Centrifuge 2011 (Part 2)

Another day/topic at camp that really hit home with me was "connecting to those that hurt us." This is a big deal for a lot of people. Many times we hold the anger inside and it turns to bitterness and hate. But that's not what we're supposed to do. God tells us that we need to forgive.

A few months ago (I think it was in March), I had the wonderful opportunity to go to Winter Jam. For those of you who don't know what that is, it's a $10-at-the-door concert with lots of Christian artists and a speaker. This year, one of the artists was Chris August. He's a little newer to Christian music, but he has some awesome songs. (You might be familiar with the song, "Starry Night." Yep, that's him!) One of his songs he sang at the concert is called "7 x 70." It's all about the hurts he experienced as a child and forgiving those who hurt him, and it is based off of Matthew 18:21-22...

21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” 22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

These couple of verses have become some of my favorites within the last few months. It's so convicting to have Jesus saying we shouldn't be limiting our forgiveness to a certain number of times (Jesus doesn't mean to only forgive people 77 times...He's just showing us that we should continually be forgiving people). Believe me...I know how hard it seems. I have been hurt in the past numerous times by the same person and it is a constant struggle to forgive them.

This was also one of our key passages at camp one day, and my leader mentioned that you have to make a conscious decision every single day to forgive people. That's something I have been learning a lot this year. It's something that doesn't always come really easily. But God can definitely soften your heart and help you with forgiving others.

Annie ♥

Centrifuge 2011 (Part 1)

Last week I had the amazing opportunity to attend Centrifuge at Union University with my youth group. For those of you not familiar with Centrifuge, it is a camp that Lifeway does at different locations throughout each summer. Hundreds of students go each week to learn more about God, connect with others, and just have fun. The whole theme for this year was "connect." We learned about connecting with the lost (people who do not know God in a personal wa and who do not have a relationship with Him), connecting with authority, connecting with family and friends, connecting with those that hurt us, and connecting with fellow believers.
I learned a lot while I was there so instead of one super duper long post, I'm going to do three over the next few days...

One of the days that really stood out to me was the first full day of camp. We learned about connecting to the lost. There were two passages of scripture that really meant something to me. One was from John 1:40-42...

40 Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus. 41 The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). 42 And he brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John. You will be called Cephas” (which, when translated, is Peter).

The other one was from Matthew 4:18-22...

18 As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. 19 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” 20 At once they left their nets and followed him.
21 Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them, 22 and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.


In the first passage, we see that the very first thing Andrew did was tell his brother about Jesus and bring him to Him. How often do I have that urgency, the urgency to tell everyone (but especially my close family and friends) about Jesus and what He has done in my life? Sadly, it is not often enough and God convicted me about that last week.

In the second passage, Jesus calls Andrew and Peter and James and John to come follow Him. Each of them dropped everything they were doing and IMMEDIATELY follwed Jesus. Growing up I heard the phrase, "Delayed obedience is disobedience." Not only can we apply it to when those in authority here on Earth tell us to do something, but we can also use it in our spiritual walk with the Lord. How many times do I do exactly what God is telling me to do at the exact moment He is telling me to do it? A lot of times we make excuses and try to talk ourselves out of doing whatever God says the moment He is telling us to do it. But that isn't obedience because it's delayed. Also, they were all willing to give so much up for Jesus. They gave up jobs and an income, friends, family, and comfort in general. But they gave all of those things up because they knew following Jesus was worth it. I need to have that same attitude every day of my life. I need to be willing to give up anything and everything as well as drop whatever I am doing to immediatley obey what God is telling me to do.

Annie ♥

Goodbye Junior Year...

Today was my last day being a Junior in high school. And I must say that it has been my favorite year of school ever!

Every year I pray that God would give me the perfect class schedule with the teachers He wants me to have and the peers He wants me to attend class with. He has never failed to give me the classes and surround me with the people that I need at that moment in my life. This year was no exception. I was blessed to have some of the best teachers I have ever had. Some challenged me even when I thought my brain was about to explode, some simply laughed with me, but they all have impacted my life in some way or another. I am so thankful to have been one of their students!

Now I get to look ahead and prepare for my Senior year of high school...Class of 2012!

Annie ♥

Worry and Trust

Do you ever wish God shows you some of His plans for you right in front of your face on a piece of paper? Well, that's kind of how I have been feeling lately...

This is my last semester of my junior year of high school (which I am thoroughly enjoying) and I have been seriously looking at different colleges and even considering what exact major I should study in college. For those of you who don't know me too well, I will tell you that I am a planner. I plan my weekend activities in advance, what I'm going to wear every day for the next week, and many other things including what college I would like to attend and the subject area I would like to major in. When I'm unsure of any of these big decisions, I get worried and stressed and I sometimes just want to burst into tears. However, when that happens I'm not trusting God that He has it all taken care of. I'm doing exactly what it says NOT to do in Matthew 6:34...

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own...

I am worrying even when God says not to. However, I need to give that worry to God and trust Him with my life...

Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you. Psalm 9:10

In you, Lord my God, I put my trust. Psalm 25:1

But I trust in you, Lord; I say, "You are my God." Psalm 31:14

I need to trust God COMPLETELY with my college choice as well as with what He wants me to study in college, and I need to seek Him out with my whole heart and pray for wisdom and guidance and discernment in making these decisions...because afterall, He is God, He knows what He is doing, and He has specific plans for me and my life.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11 (such a great verse for me in this season of my life)

Annie ♥

P.S. If you would like to read more on worry, the whole passage of Matthew 6:25-34 is great.

Jeremiah 29:11

Do you have those verses that you've heard your entire life that you know are important, but because you've heard them so much from everyone you don't always realize the significance of them in your life? Well that's how it is with me and Jeremiah 29:11...

"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

Since I have grown up in church and because I became a Christian when I was five years old, I have pretty much always know that God has a plan for me. Even in hard circumstances, or even in times that are filled with many blessings, I have known that God has a plan for my life.

This past weekend, however, is when I looked at that verse a little differently in my life. I went on this junior/senior getaway with my church youth group to a local college so we could hear many different perspectives on college life. The weekend wasn't for us to learn about all the academic aspects of college life, but rather how to stay firm in our Faith. We heard from a college minister on the college campus, my own youth pastor, and a group of college kids.

The place that we stayed at was actually in a building where Christians who attend that college meet and hang out and have bible studies and stuff like that. The place looked really cool, and on one wall the verse Jeremiah 29:11 was written. Especially being on a college campus talking about college, I really thought about how much God does have a plan for my life. At this time in my life that's really comforting because while I'm still only a junior, my senior year is almost here. I'm really starting to have to think about where I want to go to college and what I really want my major to be in. For me, a person who enjoys planning things in advance and knowing exactly what I'm doing, it's hard when I don't know these things for sure. But there is one thing I am certain of...GOD HAS A PLAN FOR ME AND FOR YOU!

So while there are still so many things I don't know, I just need to trust God that He knows exactly what He's doing with my life and that He will let me know in His perfect time where He wants me to go to college, what major He has in mind for me, and all of those other important things in life (whether big or small).

Annie ♥

Comforting Words...

"Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." -Hebrews 13:8

It's comforting to know that even though we change, God will NEVER change...He is constant, He is reliable, He is trustworthy, He is faithful...

Snow, Snow, and more Snow

SNOW! Yes, we have a day off of school with the rest of America today (or most of it anyway). I just wanted to share some pictures of all the beauty that God has created in Middle TN...