Signing Off...

By now most of you have heard the news, that I'm stepping down as the Pastor of Junior High "Crash" Ministries at Desert Springs Church. It was not an easy decision for me to make. It took a lot of prayer and careful evaluation, but I feel like it's the right decision. It's time for me to move on to the next chapter of my life.

I will certainly miss all of you very much. You have no idea how much each of you have meant to me. We have laughed together, we have cried together, we have learned together and we have served together. I have so many fond memories with all of you. It has been my pleasure to see you grow up and mature in your faith. I love that I have been able to come along side you and point you to God. Know that this isn't a "goodbye," but rather it's an, "until next time." I definitely want to keep in touch with each of you and I want to continue to hear about your lives and celebrate with you in your victories.

Although there is sadness, there is also the excitement of seeing where God is taking me next. I can't wait to see where God is going to lead me. Last Sunday at Crash we talked about how we're on an adventure with God. We don't know where God is going to lead us, but we know that it'll be exciting and that He'll be with us every step of the way. I know that God has something wonderful in store for me and I can't wait to find out what that's going to be.

Please join me on Wednesday night as we hang out together and enjoy each other's company. We'll play games and have another night of fun. Also, this Sunday, October 9th, during the services there will be a party to celebrate the three years that I have served here at Desert Springs Church. This party will begin in Refresh at both services and is for all students and families (and really anyone) who want to come and say goodbye. This is also a chance for me to thank you. It has been a really great three years. I would love to see you all, so don't miss it.

May God bless you in all things. With much love, I'm Cameron Coulter... signing off.

Peace, Man

When you hear the word, 'peace,' what comes to mind? What emotions or pictures does it well up? When I think of peace, the first picture that comes to my mind is a picture of a hippie who is protesting a war. But, does peace just mean no fighting? What about the Cold War? There wasn't fighting, per say. But it definitely wasn't a very peaceful time.

Peace, according to Dictionary.com, means, "1. the normal non-warring condition of a nation, group of nations or the world. 2. freedom of the mind from annoyance, distraction, anxiety, an obsession, etc.; tranquility or serenity. 3. a state of tranquility or serenity." If that's the definition of peace, then I am positive we could all use a little peace in our lives. Especially in this economic climate, we are all a little anxious. To be free from all the annoyances and distractions in our lives, to be able to just sit, and rest and breathe- peace- that would be a more than welcome feeling.

Join us this Wednesday at Crash where we'll be continuing our series, Names of God. This week we'll explore the name 'Jehovah Shalom' which means, 'the LORD is our peace,' and discover how God can be our peace in times of struggle, tension, conflict and pain. I hope to see you all there.

Everything We Need

A hard truth that I had to learn growing up is that God does not give us everything we want. Even if we think that we absolutely need it and desperately ask God, He doesn't necessarily give it to us. If God gave us everything that we wanted, we'd be spoiled. We would see God as a genie in a lamp and not the Almighty Creator. If we got everything that we wanted, it would be unhealthy, because we would think that everything comes easy, and not hard and painful, which is what we need sometimes to learn truths.

No, God does not give us everything we want. But you know what, He gives us everything we need. He will take care of us no matter what. Jesus tells us not to worry about what we wear, or eat. He tells us that we are so much more important to God than plants and animals, and yet, God still takes care of them. Another hard truth is that while God will give us everything we need, this means that He may give us things we don't want. He may have us walk through situations that we won't want to go through.

But you know what, in every trial and hardship, in every situation where we can't see a solution, God does, and He provides. In every situation, good or bad, in every want and need, we can be sure of one thing... that the LORD will provide! He won't just provide us with something, He'll provide us with what He knows is our best. He'll provide us with everything that we need. All junior high students are encouraged to join us at Crash on Wednesday night as we continue our Names of God series, looking specifically at Jehovah Jireh - "The LORD Will Provide." Come and discover how God does and will provide for you everything that you need. I hope to see you all there.

What's In A Name?

Shakespeare asks in his play Romeo & Juliet, "What's in a name? A rose by any other name would still smell as sweet." What is in a name? What does a name mean? Why are we named the way we are? How in the world is Bob a nickname for Robert, or Jim a nickname of James? The name Cameron means "crooked nose," does that mean I actually have a crooked nose?

In the Old Testament people named their children pretty funny names. What's interesting is that the names they gave their children weren't just names, they were characteristics. A name is a very powerful thing. If you can give a name to something then you can begin to understand it, and the qualities it possesses.

So if names are characteristics, and giving something a name is the beginning to understand it, then what about God? Why does He have so many names? God, Almighty, I AM, Father, Jesus, Christ, LORD, King Of Kings, Master. What do they all mean? All junior high students are encouraged to join us tomorrow night as we begin our Names Of God series. It's a wonderful exploration into the names of God, discovering what specific names mean & looking at the Biblical stories behind those names. Come and consider what your favorite name for Him is.

Fall Is Here

It's easy to see that the summer has faded away. It's after Labor Day. Students are already back at school. The weather is cooling off (well starting to anyway). The daylight is getting shorter. Yes, it's beginning to look more like the fall. Just around the corner, students will get back into a more normal schedule, leaves will begin to change (at least in other areas of the country) and everyone will be able to (comfortably) wear jeans and jackets again.

I just love the fall season and not just because my birthday is right in the middle of it. I love the fall season because its the start of a new year- a new school year. I'm excited to see what God is going to do at Crash, in the lives of junior high students and their families this next year. Tomorrow night is the first Crash meeting of the fall and it's our Fall Kick-Off. Parents, I want to strongly encourage you to come to Crash tomorrow night with your student, so I can share with you all what God is doing in my heart, as well as the vision He's given me for Crash for this next school year. I can already tell that 2011-2012 is going to be a great year, and I'm excited to partner with you and see how God is going to bless you and your family. I hope to see all of you students and your parents tomorrow night at Crash, so we can kick off the fall season together.

We're Going Back In Time

Tomorrow we are going to go back in time without the use of the Delorean (Back To The Future), the Tardis (Dr. Who), the phone booth (Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure), Uncle Rico's Time Machine Modulus (Napoleon Dynamite), the Time Sled (H.G. Well's Time Machine), or the Time Turner (Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkaban). How are we going to do this you ask? Simple, it's all in our minds.

It's amazing how fast the summer went by. It seems like it just started, and yet here we are, the end of August, and some are even back at school already. Tomorrow night we are going to flashback and relive the summer in one quick hour and a half segment. Join us tomorrow night as we look at pictures from this summer and remember all the fun times we had. Not only will we look at pictures, but we'll remember what we learned and what decisions we made during the summer. We'll laugh, we'll learn, but don't worry it won't be too "heavy" and you'll be "back in time" for your parents to pick you up. So come join us flash back to the past tomorrow night at Crash. "Don't be a square", I hope to see you there.

Shuffle & Deal

I love to play games of any kind, but I really like to play card games. Card games are just easy and versatile. If you don't have a table top for a board game you can just play a card game. Plus, if you're by yourself, you really can't play Monopoly or Risk, however you can play any number of versions of Solitaire with a deck of cards. This Wednesday night we'll be playing some fun card games. So in honor of my love of card games as well as this Wednesday night, here are my top 10 favorite card games.

10. Go Fish - This is a very basic game. I remember playing this with my brother and my grandma in her RV on family vacations. It's a really fun game. I always played where you have to get a book (all 4 cards) to lay it down and get the points as opposed to just pairs.

9. Rummy (& Hearts) - My brother, sister & I would play this on long, family road trips. We had it down to an art. We would all sit in the back seat of my parents van as they drove. We would then put down the two middle seats and use those as a table to lay down our cards. My strategy in Rummy was to hold on to the cards until I could lay all my cards down and go out on one turn. When it worked, it would catch my siblings off guard. When it didn't, I had a lot of points counted against me. When we played Hearts I tried to 'shoot the moon' more than I should have. I only pulled it off like 10 times.

8. Apples To Apples - This game didn't come out till I was in college. This is a classic party game. I remember being at the RHCC Fall Youth Ministry Staff Retreat at Alpine. So much fun, so many inside jokes. And playing it late at night when everyone is beyond the tired phase and onto the giddy tired phase makes it so much funnier. Though with this game, I always seem to misjudge people. What I think will be a winning card turns out not to be even close. Needless to say, I didn't win very much. But it was still fun anyway.

7. Super Uno - I remember learning this later in high school. This is like Uno, but much better & faster paced. It's played like regular Uno with a few extra rules: 1) You can slip in a card, out of turn, if it is the same color AND same number. 2) 'Draw 2' cards can stack up on top of each other. 3) If anyone plays a '0' then everyone passes their hand to the left. I remember a 20 person game that was just crazy!

6. Family Business - This is a fun mob game where you try to be the last mob standing. I remember that if you played with some of the guys from my college group, you could only talk using a mob-like accent. It made from some hilarious and good times.

5. President & Scum - I remember I learned this game at a youth center on a cruise ship. It was a really fun game. You try to get rid of your cards first by playing cards. The first 2 players to get rid of all their cards, is the president and vice president. The last 2 to get rid of all their cards is the scum & vice scum. You can play as many hands as you want but typically the presidents and scums change each hand. This is a fun game if you have the right amount of people.

4. Spoons - This is a classic, fast paced, party, card game. I remember playing with my family and some family friends. Once, my friend, who is pretty competitive, went to reach for the spoon, he tried to fling the rest away from me to the other end of the table. But in the process he inadvertently fell back in his chair. He didn't get hurt, but we were all laughing about it. I also remember another time when I was able to get a spoon without anyone noticing for 3 full minutes.

3. Egyptian Rat Slap (or Egyptian War) - This one I remember playing at high school summer camp. Everyone loved it and it was easy to jump into a game even if you weren't there when it started. I remember we would play anytime we had free time. Sometimes we'd even play for hours.

2. Hand & Foot - This is actually a game my parents taught me within the last 3 years and it has become one of my favorite. When you have the right cards it's really fun. When you don't it really stinks. I remember playing during Thanksgiving break 2 years ago with my parents and my brother and his wife. I remember Campbell & Krista going out and my mom and I weren't even half way done. We had half our deck count as points against us. Needless to say, they dominated that round. There was no chance to come back. Even though we lost, and even though I complained, I still had lots of fun.

1. Phase 10 - This is one of my favorite card games. But why this is ranked number one is all the memories I have playing this game. I remember when I was going to Biola, my friends Brian, Lauren and I would drive to Denny's or Red Robin late at night (at like 11PM) and sit and play Phase 10. Sometimes we had other friends who would join us. But it was always us. Those were some really good times that I will never forget.

Well, that's it for now. I hope to see all you junior high students tomorrow night at Crash, where we'll have fun playing cards.

The Best Beaches

To get everyone in the mood for our beach trip tomorrow, I'm going to share with you what I think are the best beaches. Now I have done my fair share of traveling. I have traveled all around the world. I have been to beaches in Spain & Italy, Oregon & Florida. It was hard to narrow down my favorite. I know there are plenty of other awesome beaches out there, but I'm not going to recommend a beach that I have never been to (or don't remember). So here is my list of the Top 6 Best, Most Awesome Beaches (That I Have Been To And Remember).

6. Waianapanapa "Black Sand" Beach in Hawaii - This beach, if I remember correctly is at the end of a very narrow, very curvy, very beautiful and very treacherous highway. We got to this beach in the late afternoon. The black of the sand made all the other colors spark. It was really beautiful!

5. Hanauma Bay Beach in Hawaii - I remember this beach when my family went to Hawaii. We all got snorkeling equipment and went swimming here. My mom also got an underwater camera. We read about a trick to get the underwater life to swim around you (put bread in the pockets of your swimsuit) and took a bunch of awesome underwater pictures. This was also where I learned I could blow air rings underwater.

4. Carolina Beach in North Carolina - Last summer for my vacation I visited my brother who lives in North Carolina. The morning I got off the plane (after taking a true all night red eye complete with 4 layovers), I was allowed to sleep a few hours. Then my brother and sister in law woke me up, packed up the car and took me to Carolina beach a few hours away. It was a fun day, and a great way to spend my first day in North Carolina.

3. Waikiki Beach in Hawaii - My fondest memory here is playing a game of volleyball. It was my brother and I verses two old guys. We ultimately lost, but I'll always remember playing volleyball on a team with my older brother and doing decently well.

2. Huntington Beach in California - This is one of the default beaches that everyone goes to. If you want to have a good time and don't mind driving a bit, this is a classically awesome beach. And it happens to be the beach that we're going to tomorrow.

1. Redondo Beach in California - It should come as no surprise that my home town is also my favorite beach. Nothing really beats home. And my home happens to have an awesome beach!

Look at those gorgeous pictures. God is fantastic! God's creation is beautiful! I can't wait till we leave tomorrow and head to the beach. It's going to be so much fun! I hope to see you tomorrow morning.

Friend Or Foe?

Sometimes our parents can be our friends. They'll drive us around, make us after school snacks, let our friends come sleep over and even let us go to the mall by ourselves. Yes, our parents can in fact be cool. When they're nice, it seems like the perfect relationship, where all they care about is your happiness. I know for me, there were times when my parents were awesome. Like when I was in high school and they let me stay out till 10:30 or 11 watching a movie at my friends house. In fact, I really didn't have a curfew per say. It was just as long as I was home at a decent hour and they knew were I was.

Although they can be nice, other times it seems like our parents are just a big enemy that we're always battling. Like they won't let us go to youth group until after our homework's done. Or they make us do 50 chores like Cinderella before they let us hang out with our friends. Or during our favorite TV show they tell us that if we don't take out the trash that we'll be grounded. Or maybe they won't take us to the mall because they don't feel like it. Or maybe they cause us so much pain because in their selfishness they don't keep promises, or they're always drunk or verbally abusive. At times you feel like their goal in life is to make you miserable. Like when I was in junior high I liked to hang out in my room, talk to my friends on the phone or play video games. But I would always get in trouble because they didn't want me to hang out in my room they wanted me to hang out and talk with them, even if there was nothing they wanted me to talk about. Or they would make me weed the entire garden before I could invite friends over. They knew I hated to weed, but they made me do it anyway.

It's said that, "people who love us the most can also hurt us the most." This is so true. Those who love us most, know us most and know how to push our buttons. So, what do we do when our parents are acting like a foe. What can we do when they're causing us pain and frustration? Join us tomorrow night as we wrap up our series on Teens Vs. Parents and look at how and why our parents can be friends AND enemies and what we can do when we think they're being an enemy.

(Don't) Stick It To The Man

Have you ever noticed how much humanity loves to rebel? Everyone seems to love "sticking it to the Man." And I'm not just talking about wanting our own way and rebelling against God. Rebellion seems to be a part of who we are. Every where you turn there seems to be some sort of rebellion, some sort of fight against the ruling power. In the movie Star Wars, the Rebel Alliance fights against the Empire. In the Civil War the Confederacy fought the Union. In business, the unions fight against the companies. Criminals rebel against the government. Even a couple Christian, God fearing brothers are inciting the youth to join up in a "Rebolution" (a combination of rebellion and revolution) to fight against low expectations (in the book Do Hard Things). People rebel when they wish to live their lives opposite from the ruling authority or social majority. People fight because they think they know better.

Everyone sees rebellion within a family- a kid rebelling against his parents. We see this all the time. A child who rebels against his or her parent. Children rebel because they think they know better and what to live their lives different from how their parents want them to live their lives. Sometimes the rebellion is minor, a kid wants to die his hair blue or get their tongue pierced. But other times the rebellion is major, a kid runs away, or always do the opposite of what their parents want.

Even though I was a good kid, I still rebelled against my own parents. It didn't really heat up till I was in college. My big rebellious act was to stay up and out really late. My parents didn't like that I was staying out so late. In their minds, they were being fair & reasonable. They were worried that staying out so late would get me pulled over by the cops, or into an accident with a drunk driver. But my view was that I was an adult, over 18 and could, "live my life how I wanted." My curfew was something that my parents and I fought over many many times. Eventually we were able to talk civilly about it and come to an agreement. But not before a lot of fighting, pain and frustration.

Is rebelling against our parents really the right thing to do? Even if we have a good reason? Ephesians 6:1-3 says, "Children, obey your parents in the LORD, for this is right. 'Honor your father and mother' - which is the first commandment with a promise - 'that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy a long life on earth.'" Why do you think God says that we'll be well and enjoy a long life on the earth if we honor and respect our parents (as opposed to rebelling against them)? We'll be talking about this and more tomorrow night at Crash. So I hope to see you all there.

Expect Expectations

I have been blessed with parents who have motivated and challenged me to be the best I can be. The best part is, what I knew they expected was hard but it wasn't impossible. They knew what I could do and challenged me to do better. For example, my parents challenged me to get good grades. They knew I could get 'B's so that was what they expected. But they help me and challenged me to get even better grades. My dad even made a deal with me that if I got honor roll he would buy me a Nintendo 64 (that was the big thing when I was a kid). I would try and try and honestly I didn't get it for a long time. It wasn't until my 8th grade year that I finally, and after a lot of hard work made honor roll. My parents knew I could do it. They didn't just expect it from me, they challenged me, pushed me, and even helped me.

Here's another example. My dad didn't expect me to do anything that he couldn't do, so when I was in Boy Scouts, he didn't expect me to get Eagle Scout because he didn't get to the rank of Eagle. He wanted me to, but he didn't expect me to. When I got to rank of 1st Class my parents sat me down and said, "OK, now things are going to get harder. Do you want to keep going for Eagle or do you want to stop here." When I said that I wanted to keep going their response was, "OK, we'll help you and push you to get there." With me wanting to go on, they now expected me to get Eagle. And days before my 18th birthday, when you are no longer a scout, I earned my Eagle Scout rank.

My mom always said, "It takes a little bit to be above average." Her expectation of me was to be above average. As far as I know, I have not let her or her expectation down. She is very proud of me, and tells me all the time. As I said, I know that I am blessed. The reality is every parent has expectations of their children. They generally wants what's best for them. For some parents this means pushing their children to live up to their expectations even if they are high and unrealistic. Some parents seem to expect perfection and don't settle for anything less. They think they know what's best, so they push their children to be the best, sometimes to the point of exhaustion. I don't think some parents really realize just what kind of pressure they are putting on their children.

So, the questions remain, how do deal with our parents expectations of us? How do we even find out what our parents really expect of us? Join us tomorrow night at Crash as we continue our series of Teens Vs. Parents. We'll be looking at how people try to live up to the expectations of their parents, how they deal when they can't and what we can do about our own parent's expectations. I hope to see you tomorrow night.

Imperfect Families With Imperfect People

When I was in college I remember having a conversation with a friend of mine. We were talking about families. I argued that family is, to an extent, one of the few things you can (or at least should be able to) count on, families are worth fighting for. I have been very lucky to have a family that is very close & loving. My friend, on the other hand, was not so lucky. He doesn't get along with his family at all really. Yes, there are times when his family plays nice, and gets along. But for the most part, his family isn't very nice to him, and as a result he has a lot of hurt and pain. He argued that very rarely do families get along and for the most part, can't stand each other. Can you count on your family? Or are they just a big disappointment full of hurt and pain? Is there any such thing as "The Perfect Family"?

I think the answers to these questions become clear when you realize a huge truth about families. Family is full of people & people are not perfect, which means that family is not perfect. There is no family in the world that is perfect. Every family has issues & problems. My own family, although we are close & loving, are not perfect. We may look good, but I know I have caused my family pain and at times they have caused me pain. There maybe families that look good, but every family has some conflict that they will go through, at some point or another there is hurt & pain. The world is full of broken families, and families are full of hurt & pain. But what do we do with that hurt & pain? How do we respond when our families make us mad or sad, when they cause us hurt & pain?

Join us tomorrow at Crash we will begin a new series called Teens Vs. Parents. It's about the relationship between students & their parents. Over the course of the next 4 weeks we will look at different aspects of that relationship. We'll start off tomorrow night, by looking at the idea of the perfect family and how we should deal with the fact that no family is perfect because no person is perfect. I hope to see you tomorrow night at Crash.

Joe Cool Surfer

One time, while my family was on vacation in Hawaii, my brother, sister and I went surfing. We rented long boards & wetsuits and went surfing. We all had a blast, and (I think) we all stood up and actually surfed a wave that day. None of us are surfers, but for that day, we pretended to be.

While that day was really fun, there is something that is quite embarrassing that my brother and sister will never let me live down. Before I tell you, I have to say that I was young and stupid. I thought I knew it all. Anyway, we had just rented the boards and the wetsuits and had found a good beach to surf at. It was a very rocky beach but the waves were really good for beginners and quite about out from the rocky beach. We had all put on our wetsuits and were paddling our surf boards out to where the waves were. It wasn't until we got half way out that I realized I forgot to take my sunglasses off. It was that moment of realization where you realize you forgot something, and you turn back to decide if you'll go back to correct it. So you just stand there for a while looking really hard at the place of correction, but you decide it's too far and to keep pressing on. So that is what I did, I kept pressing on.

"Dude, you forgot to leave your sunglasses back with mom," my brother said.
"I know I forgot, but it's too far back," I said.
"You're going to loose your sunglasses while surfing."

Then I said the one thing I will never live down, the one thing that my siblings make fun of me for... "But I'll look cool!" That is exactly what I said. Sure enough, on the first wave that I caught and fell off of, I lost my sunglasses. They wiped right off my face. I tried to look for them for a bit, but I couldn't find them. I had lost my sunglasses... but the important thing is that I looked cool... Just kidding.

But I tell you this story because Crash is going to the beach. We will be heading out of the hot valley and to the much cooler beach. We are all going to have a blast, plus if you wear your Crash t-shirt, you'll look cool. And that's something you probably won't loose. So join us tomorrow morning at the church as we head to the beach all day tomorrow. Don't forget, bring $5, a sack lunch, a bathing suit, a towel, and money for dinner on the way home. Make sure I know you're coming so I can be sure to have a seat in a car for you.

SummerBlast Is Here!!

Hey everyone! It's been a busy week, as this week is SummerBlast at Desert Springs Church. SummerBlast is our children's, fun week long summer program. Every night this week our church is invaded with children K-6th grade who come here to sing, dance, play games and most importantly learn more about God.

The theme this year is SeekerMania. It's all about drawing near to God. Our theme verse is Hebrews 10:22, "Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water." We have been learning that, "The time is always right, and the path is always clearto pray and draw closer to God." This idea of drawing near to God correlates with a series of passages in Matthew 6:5-7:23. First Jesus teaches us how to pray. Then He talks about where we should store up our treasures. After that He talks about not worrying what's going to happen and to just trust Him. Then He talks about not judging others. Lastly Jesus talks about who we should make sure we are connected to, comparing us and Himself to branches and a tree (respectively).

I am so encouraged to see SO many students, both, junior high and high school, volunteering to make this week a success. And you're all volunteering in various areas, Games, Wow, Toons, Snacks, Jr. crew leaders, and some of you leading a crew. It's great to see you all showing you area part of this church and investing in the lives of people even younger than you.

Tonight we are heading into night 3 and things so far have been fantastic! I have been leading the games with an awesome array of volunteers, including my co-leader & partner in crime, Mr. Greg T.T. Jackson (pictured above). I definitely could not do it without all of you wonderful volunteers. Thank you so much!

Today is Crazy Hair Day, so I must go and get my hair all crazied up. Remember there is no Crash tonight, but you can still come out and volunteer. So I hope to see all of you here.

I Lost My Copy Of The Plan

Does God have a plan for everyone, even the homeless? This is a great question that was asked by a student. Does God have a plan? It's a good question, and one that I've wondered many times. Is there one overarching plan? How do we know we are within that plan? What happens if we mess up or don't choose the plan God has for us? Does that mean God's plan was wrong and He isn't perfect or all knowing? Jeremiah 29:11 seems to suggest there is a plan, "For I know the plans I have for you declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future (NIV)." But is that one plan? Is it a specific or general plan? These are questions that philosophers have pondered for hundreds & even thousands of years, and still wonder today.

Here's what I think. There is no plan... at least not a specific one. A closer look at Jeremiah 29:11 shows us that the word "plans" is a poor translation. Going back all the way to the Hebrew the word there typically means thoughts, purposes, intentions. If you think about it, God's ultimate intention for all of humanity is to prosper and be blessed within a close relationship with Him. In Genesis, we find that He created man in His own image and called it, "very good." As much as God has a plan, we have free will- the power to choose. I believe that God has intentions for us, I believe He created us with a purpose, but again, ultimately it's our choice.

The main purpose of human beings is to worship, honor & praise God. "And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the LORD Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him (Colossians 3:17 NIV)." God created us so we could praise Him. But what would make the praise genuine, authentic & real is if those praising Him had the choice. Think about it, everyone would say they would want someone to choose to love them, not be forced to love them. See, God wants to be in an intimate relationship with us. He wants us to choose to love Him, not to have to love Him. But free will is something for another blog post... or 50 other blog posts. Let's look back at the idea of God's intentions & purpose for us.

So in general, we are to honor & praise God in all that we do. That is very general. Let's get a little more specific about God's plan for us. One awesome thing that God did, was that He made us unique. He gave us different looks, different talents & different passions. For example, I think one of God's intentions for me is to serve as a junior high pastor. I love young people, and I love God and I love to connect the two. Those are all passions that God has given me. Another thing I love is story & pop culture, movies & music. For a brief period I actually was an actor. Honest. I had an agent, a manager, and I even did a commercial. I could have chosen to continue in that. It was another passion God gave me. Honestly, I think I could have glorified God as an actor and pointed people to Him. But ultimately I chose to work in youth ministry & to love & accept young people, and point them to Him.

God's thoughts & intentions for us, is much like a parent's thoughts & intentions for their children. One thing my mom would always tell me to encourage me was, "I just want the best for you." I can hear God's voice saying the same thing, "I just want the best for you. I can nudge you in a direction, I can open doors, & help set up meetings, but ultimately it's your choice. Remember, I want the best for you." So to answer the question, does God have a plan for everyone? I'd call them more thoughts & intentions, these are strengthened by all that He has given us: talents, passions, appearance & opportunity. His thoughts & intentions for us will also always glorify Him, but they can be played out in many different ways. He gives us everything we need to follow in His intentions for us. He wants the best for us but ultimately leaves the choice up to us. So, what are you going to choose?

Karaoke Means Empy Orchestra

Did you know that the word "Karaoke" means "empty orchestra" in Japanese? I know it's hauntingly beautiful, whatever that means. When you sing Karaoke, you sing into a microphone, a song that is blaring through a sound system as if it were played on an Ipod. So, yes, the orchestra is empty, there is no one playing into instruments to make music. But Karaoke is anything but empty. Karaoke is not something you do by yourself, otherwise you might as well just stick to singing in the shower or in the car. No, what makes Karaoke fun, what makes people want to go sing karaoke, is being with people, and laughing at each other. Karaoke is a fun time to get together with friends, hang out, have fun and sing songs. Singing karaoke is a fun time to get silly and sing your favorite songs, even if you can't sing (like myself).

One of my favorite moments from last year happened back in January. Crash hosted a Karaoke event in the Family Room. Everyone had tons of fun singing songs and listening to their friends sing songs. It was great to see everyone get up on stage and sing the YMCA while doing the hand motions, and watching all the girls get up and sing Mamma Mia was a lot of fun. But my favorite part of the night is when I got up with all the guys to sing awesome fun songs like Yellow Submarine, Eye Of The Tiger and We Are The Champions.

I will never forget that night, forever in my mind it will always be known as "good times". In fact, they were such good times, that we are going to do it again. Junior high students are welcome and encouraged to join us tomorrow night from 5-8:30 PM up in the Loft to sing some fun songs that everyone is bound to know. I hope to see you all there.

Welcome! Aloha! Willkommen! Bienvenido!

Tonight is our Crash Kick-Off. It's the first time our new 6th Grade students will be coming to Crash. I have a lot planned, we are going to have SO MUCH FUN! But because we are welcoming in new students, I thought I'd share a little about myself and my vision for Crash.

My name is Cameron Coulter & I graduated from Biola University, in 2007, with a degree in Christian Education Ministries & a minor in Biblical Studies. Although I have only been here at Desert Springs Church serving as the Pastor of Jr. High Ministries for the last 3 years, I have been involved with junior high ministry for 8 years & have loved every minute of it.

In my experience with Jr. High students, I have come to realize that the biggest thing they want is to be heard, loved & accepted for who they are. God has given me the passion & patience to listen to them, to love & accept them & to guide them. This is the age where the students begin to figure out who they are & what they truly believe. This is the age where they begin to own their faith & realize what it really means to be a Christ-follower, and I want to help them do it. It is my goal to accept students where they are at, as well as to encourage, foster & help develop their relationship with God.

Our Jr. High ministry is called “Crash” for a couple reasons. The word “Crash” carries with it the idea of community, because a group of rhinos is called a crash (just as a group of fish is called a school). The word “Crash” also carries with it a feeling of relaxation. After a long day, all you want to do is go home, unwind & not to worry about anything… to crash. I want Crash to be a place where students can come, be a part of a God pleasing community, unwind from their day & just crash.

I want to get to know each family that has a student in Crash. I want to individual time with each family, personally getting to know them and sharing with them my vision for Crash. The best way I know how to do this is over dinner. So, it's my goal to have dinner with every family this year. Please help me make this happen. So welcome to junior high & welcome to Crash. I hope to see you all there tonight at Crash Kick-Off

The Importance Of Prayer

Today's question reads, "Why should I talk to God if He doesn't talk back?" Now this is a good question. but really what the student is asking is, "Why should I pray? How does God talk back?"

In the Christian faith, prayer is very important. It is how we communicate with God. Although God knows everything, it's better to actually tell Him. Speaking secrets, confessing sin, and asking for help can feel like a weight is lifted. In fact 1 Peter 5:7 says, "Cast all your anxiety upon Him, for He cares for you." It can be very freeing to speak. God does know everything, but He wants to hear it from us anyway. Something my high school pastor said that I always found interesting and true was this, "If God knows everything, then I can tell Him anything." We can tell God anything: praise, problems, sin & temptation and even doubt. See, communication is one of the big things that goes into any relationship. If God wants a relationship with us, which He very much does, then we need to communicate.

Now some of you may be asking, does prayer "work"? Does God really answer back? Time & time again, we see God answer the prayers of the Israelites. In fact, there were some times when God was already answering prayer even just after they had spoken it. Prayer does "work". By work I mean that God answers them, meaning that God hears our prayers and responds. 1 John 5:14-15 says, "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us- whatever we ask- we know that we have what we asked of Him." The apostle Paul himself writes about a time when he asked God to get rid of an affliction, and God said no. There will be times when God will say no. Sometimes He will answer it the way you want, but other times, He may not. He may give you a 'yes'. But He may also give you a 'no' or a 'maybe'. But He will always answer it the way He wants, which will always be for His good and His glory.

Now that has to do with God answering prayer, but does He ever just talk to you? Well, I think He does. But you need to be quiet before Him, you need to listen for His voice. Without getting mystical, I want to tell you about a time, I believe God spoke to me during my prayer times. Back in college I would journal out prayers. I would write out my prayers to God. What I discovered is that He would actually talk back. Not with a physical or loud voice. But it would be a quiet whisper in my heart, a response in the back of my mind. I began writing down what I feel God was saying, and it was actually a response to what I was talking to Him about. He would encourage me, and get me to think. The whisper never contradicted the Bible, nor did He contradict what I knew about Him. The God of the Universe was speaking into my heart, to me. God does respond to our prayers.

He converses with us in our minds and in our hearts. He loves us and talks to us personally. He will answer our prayers. So don't give up prayer. Don't stop praying. We are told to "pray continually." Be confident that God hears us and will respond.

So Long & Thanks For All The Fish

Tonight is the last Wednesday night that the current 8th grade students will officially be attending. Why you may ask. Well, our 8th grade students are graduating junior high. As of Sunday, they will officially be 9th grade students, which means they will be high school students. Yes, our young students are growing into young men & women. It is such a blessing to see this year after year. It's fun to go back and look at old pictures from when they were in 6th grade and then see their 8th grade pictures. The transformations they go through are amazing. Some of them don't even look like their 6th grade pictures at all.

Like life, everything changes, everything grows up. All you can do is teach them what is right and wrong and let them make their own choices. Although they are still minors and still under their parents guidance, they are beginning to make choices which will effect their lives. They are beginning to be more independent of their parents. They are beginning to be young adults who make choices for themselves; choices like what they want to do when they grow up, who they want to be, what they want to try. Although they are moving up to high school, they still need guidance, prayer and encouragement. They still need to know that God loves them and wants the best for them. They still need their parents there helping them along.

But that is in the near future. Tonight, while we will look to the future, we will also relish & celebrate the present, and remember the past. Tonight, Crash will be more laid back. We will hang out and have fun. All parents are welcome to join us in the Loft at 7:40 PM to come celebrate with us as we say goodbye to all 12 of our 8th grade students, and remember all the fun times we had in the past year. I hope to see all of you there.

He Who Dies With The Most Toys Wins...(Or Not)

What is success? What does it mean to be a success? How do you measure that? Could someone who doesn't have a lot of money still be considered successful? First, let's define success. Success as defined by dictionary.com is, "The attainment of wealth, position, honors or the like as well as a favorable performance or achievement."

Some people measure success based on the amount of things they have. For them, their motto is, "He who dies with the most toys wins." So they work as hard as they can to get as much as they can. They collect real estate, cars, boats, planes, the latest & greatest technology. To an extent, this is success. As we defined, it is the attainment of wealth. But, as Christians, its not what success is supposed to be about. James 1:9-11 says, "The man in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position. But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower. For, the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant. It's blossom falls and it's beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich man will fade away even while he goes about his business (NIV)."

After "Google-ing" success I found that other people (mostly a lot of the self-help, motivational speaker, business men) measure success not based on how much they have, but base it on their strength of character and the legacy they leave behind. This also fits in with our first definition, it's the attainment of position as well as a favorable performance. While this is closer to the truth, I still don't think this is it. This still suggests that success is about us and what we have.

So if we're not supposed to measure success based on what we have, then what do we base it on? Well, that's the big question. Join us tomorrow night as we finish up 2 Samuel and look at how successful King David was. He went from being a shepherd boy to being God's anointed king of Israel, rich, powerful & famous. But is that what made him successful? We'll see how he measured success and figure out how we should measure success. I hope to see you all there.