Well, this weekend is going to be a nice time with my family. About 17 days ago I dropped my parents off at the airport so they could go vacation in Hawaii......must be nice huh?
Well, tonight, my brother and I will be picking them up from the airport. I have spoken to them about four times in the past 17 days and every time I talk to them they say how beautiful Hawaii is and how much they don't want to come back to Indiana. As they were telling me about it, I couldn't help but think how beautiful Heaven is going to be compared to even Hawaii.
I have just stopped and looked at some amazing things God has created (sunsets on Lake Erie, the stars at night, etc.) and just am amazed how awesome our God really is!!! I know I take him for granted a lot and I can't anymore. I am reading a good book right now by Shawn McDonald and it just talks about our Passion for Christ and how we should approach our Heavenly Father on a daily basis.
I have had some unbelievable experiences this summer of drawing closer to him, but I want to have that same passion on a regular basis. Just like anything in life, if you want it bad enough, you have to go after it. I now know I want to passionatley seek his face at all times.
My brother and I are headed to South Bend tonight. It will be a good time to hangout. We both have busy lives and haven't had that much time to hangout this summer. I am looking forward to a good weekend.
Saturday, July 28, 2007
Monday, July 23, 2007
Almost August????
Where has the summer gone? Well, I guess when you are busy....time flies by! Here is why the summer has flown by:
-Mission trip to New York
- Summer Camp
- 2 softball leagues
- time with family and friends
and now......SUMMER SCHOOL!
Yes, today marked the beginning of a two-week summer school session. It is so hard to believe that the new school year is right around the corner. It just seems like school just let out!
I need to just take a break and make sure I enjoy this last month before the beginning of school year. I told myself that once summer hit the pace would slow down. Boy, was I wrong!
-Mission trip to New York
- Summer Camp
- 2 softball leagues
- time with family and friends
and now......SUMMER SCHOOL!
Yes, today marked the beginning of a two-week summer school session. It is so hard to believe that the new school year is right around the corner. It just seems like school just let out!
I need to just take a break and make sure I enjoy this last month before the beginning of school year. I told myself that once summer hit the pace would slow down. Boy, was I wrong!
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Summer Camp 2007
I just returned from Summer Camp. Wow, can I tell you how much God was in that place. It was just amazing to see what the Lord did and is going to continue to do through this experience.
This year's camp them was ONE.
-ONE life to live.
-ONE God to serve.
-ONE life changing experience.
The big take away from camp was one word: PRAYER.
We must get back to prayer and realize the importance of it. We set up a prayer room where each cottage group took an hour block of time each morning to pray and to write their prayers on the walls of the room. I can't tell you how amazing that was! My group prayed on Tuesday morning from 3-4 AM. Can I just tell you I am far from a morning person. I figured it would be hard to get my group up to pray at 3 AM, but I was wrong! I can't tell you what an incredible time of prayer we had for that one hour in the middle of the night! The time went by so quickly and we weren't even tired!
This week also focused on not just asking God for little things (pray for my test, pray for my game, pray for my family....etc.) but to make HUGE, 0ut there prayers. We have God in a box a lot of times and think that he can't do all that we ask or even imagine. Our God is a BIG GOD WHO CAN DO BIG THINGS! I believe that will be a huge take away from this week.
Each group that prayed in that prayer room really felt the presence of the Holy Spirit in that place. I will be putting some pictures up of the prayer room for you to see.
I will be updating more later.
Summer Camp "07
ONE
I just returned from Summer Camp at Belluh Beach on the shores of Lake Erie. What an unbelievable experience it was. The theme this year was "ONE"and I will be posting more later about what that meant this week. It was a great week of getting closer to God, getting closer to each other, and preparing for the upcoming school year as a youth group.
I will be posting more about camp soon.
ONE
I just returned from Summer Camp at Belluh Beach on the shores of Lake Erie. What an unbelievable experience it was. The theme this year was "ONE"and I will be posting more later about what that meant this week. It was a great week of getting closer to God, getting closer to each other, and preparing for the upcoming school year as a youth group.
I will be posting more about camp soon.
Tuesday, July 10, 2007
NYGO Recap:
Saturday, June 30:
-Didn't get much sleep on the bus
- Stopped for breakfast at McDonald's in Pennsylvania
-Lunch at Burger King in New Jersey
-Arrived in New York City at 3:30
-Unloaded our stuff
-Supper
-Headed to our opening workshop
-Debriefing session
-Bed
*I was challenged by the message to just be yourself and let God do the work for you. I could already see God at work with this team on the very first night. I realized that I needed to be in prayer for those God has already called us to speak with.
*Matthew 5:13
Sunday, July 1:
-TAWG
-Sunday Service (learned on how we need to have more faith in our lives)
-Lunch at Subway
-Outreach at Washington Park
1. I talked with two from Tokyo, Japan. Good starter conversation. I then spoke with two older gentlemen from New Jersey who were not Christians. I had a nice conversation with them, but not really much about Christ.
-Went to evening service at The Journey in Manhattan. It was an awesome worship experience. It reminded me of NMC's Connection.
-Supper at FATS (cost 25.00 for a hamburger and fries)
-Debriefing
*This day went pretty well for the first day of really doing ministry. I was challenged to get out of my comfort zone and to just let Christ flow through my conversations with others.
*James 4:8
Monday, July 2:
-TAWG
-Worship where we learned about many tough questions that people will ask us on the streets.
-Lunch at Chipotle's (great lunch)
-Ministry at Bryant Park/New York Public Library
1. I had some good conversations with Tom and Aaron.
2. We had a prayer station set up where we would ask people if they needed prayer for anything. This was an awesome experience, but the group met a lot of rejection.
3. This was a day where many students and leaders were challenged with our faith and really realized just a glimpse of what Christ went through as far as rejection.
-Supper
-Concert of Prayer at the church
This was an incredible time of worship and prayer.
-Debriefing
-Students shared of how Christ was working in their lives on this trip. Great time of sharing.
*The big take away from this day: We are going to get rejected many times... God was rejected many times!
Tuesday, July 3:
-TAWG
-Workshop
-Park Ministry at Battery Park
-This was a beautiful park, which was right next to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.
-Had some great conversations today.
-My group of guys had some really good conversations today and they were encouraged after a tough day at Bryant Park.
-Supper
-Visited the Wax Museum. It was awesome!
-Went up the Empire State Building (Awesome sight of NYC at night)
-Debriefing (great time of sharing)
*Take away from this day: Don't get so discouraged.. God works on his timing and not ours. We may just be planting a seed in someones life.
Wednesday, July 4:
-TAWG
-Had workshops at the church (some great stuff to chew on)
-Lunch
-Ministry at Central Park
-This was a really tough day for most on the trip. First of all, it was a holiday so many were there with friends and family. I thought it might be a difficult day to approach people. I was really excited and didn't feel like doing a whole lot.
God is so good... I had an incredible day.
I met a young man named Jay who grew up in China who has lived in New York for ten years. I asked him if he attended church and he said he had attended 8 or 9 different ones. He said he is "so messed up and NY is so messed up." I knew right away that God sent me to this person for a reason. I started asking him about his faith and if he believed in God. He said he did, but he believed in several Gods. I then asked him, "Is your God still alive?" He responded with a big NO! I then went on to tell him about the God I serve. How he died and rose again on the 3rd day. It was a very powerful moment. I spoke with Jay for 1 1/2 hours that day. Finally, I could tell he was wanting more. I asked him if he wanted to accept Christ as his personal Savior. He said he did and then he repeated the prayer to accept Christ into his life. Heaven was rejoicing that there was a brand new follower of him! It was the most incredible thing that happened on this trip for me. I just thank the Lord that God used me even though I didn't feel like being used.
*The big picture at the top of my blog is myself talking with Jay in Central Park.
-Downtime at hotel
-Supper
-Fireworks at Brooklyn Bridge
(One of the few times it rained in NY while we were there. The fireworks were good, really smokey and hard to see. There were soooooooooo many people there!)
-Debriefing
*Big take away: God uses us in his timing and for his purpose. Today was amazing!~
Thursday, July 5:
-TAWG
-Meeting at the church (great time of worship and teaching)
-Lunch
-Ministry at Washington Square Park
-Had some great conversations today, saw a lot of interesting people
-Debriefing
-Supper
-Closing Meeting
Lots of good worship and an inspiring message by Tom.
-Debriefing (great time of sharing with one another)
*Big take away: We need to be on our knees DAILY in prayer. If we don't have prayer as a big part of our daily life, then we don't have ANYTHING!
Friday, July 6:
-TAWG
-Left NYC at 9:00
-On the way back to Indiana
-Stopped for lunch and 2 hours of debriefing in Pennsylvania.
-It was so awesome to hear from each student and adult leader their experience of NYGO and what they took from it. Hear were some common themes:
1. Prayer (Wanting to make that a top priority)
2. TAWG (finding a constant time in the morning to do this daily)
3. Compassion for others
4. Love for others
5. Meet some Non-Christian Friends
6. Begin a bible study at their schools and work places.
7. Finding their own "park benches" to share the gospel with lost people
We arrived back at NMC around 12:30 A.M.
Final Thoughts:
This trip was an amazing time of focusing on Christ and having compassion for lost people. It really made me stop and realize what I need to be passionate about. I am really passionate about my job, sports, working out, spending time with others, etc. Through this trip, I realized that I need to fall flat on my face and worship God with a passionate heart. I want to be more like him each and every day. Also, prayer was a big take away for me. I need to stop making excuses and get down on my knees throughout each day in prayer.
I was so encouraged by the students on this trip. They taught me so much. I think of that song, Mighty to Save:
Forever author of Salvation
He rose and he conquered the grave, Jesus conquered the grave!
The God we serve is so powerful and good....Are you passionately seeking after his face today?
Saturday, June 30:
-Didn't get much sleep on the bus
- Stopped for breakfast at McDonald's in Pennsylvania
-Lunch at Burger King in New Jersey
-Arrived in New York City at 3:30
-Unloaded our stuff
-Supper
-Headed to our opening workshop
-Debriefing session
-Bed
*I was challenged by the message to just be yourself and let God do the work for you. I could already see God at work with this team on the very first night. I realized that I needed to be in prayer for those God has already called us to speak with.
*Matthew 5:13
Sunday, July 1:
-TAWG
-Sunday Service (learned on how we need to have more faith in our lives)
-Lunch at Subway
-Outreach at Washington Park
1. I talked with two from Tokyo, Japan. Good starter conversation. I then spoke with two older gentlemen from New Jersey who were not Christians. I had a nice conversation with them, but not really much about Christ.
-Went to evening service at The Journey in Manhattan. It was an awesome worship experience. It reminded me of NMC's Connection.
-Supper at FATS (cost 25.00 for a hamburger and fries)
-Debriefing
*This day went pretty well for the first day of really doing ministry. I was challenged to get out of my comfort zone and to just let Christ flow through my conversations with others.
*James 4:8
Monday, July 2:
-TAWG
-Worship where we learned about many tough questions that people will ask us on the streets.
-Lunch at Chipotle's (great lunch)
-Ministry at Bryant Park/New York Public Library
1. I had some good conversations with Tom and Aaron.
2. We had a prayer station set up where we would ask people if they needed prayer for anything. This was an awesome experience, but the group met a lot of rejection.
3. This was a day where many students and leaders were challenged with our faith and really realized just a glimpse of what Christ went through as far as rejection.
-Supper
-Concert of Prayer at the church
This was an incredible time of worship and prayer.
-Debriefing
-Students shared of how Christ was working in their lives on this trip. Great time of sharing.
*The big take away from this day: We are going to get rejected many times... God was rejected many times!
Tuesday, July 3:
-TAWG
-Workshop
-Park Ministry at Battery Park
-This was a beautiful park, which was right next to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.
-Had some great conversations today.
-My group of guys had some really good conversations today and they were encouraged after a tough day at Bryant Park.
-Supper
-Visited the Wax Museum. It was awesome!
-Went up the Empire State Building (Awesome sight of NYC at night)
-Debriefing (great time of sharing)
*Take away from this day: Don't get so discouraged.. God works on his timing and not ours. We may just be planting a seed in someones life.
Wednesday, July 4:
-TAWG
-Had workshops at the church (some great stuff to chew on)
-Lunch
-Ministry at Central Park
-This was a really tough day for most on the trip. First of all, it was a holiday so many were there with friends and family. I thought it might be a difficult day to approach people. I was really excited and didn't feel like doing a whole lot.
God is so good... I had an incredible day.
I met a young man named Jay who grew up in China who has lived in New York for ten years. I asked him if he attended church and he said he had attended 8 or 9 different ones. He said he is "so messed up and NY is so messed up." I knew right away that God sent me to this person for a reason. I started asking him about his faith and if he believed in God. He said he did, but he believed in several Gods. I then asked him, "Is your God still alive?" He responded with a big NO! I then went on to tell him about the God I serve. How he died and rose again on the 3rd day. It was a very powerful moment. I spoke with Jay for 1 1/2 hours that day. Finally, I could tell he was wanting more. I asked him if he wanted to accept Christ as his personal Savior. He said he did and then he repeated the prayer to accept Christ into his life. Heaven was rejoicing that there was a brand new follower of him! It was the most incredible thing that happened on this trip for me. I just thank the Lord that God used me even though I didn't feel like being used.
*The big picture at the top of my blog is myself talking with Jay in Central Park.
-Downtime at hotel
-Supper
-Fireworks at Brooklyn Bridge
(One of the few times it rained in NY while we were there. The fireworks were good, really smokey and hard to see. There were soooooooooo many people there!)
-Debriefing
*Big take away: God uses us in his timing and for his purpose. Today was amazing!~
Thursday, July 5:
-TAWG
-Meeting at the church (great time of worship and teaching)
-Lunch
-Ministry at Washington Square Park
-Had some great conversations today, saw a lot of interesting people
-Debriefing
-Supper
-Closing Meeting
Lots of good worship and an inspiring message by Tom.
-Debriefing (great time of sharing with one another)
*Big take away: We need to be on our knees DAILY in prayer. If we don't have prayer as a big part of our daily life, then we don't have ANYTHING!
Friday, July 6:
-TAWG
-Left NYC at 9:00
-On the way back to Indiana
-Stopped for lunch and 2 hours of debriefing in Pennsylvania.
-It was so awesome to hear from each student and adult leader their experience of NYGO and what they took from it. Hear were some common themes:
1. Prayer (Wanting to make that a top priority)
2. TAWG (finding a constant time in the morning to do this daily)
3. Compassion for others
4. Love for others
5. Meet some Non-Christian Friends
6. Begin a bible study at their schools and work places.
7. Finding their own "park benches" to share the gospel with lost people
We arrived back at NMC around 12:30 A.M.
Final Thoughts:
This trip was an amazing time of focusing on Christ and having compassion for lost people. It really made me stop and realize what I need to be passionate about. I am really passionate about my job, sports, working out, spending time with others, etc. Through this trip, I realized that I need to fall flat on my face and worship God with a passionate heart. I want to be more like him each and every day. Also, prayer was a big take away for me. I need to stop making excuses and get down on my knees throughout each day in prayer.
I was so encouraged by the students on this trip. They taught me so much. I think of that song, Mighty to Save:
Forever author of Salvation
He rose and he conquered the grave, Jesus conquered the grave!
The God we serve is so powerful and good....Are you passionately seeking after his face today?
Monday, July 9, 2007
Back Home Again.. Sort Of:
What an amazing NYGO experience. Wow, what an amazing God we serve! We set out for New York City on June 30 and arrived about 12:30 A.M. this past Saturday. The whole trip was an awesome experience.
I will be sharing the details of each day on my next post.
There isn't much down time as we will set out Friday for Summer Camp! I am looking forward to seeing what God has in store for our students as we prepare for that.
Please continue to pray for all of those going on this trip (students, leaders, those preparing the food, safety on the roads, just that God will work in mighty ways!)
What an amazing NYGO experience. Wow, what an amazing God we serve! We set out for New York City on June 30 and arrived about 12:30 A.M. this past Saturday. The whole trip was an awesome experience.
I will be sharing the details of each day on my next post.
There isn't much down time as we will set out Friday for Summer Camp! I am looking forward to seeing what God has in store for our students as we prepare for that.
Please continue to pray for all of those going on this trip (students, leaders, those preparing the food, safety on the roads, just that God will work in mighty ways!)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
