God spoke to so many of our hearts at Big Chill 08! 6 students gave their hearts to Christ for the first time, and over half of the students on the retreat rededicated their lives to following Him. There are so many aspects to the weekend that contribute to being able to meet with God... the cabin time... the music... and of course Ed Newton! :) But for me, one of the ways I see Him the most is during our "campfire" time. Even though there wasn't a fire this year, it was still amazing to see teenagers stand in front of their peers-with more courage than I've seen adults ever have-and spill their guts. Thank you for allowing me inside... for allowing me to see and to feel and to be a part of what God is doing in in your heart. It means the world to me... as I'm sure it does to each of you as well.
Sunday morning of Big Chill, James Lupo was still shaken up by standing in front of you all and sharing the pain and struggles he has been going through. How he has felt depressed and left out and even began cutting himself at one point just to deal with it all. I know it was shocking for me to see the courage he had to stand before us and admit his weaknesses and how Christ rescued him... I even heard many of you say how confident James seems and how you never would have expected him to be struggling the way he was. Truth is, we all hurt. we all struggle. But it's only when we can open up and allow each other into our lives that we can be the family we want to be...
James wrote this during Big Chill and asked that I share it with ya'll...
"As the blood seeps out of my veins
And dribbles down onto the ground below
Like rain
I now become conscious
Of all my pain
I compare it to the hurt that’s inside
And it’s the same
All the destruction to myself that I’ve caused
I’m to blame
All this regret and depression
I seem to retain
And all these harmful scaring actions
I must now refrain
All that I’ve walked away from
It really is a shame
But I’ve come crawling back to God
And now I must proclaim
That I was stupid but now saved
And I’m welcoming what came
I’m reborn because my life I’ve rededicated
Something that’s been long, long too negated
I don’t want to sin anymore because my faith’s been reinstated
Jesus has set me free
And now my chains are now all gone
Free to embrace my second chance
With the welcoming new dawn
I am now free to sing and free to rejoice
And I’m finally happy that I’ve made the right choice.
So pray for me because I'm praying for you
Remember to act for God with whatever you do
I wrote this for every person in the world who is hurting, struggling, or who is feeling depressed, and/or rejected by society, their friends, or even their family. May God be with you, may He love you, and may He carry you through all the hard times that come your way. But remember that so many of your brothers and sisters in Christ have been and might be going through the same thing. All it takes is one brave soul to trust and step up and admit to his/her troubles that begins the ripple effect that will spread across the youth group.
'Much Love' "
-James Lupo (15 years old)
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Real Freedom
I feel like something in me has been set free...
It seems like the topic of freedom has been on my mind for several months now. As Christians we are set free from the law, but does that mean that we're free to do as we please? Growing up in a culture where the "American Dream" is to pursue our own happiness, it's hard to see it any differently. We don't even realize how deeply that is implanted in our souls! We want to follow God, but we want to gratify ourselves at the same time. This has been my life's message. Surrender to Him, but only enough to where I could still pursue my own happiness. Trust in God, but only by understanding that my good will come from it. But what if it doesn't. Is my purpose so small that serving myself is all that I desire? The climax of my life? Don't get me wrong, I've always wanted to bring glory to Him... to lift Him up to the world so they could see how good He is... how much life He provides. I remember talking with a friend several years ago about how much I don't want the nice-house-with-a-picket-fence-two-kids-and-a-dog life this world tells us we should pursue. I want to be more; to mean more. But now I know how. It's been there all along, and I've come close to it before... even thinking I've understood it before. But I haven't- not like this. The purpose of life is not about being happy. It's not even about love, really. It's about serving. Serving through love, but serving nonetheless. Christ came to serve not to be served. And we are to serve God and others with the love and peace that comes from knowing Christ, so that they may see something different in us. Something that is actually satisfying which is so contrary to this world. We search for entertainment, for adventure, for pleasure; but none of those things give us the peace that we long for. None of those things satisfy the hunger that is in our souls. Only Jesus can... but that means as Christians we must live like this. I MUST live like this... seeking to serve Him and others at all times regardless of my own desires. I fully believe He can fulfill my desires and satisfy my soul, because He has been there and done so all of my life when I've looked to Him. This may sound weired to some, but the truth is that we are all slaves to something. If we give in to the idea that we are to pursue our own pleasures in life, we become slaves to our own desires. Pray for me if you think of it. Pray that God will give me the strength, even when it's so hard, to lift Him up in all situations. I pray that what God is doing in my heart will awaken yours as well, because true freedom can only be found when we understand who we were created to be and what we were created to do.
It seems like the topic of freedom has been on my mind for several months now. As Christians we are set free from the law, but does that mean that we're free to do as we please? Growing up in a culture where the "American Dream" is to pursue our own happiness, it's hard to see it any differently. We don't even realize how deeply that is implanted in our souls! We want to follow God, but we want to gratify ourselves at the same time. This has been my life's message. Surrender to Him, but only enough to where I could still pursue my own happiness. Trust in God, but only by understanding that my good will come from it. But what if it doesn't. Is my purpose so small that serving myself is all that I desire? The climax of my life? Don't get me wrong, I've always wanted to bring glory to Him... to lift Him up to the world so they could see how good He is... how much life He provides. I remember talking with a friend several years ago about how much I don't want the nice-house-with-a-picket-fence-two-kids-and-a-dog life this world tells us we should pursue. I want to be more; to mean more. But now I know how. It's been there all along, and I've come close to it before... even thinking I've understood it before. But I haven't- not like this. The purpose of life is not about being happy. It's not even about love, really. It's about serving. Serving through love, but serving nonetheless. Christ came to serve not to be served. And we are to serve God and others with the love and peace that comes from knowing Christ, so that they may see something different in us. Something that is actually satisfying which is so contrary to this world. We search for entertainment, for adventure, for pleasure; but none of those things give us the peace that we long for. None of those things satisfy the hunger that is in our souls. Only Jesus can... but that means as Christians we must live like this. I MUST live like this... seeking to serve Him and others at all times regardless of my own desires. I fully believe He can fulfill my desires and satisfy my soul, because He has been there and done so all of my life when I've looked to Him. This may sound weired to some, but the truth is that we are all slaves to something. If we give in to the idea that we are to pursue our own pleasures in life, we become slaves to our own desires. Pray for me if you think of it. Pray that God will give me the strength, even when it's so hard, to lift Him up in all situations. I pray that what God is doing in my heart will awaken yours as well, because true freedom can only be found when we understand who we were created to be and what we were created to do.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Big Chill Shirts
Big Chill is just around the corner... it seems in this ministry time flies especially fast! I guess because we're always looking into the coming months for the next thing that needs to be planned. Things for Big Chill are coming together as amazingly as always. We are so excited to see what God has in store for all of us this year! Every year it seems to be something bigger and better than the year before. Remember the fog last year as we were walking out of the Saturday night session in silence? We could just FEEL God's presence. Awesome.
So Jeremy is busy planning the schedule, getting the games together, and talking with Ed... and I am thinking about the t-shirts. Such a simple piece of the weekend, but so important as they are a piece of physical evidence for us to keep and remember what God did in each of our hearts over the weekend. For some of us the shirt is a reminder of a decision made... for others it's friendships formed. Everyone has something different that they think of when they wear the infamous Big Chill shirt. So what will they look like? Do i design them again or outsource them? and of course, the #1 question... what color will they be?! I guess at this point, God only knows. :) Any suggestions...?
So Jeremy is busy planning the schedule, getting the games together, and talking with Ed... and I am thinking about the t-shirts. Such a simple piece of the weekend, but so important as they are a piece of physical evidence for us to keep and remember what God did in each of our hearts over the weekend. For some of us the shirt is a reminder of a decision made... for others it's friendships formed. Everyone has something different that they think of when they wear the infamous Big Chill shirt. So what will they look like? Do i design them again or outsource them? and of course, the #1 question... what color will they be?! I guess at this point, God only knows. :) Any suggestions...?
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Back to School Party!
Can't wait until tomorrow night... since it will be after tomorrow night's party before anyone reads this, what did ya'll think about it? Any suggestions for next year?
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