Labor Day Weekend

This weekend included: reading, writing, Starbucks, time with friends, music, church, lunch with students, and one crazy documentary.

Oh... and deciding to downsize in life. It’s become evident that I’m spending money on things that really don’t matter in this world. So, in an effort to find space and time and a bit more flexibility in my budget, I’m giving up a few things. All things, that if I’m honest, I don’t really need, or have the option of getting in other ways. I’m giving up my iPhone. Yep. I said it. Not sure how long it will last, and please don’t refer to this blog if I pick it back up in a year. It’s a chance to be disconnected, to save about $40 a month, and simply be ok with not having information at my disposal 24-7. I also gave up my gym membership. Ugh. This was hard (not nearly as hard as giving up my iphone). But, still. Let’s be honest. I have a free membership at my church gym, so giving up XSport really shouldn’t be that big of a deal. So, I’ll live. It’s all a start in trying to figure out how to better spend my time and money.

Anyway...

My intention this weekend was to spend as little cash as possible. And that was a success. And here’s where I thank Christine for the Starbucks card, Kate for the Smashburger giftcard, Valerie for the Dillon $, Kim for registering me for the 5K, and Desma for the granola bars and such. Community is where it’s at,people! I’m also grateful for the awesome conversations with Dan, Adam, and Desma. Good times! Great perspective. Amazing people.

I also did some reading. Here’s a highlight of what I’ve got bookmarks in.

The Bible- The striped book. Here’s a few verses that stuck out to me this weekend:

“What is important is faith expressing itself in love.” -Galatians 5:6

“You will always harvest what you plant.” -Galatians 6:7

Group Magazine- This is a Youth Worker magazine about how to deal/cope with working with teens. I’ve had the privilege of getting published in this magazine a few issues back and I picked it up this weekend and was encouraged by a few articles. The main article is “You Stink! Dealing with Criticism.”

“The Pillars of the Earth” by Ken Follett- This 1000 page novel will take me forever to finish, especially since I only read it at night before bed. I’m about 250 pages in. It’s about how church and state came together and the building of cathedrals. Seems boring. But I’m oddly intrigued.

“Disappointment with God” by Philip Yancey- I just started this book today. I’m about 50 pages in and I’m already learning. I’m sure it will be come it’s own blogpost soon. Stay tuned.

“Days of Deepening Friendship” by Vinita Hampton Wright- I’ve already read this book and came back to it this weekend. It provides amazing questions to ask yourself about faith, your soul, and your relationship with God. It sparked the start of good thoughts and spiritual direction.

“The Heart of the Story” by Randy Frazee- This book is a companion to The Story curriculum we will be doing at church. It’s a great personal devotion/starter to get focused on the topic for study. I’m exited to be digging deep in to The Story with our students and for my own spiritual walk.

Media:

I listened to some new tunes this weekend. Here’s a few I suggest from Noisetrade.com.

-The Hawk in Paris “His + Hers” EP from our friend Dan Haseltine of Jars of Clay

-“The Storm” by Elenowen

-“Come to Save Us” by Sons & Daughters

I also spent less time watching tv, but I did watch a documentary on HBO called “Catfish.” Talk about redemption, grace, and reality. Gosh. Just watch it... then let’s discuss it. I can’t say anything more than this. So good.

So, this was my weekend. I can’t say that every weekend is as epic, but I’m thankful for space, for friends, for time to connect, breathe, and an opportunity to launch head first into the fall.

How was your weekend? What is one thing you learned about yourself?

Keep Your Eyes Open- Summer 2011

It was a great summer. I’d like to give you more info, but I can’t seem to find my angle to write about it all. So, here’s a list of the best of Summer ’11 in category form.

Trips:

-Alleluia: Lutherdale, Mission Trip, Ignite

-Memorial Day weekend trip with friends

-Girls Camp!

-Colorado to visit family

Concerts:

I saw a ridiculous number of bands this summer. Trust me, it’s an embarrassing number of bands, so here’s just a list of my fav’s from this summer:

-Tenth Avenue North: 3 times!!!

-Needtobreathe: 2 times (they began and ended my summer)

-Skillet (3 times)

-Satellites and Sirens

-Family Force 5

-Stryper!!! (YES, I SAID STRYPER)

-Jars of Clay (The Musical)

-Chasen

-Switchfoot

-Abandon

-David Crowder Band

-The Almost (2 times)

Top Memories:

-Watching Jonathan Chu rock out on stage while wearing his daughter’s hospital bracelet (A reminder to me of what is important in life).

-Spending time with my niece and nephew in Colorado.

-Meeting Black Female Baby Jesus/AYhigh mascot/Alice Ann Bynum

-Doing ministry beside the SEAK girls (Steph, Emma, Abbie, and Kat)

-Speaking at girls camp-watching 100 girls soak up being a daughter of the King.

-Hanging with Needtobreathe.

-Experiencing the amazing attitude of my students and leaders on the mission trip. (A serious blessing).

-The “Wobble” on the Mission Trip

-Getting retweeted by Jars of Clay. (I know, silly, but seriously cool too).

-Meeting Stryper.

-Pink hair.

Books/TV/Movies:

-“On Writing” by Stephen King

-Friday Night Lights series finale

-Harry Potter!

Future Planning:

I spent the summer thinking about what’s next in life:

-Planning a new AYhigh curriculum called “The Story.”

-Making plans to got to Africa in 2012.

-Planning to run some sort of race involving lots of “k’s”

-Deciding to find a new man, since Donald Miller is engaged.

-Attend more concerts, of course!

Things I learned:

-When you play the comparison game, you always lose.

-Keep kindness at the forefront of your thoughts, actions, and attitude. (Gal. 5:22-23)

-If you are open to serving God, He will do good things among you.

-“We own the fourth quarter.” -Coach Taylor (Friday Night Lights)

-“Success is not a goal. Success is a byproduct.”

Songs of the Summer:

-“Page 28” by Sleeping at Last

-“100 Years” by Francesca Battestelli

-“Keep Your Eyes Open” by Needtobreathe

-“Where I Belong” by Building 429

-“Ready to Save” by Satellites & Sirens

-Sooner or Later by Mat Kearney

Favorite Pictures:

Girls Camp!

Switchfoot!

My Nephew Kevin

My Girlies on the Mission Trip

100 Days of Summer

It’s a little over 100 days between June 1st and September 11th (our official AYhigh start in the fall). While we still have some summer programing, trips, and planning, it’s summer! I typically find a goal for myself during these 100 days. So, as I was trying to figure out what this summer would look like, I took a look back for inspiration.

Many people thought I was in North Korea, or Colorado, or at an In-N-Out in Utah this past weekend. In fact, I holed myself up in a lodge with no internet, phone, or outside contact except for a few friends who came with me. We read books, wrote, played games, and ate way too much food. And while I spent time looking at this past year and where life would take me this summer and fall, I kept coming back to Galatians 5. It’s been difficult to live out the fruit of the spirit, to figure out what it means to live God’s way. In the midst of changes at work, change in my living situation, family stuff, and life stuff--it’s been tough to “put on the Spirit” through it all. So, there have been times when I’ve been angry, sad, disheartened, frustrated, fearful. There’s also been times of love, blessing, happiness, and great memories. But the dark cloud has certainly been around. I haven’t spent much time focusing on honoring God with my attitude, on honoring him by trying to live in the spirit.

I thought it’d be a great reminder and “restart” to figure out how to live through the fruit of the spirit this summer. To try to figure out how to live with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. And I don’t really think they are things we can just put on or take off like a jacket. They are things that have to permeate our being, a focus of our every moment, a lifestyle of honoring God. It’s not just about how to make ourselves better, but to really honor God through living in the spirit.

So, 100 days of focusing on these 9 traits. Scripture is very clear that if we aren’t living in the spirit, that we are living in the flesh. Yikes. I don’t want to live by my own earthly, flesh ways. I want to live His way. And not to say that I haven’t been living a life for God this past year, because I have..I’ve been learning, growing, praying, but these 9 traits have been pushed aside a bit. I think there are times when I’m loving or times when I’ve been patience, and my faithfulness has been true, but I know I can be doing better. I think we can all agree that we can be growing, learning, doing more.

We did a similar challenge a few years ago with our students- doing the Fruit of the Spirit for the summer. We encouraged students to pick one fruit a day and really focus on reading scripture, journaling, and focusing actions on that trait. So, I’m going to try to do this again. I am not making it an official challenge for our students, but if they are reading this, feel free to jump in and join me! I would love the accountability and to be able to offer help and suggestions too. Let me know if you are in.

Here’s the passage that I’m focusing on. I am sure I’ll blog about it this summer.

Galatians 5:16-23

“My counsel is this: Live freely, animated and motivated by God's Spirit. Then you won't feed the compulsions of selfishness. For there is a root of sinful self-interest in us that is at odds with a free spirit, just as the free spirit is incompatible with selfishness. These two ways of life are antithetical, so that you cannot live at times one way and at times another way according to how you feel on any given day. Why don't you choose to be led by the Spirit and so escape the erratic compulsions of a law-dominated existence?

It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods; magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community. I could go on. This isn't the first time I have warned you, you know. If you use your freedom this way, you will not inherit God's kingdom.

But what happens when we live God's way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard—things like affection for others (love), exuberance about life (joy), serenity (peace). We develop a willingness to stick with things (patience), a sense of compassion in the heart (kindness), and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people (goodness). We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments (faithfulness), not needing to force our way in life (gentleness), able to marshal and direct our energies wisely (self control).”

Fruit of the Spirit:

LOVE- affection for others

JOY- exuberance about life

PEACE- serenity

PATIENCE- a willingness to stick with things

KINDNESS- a sense of compassion in the heart

GOODNESS- a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people

FAITHFULNESS- involved in loyal commitments

GENTLENESS- no needing to force our way in life

SELF-CONTROL- ability to marshal and direct your energies wisely.

AYhigh Girls Questions Part 3 (Final Part)

Hey girlies! Here is the last of the questions from our girls night at AYhigh. This was so fun! Feel free to send any questions you want. I'd be happy to answer them. If you missed the other posts, see below for links. Thanks again for your questions! Love you all!

Why are no guys asking me out?

Probably because they are stupid. But, seriously, I have 3 possible reason.

1. Confidence. Guys are sometimes scared to ask out girls because we are confident and have goals. Guys might say that you are “out of their league” because their own self confidence is low. Ew, unattractive. Guys need to be confident too. So, a guy might not be asking you out because he’s not sure what to do with the fact that you like yourself, are confident in who you are, and have goals. Any guy who isn’t willing to see confidence as an attraction isn’t worthy of your time anyway! Now, don’t be too confident and mean-girlish or have a too good for you attitude, but be yourself and be confident! Someday, a guy, a real guy, will think that is attractive. And he will ask you out.

2. Low Self confidence. Ok, so on the other end of the spectrum is to have low self confidence or low self esteem. The needy, low self esteem girl is unattractive to a guy worthy of dating. If you have low self esteem maybe it’s not a good idea to be dating anyway. Work on valuing yourself and finding who you are in God, the worth you are to Him first.

3. The third reason why a guy isn’t asking you out: They are stupid. End of story.

What standards should I set when looking for a boyfriend?

See traits question in part 2 for the answer to this.

What s your favorite animal out of platypus, mongoose, ostrich, white-tailed deer and sloth?

Sloth. They have so much patience. Wow.

What’s your most embarrassing childhood memory?

Oh wow. There was this one time I went to the bathroom in a public pool. It wasn’t number one.

How do I handle a serious relationship in high school?

Well, let’s define serious. I mean, how serious can a relationship get in high school? I suppose it’s all relative. Everything in high school seems like it can’t be better than what you have. But my word is “perspective.” Having perspective in a relationship is important. I would define a serious high school relationship as something that is 1. long term (longer than 6 months) 2. You talk about everything together, not just make out all the time, 3 you are more than dating, you are friends. As always, know your boundaries. Talk about it with him. Boundaries in how far you go physically, how much time you spend with one another verses with your friends or family, and someone you can talk to about things that are important to you (faith). If you aren’t willing to talk about these things, it’s not serious.

Tell us the craziest party you ever went to.

I went to a New Year’s Eve party in downtown Columbus one year. That was pretty crazy. Sorry, I’m kind of boring!

How do you resist fighting with your siblings?

Well, I think it’s somewhat inevitable but there are a few things you can do. First, don’t instigate or push their buttons. You can resist fighting by not starting the fight. If they start the fight, just ignore them or walk away. If they continue to persist, go in for a hug. Just start hugging and kissing them. They’ll most likely run away, leaving you without a fight... and a laugh. Scripture tells us to honor or father and mother. One way to honor them is to be a good example to your siblings and try to get along with them. If you have younger siblings, see yourself as being an example to them. I don’t know any younger siblings who don’t look up to their older siblings. Be a good example to them and love them. Even when they read your diary!

What should I do if a friend who is a guy tells you they love you and you don’t feel the same way and now you still want to be friends but it feels awkward?

Say it with me “AWKWARDDD!!” Well, if you still want to be friends, go up to him and just say, “let’s move past the awkward, yeah?” And maybe he’ll say yes, and you’ll laugh about it and move on. That’s pretty flattering, and maybe someday he’ll win you over, but try to talk to him about it. If he’s a real friend, he’ll listen.

What is your greatest regret in a relationship?

Ever dating a guy who didn’t love Jesus. All problems stemmed from that. It’s a non-negotiable for me.

What should you do if you don’t really like one of your pretty close friends and you don’t want to be that good of friends anymore?

Well, why do you not want to be friends with them anymore? I’m guessing they either hurt you in some way or they are doing things you don’t approve of. If they have hurt you, I would talk to them about that specifically. If they are doing things you don’t approve of, then start choosing to hang out with other friends instead of them. People do fall away from each other, but really investigate why you don’t want to be friends. If you can fix the problem by communicating with your friend, then do it. It’s worth it to fight for friendship.

Amber- will you sing me a song?

I’m singing right now. Can you hear it?

What’s the airspeed velocity of an African Swallow? Kidding! What’s the worst show on TV?

Worst show on TV hands down. Jersey Shore. Second worst: Real World. Third worst: Teen Mom. Basically, anything that exposes sex, alcohol, or goes against Philippians 4:8. (look it up).

What house would you want to be in if you were to go to Hogwarts and why?

Gryffindor. I would have been BFF’s with Fred and George.

What is your biggest secret?

If I told you, then it wouldn’t be a secret. But, here are a few things I perhaps don’t share openly. I secretly want to be in the CIA and do missions like Sydney on Alias. I secretly pick one or two people in the crowd to focus my attention on during my messages at AYhigh or in the X Service. I secretly make up stories about people sitting around me at Starbucks.

I don't like that my friend always flirts with the guy that I used to like and may still have feelings for, what do I do? I don't want to call her out, yet it really has been bugging me.

If you aren’t dating him, everyone has rights to flirt. So, don’t get mad at your friend, maybe she likes him too. If that’s the case, get to flirting and let him decide! JK... talk to her about it. Tell her that you still have feelings for the boy and if she’s a good friend she’ll stop. Communication is key! Always...

What is the best way to start a chat with someone on Facebook? A simple "hey" sounds boring.

I was just thinking about Facebook chat the other day. Facebook chat is the equivalent to me and my friends going down to the YMCA and sitting outside waiting for the hotties to walk by and play bball when I was in high school. We would always just stare or giggle. It never worked. The boys never stopped to chat. So, don’t just stare at the green dot by his name... here are a few starters...

“Hey boy”

“What up kid?”

“Hi friend”

“Hello”

“Dear ________, let’s chat.”

AYhigh Girls Questions... Special Edition

I said I would take any questions you had, and I am honoring that. Tonight's post is a special edition. I will get back to finishing the girl questions you all asked, but here are a few questions that an anonymous emailer sent to me. Feel free to continue to send your questions. I am enjoying answering them. Many questions can't be answered in a few sentences, but I've tried my best to do an overview. As always, I encourage you to seek scripture for your view on a question. Consider my answers as footnotes, always research and seek scripture to form your opinion and truth. BUT.. as always, I'm here to encourage you, help answer you questions, and guide you to Christ.

How do you know when God has entered your heart?

Galatians 5 tells us that we know the spirit is within us when we exemplify the fruit of the spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control). Also, when we acknowledge that Jesus died on the cross for our sins and choose to honor and obey Him, to truly worship him with our lives, then we know that ‘God is in our heart’ as you phrase it. I think you start to see how God has entered in to your life when you start making choices that worship Him, when you live out the fruit of the spirit, when you start to have a thirst to know God more.

What did Chasen mean when he said "Love like it costs you something" ?

Chase heard this from a pastor and shares it at his concerts. I interpret it to mean that we must love in ways that aren’t just self serving, to go out of our way to love others even if it means it costs us something. John 15:13 says that love is to lay down your life for others. There is sacrifice in love. Sometimes we have to be uncomfortable in order to bring comfort to others. Think about the people you love. You would probably say the phrase, “I would do anything for them because I love them.” That’s what it means to love like it cost something.

If you were God for a day what would you do? How would you help others?

Oh wow. Big questions. Well, I can say that I would probably find all the students/parents of students/friends who never believed in God, and stand in front of them to reveal that God is real. I think the hardest thing about life is praying, teaching, and spending time with students/parents/people who never trust God or believe that He exists. That is the most disheartening thing I see. As much as I want to teach people that Jesus rules, I can’t show them (outside of my own life and experience). I sometimes just want God to show up in a very visible way for others to see him and finally believe.

What is the most played song on your iPod/What is your favorite song?

“Anchor” by Satellites and Sirens takes the number one spot on my iTunes.

My favorite song is “New Day” by Robbie Seay Band. Check them out!

What do you want people to remember you for?

I want to be remembered for helping others get to know Jesus, for being a good friend, and for always holding on to hope. Someday I want to be remembered for being a good mom and wife. :)

Why to people get to focused on things and forget to think about others or God?

It’s a constant struggle- the one between living in the flesh and living in the spirit. See, we are made to worship God but things get in the way, like selfishness and laziness. We try to fill our lives with things that aren’t God. We are constantly thirsting for something more, and to be honest, only God can fill that need, since we were made in His image, for him. I think people get focused on other things because it’s what the world says they should do, what is “normal” and what “everyone else is doing.” At the end of the day we all have to ask, what did I do today that brought glory to God?

Do you view the word 'crap' as a swear?

Ohhh. This is a good one. Why do I feel like you may use my answer to prove your point with your parents? Well if we think of swear words as evil words or negative words then potentially any word can be a swear. I think any word can be used for evil, it’s the intent behind it that matters. I use the word crap, and probably too much.

How much of the Bible have you read? What parts would you recommend reading?

I’ve been reading the Bible since I was little. I’m sure I’ve read the whole thing. I admire people who can do the “read the Bible in a year plan.” I tried that but it became about finishing not learning and letting it soak in. I heard someone once say we “read the bible to change not to finish.” I would recommend reading the letters (Galatians, Ephesians, Phillippians, and Colosians). Those are a few of my favorite books.

What was the last thing you laughed about?

I love to laugh. It’s my favorite thing. I laughed to myself last night when I was on the treadmill at the gym. This guy on the treadmill next to me was watching Glee. He kept laughing out loud. Every time he would laugh, I did too. I’m not sure why.

"She sings..World, I've Overcome You."

This has not been my week. There’s been things that have frustrated me and situations that have laid heavy on my heart. There’s been a lot of wondering “what is right? what is true? What is worthy?”

Mostly, when I’m in a bad mood, ice cream and sweatpants will do the trick. But this week it was a John Mark McMillan concert. By myself. Solo in Chicago. It’s amazing what some perspective will do to change an attitude. Yet another reason why I’ll never give up concerts for Lent.

I secretly like going to concerts by myself from time to time. Tonight was one of those nights. I could take in all that was around me, get annoyed by the girls who slipped in last minute to jump right in front of me and talk the whole time. (Remind me to write that concert etiquette book). It was obvious who was there just to hear “How He Loves” and who was a true John MM fan. It was only slightly annoying and I chalked up my annoyance to all the drama and stupidity of this week. But then John made a comment as he began “How He Loves” that totally put it all in perspective. He played a few chords to prompt all the fans to start recording and said... “Aren’t you guys sick of this song?” The crowd responded “NO!: (that’s why we paid $12 to come--I was thinking). “Well if you aren’t sick of it (long pause) then I’m not either, but this song is 10 years old. Anyway, here we go.” and the he started the song.

I’ve always said “How He Loves” isn’t his best song on the album, but I do believe the song’s message is a strong one. Most of the songs sing of deep lyrics of movement, of not just standing still but of overcoming this world to get to God. “How He Loves” is simply a reminder. One of movement from a recognition of the fact that God loves us, to a movement of really believing, and then ending with a proclamation in truth of the love. While I don’t know if this is the real focus of the building of this song and repetition, that’s how I interpret it.

Overall the show was great. The theme of “overcome” showed up in many of his songs, including a new song called “We Have Seen A Darkness.” The fight between light and dark in the spiritual world is nothing new, but I loved his connection of hope coming alive after despair. (It’s on YouTube, check it out).

John stopped near the end of the show to tell about an opportunity to help raise $18,000 for a well in Africa. He stuttered and looked nervous the whole time, as if he is shy and hides behind the song. He said many times that he gave his life to the song, and was sorry to speak, but he wanted our money. Guilt money or not, to save children in Africa. It wasn’t rehearsed, it wasn’t overly obvious, what was truth was that he deeply cared for helping others and doing something about it. Usually I get annoyed by the 5 minute break to tell us about who sponsors the tour, but this was different. I respect John and his plea to bring clean water, to bring life, to an African town.

My favorite JMM song is “Ten Thousand.” I was close enough to see the set list and noticed it wasn’t on there. In typical fashion, a song suggestion was yelled across the small room in the midst of the quiet, awkward “let’s change out guitars and tune them time.” (Yelling out a song request is so not appropriate concert etiquette). But John approved the request and promised to maybe, possibly but possibly not play the song. My song. “Ten Thousand.”

And so John ended with this beautiful song of hope, a song of movement, an anthem for how we should move forward in the midst of this world. And it was beautiful. He turned the mic to us and together we finished out the song: “We sing, world, I’ve overcome you.”

This week, as I deal with the drama of this world, I’ve been reminded that I’m not made for this world, that I’ll overcome it and conquer it. I just need to not let it get me.

When John was talking about the unfair life of children in Africa, he said...

“We were all created--there are things inside of us know when something isn’t right. We can argue about the details but we know at the end of the day what isn’t right.”

He went on to say:

We have three options when we are faced with things that aren’t right:

1. We can laugh and be cynical.
2. We can weep at the destruction and stay in depression
3. Or we can do something about it.

“Feeling bad doesn’t make you do good. You gotta do good because you feel empowered, because you see a purpose, because you see something better than you that you want to be like because you love it. You have the power to be a part of it, to make something better. And so you do good.”

Ahhh... so in the midst of this week, I was happy to hear some perspective. To be reminded that I can choose to be cynical, or choose to weep, but really I should seek to do something about injustice, whether to myself or to others.

All of my dramatic tragedies this week aren’t big. Honestly. They are tiny white girl middle class tragedies. And while I own them and mourn them, I must do something about them. And not just do something, but also have some perspective. There are others with bigger tragedies, bigger issues of reality in the worlds of people around me that I should be focused on.

Let us put on love this week... get outside of our own little tragedies and start helping those around us. Let’s start figuring out how to really do something that helps another person “overcome their world.”