Sink or Swim, Jump or Dive

Sink or Swim
Sometimes I get to thinking about the above phrase because sometimes I feel like I am just ready to sink instead of using the strength to swim. There are often times that I feel as though I don't have the strength to swim.In Romans 8:18 it says that," For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revelaed in us." That verse hit me hard when I read it, because the fact that it is telling me that through my suffering there will be glory that comes out of it. That gives me the hope and the STRENGTH to swim. If even that don't give you strength to swim it at least gives the strength to float(which means your head is still above water and you haven't sunk)As long as your head is above the water then there is always joy that comes in the morning. Once you let yourself sink then the struggle is harder to get back above water. Its just like fishing. When you fish you have a bobber that floats above the water to tell you when a fish is nibbling at the bait. Once a fish grabs a hold of it what does it do? IT goes under water and in order to get that bobber above water you have to fight that fish. It is the same thing we have to do as humans. Once our head goes under the water we have to fight the devil to get it back above. So even if you have to temporarly float, its better than sinking.
Jump or Dive
Now that we have built up the strength through the word of God we have the question, do we jump or dive? What am I talking about? Well, there are those times that we are faced with the situation where we have to answer questions about who we are and what we believe. Before you start to answer them think am I going to jump or dive. Granted there are times and places that you will need to just jump in situations, but when able why not dive? Why not make a huge slash and let them know exactly what they wanted to know. Now you are probably asking the difference between a jump and a dive. The thing that is different is the SLASH. What are they going to remember more, a little stirring of the water or a huge wave. The huge wave is going to catch my attention faster than a little movement of the water. Psalms 118:28 says," Thou are my God, and I will praise thee: thou art my God, I will exalt thee." Praise the Lord with a slash.
Until next time guys keep your head up and your heart right. Good Luck to ya'll as you go and turn your schools upside down.........

?*?DeSiRE or FiRe?*?

Well it is 12:46 am and I am wide awake... Want to know the reason I am wide awake? It is because I am reading the book of Revelations... I do have to day that their are some parts of this book that are a little on the confusing side, but it is a very interesting book....I have read over it in the past but have never just sat down and read it.... I would have to say that the message that Bro. Harrelson preached Sunday night was a life changing message.... It will by far beat any other message that I have ever heard.....To be honest it was not all about the message that moved me.... IT was about one word that I have used in a previous blog... A word that I have grown to love..... That one life changing word is PASSION... When he preached you could feel and see the passion and desire that he has to live for God.... I was thinking on my way home from work tonight about that word.... YOu know we all say that we have the "want to" to live for God, but what case we got the pasison to live for God... Who knows what we could accomplish then... There is a huge differnece between a burden and a passion. The two words that come to mind that describe how different these words are is desire and fire....(its a plus that they rhyme)A burden is when you have a desrie to see something.. For example, when you say that you have a burden to see a family member saved then you have a desire for them. Oh but when you get the passion to see that family member saved; you light that fire... Eventually that fire is going to grow and spread.... Not saying that having aburden is bad, but when you have PASSION it takes you to a new ball field..... We(including myself) talk about growth in our youth group, but without a passion(fire) how are we going to accomplish this? I am sitting here listen to a song and here are a few of the words:
I want you to know that your about to break loose
Jesus took the keys and gave them to you
Heres what we got to do is...
Shake loose everything that binds us up
Who told you that you cant take it when God says that you can make it
Shake loose everything that binds you up
Praise him like its your last chance
Get up and do the Holy Ghost dance.......

I dont even have to say much more.......SHAKE LOOSE.........

Hey

Hey guys.... Don't have to much to say, but a little word from the heart... If you love God and trust him you will never be lead astray... There are some mountains that people have to climb, and there are times when it seems like you are climbing the mountain alone. Trust me your not... The one person that is always there is God... I know that the only way you fall and fail God is because you want to and he only person that can make the choice for you to live for God is you.... In the end it all boils down to you and God....Love you guys....sorry it isnt alot but......

.......Questions & Answers.......

I am sorry guys that I haven't posted in a while. I just returned home from picking up Stephen from South Carolina..I have to throw in there that he look awesome and that I am SO very proud of his accomplishment.Anywho, I have to say that the service that we had tonight is a service that moved me in a way that I needed to be moved...I recently hit a brick wall..... I recently had the Marine recruiter ask me a few questions about the bible.. It seems as he knew what he was talking about.. So.. I left there and was at LaBamba eating lunch with Monica, Michael, and Robbie, and it was bugging at me because I wanted to know the answer. So who do I call.. No other than Pastor Harrelson himself(and I get blamed for him leaving his shoes... when the truth is he just wanted new ones) One question that he asked me who translated the Bible from the Hebrew translation to the King James Version. I knew that he had to do something with King James but I wasn't sure about the rest. Then he was asking me about when they translated it what happened to the words that could not be translated to English(because there are some words that couldn't be translated to English) So I was stumped, and Bro. Harrelson recommended a book, and me being me I thought I would crack open that book, sit down and read it, and be able to go back and tell him how it is. How wrong was I... I opened up that book and didnt understand half the words(Give me a break;I did go to Rehobeth) So now I am having to take that book and piece by piece I am having to break it down. Which means that I am having to STUDY.....
The whole point of that story was told to get to this point... I heard someone say recently that sometimes God uses the heathens to help us spiritually.... Well, us being young people, we sometimes think that we are a little too busy to study that word of God. We just have twenty other thing to do, that seems a little more important. I know that God sends those pestering heathens that think that know everything about the Bible to challenge us. I know when I have people ask me things that I don't know about he Bible I dig, search, and study until I know the answer.. That is Gods way of getting my attention....I know that I am tryuly blessed to be where I am at now... I have an undescribable youth group that has a love and a passion for God, and a great board of leaders that I look up to and strive to be like.....Last year at camp Bro Matt Maddix came and preached to us, and the word that he repeadly used was the word passion. Bro. Philp Harrelson always describes our church as intense, and with the same token I would ahve to say passionate... Our church has the PASSION to live for God. That is why I am truly blessed....

Called?

I just started reading a book by Bret Coolry called, Called, Sent, or Just Went. It is a book talking abou the calling of God in your life. I know that this is one of the things that I am constantly praying about. I know that I have a calling to do something for Gods kingdom, but just haven't figured it out yet. In this book the word "called" is defined as" to demand or request the presence or service of; to bring to summons." I started mulling over that thought and realized that we are all called. I am so impatient and I want everything to just hurry and fall into place when I want it to, but that isn't how God operates. The defintion said that called was to demand or request,and yes we can request it or even demand it but if isnt; the will of God then it isn't going to be revealed to us just yet. A calling is a 1-2-3 step process. God leads us one step at a time, and one foot in front of the other. In this book it makes the statment, "A calling is more than just a desire or burden to do something for god, it is an inner conviction, impression, or perhaps even an audible voice from God." So the question that I periodically ask myself when I am in prayer is, "Stacy, are you willing to wait and be patient to know Gods will or be impatient and fulfull the desires of the flesh." Meaning am I willing to wait upon the Lord or take my life in my hands. The answer is just WAIT. I get so upset and discouraged sometimes because I feel as I am stuck in the same spot, but I know when I leave this rugged ole' spot then I be somewhere great that God wants me to be. When in the end I know that what God has for me will far exceed my expectations...

Independence

Independence Day.. What does that really mean? I am so happy with the freedoms that we are granted as Americans, but the fourth of July is more than that. I am celebrating the fact that I have freedom to worship and praise God. To be in a country that I don't have to worry about the goverment killing me for trying to spread the gospel.I was talking to a friend the other day and we were talking about living in truth. Sometimes we take for granted the liberty of the spirit we feel. I have tried to make it a habit that everytime I go to church that I pray for the liberty in our alter. Sometimes it takes us a little while to realize what we are blessed to feel when we walk in Gods presence. It seems like alot of the time we don't realize what we have until it is gone. That is one thing that I pray that doesn't happen. To be able to stand behind a pew and raise my hands and worship is what I love to do. To search and study his word for new and exciting things. That is what I am celebrating this fourth of July. The fact that God is so good and his mercy endureth forever. Happy Fourth Of July...

SPACE PETS......

Now if you are a young person in the youth group and was there Friday night then you know what my title means. This blog is for the people who might look at it, and don't know what it means....
S---Sin to Confess
P---Promise to Claim
A---Attitude to change
C---Command to obey
E---Example to follow

P---Prayers to pray
E---Error to avoid
T---Truth to be believed
S---Something to thank God for

Ok.. I know that some people might be wondering what am I talking about. Well,our pastor was talking to us at our youth service this past Friday night and the subject of his teaching was, "How Do I Study My Bible." The space pets is basically an outline guide to doing a bible study..... We were actually learning how to do Bible studies in my Sunday school class but I guess that I never realized how helpful that this acronym really is. He went into detail(as much as time would allow) and basically is helping us understand that the Bible is actually a book of answers. I have for so long used the excuse that the Bible is hard to read, well I can't use that one anymore. The Bible is my guide to LIFE and I finally realized that as long as I have that then I will always have somewhere to turn to find answers. Even though some might be harder to find than others.

Now I am going to ask a question and I would love to hear all of your responses, and don't be afraid to answer them honestly. Hopefully you will so I can have an idea of how you guys feel..... In your own opinion what is the hardest part of witnessing to people, and what do you think you can do to change that? Better yet, what as a a group can we do to change that? I want you guys to give me detailed answers. I know that we need to pray and fast about it, but rack your brain and give me some good feedback....

ME

As an Apostolic Pentecoastal teenager living in this harsh and cruel generation is nothing close to being easy. I have heard so many preachers preach about how the generation that the young people are growing up in today was ten times as worse as it was 30 years ago. I would have to say that is true. I am just beginning to understand the importance of really being grounded in the church. To have a love and PASSION to live for God, a desire to worship, and a humbleness to his spirit. I am 19 years old and I haven't always lived in this truth. I started attending the local Pentecostal church at a young age of 6. The only reason that I was going was because the lady that my daddy was with( who later turned out to be my step-mom of 14 years)was a backslid Pentecostal. She realized that she wanted a family that loved God and attended church. Well over the next 13 years alot happened in my life. Some was good and some was bad, but the one thing that i have come to realize was that all the bad made me the person that I am. I have been through the valleys and on the mountain tops, but I have always remembered what Gods word said. It tells me that he God will not put more on me than I can bare.Which to be honest sometimes I wonder what God thinks is too much, but then he hits me upside the head and I remember he has all control.
I mentioned earlier about learning to have a love and passion to live for God. I periodically sit down and just remember back about 10 years ago. I was 9 years old and was then attending the Pentecostal church every Sunday. I knew that it was different and that they worshipped different, but I was still kind of confused about this semi-new relegion. The next few years consisted of me learning through Sunday school about all what the church believed and why we believed what we did. Then as time progressed I recieved the gift of the Holy Ghost and was baptized in the name of Jesus. I finally got to feel and experience the joy and the happiness that everyone had always talked about. Yet though for every victory there are battles. I have had a share of battles but with Gods grace and mercy I always seem to make it through. When I was about 12 years old I was invited by a close friend to come to youth service on Friday nights known as Power Supply. I went and loved it because not only was there games to be played and friends to talk to, but the presence of God was there. I still to this day attend every Power Supply unless I the reasons are out of my control. As I have grown older I have realized that all the problems and struggles that seemed so big when I was younger were just speed bumps to help prepare me for now. So I'm ending with this thought today. When the mountains seem so tall and we think we are never going to make it to the top, we have to remember that Jesus carried that cross up a hill for us. So the burden and struggle that we are facing may seem huge and heavy , but it will never compare to the weight of the cross that Jesus carried.

LIFE........

Well, its hard to know where to begin on these things... For starters my name is Stacy, and I am one of the many teenagers in this world. I guess most people when they read other peoples blogs they are wanting to know how they look, how much they weigh , and what they like in a guy/ girl. Well, this blog is alot different than those; this blog is kinda like a story unfolding. What kind of story you ask. Its a story about a teenage girl who is in the hardest and most trying journey she has ever experienced. She is at the point where she is having to find out what God has in store for her down the different roads, and what the consequences are for trying to decide them for herself. What journey is she taking you ask. Well my friend this journey is called the journey of LIFE, and yes I am the one walking the dirt road of this journey.