Youth Camp: 4-week Perspective

Today I was looking again at the pictures I took at camp. I look at them over and over because I want to be reminded of the great time we had and all that took place. I want to get a glimpse of the great spirit that was there all week. Pure and innocent.

It's been four weeks since we got back from camp. The first two weeks I was doing really good; many teens in our youth group were excited about serving God and it kind of spilled over into the whole church for a time. We had zeal! I wanted to hold onto that excitement so bad because I guess in the back of my mind I knew it wouldn't last forever . . . but I wanted it to. I thought that if I read my Bible enough, prayed enough, and stayed away from wickedness as much as possible then I would be eager to serve God every day and I would always be filled with an abundance of love for Christ. And I tried to do just that.

But it didn't work.

Once I was back from camp I had to go back to work. That meant I heard cussing (thankfully, it's not very often), I saw immodest dress, I saw lots of attitude, I saw coldness towards anything Godly, I heard worldly music when I went into the grocery store and restaurants, I was tempted to turn the TV on, and I was encouraged to just do what feels right. I no longer went to church twice a day, I didn't listen to 3-4 sermons within 24 hours, I wasn't around many Christians, I wasn't in an atmosphere that shunned County music and cussing, I didn't have the chance to pray with 10-60 like minded Christians throughout the day, I wasn't in a place that encouraged girls to dress modest, and I wasn't constantly reminded to read my Bible and pray. I was no longer at Bible camp and it was evident!

The first day that I didn't feel like spending 30 minutes in prayer I was discouraged. Only two weeks and already I'm slacking? But then I started thinking about an illustration a preacher once gave. Did you know that before the flood there was a canopy of water that surrounded the earth? This canopy would shield off any harmful radiation that came from outer space. This meant that people would live much longer. This makes sense when you realize that Adam lived to be 930 years old and Methuselah lived 969 years, yet after the flood the age expectancy dropped dramatically. It is also believed that plants also thrived and grew much larger and stronger all because of the environment they were in.

That's kind of how I think of camp verses the world we live in every day. At camp we are shielded from as much wickedness as possible. No TV, no secular music, no immodest dress, etc. Because we are not exposed to those sinful attractions we are free to live for God to the greatest extent. Christians should thrive in that kind of atmosphere. But once that shield is broken we have to live in a totally different atmosphere that effects every part of our lives.

But this doesn't mean that we should give into the struggles of this world and live for Christ half-heartedly. It just means that we have to try harder. Christian living isn't being given to us like it was at camp so we have to get it our self.  It isn't as easy, but it can be done. We may not be as excited, but we still need to serve God with everything that we have. We have to read our Bible and pray when we don't feel like it, we have to make our self smile when we're singing at church, and we have to go out of our way to seek what God wants us to do.

And as always . . . be reminded of the good days at camp.

Excuses, Excuses!

Remember the song that use to be on the radio all the time? "Excuses, Excuses, we hear them every day. And the devil he'll supply them, if the church you'll stay away. . . " Well, unfortunatly, we find pleanty of excuses not to serve God even when we are at church. One of them that I've found myself using pretty often is, "Things are harder now then they use to be back then. We have so many more temptations and not enough Godly influence." It sounds great, but is it in the Bible? What scripture can I find to back that up? I did  find a place where Cain slew his brother. That was awful! It's one thing to kill someone who is your enemy or someone you don't know personally, but killing your only brother is pretty crucial! And what about the King committing adultery? Sounds like something that would go on today, doesn't it? Then I came across a place in the Bible where Sodomy was being lived very openly . . . probably just as bad as it is in Callifornia.

Last week I started reading The Pursuit of God (a gift from my great friend Katie!). In the preface A. W. Tozer writes, "Current evangelicalism has laid the altar and divided the sacrifice into parts, but now seem satisfied to count the stones and rearrange the pieces with never a care that there is not a sign of fire upon the top of lofty Carmel . . . They minister constantly to believers who feel within their breasts a longing which their teaching simply does not satisfy." Remember, this was written in 1948, that's 62 years ago. How many of us have thought, "If I could have just lived 50 years ago I would be a better Christian"?

He went on to say, " . . . I wonder if there was ever a time when true spiritual worship was at a lower ebb. To great section of the Church the art of worship has been lost entirely, and in its place has come that strange and foreign thing called the "program." This word has been borrowed from the stage and applied with sad wisdom to the type of public service which now passes for worship among us."

 This world was in a horrible state 62 years ago, yet Christians still lived on strong. I'm sure that if I were to look hard enough I could find even older references to the wicked state of this world, wickedness that we are somehow convinced to believe only exsists in the twenty first centry. But the truth of the matter is this: Christians have been living in an evil world ever sence Eve took the first bite out of the fruit which came from the Tree of Good and Evil. The atmosphere in which we live in does not give us any reason to serve God with less vigor then the great Christians who served before us. May we all strive to be the best Christian that ever lived, in a time when it is need just as bad as it ever was.

My Life the Past Few Weeks . . .

Since it's been a long time since I've posted anything I thought I'd show my face in the blog world so that everyone doesn't forget that I exist. It's clear that my goal right now is not to keep a lot of readers because if that were my goal then I would be failing miserably! Nevertheless, I do enjoy blogging from time to time and maybe one day I will once again be a faithful writer in the Internet world.

Lately I've been reading Miss Jen's blog, Blessed Femina. Every time I visit her (Internet speaking) I drool over her beautiful creations and make good intentions to sew something as elegant as her projects. Tonight I finally put my good intentions to work and started making a weaved pot holder. Since she did such a wonderful job presenting this unique art I won't show you mine, you'll just have to go over to her blog to check it out. So far mine is turning out fairly well and I am having a lot of fun! If it turns out good I might post a picture or two for you to see.

But I haven't been spending my all my time reading blogs and sewing pot holders. In the past few weeks God has shown me how much I don't know about the Bible. It's no secret that I don't like to study, but since I have been raised in church and have been a born again believer since I was 6 I am ashamed to admit to all the things I don't know. I have come across three people, who are completely unrelated, who have inspired me to dig deeper into the Word of God so that I will have a better understanding of how God wants me to live and what he requires of me. After all, shouldn't I have a desire to know why I believe it is wrong to gamble? Shouldn't I be able to know what the Bible says about drinking? What exactly is the purpose of the church according to the sciptures? Isn't it good to be able to talk confidently of my beleifs because I have studied them out myself instead of just taking my parent's or pastor's word? These are some of the questions that have been going through my head. I could probably answer each one in a somewhat true form, but I don't know if I could back them up with scriptures without grabbing a Strongs concordance and Naves Topical Bible. I am starting to realize just how much people take on the beliefs of their denomination without studying them out to see what God says. It is as if we are all living by our denomination . . . not the Bible. But I can't judge anyone because I've done the same thing. Thankfully, it is never too late to give up old habits and start new ones . . . and today seems like a great day to start!

The Desire of an Eight Year Old

Since I have been in the piano playing mood lately I thought I would share my story with y'all of how I got started. Just for the record: I like to play the piano more than I like to sing! If it came down to it, I would much rather play the piano in front of a large crowd then sing a solo in front of a small one.

It all started when I was eight years old. I distinctly remember hearing my pastor's wife sing, "Sweet Holy Spirit" while she played the piano. I also remember that she was the only one in the church who could play the piano for herself to sing. Everyone else used a tape. (That was before CD's came out!) Mama said that I went to her and daddy and told them that I wanted to learn how to play the piano so that I could sing in church. My parents realized that this could be a passing whim, so they didn't act upon it right away, but told me to pray about it. I obviously didn't give up because soon my parents were looking for a piano!

They came across a lady who wanted to sell her daughter's piano since she had moved out and never came back for it. The lady wouldn't give my parents a price but told them to "take it home, get it tuned, and see what you think." Meanwhile I was spending the night at a friend's house I had no idea that a piano was being moved in to our living room! Then next morning at church mama told me there was a surprise waiting for me at home . . . even some of our church family knew about it because I still remember Bro. Kelly telling me that "You're really going to like your surprise!" The suspense was eating me up! On the way home I told them that I was going to go to my room and close my eyes so that they could just put it in my lap. I was clueless!

When I walked in the front door of our house and saw the piano sitting against the wall I was happy to the point of tears! I couldn't believe I had my own piano!

Soon I started taking lessons from a preacher's wife, I was 9 years old by this time. I loved learning and some people said I learned fast, especially when it came to hymns!

When I was 11 years old the piano player in our small church left to go to another church leaving me to be the only piano player. I only knew 4 hymns, but that was a lot better than singing without music, so we sang those songs until I learned new ones . . . which was pretty fast. Within a year I had learned over 100 songs and was even playing for the youth chior! It was starting to become very evident that God had a speacial plan for me. A plan that involved the piano and singing.

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I am still amazed at how God used a small desire that he placed in my heart while I was eight years old to do such a work in my life. I am a very shy person and at first glance many would be surpized to hear how often I have to get in front of people to play the piano and sing. Being active in music has helped my self confidence that otherwise may not even exsist had it not been for the piano. When I feel like giving in to my embarassment and quit playing the piano in church God always reminds me that this talent belongs to God and I have no right to quit.

Over the years God has opened up many doors for me and my brothers and sisters to sing and play the piano in church and nusing homes. Sometime I love it, other times I come just short of vowing to never set hands on the piano again! But overall I have a passion for music that will always stay with me. Some day I hope to give piano lessons (besides me brother and sisters who I already teach) so that I can share my love to play the piano for God with others. Who knows, maybe someday I will be an inspiration to a little child which may be the beginning of a life lived for the glory of God through the piano. That would be the most wonderful accomplishment of all!

A Love For Singing

My memories of singing in a youth choir goes back to as far as I can remember anything. Mama has told me many times about the first time I probably sang in the choir when I was only 3 or 4. She said I decided I wanted to get up there with the other kids to sing. After I got in front of the whole church everyone started to smile at "little Jennifer" and I imagine they were all saying "Awww! How cute!" I was so embarrassed that I pulled my dress up over my face not realizing I was showing my undergarments and stomach! As you can imagine, the "Aww!"s turned to laughter! Fortunately, that didn't stop me from singing!

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But the memories I always go back to are of the days we sang with Mrs. Carol. She and her family loved to sing and they did a pretty good job at it too. She always seemed to enjoy teaching us and chose fun songs that had a great message. Her husband, Bro. Timmy, would sometimes jump in on the choir practice and give us some advise . . . and a few threats! I'll never forget the time he told us that if we didn't smile while we were singing he was going to call on us to testify. That scared me to the point that I smiled bigger than anyone else in the whole youth group! But he didn't just leave us with that, he told us how important it was for us to smile and that if we smiled our singing would sound so much better.

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From then on I've always sang with a smile. I did it then because Bro. Timmy told me too, but now I do it because I love to sing! I've learned that it's not important that kids learn the different parts or they sound perfect. All God asks for is a joyful noise, not necessarily a perfect one.

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Now Bro. Timmy and Mrs. Carol are gone and I haven't found a youth choir that I enjoy as much as that one. But we are still singing. The love they placed in my heart (and hopefully my siblings') will last for a long time - hopefully forever.

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Recently God has shown me that it is now my responsibility to not just teach other children how to sing, but to give them a love to sing. This doesn't mean that I'm going to start a youth choir next week or even in the coming months, but some day God may give the the opportunity to do so. I've already started with my siblings, and I may be unconsciously planning seeds in other's hearts now by simply showing them how much I like to sing to my God.

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Through this God showed me that God doesn't always require you to serve him in a way that will take you out of your comfort zone. He gives us talents for a reason. My talent lies within making joyful noises to the LORD so I hope I can use it for Him in many ways!

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"Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands! Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing." Psalms 100:1-2

Lesson From a Bad Week

This Friday through Sunday our church had a youth revival for everyone in the community. Ever since I heard about it months ago I have eagerly waited for the days to arrive. I have looked forward to this revival more then any other revival I have been to in a long time because the last meeting (with the same preacher) was such a blessing and this time I would get to hear his son (a young man who I grew up with) preach out of the word of God.

But I don't think the devil wanted us to have revival. In fact I know for sure that he was against the whole thing! All week I have been struggling to keep my mind on God and everything seemed to be going against me. One day I was in a really bad mood, the next night I couldn't' sleep, then my back started hurting. . . I'm not trying to start a pity party for myself, I'm just making a point. The devil was fighting all week!

By Thursday (the day before revival started) I knew I needed to get through to God and let Him refresh my heart. So I went to the book of Job to see what he did when everything seemed to be going against him. Let me remind you what he went through just in the first chapter of Job. All his oxen were taken my the Sabeans, his sheep were killed by fire from heaven, (there goes everything that made him money and provided his living) the Chaldeans carried away his camels, (no more transportation) most or all of his servants were killed, and worst of all his children died. What did Job do? Did he curse God? Did he ask God "Where are you?" Did he give up on serving God? What did Job do?

"Then Job arose, and rent his mantle, and shaved his head, and fell down upon the ground, and worshiped. And said, Naked came I our of my mother's womb, and naked shall I return thither: the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD." Job 1. 20-21

So there I sat, feeling like everything was going wrong but still realizing that my troubles were nothing compared to Job. What did I do? I worshipped. And you know what? Everything was okay after that! Blessed be the name of the LORD!

Sighting in My Scope

For years the guys in my family have loved to hunt. Winter time in their mind means deer, hunting clubs, and guns. Right before hunting season comes around my dad and two brothers will eagerly pull out their guns to prepare them for the spot. They polish them, grease them down, and then try them out on a target. If they miss the target they know their scope is most likely out of focus and needs to be sighted in. Once their scope is set aright the target is a lot easier to hit. Throughout the season they have to carefully guard their fire arm because any little bump will knock the scope out of focus.

Last week I realized my scope is out of focus. No, I don't own a gun. I'm referring to the way I view life. This week it has been reset and now the target is so much clearer!

It all started Sunday morning, the beginning of our church's mission conference. Four native missionaries came to our church to share their burden with us in hopes that more souls might be saved. They came from Vietnam, Kenya, Chile, and the Philippines. Although from different countries and lifestyles, during the meeting these men joined their hearts in unity and sang about the God they all served. Since I am a lover of music I noticed that they were not always on key, and no, there were no four-part harmony. But since I am also a lover of God and those who love Him, I also noticed that these brothers in Christ were singing with their whole hearts in love towards their Savior. I believe God was more pleased with their offering of praise then any church choir I've ever sung in where the harmony and timing were perfect.

Throughout the four day conference I had the privilege to hear these missionaries testimonies of heart ache and victories. I can't imagine what it would be like to know that my father died for preaching the Word, and then go on and preach myself. I can't begin to comprehend the joy one dear brother experienced when he left a life of serving idols to become a follower of Christ and a leader to his family who followed in his foot steps.

The missionary from Vietnam preached on setting your heart on things eternal rather then things that are temporary. I couldn't help but examine my life and ask, What am I doing that matters to God? Working at a hospital and going to college for Medical Billing is not helping souls come to Christ. Singing for God is a good thing but can easily become very routine and commonplace. What am I doing that will make a difference? What am I really living for?

I have discovered that when I have something to live for - when that something is God's will - my whole life becomes fuller! I now have a reason to work hard because that hard work will turn into money that I will be able to give back to God. I now have something I can give my hobbies and talents too. I now can make a difference as I strive to serve God!

All week my mind has been going back to the scripture the missionary from Vietnam read. "And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be." Rev. 22:12. When that day comes I don't want to be ashamed because I have no reward to lay at Jesus' feet. I want to build up treasures where ti counts the most. So I keep my heart in check, sight in my scope, and try to reach the target!

Traveling Back to Bible Times

This summer our churches' theme for Vacation Bible School was The Holy Land. The whole week was so much fun for everyone! Bethany and I helped out while Phillip and Amy traveled around "Jerusalem". I hope this long post does not bore you, but to do a half decent job of describing it requires a long post.


The City
A numerous amount of people from our church helped out in so many ways. The first thing that had to be done was the decorating. In one week our gym was turned into the city of Jerusalem as it was in the time that Jesus lived. It was amazing! In the city were the tribes of Israel, the gathering place, the synagogue, and the market place.

The Tribes
Instead of having groups by ages or grades, we divided the kids of all ages into "tribes". Unfortunately, we did not have enough to have 12, so we only had 8. The tribe leaders lead them around to different places in the city, and taught them about Jesus during "tribe time." Some tribes had their "home" set up in the rooms adjoining the gym or in the other buildings, while others were in tents outside.


The Gathering Place
This is where the day starts and ends. First we gather together and make two big circles for the traditional singing and dancing. One inner ring, and one outer ring. After we sang, we collected money for a missionary. While the children were in the gathering place they would be interupted by people from the village who heard some news of Jesus. These people (actually from our church) would perform a skit, then leave to go about their daily activities.


The Synagogue
This is where the children learned about the old testament way of worshiping God and how the boys and men started learning about the scriptures at a very young age. During their time in Synagogue, the children wrote letters in Hebrew, and sometimes made coordinating crafts.


The Market Place
This was my favorite spot to be! The church bought brown tents and set them up side by side with curtains or brown paper sheets in between to make them their own individual shop. It looked like an actual market place! On one side we had the basket making shop, the weaving shop where they made bread cloths, an instrument shop where they made little flutes, and the pottery shop where the children could make clay bowls. On the other side of the street was the carpenters shop where they made wooden spinning tops, the jewelry shop, the bakery where you could always find fresh bread and dips along with fruits of all kinds, and the farmers market where nuts and "wine" was given out. Down an alley you would find a candy shop filled with all sorts of goodies, and across from them was the herb and spice shop where two ladies showed the kids real herbs and spices. This was the busiest place to be!

The whole week was a lot of fun! I was so glad I helped out and can't wait to help out again next year!

::Here we are doing our serious pose. We don't know if they would have smiled in pictures or not because we don't have any to look at!::

I Love My Choir!

When I was turning 16 I was allowed to join the adult choir at our rather large church. Our choir usually has about 50-60 people on a full Sunday. From the first day I sang up in the choir loft I just LOVED it! I remember being amazed at how big the church looked from the choir loft and how neat it was to be able to look out at everyone while I sang.

Now, even though I have been in the choir a long time, I still love it! About a month ago I was able to share this experience with my younger sister Bethany who is 13. Now we are both able to enjoy singing and laugh about some of the things that happen during choir practice together.

Two weeks ago I really started noticing how great our choir is! Not just because of how we sound, or the song arrangements we sing, but because some of the people who sing are really singing to bring honor and glory to God. And our director . . . I believe he is the best choir leader our church could ever want!

Lately God has been showing up for our practice. One Sunday after we sang "Watch and See" we got into a long discussion about how important it is that we sing with all our heart so that the world can see God through us. We totally quit singing and just talked and praised the Lord for 25 minutes! While one man spoke of God's goodness a tear fell out of his eye. I don't think that happens in many churches. But our song leader knows that sounding perfect is not the most important thing. He has his eyes on the right goal: to shape our choir into an instrument that will honor and glorify God and in result, bring others closer to the Savior.

That is my choir, and I am proud to be a part of it!

Thoughts on Sunday School

Since I have grown up in church, I have been in many Sunday school classes in many churches. Some where fun, some were motivating, some were inspiring, while some where . . . well, boring. Certain classes I looked forward to going to, certain ones I just had to go to. There were times when I found myself wanting to go to Sunday school just because it was fun or I liked the other people in the class.

This past Sunday, after I was in a very enjoyable Sunday school class, I started to wonder, "What is Sunday school suppose to be?" Of course I understand that each level of classes have different needs and teachers, but what I have been pondering on lately is what the Sunday school for those who are able (or old enough) to understand true doctrine of the Word of God, is really suppose to be.

Sunday school was originally started to teach the poor how to read and write. Now Sunday School has a different purpose. It's purpose is to educate everyone in the Bible, or as my Sunday school teacher said, it is a Bible study. But how should we go about teaching the Bible? What are the most effective way to run a class?

Motivation to Work

A class I was previously in was very motivational. When I came out of Sunday school I was eager to do great things for God! The teacher accomplished this by telling many successful stories of Christians who have done great things for the Lord, and stories of those who have overcome hard times and still lived for God. As well, he always reminded us that everyone fails, but God gives us many new beginnings.

Motivation is a good thing, but when we start something to hastily because of the motivation of the moment, we may become discouraged when hard times come, and may give up completely. A class really needs more than just motivation to work for the Lord.

Motivation to Study

I am enjoying the class I am in right now very much. It is a lot different than the last one in the way that it is filled with more meat. After only two classes I saw that I really needed to study my Bible more. I knew I should have known some of the questions he asked, yet I could not think of the right answer or a scripture to back it up. After class last Sunday, me and my close friend continued to talk about the lesson and said that we were going to go home and study more on what we had been talking about. We were both motivated to study God's word because we saw that we didn't understand the topic as fully as we should. We both wanted to find out for our self what was true, and be able to defend our belief if the situation arrived.

The teacher brought forth this motivation by teaching on "deeper," yet important doctrines of the Bible that we were not firm on. If the motivation is carried out and we read God's Word diligently, what we learn from out studies will stay with us.

Conclusion

So which is better in a Sunday school environment? If motivation to work, then some who do not know the Bible well may get a hasty and eager desire to do something for God with out studying His word. I know God can use anybody, but I also believe that without God's Word, you will come upon difficulties that can only be solved by the knowledge of the scripture. Before we go out to battle we are to have our "loins girted about with truth," and our "feet shod with the preparation of of the gospel of peace;" (Eph. 6: 14 & 15). If we study the Bible diligently, we will receive our motivation to do great works from God and the scriptures.

Thus, I have come to the conclusion that a very important element in Sunday school is motivation to study the Bible. After all, if Sunday school is a Bible study, we should study more than just on Sunday morning. There is so much in the Bible to learn, once a week will not be enough time to learn even half as much as we need to. The study we start on Sunday should continue throughout the week.

" Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee." Psalms 119:11