Monday, August 31, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Camping
So, we finally did it! We went camping! We have lived here about 14 months or so (basically over a year) and we had yet to ever go. We've been to Glacier National Park several times but never seemed to find the time to spend a night out in the wilderness. I'll be honest, most of me was really intimidated. As much as I love how beautiful this countryside is, the whole idea of making sure all your food is put in your car because it's "bear country" is a little scary to me. This area is exactly what I felt camping should look and be like but every time I thought of all the animals that might like the smell of leftover food, I'd chicken out. We decided it was time though- I just needed to get over it! So we packed up and headed out to Hungry Horse Reservoir after a nice lunch celebrating Jake Bramante's Birthday. We didn't get up to Hungry Horse until about 4:30 or so... which I guess isn't that bad considering we finished up in Kalispell at 3:30. To go camping in NM, you have to drive at least 3 hours to get to a decent place.
After getting a little lost (there are 3 different signs for Lost Johnny Creek and we took the first, which wasn't for a campsite). We finally picked our spot and settled in, got our tent all set up, and explored the camping area. It was beautiful! We had lush forest all around us and the lake about 20 yds from our campsite! And since we went on a Sunday night when most people had left there was tons of leftover firewood! We made hot dogs and pork and beans for dinner- neither of which I should really be eating but hey, we were camping! After that we just sat staring at the fire for hours! A little talking here and there, but mostly just staring at the fire... and it was really nice! We made some smores right before bed- except with chocolate covered graham crackers and mallows instead of the traditional method. And then we stared at the stars for a while and went to sleep.
Sleeping wasn't as bad as I thought it would be- the air mattress was pretty comfortable and the only problem is that I'm so restless at night that Johnny had to deal with me rolling back and forth all night. I did wake up at 2 and just laid there for an hour trying to tell myself that I didn't REALLY need to go the bathroom and that that noise wasn't a bear or other critter outside our tent. I finally had to cave and wake up johnny to walk me out the the bathroom and fell right back asleep after, of course!
The morning was equally as chill- we made eggs, bacon, and hash browns. And then we just sat and stared at the fire some more, did a little family devotional, and read. Nice and relaxed. Before we knew it, it was time to start packing up! We finished off the rest of the hot dogs, packed up, and we were back on the road again. To finish the trip, we grabbed a Huckleberry shake on the way home! It's hard to go through Hungry Horse and not stop for one! All in all a great little get away! We're already trying to figure out when we will go again and how fun it would be to do a leaders retreat out there! Probably will have to wait until next summer though!
After getting a little lost (there are 3 different signs for Lost Johnny Creek and we took the first, which wasn't for a campsite). We finally picked our spot and settled in, got our tent all set up, and explored the camping area. It was beautiful! We had lush forest all around us and the lake about 20 yds from our campsite! And since we went on a Sunday night when most people had left there was tons of leftover firewood! We made hot dogs and pork and beans for dinner- neither of which I should really be eating but hey, we were camping! After that we just sat staring at the fire for hours! A little talking here and there, but mostly just staring at the fire... and it was really nice! We made some smores right before bed- except with chocolate covered graham crackers and mallows instead of the traditional method. And then we stared at the stars for a while and went to sleep.
Sleeping wasn't as bad as I thought it would be- the air mattress was pretty comfortable and the only problem is that I'm so restless at night that Johnny had to deal with me rolling back and forth all night. I did wake up at 2 and just laid there for an hour trying to tell myself that I didn't REALLY need to go the bathroom and that that noise wasn't a bear or other critter outside our tent. I finally had to cave and wake up johnny to walk me out the the bathroom and fell right back asleep after, of course!
The morning was equally as chill- we made eggs, bacon, and hash browns. And then we just sat and stared at the fire some more, did a little family devotional, and read. Nice and relaxed. Before we knew it, it was time to start packing up! We finished off the rest of the hot dogs, packed up, and we were back on the road again. To finish the trip, we grabbed a Huckleberry shake on the way home! It's hard to go through Hungry Horse and not stop for one! All in all a great little get away! We're already trying to figure out when we will go again and how fun it would be to do a leaders retreat out there! Probably will have to wait until next summer though!
Monday, August 10, 2009
Friday, August 7, 2009
Summer of Love
Relationships... how do we handle them? Is it a mystery? Are we free to treat people however we please? No! God clearly lays out his plan for our relationships in the bible and it's information we all want to know! We've been doing a Series in the middle school group (Active) for the last 4 weeks covering this topic. We covered Relationships we, as believers, have with unbelievers, our relationship with other believers, our relationship with our parents, and finally, our relationships with the opposite sex. Each week we had one of the Fresh Life pastors come and guest speak about a certain topic.
I've been in youth ministry now for about 5 years and it's always really cool for me to hear these kind of messages. Not only as a reminder to me about how we are to love others but also to be there with the students as they learn what God expects and wants of them. God has a very specific plan for how we are supposed to treat unbelievers versus believers (it's not the same across the board), as well as how important it is to show our parents love and honor them- even if it can be difficult. But hey, all relationships are difficult and require us to look beyond ourselves to love the other person!
Last night was our finale: Relationships with the Opposite Sex. Levi was our guest speaker and it was just great hearing him explain what God wants of for His people. It's a topic most people find uncomfortable or the one thing that so many will jump to first as "outdated" in our society. But it's pretty clear that our societies approach to relationships is an utter failure. Levi has such a great way of making the topic relevant and real without sounding like an overbearing, over-protective parent. It's such a passion for him and he makes it very real.
It's a passion for me as well. 5 years ago I began serving in youth ministries under Levi and I also met Johnny. My parents always stressed purity and waiting but like most youth, I thought that the chances of me finding someone else who shared my desire to wait was going to be slim to none. When I met Johnny, he told me almost immediately of his desire to for "Courtship" rather than dating. "Courtship" is dating with the intent of marriage- which includes spending time with the girls family, getting to know her in a group setting, and gradually working toward marriage. This was the first time I'd ever heard of it and, honestly, I loved the idea! As I served under Levi and heard him speak about these things, my passion for my students to be pure just grew. I want nothing more for them than what God wants for them- the one man, one woman relationship forever that avoids the dating frenzy that rips their hearts to shreds! Who wants to hand their heart over to their husband as a bunch of tattered shreds? Sadly, sometimes I just come across as overprotective rather than helping the students to see how important this truly is!
Well last nights message was so good, I just want to share some of the notes I took. Hopefully they are slightly coherent!
Firstly- when it comes to dating- there are no specific bible verses on the topic because at the time it was written, people didn't "date". Dating today is like fast food- it's instant gratification but not really that substantial. By dating, your giving little bits of yourself to the other person that were intended for your marriage. Dating today has become like mini marriages except once the person gets what they want from you they can leave- which explains the high divorce rate. People are trained, through dating, that you leave when YOU aren't getting what YOU want. That's not love, but selfishness.
But there are Principles that we can follow.
Eph 5:3 calls us to have not even a hint of sexual immorality in our lives. To be 100% pure.
This Purity is an Offering to God. We should consider the concept of Courtship.
1- What is our timeline for when to Court?
No need to date until marriage is in the not too distant future. Until then, learn to Validate yourself in Christ rather than in the physical and emotional affection of another. When you date when marriage is far off- you almost guarantee failure in your purity.
2- WHO do you date?
It is important to be equally yoked. Meaning for the believer that this person 1) Puts God first (their real behavior versus them just saying they are a Christian) 2) that you are attracted to them, 3) they Honor your parents, and 4) that they are kind to you. These are all traits that should be in the person you are looking to "court" because they are traits you would want in a spouse.
3- How to date?
It's easy if you've done the first 2 steps right because this person will have the same values as you do and want purity as much as you do!
"My Garden is enclosed, there is a wall around it" - Song of Solomon
So Great!
I've been in youth ministry now for about 5 years and it's always really cool for me to hear these kind of messages. Not only as a reminder to me about how we are to love others but also to be there with the students as they learn what God expects and wants of them. God has a very specific plan for how we are supposed to treat unbelievers versus believers (it's not the same across the board), as well as how important it is to show our parents love and honor them- even if it can be difficult. But hey, all relationships are difficult and require us to look beyond ourselves to love the other person!
Last night was our finale: Relationships with the Opposite Sex. Levi was our guest speaker and it was just great hearing him explain what God wants of for His people. It's a topic most people find uncomfortable or the one thing that so many will jump to first as "outdated" in our society. But it's pretty clear that our societies approach to relationships is an utter failure. Levi has such a great way of making the topic relevant and real without sounding like an overbearing, over-protective parent. It's such a passion for him and he makes it very real.
It's a passion for me as well. 5 years ago I began serving in youth ministries under Levi and I also met Johnny. My parents always stressed purity and waiting but like most youth, I thought that the chances of me finding someone else who shared my desire to wait was going to be slim to none. When I met Johnny, he told me almost immediately of his desire to for "Courtship" rather than dating. "Courtship" is dating with the intent of marriage- which includes spending time with the girls family, getting to know her in a group setting, and gradually working toward marriage. This was the first time I'd ever heard of it and, honestly, I loved the idea! As I served under Levi and heard him speak about these things, my passion for my students to be pure just grew. I want nothing more for them than what God wants for them- the one man, one woman relationship forever that avoids the dating frenzy that rips their hearts to shreds! Who wants to hand their heart over to their husband as a bunch of tattered shreds? Sadly, sometimes I just come across as overprotective rather than helping the students to see how important this truly is!
Well last nights message was so good, I just want to share some of the notes I took. Hopefully they are slightly coherent!
Firstly- when it comes to dating- there are no specific bible verses on the topic because at the time it was written, people didn't "date". Dating today is like fast food- it's instant gratification but not really that substantial. By dating, your giving little bits of yourself to the other person that were intended for your marriage. Dating today has become like mini marriages except once the person gets what they want from you they can leave- which explains the high divorce rate. People are trained, through dating, that you leave when YOU aren't getting what YOU want. That's not love, but selfishness.
But there are Principles that we can follow.
Eph 5:3 calls us to have not even a hint of sexual immorality in our lives. To be 100% pure.
This Purity is an Offering to God. We should consider the concept of Courtship.
1- What is our timeline for when to Court?
No need to date until marriage is in the not too distant future. Until then, learn to Validate yourself in Christ rather than in the physical and emotional affection of another. When you date when marriage is far off- you almost guarantee failure in your purity.
2- WHO do you date?
It is important to be equally yoked. Meaning for the believer that this person 1) Puts God first (their real behavior versus them just saying they are a Christian) 2) that you are attracted to them, 3) they Honor your parents, and 4) that they are kind to you. These are all traits that should be in the person you are looking to "court" because they are traits you would want in a spouse.
3- How to date?
It's easy if you've done the first 2 steps right because this person will have the same values as you do and want purity as much as you do!
"My Garden is enclosed, there is a wall around it" - Song of Solomon
So Great!
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