last weekend i attended the passion conference in washington d.c., and it was an amazing time! bethany, erik, cali, and i road tripped it there on friday and met lisa, who was already in d.c., ate come chinese food, and then went to the patroit center. we had one session on friday night and then three more throughout saturday. the worship time was awesome and the speakers were pretty good too. by the time saturday night came, i was exhausted! being surrounded by 3,000 other college students like myself who are passionate about God and what he's doing in our lives and around the world creates an indescribable experience. i'm really happy that i was finally able to attend the conference, and i hope it's not the last on either.
i took a lot of notes because i knew that i wouldn't be able to retain all of the information that was thrown at me down there. i still haven't been able to get a solid reflection time this week. things have been so crazy with school, and getting ready to go on spring break. so right now i'm gonna type up my notes so i can review them, and you guys can read them too! they may not make any sense to you, or maybe even myself either...here it goes...
Friday Night--Louie G.
What matters most according to scripture and God?
--THE FAME OF JESUS!
Isaiah 26:8 "Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts"
How does that happen?
--An encounter with Christ that changes us in a way that we can't help but bring glory to Christ's fame (contagious)
2 Corinthians 5--reconciliation makes us Christs' ambassadors
Saturday Morning--Francis Chan
Matthew 5--"so that they may praise your father in heaven"
How can I serve to bring glory to God?
It's not a journey of me trying to prove my love to God. It's about God loving me (insecurities)
Don't beg God to make you his slave, he wants to make you his son! (Prodigal son)
-->lack of security in God's love; I am "known by God" not "I know God"
Are you convinced 100% that God loves you?
Quit trying to prove things to God!
"Let your light shine before men that they may praise your Father"
How??
--THE HOLY SPIRIT!
How do I feed myself? If I was on a deserted island, and all I had was God's Word, would I use that to feed myself? Do I use scripture in the same way now?
Having the Holy Spirit inside of me is better than being a disciple who walked with Jesus
Jesus told the disciples to wait for the Holy Spirit to come before they went out to share him with others. Then the people praised God because of the work the Spirit did (speaking in tongues) not praising the disciples
There's got to be a MAJOR difference between someone who has the Spirit, and someone who doesn't because the Spirit lives INSIDE them
Can the world SEE the difference?
Is there a difference in the Church?
It's about believing that God can & will transform you through his Spirit in you
--Catepillar-->Butterfly
Do you believe that God loves you and put his Spirit in you?--don't doubt--it's a sin!
Luke 11:11-13--> ask God to fill you with the Spirit, and he will
Saturday Afternoon--Louie G.
God is made famous, when in the most difficult parts of our lives, we are glorifying Him
People pay attention when the stress is in our lives and the joy is still in our hearts
God is glorified most when life hurts
Am I going to use my pain to make God loud?
--John 16:33 "I've told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
In Hardship:
1. Lock your gaze on the Cross: God loves you
2. The Cross will tell you that God allows freedom but maintains sovereignty
3. The Cross is the place where God turns the worst into the best
4. God's painting on a canvas bigger than we can conceive
so there you have it. all of my notes. it was good for me to type them up and go over them again to keep the ideas and things I learned fresh :)
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Friday, February 15, 2008
possible new career track??
I don't know if any of you know this or not, but I enjoy making up tag lines for things. Sometimes it's for a product or an event, but I think it's fun to make up catchy lines that make people chuckle--a play on words that make them think about things in a different way.
Anyways, I'm telling you all of this because I think I came up with a good one yesterday. I was putting away my christmas tree (yes, i know it was valentine's day, but better late than never, right?) and when I went looking for something to help with rolling up the gold ribbon like a paper towel roll or toilet paper roll, I decided to use the toilet paper roll holder. It fit the job requirements perfectly, so I rolled up the ribbon on to the white rod, and when it was all rolled up, it reminded me of toilet paper for royalty. haha. i know this sounds rediculous, but just wait...
I thought, being the great roommate I am, I would put the ribbon roll back on the mount and leave it there for my beautiful roommate to find. :)
When she came home last night and used the bathroom, she found the royal toilet paper and laughed. She asked me if I did it, and that's when the amazing tag line came into my head (they usually just pop in unannounced and without prompting.) I casually replied to her, "Yes, it's royal toilet paper for your heiny-ess." hahhahahahhahahah c'mon, laugh...you know it's funny. and it's catchy too!
so, now i'm stuck. i have a great tag line for a toilet paper company, but i do not know anyone in the toilet paper business. networking is key with this sort of thing. if you have any ideas on how I can use my skills, my intellectual property persay, to get more than just a laugh, if you know what I mean...let me know?? the full-time ministry thing is still plan A, but it would be great to have something to fall back on, ya know?
Anyways, I'm telling you all of this because I think I came up with a good one yesterday. I was putting away my christmas tree (yes, i know it was valentine's day, but better late than never, right?) and when I went looking for something to help with rolling up the gold ribbon like a paper towel roll or toilet paper roll, I decided to use the toilet paper roll holder. It fit the job requirements perfectly, so I rolled up the ribbon on to the white rod, and when it was all rolled up, it reminded me of toilet paper for royalty. haha. i know this sounds rediculous, but just wait...
I thought, being the great roommate I am, I would put the ribbon roll back on the mount and leave it there for my beautiful roommate to find. :)
When she came home last night and used the bathroom, she found the royal toilet paper and laughed. She asked me if I did it, and that's when the amazing tag line came into my head (they usually just pop in unannounced and without prompting.) I casually replied to her, "Yes, it's royal toilet paper for your heiny-ess." hahhahahahhahahah c'mon, laugh...you know it's funny. and it's catchy too!
so, now i'm stuck. i have a great tag line for a toilet paper company, but i do not know anyone in the toilet paper business. networking is key with this sort of thing. if you have any ideas on how I can use my skills, my intellectual property persay, to get more than just a laugh, if you know what I mean...let me know?? the full-time ministry thing is still plan A, but it would be great to have something to fall back on, ya know?
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
here's an update for ya
okay, so i know that in my last blog i wrote that i suck at writing blogs, and i definitely proved myself right because i haven't written in over a month. i owe a big SORRY to dana and bryce because i've promised time and time again that i would write, but i haven't followed through. so here you go...
today has been a really great day of relaxation. i went to work and got an email saying that my class this afternoon was cancelled, so i decided to stay longer and get some more hours. then at 3:15 the office closed because of the weather, so i went home and i've been here ever since. emery and i made breakfast for dinner. it was AMAZING! there's something about eating pancakes and eggs for dinner that just hits the spot. i did some reading for class, but that always makes me fall asleep, so i moved on to talking on the phone...
just some thoughts floating around in my head:
i love how a talk with a close friend can make me vocalize how i really feel. how i'm forced to find words to explain my emotions and examples to support my rationalizations. it helps clear my mind.
i really don't like the question: "are you mad at me?"
well, first of all, i don't like when people use the word "mad" because it means deranged or crazy, as in the insane Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland. try and use "angry" or "upset."
secondly, that question doesn't really have a good answer if you are "mad". for example, let's say that a person IS "mad," if they answer the question with a "yes," then they lose because they're "mad" at the other person, and let's face it, people don't like it when other people are "mad" at them. if the person who is "mad" answers "no," then they lose double time because they not only lied about being "mad," but they also continue to be "mad" because they didn't share their true feelings and explain their frustrations.
are there some good ways to answer that dreaded question?
besides those random thoughts, life has been good. this past weekend i went snowboarding for the second time ever, and i did a ton of falling. i probably spent just as much time on the ground as i did on the board. :) it was still a lot of fun. my whole body has been aching for the past few days though. i wish i had more opportunities to go snow boarding. i really want to get good at it, but with only having the chance to go once or twice a year, it's going to take a while before i can make it down the hill in style.
i've been thinking about my future lately. not really by choice. i really dislike thinking about the future. it's probably because in the past i've made plans, and they've always gotten changed, so i'd rather just go along for the ride, and whatever happens, happens. I've learned that allowing God to take the lead in where i go and what i do, works out much better, but it's also very hard to plan in that way, too. our world doesn't plan with God's will in mind and people expect you to know what you want to do for the next year and even the year after that. it's hard when i don't even know what i'm supposed to do this summer! it's exciting to see all of the opportunities that i have at my finger tips, but i know that i can't do them all. opportunities like going to india or kenya this summer, or even to go to bangladesh next spring, are all options, and they all have their pros and cons. i don't know which choices are the best, which are the ones that God has for me. i've been praying for him to open and close doors because most of the time having a lot of options is overwhelming to me. i'd rather just have one opportunity, so that i wouldn't have to make a decision. God has been faithful in closing some doors and opening some others, and sometimes that can be disappointing, but it's also a blessing because i know that he's there, and he's listening to me. he knows me, and how much i hate making these decisions for myself, and he's really just asking me to faithfully give my future plans to him and to wait on his direction.
all of that to really just explain why i hate deadlines that are fast approaching for things that i haven't decided on yet. why can't the world be okay with not knowing what i'm doing for the summer?? or for next year??
i don't want this to sound like i'm complaining because i really do feel blessed to have all of these amazing opportunities available to me. i don't want to complain about how hard it is to decide which foreign country i should travel to? or how long i should drag out school?
school is a blessing. traveling is a blessing. having a future is a blessing.
okay. i'm done.
oh! i almost forgot another confession...#3:
today was ash wednesday, and for those of you who don't know, it marks the first day of the lenten season. now, i grew up catholic, and there are many things i could confess about lent especially things from when i was little, like the competitions we used to have in my classmates for whose ash cross was the darkest or whose cross could last the longest on their forehead. lame, i know, but when you're a kid things are always a competition...so yeah, now that i am i christian, lent doesn't mean the same thing it did when i was younger. i understand that it is more than giving up candy and tv, and not eating meat on fridays.
this year i have decided to give up something, but i'm doing it because everytime i crave this thing, i want to think of Christ and his ultimate sacrifice for all mankind. my confession for this blog is that i'm giving up coffee drinks for lent! i know, not really a funny confession, but it's a confession to say the least. so yeah, hopefully by the time i find myself writing another blog, i will be able to say that i've held strong and stayed away from beaners and starbucks. i'll keep you guys posted.
until then...
today has been a really great day of relaxation. i went to work and got an email saying that my class this afternoon was cancelled, so i decided to stay longer and get some more hours. then at 3:15 the office closed because of the weather, so i went home and i've been here ever since. emery and i made breakfast for dinner. it was AMAZING! there's something about eating pancakes and eggs for dinner that just hits the spot. i did some reading for class, but that always makes me fall asleep, so i moved on to talking on the phone...
just some thoughts floating around in my head:
i love how a talk with a close friend can make me vocalize how i really feel. how i'm forced to find words to explain my emotions and examples to support my rationalizations. it helps clear my mind.
i really don't like the question: "are you mad at me?"
well, first of all, i don't like when people use the word "mad" because it means deranged or crazy, as in the insane Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland. try and use "angry" or "upset."
secondly, that question doesn't really have a good answer if you are "mad". for example, let's say that a person IS "mad," if they answer the question with a "yes," then they lose because they're "mad" at the other person, and let's face it, people don't like it when other people are "mad" at them. if the person who is "mad" answers "no," then they lose double time because they not only lied about being "mad," but they also continue to be "mad" because they didn't share their true feelings and explain their frustrations.
are there some good ways to answer that dreaded question?
besides those random thoughts, life has been good. this past weekend i went snowboarding for the second time ever, and i did a ton of falling. i probably spent just as much time on the ground as i did on the board. :) it was still a lot of fun. my whole body has been aching for the past few days though. i wish i had more opportunities to go snow boarding. i really want to get good at it, but with only having the chance to go once or twice a year, it's going to take a while before i can make it down the hill in style.
i've been thinking about my future lately. not really by choice. i really dislike thinking about the future. it's probably because in the past i've made plans, and they've always gotten changed, so i'd rather just go along for the ride, and whatever happens, happens. I've learned that allowing God to take the lead in where i go and what i do, works out much better, but it's also very hard to plan in that way, too. our world doesn't plan with God's will in mind and people expect you to know what you want to do for the next year and even the year after that. it's hard when i don't even know what i'm supposed to do this summer! it's exciting to see all of the opportunities that i have at my finger tips, but i know that i can't do them all. opportunities like going to india or kenya this summer, or even to go to bangladesh next spring, are all options, and they all have their pros and cons. i don't know which choices are the best, which are the ones that God has for me. i've been praying for him to open and close doors because most of the time having a lot of options is overwhelming to me. i'd rather just have one opportunity, so that i wouldn't have to make a decision. God has been faithful in closing some doors and opening some others, and sometimes that can be disappointing, but it's also a blessing because i know that he's there, and he's listening to me. he knows me, and how much i hate making these decisions for myself, and he's really just asking me to faithfully give my future plans to him and to wait on his direction.
all of that to really just explain why i hate deadlines that are fast approaching for things that i haven't decided on yet. why can't the world be okay with not knowing what i'm doing for the summer?? or for next year??
i don't want this to sound like i'm complaining because i really do feel blessed to have all of these amazing opportunities available to me. i don't want to complain about how hard it is to decide which foreign country i should travel to? or how long i should drag out school?
school is a blessing. traveling is a blessing. having a future is a blessing.
okay. i'm done.
oh! i almost forgot another confession...#3:
today was ash wednesday, and for those of you who don't know, it marks the first day of the lenten season. now, i grew up catholic, and there are many things i could confess about lent especially things from when i was little, like the competitions we used to have in my classmates for whose ash cross was the darkest or whose cross could last the longest on their forehead. lame, i know, but when you're a kid things are always a competition...so yeah, now that i am i christian, lent doesn't mean the same thing it did when i was younger. i understand that it is more than giving up candy and tv, and not eating meat on fridays.
this year i have decided to give up something, but i'm doing it because everytime i crave this thing, i want to think of Christ and his ultimate sacrifice for all mankind. my confession for this blog is that i'm giving up coffee drinks for lent! i know, not really a funny confession, but it's a confession to say the least. so yeah, hopefully by the time i find myself writing another blog, i will be able to say that i've held strong and stayed away from beaners and starbucks. i'll keep you guys posted.
until then...
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