God is Love!!...blog #5

I got the chance to see one of my new favorite Christian bands in concert, Gungor. They played the song that's in this video and it was absolutely incredible. Before watching it, I must tell you a little bit about what it is referencing to; the video is sort of correcting the idea that the American church today has adopted that proclaims our God as a white male with a Republican point of view. This description of course is not true and, as I understand, God is definitely much more then the boxed of version of Him that we have created. Our God is big and powerful and accepting of all cultures, races, characters, etc. Our God certainly is an awesome God and this video proves that by the way it talks about His love for EVERYONE!! In the words of Gungor, "God is not a man. God is not a white man."

God will never be conceivable in our tiny human minds so it's time we stop trying to limit Him to what we think we know as 'right.' Some think that God is only Republican or only American and that is certainly not true. He loves all people and all types everywhere; the sooner we realize this, the more we will be able to get over ourselves and start loving people the He calls us to love them, unconditionally and freely. Please think about these things while you watch this video and enjoy:)

BLOG POST # 5

My favorite music video-ever.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GO2prEoATH8

Psalm 100

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. We should take this time to be thankful for everything we have and remember that not everyone has as much as we do. This Psalm reminded me that we should not only be thankful but help people and serve the Lord joyfully

Psalm 100

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the lands!
Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into God's presence with singing!
Know that the Lord is God! It is he that made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him, bless his name!
For the Lord is good;
his steadfast love endures for ever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.

Revolution

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuY4GcF7h7A

This song speaks so much to what our lives should be like as Christians, and reflects how our attitudes should be during christian service. We are all called to be....
"While the rich lay dead and the rich live on
i will rise above, i will live for love, i will answer to the call
I'm a fire, I'm a flood, I'm a revolution."

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy thanksgiving everyone. For this week a lot of us, myself included, plan on going back home, whether that is near or far, to celebrate the holidays. Although even of those of you that do not maybe can still find something worthwhile from this blog post. This week for thanksgiving i am going home in Kansas and am going to spend the week there. There is an organization over there called the link which runs a soup kitchen. I am not sure if it is a national organization so maybe nobody else has heard of it. But when I go home I will volunteer in a soup kitchen that they run year round. I would every once and a while volunteer there before, including once before on thanksgiving. Last time I volunteered they commented how during the holiday season they had more volunteers than what they knew what to do with, but any other time of the year they would struggle to get anyone to help. Just remember that while we may feel generous this holiday season to try to be exceptional by allowing that generosity to branch beyond just this season and strive to live a generous lifestyle. Thanksgiving is once a year but we are Christians year round and need to reflect that. So that is what I am going to try to do because I am sure they will tell me the same thing when I go there this year. My Christian faith is more important to me than thanksgiving, and yet by allowing Thanksgiving to affect my lifestyle more than Christianity it does not seem that way. And I challenge everyone else to take a critical look at their own lifestyle and make any changes necessary. So that being said everyone enjoy your thanksgiving, be giving and generous, let that attitude reflect your behavior the rest of the year, and eat lots and lots and lots of turkey!

Be Strong

There is a video on youtube called "lifehouse everything-drama" sometimes we are going to face trials along our road especially when we are doing acts of Christian Service. The devil wants to stop us from reaching others and he will do whatever it takes to make that happen. But we have to remain strong. At the end of the video Jesus takes on all of her burdens and keeps her safe. He does the same thing for us if we stay close to him. So no matter what tough situation you may be in just know that God is always there to take on all your burdens if you will let him. Stay strong doing your acts of Service and even if you do not see the positive influence you have on the world now you will when you get to Heaven.

Someone Special

You may recall earlier in the year when I posted a blog about one of my friends that was cutting himself. Well I am still working on him and trying to show him the love of Christ but he is still very stubborn. When I talk to him I see a kind, loving, and caring guy and it just makes me wonder how he can be that way and have a secret so horrible. How can he be so sweet and care about others like he has no problems and yet feel so horrible instead that his only way out is through cutting? I do what can to be a positive influence on him but it never seems to be enough. Something always happens that makes him go back to the knife. He is usually pretty good when he is with me and when we talk a lot but if three days go by where we do not talk then he usually slips again. He has cut himself two times since I found out and each time was when he and I were not really talking. What can I do to help him overcome this horrible habit? I know he is looking for something more in his life but he does not know what. He knows where I stand when it comes to believing in God but he does not like to talk about it. There was a time in his life when he believed in God but because of the bad things he has been through he stopped believing. How can I bring him back to Christ? What is the best way to show him that Jesus does love him? I knew completing these Christian Service events was going to be hard but I did not expect them to be quite this hard? I am hoping that I will be able to do some sort of service for him that will show him God really is the thing he is missing in his life. (make up)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwrjahaoryg&feature=channel
Unbreakable by Fireflight

Where are the people that accused me
The ones who beat me down and bruised me
They hide just out of sight cant face me in the light
Theyll return but ill be stronger

Chorus
God I want to dream again take me where I've never been
I wanna go there, this time Im not scared
Now I am unbreakable, its unmistakable
No one can touch me, nothing can stop me

Sometimes its hard to just keep going
But faith is moving without knowing
Can I trust what I cant see to reach my destiny
I want to take control but I know better
(CHORUS)
Bridge
Forget the fear its just a crutch
That tries to hold you back
And turn your dreams to dust
All you need to do its just TRUST!!

This song has ministered to me greatly. There were many times in which people that I had once loved so dearly and trusted had accused me and I have beaten me down verbally. There was a time that I let fear take control over me and I didn't even give the chance to God do his will towards me. When I heard this song I started crying because what i should of been doing is stand up and be UNBREAKABLE!! Many people have been trying to stop me even now to do Gods will But i wont stop. God gave me the authority and the sword to fight and not be overcome by fear. I am UNBREAKABLE!

If We are the Body

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4wojcSO9Ww

-Robby

Biggest of the Smallest

What is the biggest of the smallest the point of this post is to make the point that you don’t have to go out and find tribal or homeless people to do a Christian service. You are able to stay right where you are and you are still able to perform a Christian service you do not always have to fly hundreds of miles to find a little tribe in Africa feeding and nourishing the spirit of them. Even though cross country missionary work is an awesome thing it is not always the only way to act out Christian services. You also don’t have to even go twenty miles and work with the multimillion dollar homeless facility even though that is also a great place to express God through your actions it is not the only way to go about completing a Christian service. One is able to complete a Christian service just by going to church and teaching the word to little kiddies that are screaming and running like chickens with their heads cut off. Our volunteering with the church to help out with events that aren’t the normal church times as in Wednesday and Sunday. For example I have completed all of my Christian Services for the school just through the church every Sunday and Wednesday I am at church teaching some little one about the word of God and that is one of the biggest ways to perform a Christian service even though to some it might not be considered a huge ordeal but if the little ones of today are not being taught then who in the future is going to know anything about Jesus Christ and that is why I think that teaching in a Church is one of the biggest of the smallest Christian services available out there. Some think that working in jail ministry is a huge Christian service I would have to agree with them because they just like children are very much craving for the word and need so so so bad! And that’s why the biggest of the smallest of Christian services are some of the best ones to work with.

Albany Rescue Mission

About a year ago I was at church just making my regular Sunday rounds and my manager from work came up to me and asked if I would like to help him one day at the Albany Rescue Mission he knew that I played the sax and had really wanted me to come play my talent for the homeless people in the chapel service that they attend regularly for if they don’t attend they will not receive the benefits of what a shelter and food and things that it takes to survive in today’s modern world. So he wanted me to come play for it to and a little mix up for the people that were there you know add a little flavor to the Kool-Aid you might say. So of course I said “yah that would be fun what time you want me to be there”. So when I got there of course the environment was not that great because it was more in the ghetto part of town which I surprisingly was not too worried about because I knew it was something God called me to do. Just a little side note I am glad my dad was not there because he is a little superstitious there was a little sweet black cat that crossed our path on the way into the building that he would have been a little worried about. When I first went in to the building I so that the chapel wasn’t that big this organization really didn’t have much money being poured in it, but I could not help but see the overflowing love that was seeping out of the cracks in this place. So I walked in and Ray my manager started introducing me to people and I could see in their eyes that they were in need of someone that wasn’t not there to tell them what to do or to preach to them they saw me there as a person that was just there to bring them a source of enjoyment and listening ears. So it came time for me to get on stage to play my instrument surprisingly was a little nervous I never really get nervous like that so I knew that something huge was happening I got through the first song and by the end of a homeless man in the crowd yelled out breath because I was turning a little red from not breathing in while I was playing so after that the ice was broken and I found that they are just like me even though they may not be in their best part of like they were still human and still have human feelings.

Volleyball team

On Wednesday the 10th of November the volleyball team performed a Christian Service project with all the teams attending Nationals. So we all met at the bus at 10 in the morning and started driving off to Publix to shop for food for the Campus Crusade’s shopping for the homeless. The whole team had to raise 100 dollars and then we had to go to a specific Publix to buy each of the food items. Each of us had a list of approximately 10 items and then had to buy everything that was on it. We had to get 4 sets of all the food items that were on the list because we were buying for four different families. So we were split into four groups and had one cart per group. We went down all of the aisles and tried to find the cheapest brands so that we could afford everything on the list. We also had to be sure we had the same amount of oz of food that was on the list. We were allowed to have more than the amount of oz asked for but not anything less. We managed to get all of the food that we needed and ended up keeping it under our budget. This meant that we were lucky enough to get another set of food and still keep it under our budget. In the end, we were under our budget by 8 dollars. When we were finished at Publix, we had to meet with the rest of the volleyball teams. All of which also did the same amount of shopping that we had done. All of the teams sorted and packed all the food into bags which were then boxed up so that they could be sent out to families. 46 bags were filled with Thanksgiving dinner for the families. When all of this was done we all prayed over the bags. It was nice to see all of the volleyball teams from all over the country and even one from Canada doing something for others. It was also special to see that all of the teams could come together and pray to the same God. It was one of the things that united us with each other.

What Is the Purpose of Christian Service?

We've spent a lot of time in class this semester talking about Christian service and following Ron and Deborah Hall in their Christian service. Now, as we're focusing on the pattern of division in our writing, it seems we should identify the reason for this service. We know what it's supposed to look like but why do we need to do it? As you reflect on this question, let me invite you to also consider the service Denver rendered as well. Let me hear your thoughts.

Songs that Make Me Think about Christian Service

I heard this song a couple years ago on an Emmaus Walk. It's lyrics speak boldly about the effects of our Christian service, or lack thereof.

The 21st Time


This is one of my favorite songs because it reminds me of the positive effects of Christian service. When a "father in the Lord" of mine died several years ago the church was packed with people his life had touched and one of the young men who had been in Boy Scouts under Mr. Mark's leadership sang this song. That young man is now a minister of the gospel.

Thank You for Giving to the Lord

Christian Service # 4

When many people think of Christian service they start to think of big events, they think of trips that will cost lots of money, and they think of people sharing memories of a great adventures in a distant country. They do not think however, of being able to serve while in a non-discreet location that is less than 30 miles from your house, or serving in areas where the pictures you to take will not show in the next edition of National Geographic -- and that's OK. It's OK to serve in areas where you will not be able to try exotic food or see exotic food; it is a good thing to do that too! As Christians we are called to help the poor, needy, helpless, widow, and orphan. We can live out our Christian duty by not only traveling halfway around the country but also, by finding people with such needs in our own backyard and meeting them there.

Why then, do people shy away from participating in outreach that involves our immediate community? As I mentioned earlier some look forward to the cool picture they can show their friends when they return from visiting foreign lands, but somehow, I think it runs deeper than having a cool picture or story to share. Take for instance the Cubans in Miami. They make a large percentage of the not only the minority population, but also the population of Miami in general. Cubans have an entirely culture, why are there not hoards of people and churches rushing over to help them in their need? Somehow, I think we as a nation look forward to helping others in other countries more because, we have the American Church, do not want to realize that we have failed. We have failed helping others in our country, we have failed showing others love and compassion, but most importantly, we have failed God. Regardless of the government and its laws and policies, as a Church, we have not extended mercy towards others, we have not taken the Gospel to the streets and proclaimed liberty to all. I think our country does not want to realize that we are living a lie and our own countrymen are lost just as those in other countries are.

Tina's Blog #4

Catch and release

Catch and release is a typical phrase in today’s society. There are many ways that catch and release relates too; like fishing, talking about relationships, or friendships. When we tend to think of a catch and release scenario we usually think negatively. In all three of these cases someone gets hurt; either the fish that is being caught or human feelings.

In the book “Same Kind of Different as Me”, Denver asks Ron if he is going to be his friend forever? Denver had a past and in the past people have left him and scared him for life of that pain of loneliness. Learning from past experiences, Denver will not let that happen again. By asking Ron and giving Ron time to think about his question, shows that Denver really wants an honest answer. Denver could go on living life without a friend or have a life time friend. Ron had never been asked that question before, “will you be my friend forever?” That question is preventing Denver to feel the hurt and confusion if he were to lose yet another friend. Also Denver being homeless and having nothing, he still doesn’t take Ron and Ron’s money for granted. Denver would rather lose the perks with Ron than to have a part-time friend, he would rather be faithful.
The current rates on divorces are fifty percent in the United States. One out of every two marriages is going to fail according to the calculations. The words forever are constantly being said in wedding vows. The question is why doesn’t the word forever mean anything anymore? Forever, in today’s society, means for the current time or while it’s convenient for me I will be there. Houses are left empty all over America not just for the sake of jobs lost but because of the divorce rate. If we as a country work together to be faithful to each other the United States will have less homes empty down each street.

In the Merriam Webster dictionary the word forever means: for a limitless time or at all times. Take a minute to let that really sink in, the word forever. Denver has the right tactic here within a friendship; we all need to learn how to be that faithful to someone in a relationship. We ought not catch a person and release them and stop using people for the time being and learn what the word faithfulness means.

Oviedo Christian Service

Next Saturday two other leaders and myself are taking all the boys from our youth group out to perform some Christian Service in out community. We are going out and cleaning up Lake Picket out in Oviedo, Florida. It is cool because we let all the youth choose what we are going to do. We let them decide and really choose a project that they feel that really needs to be done. The kids are all really excited to go out and do this and really are excited. They are trying to figure out exactly how much we can really do with the resources we have. They even are talking about going out and doing this for a few weeks so that we can clean as much as possible. It makes me feel so god that the youth in my church are really getting into performing Christian Service and know that they are not just going out there to do good work. They know that they need to really feel about what their doing and that they are doing it for God.

Is Service Always Service?

I was wondering what to write on my blog this time because I felt like I had written about almost all there was to write about on the line of Christian service. I thought about highlighting the difference between service in the community and service out on the mission field but I feel like that has been stressed, and I considered just looking up a picture on Google that reflected Christian service but that did not seem right either. Then I saw everyone else's blogs and how they were all about our fifteen hours of service that we have to finish for this semester, and I thought about how my service hours are covered for because I work for the school and travel on Voices of Praise, which counts for service hours. However, this got me thinking about the stress and amount of work it takes to travel all the time and 'do good service' full time, and I began to notice how when you are working for God's kingdom and being involved in His work all the time, you sometimes might lose track of how much of God you're putting in as your'e giving out.

You see, what I mean is that sometimes when you are so consumed with doing God's work all the time, especially service in the church, you can become over-booked with spilling out Christ's love to everyone that you never have time to fill back up. There must be a moment in your life when you are able to stop and replenish yourself with the Word of God or else you will fall short and grow weary.

It sort of reminds me of a Brita water filter. If no one knows what that is, it is a pitcher with a filter connected to the top; what you do is you pour regular, unfiltered tap water into the top half of the pitcher and the water trickles down into the bottom where it then sits clean, fresh, and ready to use. This Brita water container reminds me a lot of how our lives in full time Christian service can be. We strive to pour out good clean living water from Christ onto the people we are trying to witness to and reach, and the only way we can do that is by having Christ filter our lives through Him and the Holy Spirit that enables us. However, the more we pour out, the less we will have to give, and if we do not continue to keep filling up the top, or our hearts, with God's Word then eventually we will run out of fresh water to give. Then all we will be giving is tired and worthless nothingness. I don't know about you but the last time I checked, it is really difficult to fill up on nothing. Therefore, as we are living our lives and serving for God's kingdom, let us remember to still take time out of our busy lives to renew our minds and bodies and replenish the Word that should be rooted deeply in our hearts, so that we may not grow weary of doing good.

-Alicia Hoffman

Chritian Service Attitude

So many times when I hear about people doing Christian service, or similar activities, I often hear a lot of whining take place. This whining urges me to ask them why they are doing their christian service act if they don't mean it. A section in Same Kind of Different as me pops into my head as i think of serving with the right attitude, Denver tells Ron that miss Debbie saved his life and she freed a prisoner from the bondage of sin as she led Denver to Christ. Debbie never grumbled or groaned as she was serving the homeless in the shelter. Debbie instead got to know the homeless and saved a life because of it.

Christ showed us a similar act of service with great humility in John 13. In this account Jesus washes the feet of his Disciples. The son of Man washed his Disciple's feet. God washed his Disciple's feet. This blows my mind, here we have Jesus Christ, the son of God, washing his follower's feet right before he is going to be crucified for their sins and the sins of the world.
Verse 3 tells us "Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God" pay close attention to the first part "put all things under his power" Jesus has all things under his power, and knows that his death is near, yet he chooses to spend time washing his disciples feet. Christ did this in great humility.

Christ shows us the way we should be doing Christian service. We should be doing christian service with our hear and minds in the right mindset, We should do christian service for the right motives, and we should do christian service with great humility.

Christian service will help us to humble ourselves, help others, and evangelize to people.

Christian Service

Before writing this blog I was reading previous blogs that mainly was about our 15 christian service hours. I can say truly that I am one of those students here in FCC that is really struggling. Its not like I don't want to do it its just that it is very difficult to find the time. I am one of those students who has to work a lot in order to pay for my education. When I am off I'm doing homework for class and when I don't have class I have to work. But however I cant make that as an excuse because god is the one that gives me strength to find time to do christian service. In my opinion I think it was gods purpose to establish the christian service because it gives us the motive to do God's will on or off the campus. Therefore everyone of you who says that they don't have time its an excuse. The bible clearly states that there is always a time for everything. Paraphrasing it it states that there is a time to laugh a time to cry there is a time for everything. I work, go to church, and go to school and it is because of God's grace that I am here with strength. I also need to catch up on my christian service because I am a huge procrastinator but I will because I will find the time to do God's will. And to all of my FCC classmates do not worry about your christian service hours, for God has them all in his hands and he will give you the strength to get them all done before this semester is done.
-Jennifer

A Procrastinator's Guide to 15 Christian Service Hours

So a lot of people I have talked to seemed to have put off their requirement to complete 15 Christian service hours, including yours truly. So I thought I would do a service for my fellow Christians (although this post will unlikely count as a Christian service) and compose a blog of an easy speedy act of Christian service that people can do who need to rack up some hours fast.

I call it $pread the Go$pel. This idea came from riding in a car with a friend of mine. As we started driving I started looking around all the trash he had in his car, but among it all on the ground he had a billion dollar bill on the floor of his pt cruiser. Upon closer examination the bill actually had text which described accepting Jesus as a billion dollar decision. When I asked him about it he said that it was something his youth group would use to spread the gospel. They would go around to random stores shops and restaurants, dropping these bills for the observant eye to pick up and read about the importance of accepting Jesus in their lives. And that is how the idea spread the word was born. By printing off some of these bills (im sure you can find some on google), and taking a drive anywhere, you can throw these bills on the ground all along the way and rack up a Christian Service hour anytime you go into town. It is also efficient because it is a clever and eye-catching way to share your faith with others. Usually talking to strangers ends in getting the cold shoulder, but this allows and encourages other people to read about Jesus by their own free will. Even an unsuspecting atheist who would hear the gospel no other way will be just as likely as anyone else to pick one of these up.

So for those of you who are in a hurry to get more Christian service hours, feel free to use this or your own adaptation of it. Even if you are not in a hurry and did not procrastinate, feel free to use it. I find it to be a rather clever and efficient way to $pread the Go$pel

Selflessness

If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them. James 4:17

Since I have become a student here I have tried to keep up with my studies while still taking part of all of the things that take place here. Today I realize that even though I thought I was doing a good job the semester is almost over and I have failed to keep up with my community service requirements. Things like this just remind me how easy it is for us to get so caught up in the everyday craziness of life that we forget about God’s commandments. We know that we should help others because it’s the right thing to do but our excuse is usually that we are too busy to do so. My excuse was that I would eventually get to attend more christian service events but that it would have to wait until next week because I had too many things I needed to study for. I sinned because I knew what I had to do and failed to do it. I realize that I was wrong that I need to organize my time so I can help others and keep God’s commandment.

At the same time it’s amazing how much I have learned from this one simple mistake. The fact that I didn’t sign up for Christian service events because it was messing up my time makes me realize that I was just being selfish. I was putting my time and schedule before God’s. By doing that I also neglected to keep my promise to the school when I agreed to keep up with the Christian service events when I got here. Now that I see this I will take action to make sure I don’t put my own schedule before God’s. Christian service is important because it not only allows us to help others but because we can grow from it. No matter how pressed I am for time I will always continue to keep this in mind. This has been a lesson in selflessness and submission to God’s will.

Horses and service part 2

Heavenly Hoofs part two.

On Friday, October 22nd, l went to Heavenly Hoofs to give assistance where they needed any help. I started off by helping a young boy named Owen get out an older horse named Chanter. Chanter is a 20 year old male horse that likes to eat, but is stubborn and does not like to be saddle up or brushed. Now even though he does not like to be brushed, l still had to take on that task and brush him anyway. I showed Owen how to properly use all the brushes and the right direction to brush Chanters fur. Owen was scared at first, but slowly began to warm up to Chanter; he started petting him. I also showed Owen how to clean out Chanter’s hoofs, but because he was too nervous to pick up Chanter’s hoofs himself he just watched me do it. Once we brushed Chanter down and cleaned out his hoofs it was time to tack up, so Owen helped me grab the saddle and bridle. Although Owen was supposed to help me tack up Chanter, he preferred to talk about his “zoo zoo” pets and tell me about his week. As soon as we were ready to go, Owen walked Chanter out to the arena. With help from the instructor and I, we got Owen saddled up on Chanter and were set to go. Today was the first day they got to canter; Owen as well as the rest of the children were super scared and all excited at the same time. Since they could not canter by themselves, they first tried to on a lunge line. Sadly this was not successful because the horses were too used to walking and trotting here and there; so to get to a canter the instructor got on the horse with them. As soon as she got on, the horses were in a full canter. It was so special to see the look on the children’s faces; for example, some of them did not know what to do so they just held on for dear life. Owen was giggling and screaming all at the same time. After their lesson, Owen helped me untack Chanter and wash him down, and when l say “wash Chanter”, l am inferring that got washed too. Owen found it funny to keep on splashing me with the hose. Owen and l had so much fun and l am excited to work with him this week as well.