Friend

"Walk with me, talk with me, hold my hand. Be my God, be my closest friend..."-Lifting my Hands

Isaiah 41:9-10:
"You're my servant, serving on my side. I've picked you. I haven't dropped you. Don't panic. I', with you. There's no need to fear for I'm your God. I'll give you strength..."

"You truly are my king, and I will serve your throne to worship you alone..."- Dear Jesus

I think the message God was trying to get across to me today was that I need to make him my closest friend. I need to run to him and let him help me; know that he's with me. I need to let him walk with me. And since serving is something I love to do, I need to serve on his side-using my servant hood as worship to him. Knowing that he's called me to do something great for him.

I love when God speaks like that. I read the passage in Isaiah last night and as I listened to those songs today, I made the connection. I opened my bible and reread the passage and I knew what I wanted to share. Isn't God awesome?

Assignment

This was actually something I wrote to share with the Worship team on Wednesday, but I thought I would put it on here, too:

Psalms 32:1-2,11
"1.Count yourself lucky, how happy you must be-you get a fresh start. your slate's wiped clean.2.Count yourself lucky-God holds nothing against you and you hold nothing back from Him..11.Celebrate God. Sing together-everyone! All you honest hearts raise the roof."

Psalms33:1
"Good people, cheer God! Right-living people sound best when praising."

Because of what he did- The fact that He does wipe my slate clean, He does give me a fresh start, and He holds nothing against me, I need to hold nothing back from Him. I need to always celebrate him and sing his praises. I need to go into worship with an honest heart. If I count myself as a right-living person I need to praise because that's what I do best.

So everything I do, and every time I'm in a corporate setting of worship, I need to enjoy what God is doing and what he's done for me and celebrate together with those who have experienced God's blessings and love. I need to praise God for who he is; not just because I'm on a team and I'm supposed to do.

Need

I bought a new CD last week and these are some of my favorite songs:

Crazy - Jonathan Stockstill

I'll never bring to you something that doesn't cost me
When I worship it will be the best I can bring...
When I dance for you I'll always dance a crazy dance
My life was nothing and you gave me a second chance
I'll go crazy for you

The thing you want from me is just to give a crazy praise
Abandoned happiness and joy beyond my wildest dreams
I'll jump and scream and glorify your awesome name..
The sky will break with noise and dump on us a second rain
I'll go crazy for you!


I Need You-Jonathan Stockstill
Oh Lord, my life I owe to you
Each breath I take is by Your grace
My ways, my heart, they yield to Yours
My soul cries out to hear Your voice

You are the source of life and my strength
I need You more and more
You are the reason that I live
I need You more and more

In you I live and move
and have my life
I am sustained, renewed, and loved by You

I need you more
I need you Lord
I need you
I need you.

Only having nine days left until the Deepening gets me very excited. I know God is going to do something amazing in our lives this year. I need Him more and more. I want to be desperate for Him to be in my life.


"God, I love You. I only want You. I need You here. I don't want what You can give me, I just want You, God. I want You to be here with me as I go through this crazy life. I want to go crazy for You, God! You deserve everything that I can give and more. Thank you for loving a simple person like me. Thank you for the blessings You give me. Thank you for the friends and people in my life that help me grow. Thank you for a church that loves students and loves to have us help them. When we could just be sitting at home, doing nothing, they give us a place where we can go and prepare to minister to people that week. Thank you that I get to be a part of the big picture that is You. Thank you for putting me on a worship team that gets to lead people into Your presence each week. I pray that we would go crazy for You and our passion would be out of this world! God, I love You. I need You here with me. My life is only because of Your grace. Lord, I put You first in everything."

Preparing our Hearts

Currently, I am on my first official fast since I was in C.I.A.! It's not a big thing, but it means something to me and the others joining together.We started last Saturday fasting all music but worship. It's not that I listen to secular or other types of music often, but I do enjoy listening to different varieties and styles of music.

This is something we hope will prepare our hearts more for what God has in store for us this summer at the Deepening. When Jeff Harte asked me and some others to join him for his second year of fasting, I knew I was in. The idea of focusing even the area of all of our music solely on God was just awesome to me. Even while I was just sitting in band class today, listening to a new song we're working on in Reality, it changed my entire day. It just gave me a peace during this last week of school and finals that God is with me and he has a lot planned for me. I am excited to be a part of this wonderful group of people who are going after God more. This is a tradition that I definitely want to continue.

So, Just pray for us all as we give up all other music and pray that God will do something amazing in all of our lives this summer.

Also, be looking forward to seeing me a lot this summer! I hope to be able to come and help as much as I can at First Assembly!

Growing and learning.

Wow, it's already four months into the year and I'm just now updating!

Lately, I've had maybe some of the most meaningful times I can remember. I've really gotten a chance to learn and connect with new people and grow in skill as well as spirituality.

I've become involved in mew ministry which has brought mew new friends and brought old ones closer. I've also gotten the chance to help and serve here at the church. The people here are great. They are very patient and always willing to help. That alone makes learning and growing easier.

I still want to be more involved.. I want to learn more about what I do. What better way to appreciate and do your ministry better than to learn and keep learning about it, right? I'm not on the tech team, but I've learned how to set light cues and even do easy worship. It's so much fun to know how those things work and I have a great appreciation for people who do it. With the worship team, I do things to take care and better my voice. I help set and tear down the stage, and I hang around people who are leaders in that area. I watch what they do and I even help at times with suggestions if they ask me.

I want to keep my desire to grow. The more you grow, the more you learn. The more you learn, the more you can lead and teach people..and you can't lead where you haven't been yourself. Thanks you to all of you who are leading me and who are growing with me. I could never do it without you guys! A leader never stops growing and I'm not going to.

looking back on 2007. and Thanks

Life is so WONDERFUL!!
I have great friends and a lot of people there for me. They make me happy and definitely keep me going.I have the most amazing church family and Pastors. You guys don't know how much you mean to me. You lead me and help me and guide me in many ways. To the schools that help me learn, wow!

2007 has been great. I am ready for change and to "transform" into a new person. I am excited about the worship team and feel it's going to be better than ever!!! I am ready to go back to school and greet the place with love, optimism, and kindness. I have grown so much spiritually and in my relationships with others. It's a great feeling to walk into a place where people know how you are and enjoy being around you. They help you grow and grow along with you.
2008? Well, it's going to be a good year I feel. There is so much that I want to accomplish. First off, I need to work on my grades and set my priorities a little. Sure, my grades are A's and B's, but I feel I can do better. It's one of those things where you have to say, "am I going to do this with my whole heart? Or just let it go half-way?" We all have to make these decisions in many parts of life. And I feel I need to move forward in this and with serving more.

I love being involved and being around people. It's hard not being able to drive. I don't get to help with all the opportunities I get, but I manage. I help when and with as much as I can. In about half a year, this problem will be partially solved. I may not be able to go everywhere, but I will get around more with having a hardship. But anyhow..

Thank you for all you people do!I love you all so much!

*Some random worship that has been in my head*
-I know you gave the world your only son for us to know your name and live within the savior's love. You took my place knowing you'd be crucified. Lord you love..you love a people undeserving!
-Because of who you are, I give you glory. Because of who you are, I give you praise. Because of who you are, Lord I lift my hands and say, "Lord I worship you, because of who you are!"
-I'm not going back. I'm moving ahead. I'm here to declare to you, my past is over. In you, old things are made new. Surrendered my life to Christ. I'm moving forward!

I just felt like God should be put into my thanks..he's the one that brought me to you guys and he deserves all the glory anyways..He's unfailing, faithful, loving, merciful, providing..just plain Amazing! :)

worship and words

Last night,I got to thinking about Thursday when we went without speaking at the Deepening. Breaking our fast with worship, was just unbelievable! You don't really realize how many words we waste until you take the time to be silent. The bible even tells us to use our words for praise in Psalm 33, it says "Good people, cheer God! Right-living people sound best when praising..."

A while back, I read something that really spoke to me and it made me want to be a good person..Don't we all want to be good and righteous?. If I am going to be that person I strive to be, I have to worship. Not going around wasting my words complaining and gossiping or whining. God created us for worship. We should want to worship all the time. Not just in a corporate setting, like at church. Worship is our praise to God for who He is and what He's done and what He's going to do. Both personal and corporate.

Thursday was probably one of the nights I have ever worshiped God with all f my heart and with a great passion. Realizing that, was a little disappointing to me. I should Worship like that all the time. I was so excited to see so many who usually don't worship, cry out to God and hunger for Him. It doesn't matter if we had a bad day, if we don't like that song, or if the person sitting next to us can't sing...THOSE THINGS DON'T MATTER! Worship isn't about us, It's about God! He gave us life and all he asks of us is that we praise him and follow his rules. Wouldn't you want something you breathed life and poured your heart into to praise you? I think it's the least we could do if not more. We should want to praise God. It shouldn't take a retreat to get you to worship.

Another thing I realized is how I try to do things on my own. I was reading in Psalm 121 and 123 about how we should look to God for help.We should lift our eyes to him because our help comes from him; nothing else. He is the all time, undisputed, undefeated champion of love! The song the House wrote really gets that point. It says:

"I thank you

I thank you

I thank you

For your faithful love

I love you

I love you

I love you

for your faithful love

I praise you

I praise you

I praise you

for your faithful love"

"You've been my father, you've been my friend

You've been there for me,love without end

I don't deserve all the love that you've shown

amazed that you still choose to call me your own

I'm never alone"

God never leaves us alone. He is always and forever will be. He always has been. I long to continue the passion I had from the Deepening, and I still hunger after God even more. God is there when we gather in his name..Don't you want to feel God every time we worship and pray? I loved being in his presence and want to stay there.