in my lap, ready to go.

Lent is the time of year in the church that we really look at the end of Jesus' ministry. There is a big focus on his teachings, his miracles, his death, and ending on Easter morning with a big celebration of the resurrection. As Christians, we set aside the time of Lent to get ready for all the emotion of Jesus death and resurrection.

What I love about Lent is that its a time of spiritual discipline....which may sound scary, but really just means that we as Christians set aside some extra time to spend in our walk with Jesus. Its one of my favorite times of the year, actually. Its a time that I feel like Jesus is so close. The emotions are so real and there is nothing (such as Christmas shopping and baking) to distract me from this time with God.

Each year I like to do something for Lent. Most people give something up - like pop or red meat or something like that. Not only to I like to give something up for Lent, but I also like to do something for Lent. In other words - start a practice that will make me a better person. Usually, this entails spending more time in the Bible, volunteering to do a service project, something like that.

Some other cool things you can do:

• Give up pop and donate all the money you would save to a food pantry


• Give up TV to spend more time with your family


• Read your Bible EVERY day...and maybe even do a cool youth devotional


• Pray for someone in your life every day (can be the same person for the entire Lent season, or a new person every day)


• Make it a point to take notes during sermons Sunday morning


• Listen to only Christian music


• Promise to not argue when your parents ask you to do your chores, or better yet, just do chores without being asked


• Offer to help an elderly neighbor scoop their driveway after a snowfall or rake their yard

There are a ton of things that you can do. I've always heard it said that it takes 40 days to establish a good habit or break a bad habit...and guess how long Lent is? 40 days, my friends. Its the perfect time to grow closer to Jesus while making yourself a better person.

So, maybe this year you can think about giving something up. Or think about adding something to your routine. Or maybe both. Whatever it is, I really hope that you will take these 40 days to walk a little closer to Jesus.

What are you going to do for Lent? Leave a comment and let me know!

What do YOU want to do?

Hey all!

I'm putting together the spring calendar and I need ideas!

Fun things, service projects, staying in to watch a movie, learning about someone or something...whatever it is, I want to hear about it!

Leave and comment and let me know what you want to do this spring!