That's My King

That's my King. Do you know him? If you don't you should get to know him. Because while we were all sinners, he bore the weight of all our sin so we could have a relationship with him. It is so amazing. He died yesterday and tomorrow he will rise and conquer death. He did this many years ago for us. He is so awesome. The grave couldn't hold him. Death couldn't hold him. Sin couldn't hold him. He is so awesome. Do you know him?

One of my favorite verses goes well with this next video, "He was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought our peace was on him; and by his wounds we are healed." -Isaiah 53:5. This video is kind of graphic, but it gives you a good understanding of what Jesus went through FOR YOU. And not only did he have to deal with the physical pain, but also the pain and weight of all of our sins. Thank you Jesus! We are so unworthy.

So tomorrow when the Easter Bunny visits, just think of the true reason for this holiday. Jesus Christ died to forgive our sins. He did this for you. I encourage you if you don't already know him, that you get to know him. It is the best choice you could ever make. He is the best friend you will ever have.

(I totally posted this last night.)

So...I know I said I would blog every day, but I lied. And I also lied about the fact that I posted this last night! Haha....anyway. I am going to do 2 posts today probably. My legit post (this one) and then a fun post later!

So today is Good Friday as many of you probably know. If you don't know, Good Friday is the day that Jesus was crucified, for our sins. Extremely sad if you think about it, he had to die. But the good news is, 3 days later he rose again. All he asks is that we have a relationship with him and we are saved. SOOOO cool!!!

So today I almost missed the bus for the second day in a row. However, this bus driver is super awesome and he knows I should be there so he waited for me! He has been my driver probably 8 times. I get on and I'm the only passenger. We talk like we always do. He was like, "So todays earth day..." and I'm like, "Yup, earth day and Good Friday!" And of course we got in a really cool discussion about God and such.

The thing that stood out to me was his view on Christianity. He views himself as a Christian, however he says it's more of a do good thing. He says he's content because he knows he has lived a pretty good life. Pretty good....that's just it. If we were all pretty good, we wouldn't need a savior. We ALL have sinned and all sin is equal. And for it we deserve hell. However, Jesus lived a perfect life and died for our sin so we don't have to ace the consequences we deserve! So COOL!

If you ever want to know anything about a relationship with God or ANYTHING, just talk to me. I'd be more than willing to have a conversation with you!

Starwars VI: Return of the Jedi

For those of you who don't know: I feel totally hypocritical. I carry around a lightsaber, but I just now am watching the Starwars saga (don't worry I'm viewing in proper order IV, V, VI, I, II, III.) Today I finished watching episode VI. Throughout watching half of the saga, I see many ways that it ties into the bible. Out of all the Episodes, I like VI the best and here is why.

The Ewoks....SO FREAKING CUTE! Actually that was random but here is my most favorite part:

Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker's relationship. To begin with Luke was told Darth Vader was evil, until the first time he faced him and he said the famous, "Luke I am your father (*insert breathing noises here*)" That totally threw of Luke, but he had to seek after the truth. Luke believed there was good in his father. His father had "died" and went from being Anakin Skywalker to Darth Vader when he went to the dark side. Even though he belonged to the dark side and served the emperor, Luke still saw the good in him. And (spoiler alert) as his son Luke is about to die, turns from the dark side to save his son, dying in turn.

Many analogies there. Darth Vader sacrificed himself to save his son, kind of like Jesus did. He sacrificed himself to save all of mankind (although he never went to the dark side.) Luke always saw good in his father, which is like how God sees good in all of us. Even though some of us are completely devoted to the dark side, there is still some good and some hope, which God sees in us and tries so hard to bring out in us.

I could go on for ages, I am officially a Starwars nerd! If you haven't watched Starwars, I SOOO recommend it. It's entertaining and also great to look at ALL of thee analogies!

Wait and See (Trial and Error)

This blog is stolen from the one I wrote earlier for my youth group. Anyway, I have had this song stuck in my head at random...and it is a super good song.

The one phrase from the song that really sticks out to me is, "There is hope for me yet, because God won't forget all the plans he's made for me. I have to wait and see; he's not finished with me yet."

That part just gives me so much hope. No matter what we do, there is always hope, because God has a plan for us and he will never give up on us. There are 2 verses that tie in really well to this song:

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." -Romans 8:28

AND

"He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." -Philippians 1:16

It's just a reminder that no matter what we go through God is working in our lives to perfect us. Think of it this way: we are being put through trials like gold is put through fire...to refine it. God is refining us. Even if you can't see how it will possibly work out right now, God knows and that is all that matters.

Starwars and Such

Today was an interesting day for me. This is how it went down:

*woke up (5-something am)

*ate an apple and life (cereal)

*hour nap on the bus

*Walk to class to see my classmate limping the other way

*Chat with classmates

*Instructor didn't show

*Hopped on a bus

*Got home before 10am

*Ate some grapefruit

*Watched Starwars and did homework

*My friend created a fb page to get me a prom date (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Get-Michaela-Mittelstaedt-a-Prom-Date/196122743762101)

Oh and did I mention....I'M OFFICIALLY A LIFEGUARD AT TROUT LAKE CAMPS THIS SUMMER!!!!!

AHH I'm so excited!

Oh and in the words of Yoda: "Do or do not, there is no try."

Facebook Fast?

Ok...so we're going to pretend that I posted this 22 minutes ago.

So I have officially decided to go on a facebook fast. A bit before midnight I logged off facebook and I will fast for 24 hours (quite a feat for me.) And the rest of this week I will allow no more than 2 hours of facebook a day. 2 hours may still seem like a lot...however, I am almost always on facebook, so this will be a HUGE improvement.

Why am I doing this. Well mainly because I have been asked SEVERAL times this weekend if I'm ever NOT on facebook. The truth is...it is the first thing I do in the morning and the last thing at night. That needs to change. I need to spend more time with God. Facebook has consumed my life, which is not healthy. So for this week (palm sunday to easter Sunday) I am going to do things that will help strengthen me physically, spiritually and emotionally. I'm pretty excited about how this is going to go.

Quick update for the weekend: I have started watching the Starwars saga for the first time. I know it's sad I haven't watched it yet, especially with me carrying around a lightsaber. I am disappointed I haven't watched it sooner, but I watched IV today and LOVED it. Also I got to enjoy palm Sunday at my church. I absolutely love the power that a large group of people worshiping the one true God can have! It is so incredible! And my friend Kaleb Williams wrote a new song (I will share if there is ever a youtube link!) Have a marvelous week!

Mean Girls

So tonight I had a movie marathon and ended up watching Mean Girls (don't ask why.) But I think it relays a good message. It shows the effects that cliques can have. If you know me, I'm completely opposed to cliques. Like the movie shows they cause rumors and all other sorts of hurt. Nothing good comes out of cliques.

One of the quotes that I like from the movie is when Janis says, "There are two kinds of evil people in the world: those who do evil and those who see evil things and don't do anything to stop it." I love this quote because I think it's the truth. There are people who do bad things and other people who don't prevent it from stopping. I think the ones who know about it but don't try and stop it are just as bad as those who started it.

Another quote at the end by Kady is, "Calling somebody else fat won't make you any skinnier. Calling someone stupid doesn't make you any smarter. And ruining Regina George's life definitely didn't make me any happier. All you can do in life is try to solve the problem in front of you." In life we can put others down to deflect our own problems, or we can focus on the things we are facing in our own life.

In the movie all the cliques break up and everything works out. There is finally peace. In the real world, that is not how it works. There will always be cliques and such. But the main thing we can all do is try and not use others as our means of building self-confidence. Try it...think about what you say. Try saying something nice about someone instead. Face what is right in front of you and take the time to work it out.

Ties into the last post...

I love the skit guys and this ties into what I said in my last post. Play attention to the brownie part.

/mediaplayer/J2EJFMNU.file&image=http://www.godtube.com/resource/mediaplayer/

Poopstain

Before I get into the main message of today's blog...I'm going to go through a rundown of my wonderful day. German class, which was amazing (we'll get back to that later.) I hung out with a bunch of new PSEO friends! It was great! Then I crashed the PSEO meeting and it was wonderful and tons of fun. There were TONS of people walking around campus with orange arm/headbands and nerf guns. The reason? A MASSIVE game of Humans vs. Zombies...whoever failed to tell me about it...I am sad I was not included. Anywho...AMAZING!

So....I went to German class where a BFA (acting) student who is a senior pretty much explained how he likes "poop" because it is pretty and fun and such. It was extremely hilarious! The entire class was laughing. However, I'm the kind of person that likes to over-analyze everything. So this is what I got out of today's funny conversation.

He enjoys poop, he thinks it's fun pretty, and whatever else he said. Think about it....GROSS! How many of you would enjoy playing with your poop? I sure wouldn't. Anyway our sins are like poop. And while we should all run away from temptation and sin (that's what the bible says) some of us choose to play with our poop. Some just play with a tiny bit others play with a lot of it (I could have added an inappropriate pun here but didn't.) However, no matter how much you play with...it is still poop, it is still nasty and will get every where. Whether you sin a little or a lot, big sin or little sin, God tells us all sin is the same. We should not want to play around with it, we should think it's gross and try to flee from it.

Even though we all deal with our fair share of crap (pun intended) God sent his son. He didn't send his son because we are "pretty good" but because we are all sinners and mess up. If we were "pretty good" then we wouldn't need a savior, but we do. We are all equally bad. But God sent his son, Jesus Christ, to wash away our sins. He removes all the crap from our lives (pun intended again.) All we need to do is to ask him to rid us of our sins.

Start thinking of sin as poop...see how appealing it is then....

We Live

Sorry world. I fail at blogging. I've decided to blog everyday for the next month no matter what.

Anyway in case you didn't hear, there was a shooting at Festival Foods in Brooklyn Park by my house. It's extremely tragic. The world is full of corruptness and unexpected happenings. With all the negative going on in the world we need to be a light in this broken world. We need to be a positive influence. Here's a song that kind of expresses this:

"We live, we love, we forgive and never give up. Because the days we are given are gifts from above." That just stuck out to me. Every day is a gift from God. We have NO idea when we are going to die, but not matter how long we live it is short in comparison to the eternity we have awaiting us. So while we are in this world, we should live our lives for God, forgive others, and NEVER under any circumstances give up. It is so important to cherish every short moment in this world, because you never know when you or someone you love won't be there anymore.

So challenge: go tell/show someone you love them!

Bus Ministry

As you guys most likely know, I do PSEO at the U of M and I use public transportation...aka CITY BUS! YAY! Some of you might have heard some of the stories I've told, but I thought I'd share some here. This might end up being a bit long, but they all are just TOO COOL! Ughh God is so good. He uses such ordinary people to move in amazing ways! All you got to do is let him use you!

Overheard conversations:

Sometimes some of the conversations I creep on are just amazing! There was a DJ talking about how Radio Stations pretty much tell you what you like. They play what they think you should like. Which is so true with our world...especially the media. The world tells us what we should like, and rather we should be true to ourselves and choose what we like instead.

The other day there was a guy and his 7ish year old son on the bus. The guy talks to some people next to him. He strikes up a great conversation. Out of nowhere he talks about how God should be our hope no matter what. He starts preaching. And then the topic of hell comes up and the guys like, "tell 'em son" and this 7ish year old starts talking too. It was just amazing.

Lightsaber ministry:

This is probably the most common way that conversations are struck up between me and people. The basic story behind my lightsaber. It's a camp thing! People at camp carry lightsabers and we have epic battles...completely normal....at least at camp. And I carry it with me practically everywhere. It seems to strike up many conversations.

One of the conversations a guy asked me if I was going to a star wars convention, I told him I wasn't and I explained about camp and told him how cool camp was. Then as usual I gradually lead the conversation to how it's a christian camp and it is amazing and I end up talking about my faith. So many people are intrigued at what I have to say. Especially a hard-core Star-Wars fan. He thought it was absolutely amazing that people at church camp have epic lightsaber battles and that of all people CHRISTIANS would do that. Oh yeah...we know how to have fun! :)

Favorite Story:

This story has had a HUGE impact on my life. It is a prime example of me hearing clearly the voice of God and being obedient and because of that something awesome happened.

After NCU chapel I was pretty fired up and excited. I was kinda singing as I walked to my destination. I sit in a building for a half hour and wait for my bus. Usually I'll pull out my laptop and listen to music. That day things were different. As I pull out my laptop, for the first time in my life I clearly hear the voice of God. He told me not to grab my headphones as the tip of my fingers touch them in my bag. Reluctantly I think, "ok God....whatever you say...."

A guy sitting next to me then turns toward me and asks if I was waiting for the 766, and I say yes. We start talking a bit. Next thing you know he brings up religion and asks TONS of questions. We have and intense 2 hour conversation. The only exact words I remember were somewhere in the middle. After presenting the gospel to him I asked him, "Do you believe that Jesus died for your sins." His response was, "right now....I don't know."

Ever since then I've been praying for him. God moved a bunch through that conversation. If I wouldn't have listened to God, he probably wouldn't have talked to me and the conversation would have never happen. But because I was obedient, seed planted. It's a constant reminder to me that I should have a good relationship with God and listen to Him. Cool things happen.

I just thought I'd share some of the amazing stories. I like talking to strangers. If you read this entire thing...congrats! Anyway, God uses average people to do amazing things if you let Him. What are you going to let God do in your life?

Footprints

I kinda extremely love this poem. It just show's how much God cares for us and is there for us! :) Enjoy!

Let the Waters Rise

Mikeschair...unique band name and AMAZING music! They're up there with Tenth Avenue North on my list!

At camp later in the summer, the MATs would have friday night meetings at Timber Ridge. We'd spend the week with some intense reflection with where we were in life, where our relationship with God was at, and some pretty hardcore acoustic and/or a Capella worship. Let the Waters Rise was one of the songs we sang quite frequently. I loved the song (still do!) I memorized the lyrics and really focused on the meaning. Watch the vid and pay attention to the lyrics and verses added.

This song is very inspirational. It talks about no matter what ginormous obstacle comes our way we should trust and follow God. And not only that, but in tough circumstances our faith should strengthen because we should give the situation over completely to God. God is there with us through it all...especially the rough times.

So no matter what...will you follow God?

No More

Today I'd like to share a skit that they did at my church a few weeks ago. My "core group" leaders, Sarah Heineman and Jillian Cross are also the leaders a drama group called, Alive. I'd definitely recommend clicking on Jillian Cross's link to see more about the wonderful drama group as well as see more photos/videos of the drama.

Anyway our church had a youth outreach event called MegaWednesday and Sarah and Jillian put on a little skit/drama/dance thing. It was super amazing. A major theme of their dramas have to do with spiritual warfare...and this is no exception. A great (and not to mention catchy) song, with wonderful choreography...throw in some broken glass (check out Jillian's blog to see more) and you have one amazing skit. Enjoy!

By the way, yes they did completely smash a laptop and mirror!

"You just don't know who you're messin with, I'm a warrior!!!"

"The victory is mine...I'm tellin you NO MORE!!!!"

By His Wounds Painting

This guy has some amazing paintings. And I love this song. "by His wounds we are healed."

Something Beautiful

I just love this song...listen to the lyrics! It's just amazing...as are the 2 wonderful guys in the video! Yay Kaleb and Shane!

Joy in the small things.

Recently I've learned to take joy in the small things. Like chasing squirrels after class. Or discovering the magical vending machine that gives you a reese's AND snickers for just buying the reese's. Sometimes you just have to act like you are young and innocent again. Learn to have fun. Don't care what other people think, just be you. When life gets ya down: A) you just keep swimming and B) You do a crazy dance!

Kinda a short blog....but Seriously....every now and then...just let loose and be yourself!

Stellar Kart and the Sanborns

Tonight was absolutely amazing! I got to see one of my all-time favorite bands, Stellar Kart and got to hear the Sanborns speak at Mega Rally. It was great. For those of you who don't know what Mega Rally is, it's this concerty thing that happens twice a year where you get to rock out to some good music and listen to amazing speakers at Bethel University.

Stellar Kart was amazing and fun as usual! A few years ago at an event called FM419, Jordan Messer-the drummer for Stellar Kart-broke his drum stick, tossed it to me and I got it signed by them all. They're pretty cool! Tonight their Bassist, Brian Calcara, went absolutely nuts...he did a toe lock on top of a stool and went nuts! I loved their song lineup (all though I missed Tree Climbers and Eternal Life is Better.) They are very inspirational...especially with their song, Me and Jesus. Their last song was one of my favorites, Spirit in the Sky...although I loved A Whole New World Too!

Then Molly Sanborn (the cheeseball chick) and her husband Craig spoke. They told their awesome love story and how God played a major role! I totally forgot the main thing I was going to say...so I might edit this later. But anyway, they told about how God has played a major role in their life and the keys to healthy relationships. It was really awesome!

**Edit: I remembered what I was going to say at 11:31 (on the dot) last night. Craig and Molly decided they weren't going to kiss until their wedding day. Well Molly talked about when the idea came up, she was like, "that's great for them....not me." But she had a passion for God so her plans changed and she decided not to kiss until her wedding day.

This reminded me of last week when I was talking with someone. We were discussing the meaning of Psalm 37:4, "Take delight in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart." Originally Molly didn't desire to save her first kiss for her wedding day, but as her relationship with God grew, so did her desire to remain as pure as possible for her husband. I originally interpreted the verse as God will give you what you want if it's according to his will/plan. But someone changed my perspective. If you draw near to God he will give you your desires...aka he will show you what you truly want, then he will give it to you. Kinda confusing...but extremely cool! Draw near to God and he will give you your desires!

God Will Lift Up Your Head

So my last post was about how I was going to donate blood yesterday. Well I went into the blood mobile and they took my vitals, pricked my finger to test my iron levels and I went through a questionnaire...turns out my heart rate was a beat to fast, which I thought was rather strange. Anyway, so they retested and it was still too fast, so I was not allowed to donate. I was super upset because I had wanted to do this for AGES and it is on my bucket list. Good news...I only got deferred for a day, so technically I could try again today (most likely going to go in next week.)

Even though it may seem ridiculous...I was extremely upset, just because I couldn't donate. Everyone has those moments where something just sets them off. They are a complete wreck. Sometimes it's something huge and sometimes it's something so seemingly insignificant...like not being able to donate blood.

Well sometimes, iTunes, iPods, and Pandora have a funny way of playing the right song when you need to hear it most. Yesterday Pandora played a bunch of songs about how God is there for us through the hard times.

A couple of examples:

"I'm there in your sorrow under the weight of your shame." -Times by Tenth Avenue North

"Draw us near, heal these broken hearts." -Lift Us Up to Fall by Tenth Avenue North

"How deep the father's love for us." -How Deep the Father's love for us by Owl City

Somewhere over the rainbow

And a bunch more.

Here's the one that stood out the most. It also is a cardboard testimony video. It just shows how God can take you from the wreck you are and heal you and restore you:

We will overcome....

Today's an exciting day for me. I have to opportunity to donate blood for the first time! I'll admit I'm a bit nervous because my blood pressure drops a ton after having blood drawn, so I'll be dizzy and might pass out (which I also find kinda hilarious!) So anyway, that's what's been on my mind.

They always tell you that you're giving your blood to save a life, which is true. The blood I'm donating today could SAVE A LIFE!!! How cool is that?! So I was thinking, I get to save 1 life with my O+ (or so I think) blood. But Jesus, Jesus saved ALL of humanity by His blood. Think of that. That is absolutely amazing. He gave His blood and His life to save EVERYONE and all He asks in return is that we BELIEVE and LOVE Him, that's it....no strings attached. Now that is pretty amazing!

Just thinking about that got me thinking of 2 songs, I'll share one with you guys:

I love the song and the video! God took our sins and our insecurities and sent His son to take away all of that. So just like someone in the world may overcome death because of my blood, we can all overcome our sins and insecurities by Jesus' blood!

That's just my thoughts for the day! Think about it. It's pretty amazing!

Forrest Gump

Ok...I've kinda failed at blogging recently. But anywho...I promised I'd blog about one of my favorite movies: Forrest Gump. I could watch that movie hundreds of times and never get bored of it (I think I've watched it more than 20 already.) Anywho, this last time I watched it, I was really thinking about audacious faith. I just finished reading Steven Furtick's book, Sun Stand Still. It focused a lot on audacious faith, which is like a crazy trusting faith. It had a lot of examples of audacious faith which gets you thinking about examples in your own life and that you have experienced. I think Forrest Gump is a huge example of audacious faith.

There are many examples I could use from the movie, the one I'm going to use is Shrimpin. If you have never seen the movie: a) I highly recommended you do and b) I will try the best to explain it. Forrest ends up joining the army, he meets guy named Bubba who eventually becomes his best good friend. Bubba's family has been in the Shrimpin business for generations, and Bubba ends up asking Forrest to be his first mate when he is a shrimpin boat captain. Forrest accepts, however later in the war Bubba gets shot and dies.

Forrest was still determined to be a Shrimpin boat captain. Lieutenant Dan (post war) thought the idea was ridiculous and sarcastically agreed to be his first mate once he was a captain. Forrest made a bunch of money through ping-pong and advertising, so a while down the road he ends up buying a Shrimpin boat. Lieutenant Dan was shocked, but had nothing better to do with his life, so he became Forrest's first mate.

They had very little luck Shrimpin. They caught a dozen a day if they were lucky. No matter where they went there were no shrimp. Forrest went to church and prayed for shrimp while Lieutenant Dan got very frustrated and cursed God. Then a huge storm came and Lieutenant Dan was furious, however the storm wiped out every boat but theirs. They ended up becoming the rich and famous owner of Bubba Gump shrimp co and share holders of a "fruit company" (apple computers.)

Forrest had audacious faith the entire time. He was positive God would be faithful to fulfill Bubba's dream of owning a successful shrimpin boat. Whereas, Lieutenant Dan was very pessimistic and had no faith. Eventually Forrest's faith pulled off and Lieutenant Dan, "Found his peace with God" when the shrimpin company became successful.

In Matthew 14 Jesus says, "you of little faith, why did you doubt?" God was there and in control all along. Just thought that was kinda cool!

The Byrds

I'm a huge classic rock fan! Today I was listening to some music via Pandora and it was on my classic rock station. I was rocking out to music and cleaning, when all of a sudden something hit me....not literally. But anywho, I quit cleaning and did a bit of research. The song I was listening to back in the 60's became a number one single in the U.S. and is still very popular and played all over. Why was this shocking to me...well take a listen.

The lyrics to the song are adapted straight out of Ecclesiastes 3! Don't believe me?! Go read it yourself! It is awesome! It just got me to thinking...even though this song is considered secular, it has biblical lyrics. People (believers and non-believers alike) loved the song...hence, why it became a number one single. it just showed me how everyone truly does have a inner passion for God, even if they don't know about it. And, the bible is relevant even today.

Think about it, there is a time for everything. A time to be happy, sad, glad, mad, anxious, everything. Expressing emotions is good, even the bible agrees with that. We just shouldn't do anything sinful, like rebel against our parents when we are mad. Anyways, I just thought that was so cool. I also liked how the video had clips from Forrest Gump (which by the way is the topic for tomorrow.) The story truly shows all seasons of emotions (and it's hilarious!)

Have a great Friday!

The Least

Happy Thursday! Take a moment to just watch this video

I was going to talk about something totally different today until I saw this. It hit me, because it reminded me of me and almost every other church goer. We go to church, get extremely moved by what the pastor says, chat for ever with friends, either go home or go to someone from church's home, completely forget what the pastor talked about just a few hours earlier, and continue on with our lives.

In the video you see all these people with signs. It reminds me of Brandon Heath's song Give Me Your Eyes (youtube it if you have time.) We listen to the pastor preach about loving others, telling others about God. But when we fail to apply the sermon's to our lives it is meaningless. There are so many people out there that need God's love, that need to be loved and reached out to! God says, "whatever you did for the least of these, you did to me" Matthew 25:40. So instead of just playing church and listening to sermons, live them out. Let them move you and impact your life, then go and share that love with others who need it!

Try to do something, even if it's small, just to show others (including strangers) God's love and that you care!

Yadah, Yadah, Yadah

Yadah. A synonym for the way the teacher on Peanuts/Charlie Brown talks right?! Yup. But it also is a Hebrew word. It means praise. OOOOHHH...big deal right?! Right!

Today at NCU chapel it was entirely worship led by Jonathan Lee. He is a great guy, truly passionate about God. He was the one who told me about Yadah. It is great! Yadah literally means to worship God with and extended hand. Jonathan also had something else to say to make that word even more impactful. We should reach our arms out to God in praise (Yadah) to praise him for future blessings. That really hit me.

It tends to be easy to praise God when life is going well, but it is also easy to forget God and think you are doing good on your own. When times are rough it forces us to rely on God more, but it is also harder to praise. Today we focused on Yadah to praise God for what He will do in the future. Putting our trust in Him that He will make things better.

Here's a few verses where praise means yadah:

"I will praise God's name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving." -Psalm 69:30

"I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you." -Psalm 63:5

So even if it is rough, spend time with God. Lift your hands up to Him. Give your situation to Him. Praise Him for all the wonderful things He will do. That's when you give God the most ability to do great things.

And just remember that if God has done something awesome in your life, He will continue to do awesome things and bless you in amazing ways! (Philippians 1:6)

100 Years

Sorry I haven't posted in ages.

My good friend Jillian Schmid spoke last Wednesday night at church. She did a talk based on Nickelback's Saving Me. It was really great. She talked about how God tells us to number our days. I'm kinda gonna go off of what she said. First check out this video:

I absolutely love this video. It also reminded me of what Jillian had to say.

God has determined our days. Job 14:5 says, "A person's days are determined; you [God] have decreed the number of his months and have set limits he cannot exceed." And then in Psalm the idea is furthered, "Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom" (Psalm 90:12). Now I can almost guarantee that none of us will live exactly 100 years. We don't know when we will die, we could die tomorrow or live for many years to come. However, what I think the writer of Psalm 90 was trying to say is that we should all live like we were dying (also a good song by Tim McGraw, check it out.) We should live life with no regrets.

Say you knew you were dying, would you have any regrets? Pslam 144:4 talks about how are lives are, "like a breath; their days are like a fleeting shadow." Our lives are only a millisecond in comparison to eternity. Are we going to make them matter? Instead of wasting time, live your life for God. Spread the Gospel every moment you get. Live for God.

Life is short, are you going to make it count?

Topic

Well today I don't really have a topic. Partly because it's late, partly because I'm fried from lifeguarding! I might as well give the few viewers a life update. Well....today I woke up, ate a bowl of cereal...jk. I went to centennial. I lifeguard, then I teach classes to some pretty cute children, then I take my lifeguard class. Today we got to practice "dying" and saving people! Always fun. I had a mass skype with like 9 people at one time! Life is good. Now I'm falling asleep....maybe I'll have more inspiration tomorrow...goodnight.

God's Got my Back!

God is SOOO good. I've been trusting him with my life more than ever recently. My school schedule has been completely messed up (as I've mentioned.) So I've decided to trust God completely with my life plans. He intern has blessed me tremendously and constantly reminded me He's there for me and He's got my back. For example: I get a verse of the day e-mailed to me daily. This is the one I received yesterday: "The Lord will work out his plans for my life - for your faithful love, O Lord, endures forever. Don't abandon me, for you made me." -Psalm 138:8. The first part is a reminder of how He is there for me, the second part is my prayer to Him!

NCU chapel has been a constant reminder how God is always there for me. 2 days ago the speaker talked about eagles (referring to the verse in Isaiah talking about how God will lift us up on eagles wings.) Well...eagles are pretty nifty. They have these dandy wings that can lock. Why is this important? When all the other birdies take cover before a storm, the eagle will fly straight into it with its wings locked and a thermal current will lift it up and over the storm through smooth air. Analogy: God will give us the strength to fly straight into the storm and He will take us through it as long as we trust Him.

Another eagle fact: the mom eagle will push her eaglets off a cliff. Why? To test their strength. If they are unable to make it on their own, mama swoops down and catches them before they hit rock bottom. Takes them to the top and repeats until the learn to fly. Analogy: God will let us fall, there will be challenges, but we just have to trust Him. We need to trust that He will pick us up and keep on letting us fall until we are strong enough to soar.

There are so many analogies and other stories of how God has been evident and working in my life. It is so cool! However, I have to catch a bus now so I can go to NCU chapel. Trust God and find out where He takes you! I promise you it will be cooler than you could ever imagine!

Faith through a Lightsaber

Crazy things have been happening to me recently. 4 days before class is supposed to start, I am informed I have to drop 2 of my classes at the U of M. Yesterday I go to my German class and am told I have to switch to a higher class. Right now I'm in between a class change so I only have Karate today. Anyway, the whole schedule changes has enabled me to go to North Central University Chapel on a daily basis (almost like being at camp, going to chapel everyday!) I also got accepted to take high school AP classes online. The way God works is incredible.

Yesterday afternoon/evening was a bit frustrating. I had to miss SLS (a leadership bible study) due to my dad being unable to drive from his surgery. Still not sure the reason for that. I also realized I had lost my cell phone and it was absolutely nowhere to be found. Not good. However 90% of Minneapolis has free WiFi so I am able to call home still thanks to google technology. My mom was still worried about me being downtown without a cell phone, especially taking the bus route to NCU. I reassured her that God was on my side, plus I had my lightsaber and was starting karate the next day (today.) So with the combination of God, my ninja skills and Jedi skills I would be fine.

This morning the craziness continues. I had the most amazing bus ride. Well at least on the second bus....on my 766 I slept. I took the 50U from downtown the the U of M campus like I always do. Unlike usual, I had an interesting conversation. Now most of the time people just mind their own business on the bus and if the stranger next to them starts talking to them they usually get freaked out. Today...completely different story. I was sitting on the bus still drowsy from my nap on the previous bus. A guy sat down next to me and after a few seconds of staring at my backpack asked, "Is that an umbrella or an lightsaber?!" I excitedly reply it was a lightsaber. He asked why I carried it, I told him it was self defense and also a "camp thing." We got to talking and I told him about the fast I'm doing (www.awake21.org.) I also talked a bit about my faith. I didn't have the time to find out his spiritual background, but he was very intrigued by what I had to say. It is amazing they way God can use things to talk about your faith!

Martin Luther King Junior Day

Today is MLK day. Not Milk day, MLK: Martin Luther King Jr. Day. It is a national holiday when we reminisce about decisions our nation has made and how we overcame. MLK day is associated with the civil rights movement. The gain of equality amongst all ethnicities in our nation. You know: Rosa Parks refusing to move on the bus, Brown vs. Board of Education, Little Rock Nine, Freedom Riders and all those other things.

Why was Martin Luther King Junior so inspirational? Because he had a dream?! Perhaps. Was it just his dream? No, many people were fighting for equality and shared the same dream. MLK as well as the other major known people and groups associated with the civil rights movement stood up for what they believed in, and what they knew was right. They took action.

If you don't have time to listen to the entire speech, listen to just this short excerpt of MLK's famous, "I have a dream speech"

"Free at last, free at last, thank God almighty we are free at last." America is now a free country, I think Dr. King would be proud of how far our nation has come. However we are not free quite yet. We are held down by sin. But through Jesus, when we reach heaven we can truly say, "free at last, free at last, thank God almighty we are free at last."

Jaeson Ma

So I was googling literally like an hour ago and I typed in encouraging notes. This youtube video popped up. I did the natural thing and clicked on it. It was fun and seemed like something I'd do: put notes on someone's car on a random day. The thing that stuck out...one of the phrases he put on a card, "do your best and let God do the rest." Number 1- I'm doing P90X and the phrase is, "do the best and forget the rest." Number 2- we should try our best in life, but we WILL fail and that is where God's grace comes in and He can take over and be our strength.

The guy who did this video had a channel and a whole bunch of videos. So I checked them out (well I'm still in the process. This guy has blown me away so far. It is amazing. He is all about love...true love...God's love. He is great! This one just made my day though. Check it out:

The Return of I'm Counting on God

Remember this song? I know I already used this song but it is sooo fitting. I'll get back to that.

So my dad had surgery on Monday, went better than planned. I get to spend pretty much every moment with him now. It is actually fun and we get to do a lot of things together. However, this means that everyone in my family are a lot busier than usual and focused on my dad. We hadn't gotten our mail in a while. Yesterday, I received a letter I should have gotten a while ago. It was from the U notifying me due to my low grades (B- GPA) I had to drop most of my classes.

This was NOT good. It caused a whole bunch of crying, stressing, and not good-ness. It was a mess. However it caused me to rely on God. Obviously my plans for my life weren't working, so I just had to trust God. Even in all the chaos, putting my full trust in God felt amazing! The feeling that I got realizing that even if my life was a disaster, I had God and he would take care of me and always love me, man that was a relief.

I ended up talking to my very wise friend Kate Rabago. I told her that I just wanted the strength and endurance just to get through the night. She brought up this song. Even though I was freaking out. God gives me joy...he gives me the strength I need to make it through the day. And with God all things are possible (Matthew 19:26.) God has my back. I can always rely on Him. So new life plans: listen to God and rely on Him more.

I'm counting on God!

Prayer

Prayer is amazing. It is extremely complex, yet incredibly simple. Lightly prayer has been a frequent topic in my life. On Wednesday nights at church we've focused a lot on prayer and how we should envision ourselves in front of God's throne like Isaiah or as John describes in Revelation 4. My favorite verse is "Pray continually" or as another version puts it, "pray without ceasing." -1st Thessalonians 5:17. Our prayer should be never ending. Talk to God, that's how simple it is. Tell Him what's on your mind. During swimming I pass the time during long sets by just talking to Him like He's my best friend because it is.

There are 2 newish prayer things in my life. 1 I would love for you all to pray with me. My dad. He is having surgery on his shoulder and bicep tomorrow. The recovery is supposed to take a while and it is a fairly serious procedure.

The other newish prayer thing is I'm starting a fast tomorrow. No, I am not fasting food, however that is one of the days. But I am doing a fast along with thousands of other people. Each day is a different thing to fast such as: facebook, video games, fast food, sweets and other things. Check out the website: http://www.awake21.org/. Fasting is about giving up something to spend more time with God.

I'm excited where God is taking me in my prayer life! Where is God taking you? Do you even believe in God? Do you have a relationship with Him? Do you ever take the time to just talk to Him? If you said no to any of the above you can change that. Talk to me, I'd love to sort things out for you....or just start talking to Him. It doesn't have to be fancy, formal, drawn out or whatever...just talk. He is always listening!

I Make War!

Today was amazing! I started my lifeguarding class! At the end of March I will be ARC and BSA certified! I'm super excited for Saturdays now! I get to teach little kids and hang out with new friends, have a great time and finally get lifeguard certified! I could go on for ages...but pretty much...it's amazing! Then my mom, dad and I went out to eat! I almost forgot: I talked to my friend Vladimir on Skype for over an hour and a half. Which would be pathetic, but he lives 3 and a half hours away! Today was exciting!

So I have a youtube video I really love...so I shall share it!

We need to stop letting Satan win. We need to fight back. We can't just sit there. We have to do something. Fight against our sins. MAKE WAR!

Humble Pie

So today I decided to be rebellious. And by rebellious I mean "rebellious." So my brother came home from Mexico and whenever he says home we end up getting ridiculous lists from my mom. We have to do house chores which we procrastinate and eventually do a half job. Today the list said, "No TV or Computer until you clean your room and clear off the table." Considering I got up at 8 and didn't go downstairs until 10:30ish meant I already hadn't obeyed the list. Whoops. So what do I do...go back upstairs and play even more Balloon Towers Defense 4 (almost defeated it!) Then I have the usual thoughts, "I could go clean....eh...I could go workout...today's my easy day...I could...thinking is too hard."

Around 11 I decided to just get up and clean. Not my room though...that would be doing what I'm told and I'm a teenager so it's in my job description to be rebellious. So instead I cleaned the ENTIRE house: swept, mopped, scrubbed, organized, dusted, vacuumed and whatever else needed to be done. I spent 5 hours intensely cleaning. Oh and while I was folding towels and such I watched TV...room still not clean...broke the list! Haha. Yup...I'm a rebel!

Instead of using this to do something I wanted this weekend I told my brother that if my parents ask it was the magic cleaning fairy. My goal: being humble. Today my mom and dad came home from work together. They noticed about 1/8 of the things I did, but they were VERY grateful. They asked who did it...my brother and I both said the magic cleaning fairy. However, as time went on, I just wanted to say, "IT WAS ME WHO DID ALL THE WORK!!!!" Why? Because my brother was doing dishes at the current moment so it made it look like he was doing the work. I didn't like the fact that he was getting credit subconsciously in my parent's minds.

Isn't this how we all are. When we accomplish something we want the credit and want to show off and brag. God calls us to do just the opposite. 2 verses I like are:

"Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted." -Matthew 23:12

I will get a reward for being humble eventually! The other verse is:

"God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." -James 4:6

I like that one because it was a memory verse for the camper at Trout last summer!

Anyway....humble=good. Even though I wish I could get instant gratification from all the cleaning I did, I just have to keep in mind that all the work I do and strife I go through- God will pay me back!

Fun update: Tomorrow I start my lifeguarding class! I'm super excited. While I'm there I get to see a camp friend! Yay! Happy Friday!

Oops

Haha...sorry guys. I haven't posted in ages. I quit posting when the pressure of finals started and just didn't get back into the routine post finals. Now I'm super bored because I don't have school until the 18th. I'm going nuts just saying. Post suggestions of things to do (I already have been reading a bunch, working out, all those typical time killers...I just want something productive to do.) To catch up...finals went ok. I didn't get the grades I wanted...but I still passed all my classes. What more could you want out of a college class. Anyway. Life is good. Because it's less than a week into the new year I might as well post my resolutions:

1) Get a 6 pack. Yes...as in abs! :D

2) Successfully get my lifeguard license (I start my class Saturday.)

3) Fulltime cook and/or lifeguard at Trout.

4) Spend time with God everyday!

5) Be a positive influence

6) Use every possible opportunity to tell others about God!

7) Get a decent job

8) Get drivers license

Yup! I have more ridiculous ones too. But yup. That's what I'm up to!