Wednesday, July 11, 2007

Session #4, End of Amazing Day Two! :(

This session starts out with an AWESOME Muse song, and a conga line around the room . . . ?? lol, yes. :) We all just got back from a yummy dinner at Chipotle. Going out to eat is super fun 'cause we can get whatever our hearts desire, for a change, because everything is already paid for. =)=)

Now that everyone is gathered worship begins. The crowd of around 800 people is extremely energetic - everyone claps and smiles - and no one is afraid to sing out. Whether this is because the music is too loud to hear them, or because the crowd is happy, careless, and encouraging, I'm not sure - maybe its both. =) But don't worry Daddy, the musicians all wear earplugs, and it's not TOO loud in the house. =) Actually, it's not a house, it's just a really fancy, technologically advanced tent. The actual youth building is still being built.

Now it's game time! This one's called: "Street Smarts: The Youth Leader Addition." The games are always really fun and get the crowd PUMPED! =)

Yay! Another Muse song is playing and Lissa and Ian are happier.

Some more games . . . funfunfun. Very well done games - most of them are upfront games, in case ya'll are wondering.

Oooh this is exciting Abram's playing this game. Oooooh this is a MESSY game. Four pairs of people, one person has to cover his face in honey, and the other has to blow-dry as many pieces of popcorn as possible onto his face. Naturally, Abram is now the now the one with honey all over his face.

K well while Abram is being covered in honey and popcorn, I think I'll take a moment to mention how great one of the workshops I went to earlier was. It was called "Be consistent." (The theme of this conference, in case it hasn't already been talked about, is Being - Be Good, Be With Him, Be . . . etc.) The speaker at this workshop was excellent. Some key points he spoke on: how we all try to be people pleasers, and because of this, we sometimes end up with different faces or masks, for different groups of people. He talked about the many negative effects of inconsistency, such as losing the trust of those around you. He talked about how our families so often see the negative side of us, because we know they'll always love us. Then he stressed how extremely important it is for us to respect and love and care for our families, parents, and siblings. One thing he said that stuck out, was that when looking for a guy to date, we - girls - should look to see how a guy treats his mother and sisters. If he treats them well, he'll treat you well too. I thought that was wise. There were many more valuable things learned from that workshop, but it is time to move on, feel free to ask us questions when we come back. =)

More worship time now. =) *tear* . . . it's just so beautiful.

And now the learning begins . . .

Tonights speaker is Matt McGill. I'll just take some notes below:

Enoch walked with God - for three hundred years he walked with God. Is it possible to have a relationship like this with God?
Jesus said: "I have no longer called you servants, instead I have called you friends."
A friendship with God is impossible to ignore. When you're on the outside, and then are invited in, how can you ignore?
Jesus said: "Come to me all who are wearied and burdened, and I will give you rest."

HOWEVER: A relationship with God isn't easy!!!

*To be friends with God is to become like him.*

--friendship with God delights in beauty. However, it is easy to delight in the wrong things. We may love counterfeit beauty, but the reality is, beauty is all around us, coming down from the Father.
- Scripture says: "Delight yourself in the Lord, and he'll give you the desires of your heart."
- The point is, to be friends with God, you need to love what God loves.
- What are the five things you love the most? Don't give the good Christian answer, be honest.

--Friendship with God is Driven by Compassion.
- One word to describe God: Compassion.
- Compassion is true caring - it's seeing a need, and actually moving to do something about it.
- Story of the Good Samaritan.
- Lot's of times we cry for ourselves. When was the last time you cried for something else, outside yourself?

--Friendship with God discovers the truth.
- "see to it that no one takes you captive with deceptive philosophy . . . "
- some things appear good, but are not.
- discerning good and bad is difficult, the ability to do so well is a mark of spiritual maturity.
- *******(((lissa likes this one))) to get a new perspective, you have to be able to say, "man, my last one is not good."
- It will take courage and hard work to discover the truth!
- through time and talking and scripture and study you will discover some answers.
- "my son is you accept my word . . . . if you store up my commands . . . apply your heart . . . cry aloud for understanding if you look for [the truth] as silver or gold . . . then you will understand the fear of the Lord and the knowledge of God."

*Do you ever have those moments, when you look back and say "Man . . . I was really a fool." If not . . . you are in trouble. Open your eyes and find the truth!*

*When you look back on your life, what is really going to be important? Your earthly friendships, or your friendship with God?
- Here is God . . . waiting and wanting to be your friend, your trustworthy, unchanging friend. Isn't it worth it to invest in a friendship like this?


~The talk is closed with a prayer~

Closer by other important guy who's name I don't remember:

Three words to remember: On Your Own
- Some grow spiritually because we have a program and people to help us grow. What about when we leave for college? When the program and the people are gone, we are left only with our friendship with God.
- If we don't grow spiritually on our now, we shouldn't expect to be able to suddenly do so later on when we need to, when we're "grown up."


Now we get some journaling time for everyone to stop, reflect, and connect . . .


On a personal note, I was really happy to hear that little closing speech. As my parents especially know, I've recently been rebelling against lots of things connected with Christianity . . . this is because I am suddenly very very cautious to NOT just believe everything I'm told or have been told. I feel that I have to prove this to myself on my own. I feel that I can't tell others about Christianity, claiming that is most assuredly and absolutely the TRUTH, when I don't know this for myself - when I'm not sure why, when I have no reason to claim that the many other religions that many people follow with their whole hearts are wrong. This is a foolish thing to do! The thing is, often, when I question things, I don't really question them because I believe they are wrong or want to prove them so (though I'm sure it often seems like this is the case), I question them because I want to understand, I want to know why.


The night is closed with a few more worship songs.

And that is the end of day two for now. We have some fun stuff planned for tonight - our first beach trip, for one. And many other adventures will also ensue tonight, I am sure. =)=)=)=)

Thanks for tuning in folks! More later.

LOVELISSA

2 comments:

bptzdbyfyre said...

This is lovely; muchas gracias for all your explanations, especially about the honey because Matt's explanation about the game with honey made no sense. Is he sunburned? Or is he on singing overload? Swimming pool deafness perhaps? Or is it just that games with honey make him loco?

ANYhoo, so, . . .I'm glad to hear the con. is not making you more, . . . um. Hmm. Yes very glad. Love you lots! So much!!

Anonymous said...

Great to hear! You guys are being prayed for, so I don't doubt that it's been a good & challenging time for you.

Jimothy