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!

Christmas is almost here!

I can’t believe its time for Christmas trees and festive music. Where did the year go? It seems that time goes by so fast these days, especially during this time of the year. Before we know it, all the presents will be unwrapped and the cookies eaten and we will be heading into a new year.

Knowing this, I want to get all that I can out of the Christmas season before it is over. Now, I’m not talking about making sure I capitalize on shopping sales and getting in all the Christmas movies I can watch during the season. I’m talking about spending time reflecting on the true meaning of Christmas.

Like the Grinch, I think it’s easy for us to think that Christmas is about the presents, food, etc. But, in the end, I hope that we, like the Grinch, discover that the true meaning of Christmas doesn’t lie in these things. Christmas is about the anticipation of our King, coming to greet us in this lost and broken world. Christmas is about knowing that God keeps promises and that we are not alone or lost.

So, this year, as we move quickly through this season, let us make sure that we take time to pause. Let us reflect on the coming of the King, and how, even thousands of years later, we can still celebrate the birth of a baby that changed the world.

The Selfish Clown

So, I have a clown fish...a tomato clown fish, to be exact. His name is Tom.

Now, I was pretty pumped to get Tom. You see, he lives in our anemone. They have a symbiotic relationship, meaning that the anemone provides a safe shelter for the fish and the fish, in turn, feeds the anemone. At least...this is how its supposed to work.
Ever since we've gotten Tom, our anemone has not seemed to be very happy. He is constantly moving around the tank (thus why he got his tentacles stuck in the filter).

Well, last week, I went to feed the anemone and noticed that Tom decided to steal the shrimp out of the anemone tentacles and eat it for himself. Since then, I've been watching very carefully to see if our fishy friend is, in fact, feeding the anemone as he is supposed to. Turns out that he is not. We have a sel"fish" clown. Dang.

I woke up this morning thinking about this. My mind immediately drifted to how humans are sort of in a symbiotic relationship with God. God gives us peace, love, and a safe place. God provides us with comfort. God is always there for us.
Then there are humans. Yes, sometimes we do hold up our part of the symbiotic relationship by praising God and thanking God for our blessings. But most of the time...not so much.

We, like the selfish clown, do not hold up our end of the deal. We leave God hanging, so to speak. Why do we do that? Well, I'm not sure I have an answer, other than that we are just flawed beings, who seem to always mess up.

If we look at Tom as an example not to follow, then we have a lot of work ahead of us. I'm not too worried about it though, because God is a pretty forgiving deity. So, when we mess up, its not back to square one, but rather we just pick up and move on. Its the least we can do for someone who loves us so much. I'm just thankful God isn't like the anemone and doesn't pick up and leave every time I mess up.

Kind of heavy stuff to wake up thinking in the morning, I suppose. But, then again, its not every day you get to learn a life lesson from a fish.

Procrastination

I am sitting at my desk and for the last hour and a half, I have been trying to find things to do that I can finish up instead of writing the articles I need to write for the Chimes.

Why am I procrastinating, you may ask? Well, I'm not sure. I don't hate writing articles for the Chimes...I don't really mind it, in fact. But, there seems to be something in my nature that makes me want to procrastinate. I have done this since I was in college. I always seem to work better under pressure. Who knows why...I guess its just how God created me.

So, as you may have figured out, I am using this blog as a way to procrastinate. Probably not the best use of my time, as I have no idea how many youthies really read this thing anyway...but, I'm writing just the same.

As I was thinking about how much procrastinating I'm doing (despite that I am getting a lot done...just not the stuff that needs immediate attention), I was thinking about how I procrastinate in other ways in my life. Sure there are the every day things most of us procrastinate with - emptying the dishwasher, putting away laundry, cleaning out the fridge (gross!). But what about God?

How are you procrastinating in areas of your life that have to do with God? Have you been putting off spending time with God - reading your Bible or praying? Have you been putting off asking a friend to come to church because you aren't sure how they will react? Have you been putting off making the commitment to become more involved in church yourself?

In my life, if I decide to put something off, I become the MASTER of putting it off. In college, I dubbed myself "The Master Procrastinator." If I decided I'd do my devotions a little later...well, I would find tons of things to keep me from doing it until it had been put off for the whole day...not a great way to treat God, is it? He deserves so much more than the end of the day when we are tired and ready for sleep.

So, as I finish up this blog and get back to writing those Chimes articles (like I should be!), I want to stress the importance of NOT procrastinating with God. Spend time with Him...He deserves it. And not the "I'll do it later" time. God deserves your best time...your "right now" time. Lets not procrastinate any longer.