Story Time

Some of the best stories begin with, "Once upon a time..." Stories are wonderful. I love all kinds of stories: funny, sad, dramatic, romantic. I think I like stories so much, because I like people so much. I love to find out about people and hear their stories. We all have stories to tell: things that happened at school, memories, jokes, things we read. Our whole lives are stories, and we are the main characters. The stories I love to hear about are stories that have to do with meeting Jesus. They aren't just, "once upon a time," but they are a specific time, they are life changing, and most importantly, they are true.

A couple weeks ago I had the honor and privilege to baptize a few students. Baptism is the public declaration and celebration of a person's life-long commitment to follow and obey Jesus. Usually when a person is baptized they share their story, called a testimony. It's the story of how they came to know, trust, and believe in Jesus, and explain what He is doing in their lives now. Our students didn't get to share their testimonies. So this Wednesday those students who were baptized will get to share their testimony, their story of how they met Jesus, and what He is doing in their lives now. I will also be sharing my story, and we'll all figure out what our own story is. So join us this Wednesday at Crash as we look at what our story is, so don't miss out. Hope to see you there.

What I'm Thankful For

Next Thursday is Thanksgiving. I just love this time of year. It gets a little cooler, love and joy is in the air. I can't forget about Turkey Dinners! I love turkey and stuffing, and pumpkin pie. It's awesome. Thanksgiving is also a time when we think about what we're thankful for.

Here's what I am thankful for:
1. My Family (My Dad, My Mom, My Brother, My Sister & My Sister-In-Law)
2. My Friends (too numourous to list. You know who you are)
3. God (His Love, Mercy & Grace)
4. God's Provisions (Breath, Food, Shelter, Clothes)
5. My Country (that I have freedom)
6. Love & Acceptance (from friends and family)
7. Desert Springs Church (for being an awesome community of support and encouragement)
8. Crash (and every student that's a part of it, and everyone that helps make it what it is)
9. The Simple Things (that make me smile and think about God)
10. Coffee (For the energy it gives me and the enjoyment I get from the taste)
11. All The Traveling I've Done (I got to see the world, and it was awesome)
12. Pumpkins (for all the good things you can make with it, like pumpkin pie, and pumkin spice latte)
13. Cameras (to remember the fun times.)
14. Computers (to make life organized and easier)
15. A/C (for keeping me cool in the summer)

To list a few.... So this week I have a question for all of you, "What are you most thankful for?"

Are You Annoying?

A friend of mine stated on facebook, "Dear major corporations, please stop using annoying people to do your commercials. I will never buy your products if your spokesman is obnoxious." How true is this? The commercials and spokesmen who are annoying or obnoxious make us not want to buy the product. It turns us off. There are a few commercials I find SUPER annoying. They are not funny or clever. Because of how annoying they are, I will go out of my way to make sure I don't buy those products.

Annoying and obnoxious people turn us off. It's even a proverb. Proverbs 27:14, "If anyone loudly blesses their neighbor early in the morning, it will be taken as a curse." Its a funny verse, but it's so true, even for us as Christians. As God's spokesmen, what we do & what we say matters, but so does HOW we do & say it. God tells us to tell others about Him. It's the job of a witness, a spokesman, an ambassador. But if we are telling others about God in an annoying way, it will turn them off. They will count it as a curse. Jesus was never annoying but full of love. Everything He said was out of love (even some of the mean things He said about the Pharisees).

So the questions you have to ask yourself are, "Am I annoying in how I am telling people about God? Is it out of love? How are they perceiving it?" All junior high students are welcome to join us in Crash, as we figure out how we can be good, effective, loving spokesmen without being annoying. I hope to see you all there.

The Best Feeling In The World... Sort Of

So today is not Thursday. I had Thursday off. Although we did have to reschedule the girls Crash Choices Camp-In, I will answer another couple personal questions based on a choice I made. The questions are these, "Do you believe in keeping your first kiss till you're married?" and, "Have you had your first kiss yet?"

To answer the second question, yes, I have had my first kiss. It was the spring of my 8th grade year and it was to Estre (yes, that's how she spelled it, and it was short for a longer name). I remember, I had liked her A LOT. She was pretty, she was smart and she was funny. We had been friends for all of my 8th grade year.

Well, one day I had roller-bladed to her house. We were hanging out in her dad's library/downstairs-living-room-area alone. I had liked her for a long time, and I finally had gotten the guts to talk to her about it. As we were talking I leaned in and kissed her, and she didn't pull back. So we kissed. shortly after that, I left. I remember rollerblading home (cause I roller-bladed everywhere in junior high) and I felt on top of the world. I felt like nothing could stop me. It was the best feeling in the world...sort of. It was until I later asked her what it meant and she told me it had meant nothing. See I thought we were boyfriend/girlfriend. Boy was I wrong. Once we got to high school, I found out she had started dating someone. I was crushed.

Which brings me to my answer about the first question. I believe that kissing is part of dating. It is a form of PDA (Public Displays of Affection) to show, well your affection. I do believe kisses should be saved. Kisses should be reserved for special people in your life, people you like more than a friend. It's not something you should give to everyone. In fact, the longer you wait, the better the kiss, the experience, the memory. Then there's real emotion and meaning behind it, then it's all the more special.

As I have said before, purity is a direction. If kissing someone is going to make you think and want to do more, then you totally should NOT do it. But if it's something you can do, to show affection and end it there, then maybe you should, I don't know. It's your choice. I think it's something you should talk to your parents about. See, it's all about the direction you are headed. Are you headed toward purity and guarding it, or not? It's your choice and I want to encourage you to choose purity.

It Matters 24-7

Back in 2009, Olympic Medal winner Michael Phelps made a poor choice. It was bad, it was a scandal; he decided to use illegal drugs. Because of his actions He was suspended from swimming. He almost lost everything he loved, because of his poor choice. Not only was he suspended, but he also lost many endorsements as well. Many company's saw how he had acted, and decided they didn't want someone who did that to be their spokesman, to endorse their product. How was he caught you ask? Well, someone took a picture of him, and he probably didn't even realize it. How he acts, matters. People look up to him. He is a role model 24-7, whether he thinks people are watching or not.

In a way, Christians are like Michael Phelps. We are role models 24-7. How we act, is how God acts... at least in the minds of others. This is why is very important to always make good decisions & choices which will uplift God, not make Him sad or mad. We represent God with our actions. It's very important to remember this.

Gandhi once said, "I like your Christ; I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ." In the past Christians have given themselves a bad name, because of a lack of love, or being hypocritical. If we are representatives of God, then people will think of God depending on what they think of us. The choices that we make always matters. So let me ask you this, do you represent God with your actions and the things that you do? All Jr. High students are welcome to join us tomorrow night as we continue to look at how we represent God, to others, through our actions.

The Worst Feeling In The World

This Friday kicks off the Crash Choices Camp-In. The guys will meet this Friday at 5:30 and have a lock-in up in the Loft. We'll have fun and play games, but more importantly we'll talk about the choices we are faced with, making good God pleasing choices, and what it means to be a man of God. In honor of Choices Camp-In, I'm going to answer a question that has to deal with choices some of you may be faced with. The question is, "Have you ever drank [alcohol] in your life?" and "have you ever gotten drunk?"

Before I answer this question, let's look at what the Bible has to say about alcohol. One of Jesus' first recorded miracles was changing water to wine in John chapter 2. In Ephesians 5:18, Paul says, "Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead be filled with the Spirit." Debauchery is doing lots of things to in the flesh, momentarily feel good, like sin. Paul tells us not to get drunk, because it'll trap us in sin. Rather we should be filled with the Holy Spirit. We shouldn't let pleasures drive and control us, but we should let God drive and control us. What you need to realize is, alcohol makes you loose control. Not only does it slow down your reaction time (which is why no one should ever drive after drinking alcohol), but you may say and do things you wouldn't normally do.

I don't believe God is necessarily opposed to alcohol. God's word reminds us that not only with alcohol, but with anything, it shouldn't be in excess. We shouldn't allow ourselves to be driven or controlled by anything other than God. Also God tells us to respect authority. The law in this country is that those 21 years old or older can drink alcohol, God tells us to honor and respect that (So none of you students should be drinking). Also, we shouldn't cause another Christian to stumble. Drinking may be fine for you (when you're 21) but for a friend of yours it may not be. He may be an alcoholic (someone who is addicted to alcohol). You never know, so you need to be careful where you drink and who you drink around.

That having been said, here is my answers to the questions. I have had alcohol and I have gotten drunk (had too much alcohol). It was the worst feeling in the world for me. I was not in control of myself. Worse, I threw up many, many times, and my body just ached. Think of the worst you've felt when you've been sick, now multiply that by 10. I do not recommend any of you feel like that. I do not recommend that any of you get drunk.

This week and next we'll be talking about choices that we make and are faced with at the Crash Choices Camp-In. The choice to get drunk was not a good choice, it was not, "being filled with the Holy Spirit." It was a choice that I made, that was NOT glorifying to God. As we have all made good and bad choices, this is one of those bad choices that I am not proud of, that I regret. I want to encourage you NOT to make the same choice.

You'll Eat Those Words...

Have you ever heard the phrase "Open mouth, insert foot," or "You'll eat those words"? They both basically mean that you'll be sorry you said that. Everyone has these moments, where something comes out, you say something you regret. Sometimes we catch it quick, or realize what we said and other times we don't. I remember when I was joking around with friends and I said, "your mom!" It wasn't until a while after the words came out of my mouth, that I realized someone took it personally, and was really hurt. I regretted I had said it.

It is not hard to find celebrities who said things they later regret, and have had to issue apologies. Stars like Michael Richards, Mel Gibson, Christian Bale and Kanye West. A talk show host named Dr. Laura used a racial slur on the air. Gray's Anatomy star Isaiah Washington got into a heated debate and said used a slur (which he apologized for) I've definitely heard come out of the mouths of Jr. High students. The result of their actions lost them respect, money and in some cases their jobs. What you say represents not only who you are, but the kind of person you are. I think celebrities above all people, while they sometimes fail at this, realize more than most that they not only represent themselves, but also represent their show or movie, as well as the company's and products they endorse.

If you call yourself a Christian, you represent God, even in what you say. Paul says in Ephesians 5:1 & 4, "Be imitators of God, therefore as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us... Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving." If we represent Christ, we represent Him with what we say, even if we are joking. Join us tomorrow night as we continue to discuss how we are spokesmen for God, how we represent Him, and thus must honor Him with the words that we use & the things that we say.