The Greatest Chocolate Chip Cookies of All Time

I consider my friend Lisa to be my personal food expert. Seriously. She always knows where the best restaurants are, she's never short on wise food analogies that can change your life (my favorites include the frozen pizza and the golden grapes), and she most recently directed me to a recipe for chocolate chip cookies that puts all other cookie recipes to shame in my book. However, Jeremy and I have the hardest time following directions for some reason. We'll read them before hand, buy the necessary ingredients (or so we think) and go to town. Then halfway through making them we realize we forgot to get two bags of chocolate chips... or what exactly does golden brown mean? It never fails. But in those times when we are forced to think outside the page, so to speak, our best work is accomplished and low and behold we made the most delicious batch of cookies that either of us have ever experienced. Was it the mix of two kinds of chocolate or one of the countless other "mistakes" we had made that made them so amazing? Who knows, but you can bet we'll try our best to screw up another batch soon!

All of this reminds me of a quote a friend recently forwarded on to me; "Concretely, abandonment consists in seeing the will of God in all people, events, and circumstances present to you. If God tears up your beautiful game plan and leads you into a valley instead of onto a mountain top it's because He wants you to discover His plan, which is more beautiful than you can imagine. The response of trust is 'Thank You, Jesus', even if it's through clenched teeth." -Brennan Manning.

What would our lives look like as Christ-followers if we gave ourselves over to this kind of abandoned living... to this kind of surrendered life? What if we weren't so focussed on following our recipe for the day and opened our eyes to what the Beautiful Creator is already at work doing around us? I long to live with that kind of purpose! To not let the busy monotony of life distract me from enjoying the One my heart loves. Our greatest idea of living does not even compare to the sweet life He has in store for us.

"None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written,
'What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has prepared for those who love him'—these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God."

-2 Corinthians 2:8-10

How He Loves Us...

Why is it so easy to forget about the love of God?

So often I view my relationship with Him as something I need to earn or do better... which leaves me exhausted and unmotivated to be with Him. It's as if a hard case forms around my heart and I can't hear Him or feel Him hear me, and the longer this goes on the thicker the case. The more I read the Word in these times, the more my "To Do..." list grows. How did I learn to read the Bible this way? As if it's something I need to accomplish rather than the beautiful love story I know it to be?

Praise God that He doesn't give up on us! I'm so thankful that He is the pursuer of my heart... and that He never stops calling me closer and closer to His. Yesterday morning I decided to get real about the messy place I've been lately... just being honest about how little I desired to be in the Word and that I didn't know what to read anyway. My amazing husband opened my Bible to Galatians and reminded me of how much Jesus desires to spend time with us... and how much I desire to walk with Him. I started to read... amazed that I could forget about His AMAZING GRACE!

"Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to DELIVER us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and FATHER, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen" ...it begins. And immediately I'm reminded of the great love of God and that this time i'm living in is evil, yet I am delivered from it! The lies I've been believing swarm through my mind, only this time instead of acknowledging them as truth I see the fallacy in them.

I keep reading, amazed by the love of God in Paul and how focussed he is on that love in the midst of a bunch of lies trying to keep him from being free! "...yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified." Duh! I cannot earn the love of God... I can never prove my love for Him... all I can do is have FAITH in the love of Christ Jesus for me and believe that I am justified and accepted by Him because of His sacrifice.

"I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." Oh, how He loves us!!! ...and everything fades, my heart melts, stone turns to flesh once again, and I am filled to overflowing with the joy that comes from being so intimately loved by the CREATOR OF THE UNIVERSE!

Why is it so easy to forget about the love of God? It really doesn't matter... when we see His heart and get to know His character and love, "all of a sudden I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory, and I realize just how beautiful You are and how great Your affections are for me!" - David Crowder Band

"For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery."

I need to keep up with this thing better...

The last post I wrote was definitely in May which means that about 6 months have gone by since I last updated my blog... terrible. Jeremy and I keep talking about how much we want to keep up with these things since we're advertising the website and what not so here is my 1st of hopefully many.

Things are pretty crazy with us right now. Jeremy's taking two classes towards his masters right now which means two nights of class and lots of hours of homework. Not fun but worth it... especially since he only has three weeks of the semester left which is exciting. On top of that things have been hopping in CSM since the new structure change that took place this fall. While every change is sure to have it's hiccups, we are super excited with everything God is doing within the lives of our students. It seems all around students are growing, discussing, making new friends, and breaking out of comfort zones.

Recently I've been teaching a study called "Why Jesus?" during the [RE] on Wednesday Nights. It's a David Nasser study that has video footage of places that Jesus actually walked, and answers tough questions about the teachings of Jesus and what he's all about. I'd love to hear from some of you who've been coming, so please leave comments about questions you have or thoughts the study has provoked.

Hope to see you tonight when we'll look at whether Jesus's miracles were authentic or just an illusion.

Summer is Here!

So, it's been a long time since i've updated my blog... like over a year. :) Oops! Student Ministries DEFINITELY keeps me busy- and i LOVE it! Right now I'm keeping busy getting ready for our Family Worship Night tonight at 6:30pm in the worship center, planning for our 3 mission trips we're taking students on this summer, and preparing our completely fun-packed summer in CSM... all that to say that I can't wait for summer to finally start so i can stop planning and start doing!

I hope the end of your school years are going well, CSMers, and I'm looking forward to hanging with you all summer :)

Big Chill 08... Omazing!

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)

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.

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...?