So, lots of things have happened. Like, went to Illinois Senior High Camp last week, drove there and back by myself with my brother and sister. Oh yeah, and Sunday we had an incredibly awesome outreach at our church. We'll see how successful it actually was this coming Sunday, but we're all believing that God's gonna do something great in our communities.
To try to adequately describe what's happened to me in the last week would probably take way too long, so I'll try to summarize.
Here's one good summary: I didn't kill anyone when I got home from camp after maybe getting 5 hours of sleep a night, with the annoying routine of waking up once or twice every night 'cause let's face it, camp beds versus our normal beds, our beds usually win. I was exhausted, and I'm still working on recovering haha.
But dude. The power of God touched down at that campground like you would not believe. And it wasn't just an emotional experience either, although there were lots of tears shed and emotions being let out. Something happened at camp that kind of changed the way we think, or at least it changed how I think. And one prayer that keeps popping up in my head is, "God, please help us not to lose what we got at camp."
Yeah, camp's super fun. It's a time to chill out and go nuts, make new friends, get some people's numbers, get sunburnt and tanned, stay up late and laugh 'til your entire body hurts, pray and get in touch with God and get renewed and refreshed in His Spirit, recommit and get confirmation, all that awesome stuff. But it can't end there. You shouldn't just praise God like crazy at camp. You shouldn't just live for God at camp. You shouldn't just allow Him to move and work you over at camp. You gotta take that home with you. He's the same yesterday, today and forever. Jesus is the same at your home church as He is at camp and convention and congress. And once you realize that and tap into that, you'll literally change the entire atmosphere around you. It'll spread to your church, to your family, to your friends, to your neighborhood, to your youth group, to wherever else you go.
This isn't just a one-week deal God wants with us. He wants an every single day thing. It's our job to live for Him, get in tune with Him, literally bind our wills to His in prayer and get closer to God because, guys, this world's a mess. There are a whole ton of broken people who have lost hope in anything and they're chasing something that'll fill that void inside, and man, you might be their only hope. We gotta open our mouths, quit being an 'in the closet Christian', and actually live out that camp commitment we made with God.
Yeah, we'll all stumble at some point. This road ain't easy. It ain't gonna be a bunch of sunshine and lollipops, but bro, when you see your neighbor or your best friend or your favorite teacher or your uncle or whoever else you been praying for step through that church building's doors, or even the Pearly Gates of Heaven, it'll make all of the things we had to endure worth it. You mess up? Repent, get back up, and keep walking the way you know you're s'posed to walk. You get messed up by someone you tryna witness to? Turn the other cheek, forgive, and keep walking. Keep praying, keep looking for someone to give hope to.
Just a sidenote: It's not your fault if they reject Jesus. If you really tried your best and did what God told you to do, then at the end of the day, it's their decision. If all you could do is plant a small seed, then just stand back and let God do the rest. He works on them, He makes the seed grow, He gives the increase, so it's not all on you. Do your best to say the truth in love, to love and pray for them 'til the day you die, and let God do the rest, friend.
Let's keep what we got at camp. Let's keep what we got at that convention. Let's keep what we got at that youth rally. And let's keep building this momentum until we see it turn into an unstoppable tsunami wave in the spirit.
I love you guys. Continue having a great, fantastic, and hopefully restful summer. :) <3
--Sonya :) <3
Wednesday, June 29, 2016
Saturday, June 18, 2016
Speak Life, Speak Death
Let's get really real for a second.
At some point in your life, someone's words made you die a little inside. Whether it was embarrassing, chilling, or just plain painful to hear, those words made some part of you die.
Now, think about a time when someone told you something, and immediately, the deadness inside of you became alive again. Suddenly, you felt like you were living again. It's hard to explain exactly how that feels, but it is literally like you were dead, and you didn't think you could live again, and suddenly you could feel yourself being revived from the dead.
Like the song says, "Words can build you up, words can bring us down, start a fire in our hearts or put it out." That's why it's important to be careful about what you say. The words you say can speak life into someone, or death.
So 'speak life' is an obvious thing you can take away from this post. Yeah. Don't say something so hurtful to someone that they'd decide to take their own life. You're not responsible for other people's choices, but you are very responsible for your own, and you have an influence over people whether you know it or not.
But here's something else you need to think about when you're tryna 'speak life' into someone: Don't be so caught up in tryna speak life that you speak life to the wrong things. There are something things we should speak death to as well. Death to sin, death to hate, death to insecurity, death to pride, death to depression, death to anxiety, death to unhealthy living.
Don't enable people to do things that you and they know will kill them in the end.
That said, don't kill them with your words, ne? Find a balance. Sometimes you need to cut things open in order to drain the poison, sometimes you need to give some anesthesia before you do it. And sometimes, yes, all that you need to do is wipe the scrape off, put some Neosporin on it and slap a band-aid on that thing. Once you get more in tune with God, which means actually taking the time to get to know Him and building that relationship with Him through prayer, reading your bible, and fasting, you start to get more in tune with people. You start to see the needs, the wounds, and if you listen closely, you'll understand what needs to take place for the healing process to begin/continue.
Humans are not the enemy. Even if they hurt you, even if they call themselves your enemies, they aren't the real enemy. There's something behind their actions, be it pain, stress, demonic forces, or whatever. That's why you gotta pray for them. Bless the people who curse you, because you know God's got your back. "Vengeance is mine; I will repay," saith the Lord (end of Romans 12:19). If you've read the Old Testament, you know that God's wrath is scary to be on the receiving end of. And if you're close to God, you really don't want anyone to be on that receiving end, no matter how badly they hurt you. Yeah, they deserve it. So do you and I. Nobody's faultless. Everyone's sinned. So pray for 'em, do good to 'em, bless 'em, 'cause God loves them and died for them too.
Speak life to bring peace to someone. Speak life to show them that they're loved, and that they have a purpose and a destiny specifically made for them. Speak death to doubt and distrust. Speak life to faith. Speak death to racism and fear of the unknown. Speak life, and speak death, to the right things.
I'm working on this too, so pray that I learn how to do this too. And I'm praying for you guys too. :)
God bless you guys. I love ya. :) <3
--Sonya :)
At some point in your life, someone's words made you die a little inside. Whether it was embarrassing, chilling, or just plain painful to hear, those words made some part of you die.
Now, think about a time when someone told you something, and immediately, the deadness inside of you became alive again. Suddenly, you felt like you were living again. It's hard to explain exactly how that feels, but it is literally like you were dead, and you didn't think you could live again, and suddenly you could feel yourself being revived from the dead.
Like the song says, "Words can build you up, words can bring us down, start a fire in our hearts or put it out." That's why it's important to be careful about what you say. The words you say can speak life into someone, or death.
So 'speak life' is an obvious thing you can take away from this post. Yeah. Don't say something so hurtful to someone that they'd decide to take their own life. You're not responsible for other people's choices, but you are very responsible for your own, and you have an influence over people whether you know it or not.
But here's something else you need to think about when you're tryna 'speak life' into someone: Don't be so caught up in tryna speak life that you speak life to the wrong things. There are something things we should speak death to as well. Death to sin, death to hate, death to insecurity, death to pride, death to depression, death to anxiety, death to unhealthy living.
Don't enable people to do things that you and they know will kill them in the end.
That said, don't kill them with your words, ne? Find a balance. Sometimes you need to cut things open in order to drain the poison, sometimes you need to give some anesthesia before you do it. And sometimes, yes, all that you need to do is wipe the scrape off, put some Neosporin on it and slap a band-aid on that thing. Once you get more in tune with God, which means actually taking the time to get to know Him and building that relationship with Him through prayer, reading your bible, and fasting, you start to get more in tune with people. You start to see the needs, the wounds, and if you listen closely, you'll understand what needs to take place for the healing process to begin/continue.
Humans are not the enemy. Even if they hurt you, even if they call themselves your enemies, they aren't the real enemy. There's something behind their actions, be it pain, stress, demonic forces, or whatever. That's why you gotta pray for them. Bless the people who curse you, because you know God's got your back. "Vengeance is mine; I will repay," saith the Lord (end of Romans 12:19). If you've read the Old Testament, you know that God's wrath is scary to be on the receiving end of. And if you're close to God, you really don't want anyone to be on that receiving end, no matter how badly they hurt you. Yeah, they deserve it. So do you and I. Nobody's faultless. Everyone's sinned. So pray for 'em, do good to 'em, bless 'em, 'cause God loves them and died for them too.
Speak life to bring peace to someone. Speak life to show them that they're loved, and that they have a purpose and a destiny specifically made for them. Speak death to doubt and distrust. Speak life to faith. Speak death to racism and fear of the unknown. Speak life, and speak death, to the right things.
I'm working on this too, so pray that I learn how to do this too. And I'm praying for you guys too. :)
God bless you guys. I love ya. :) <3
--Sonya :)
Monday, June 13, 2016
Just Some More Random Thoughts
Sometimes, God does some weird, crazy stuff. Weird, like, awesome, but when you're in the middle of it it's just weird, you know?
Like, sometimes, you get lyrics or a melody stuck in your head, you write/play it out, and BAM you have this song that doesn't make sense for where you are in life right then. Maybe it's about brokenness. Maybe it's about joy. Maybe it's about growing up. And then later you get to a point in your life where, dude, I needed that song. Like, that song was written by the Me from then for the Me that's now.
It's like when you memorize a verse. Sometimes, those verses in the Bible make absolutely no sense, or they make sense but it's just head-knowledge. Yeah, I know God'll never leave me or forsake me. Yeah, I know He'll bring me through the fire and the water. Yeah, I know He's faithful.
But then you go through some crazy situation and dude, now you know that God will never leave or forsake you. Now, you know He'll bring you through the trials. Now you actually know that He's faithful.
Sometimes, we go through times where we question those promises. You feel numb to the things going on around you, and God seems distant. You're angry, you're lonely, you're unsure about what to do next. Are you making the right decision? Are you doing something that's actually glorifying God? Is what you're doing really going to help take you to where you want to be later in life, or is it all just a big waste of time?
And with those big questions like that, there comes another big question: God, are You actually listening? God, do You care about this dilemma I'm in? How come I can't hear You? Are You speaking? Am I praying hard enough, or are You just not answering me?
Raise your hand if you've done that before. Okay, good, I'm not the only one. Now, raise your hand if you've done that to someone who isn't God. Maybe a sibling, friend, parent, if you have a phone you've more than likely gone through that when they aren't texting back and you're waiting for a wise reply to a tricky question.
There's this thing called trust. You have to have the trust in order to have the relationship. Whether it's a mutual exchange 'business' kind of relationship or a romantic relationship, in order to have any kind of relationship, or to have any kind of transaction, you gotta trust.
People with trust issues: you trust the cashier to give you back your credit card when you hand it to them to pay for something. You trust the ATM to give you money when you punch in the numbers and give it your information. You don't have trust issues, you have people issues, or paranoia, one of the two.
If you have both... just pray. God'll take care of both of those issues.
Anyways, if you say you have 'trust issues' what you really mean is, "Somebody hurt me and because of that, I'm afraid that someone will hurt me again and that's why I'm careful to not open up and be vulnerable." I get it. The pain of allowing someone into your heart, or your life, or into your outer circle, and seeing them treat you like you are worthless, that hurts. You either learn to overcome that and forgive them, allowing them to go free and yourself to take the fall, or you learn to hate and get bitter over that.
The second option's easy, because it involves our idea that 'justice must be done,' that this wrong must be made right.
The first option's hard, because it means you gotta trust that God will make you stand when other people make you fall. It means you need to trust in something higher than yourself. It involves a decision-making process that is incredibly hard to make when everything inside of you screams at you to condemn, judge, kill. Your mind calls for justice, for the blood that they made you spill to be spilled by them.
But God, His Spirit, asks for mercy.
"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." He gasped that out when He was nailed by his wrists and feet to a splintered, wooden cross. He who did no wrong was falsely accused, condemned, beaten, and nailed. If anyone had a right to cry out for justice to be done, it was Jesus Christ. But He didn't. Instead, He cried for mercy.
Sometimes, God allows us to go through these weird, crazy situations to get our attention. Where we are, who we are, what our purpose is, what makes up our character, it all has to be refined. After the thing, we realized, had it not been for *insert craziness here*, we wouldn't be who we are today and we wouldn't have a clearer vision of where we need to go. During the whole weird, crazy stuff, it's like, umm God, what's going on? But we need to just trust that He's got a plan. He's doing some weird, crazy things that are for our good. It'll work out in the end.
And that's a promise that you can stake your life on. :)
Happy summer, guys. God bless ya. <3
--Sonya
Like, sometimes, you get lyrics or a melody stuck in your head, you write/play it out, and BAM you have this song that doesn't make sense for where you are in life right then. Maybe it's about brokenness. Maybe it's about joy. Maybe it's about growing up. And then later you get to a point in your life where, dude, I needed that song. Like, that song was written by the Me from then for the Me that's now.
It's like when you memorize a verse. Sometimes, those verses in the Bible make absolutely no sense, or they make sense but it's just head-knowledge. Yeah, I know God'll never leave me or forsake me. Yeah, I know He'll bring me through the fire and the water. Yeah, I know He's faithful.
But then you go through some crazy situation and dude, now you know that God will never leave or forsake you. Now, you know He'll bring you through the trials. Now you actually know that He's faithful.
Sometimes, we go through times where we question those promises. You feel numb to the things going on around you, and God seems distant. You're angry, you're lonely, you're unsure about what to do next. Are you making the right decision? Are you doing something that's actually glorifying God? Is what you're doing really going to help take you to where you want to be later in life, or is it all just a big waste of time?
And with those big questions like that, there comes another big question: God, are You actually listening? God, do You care about this dilemma I'm in? How come I can't hear You? Are You speaking? Am I praying hard enough, or are You just not answering me?
Raise your hand if you've done that before. Okay, good, I'm not the only one. Now, raise your hand if you've done that to someone who isn't God. Maybe a sibling, friend, parent, if you have a phone you've more than likely gone through that when they aren't texting back and you're waiting for a wise reply to a tricky question.
There's this thing called trust. You have to have the trust in order to have the relationship. Whether it's a mutual exchange 'business' kind of relationship or a romantic relationship, in order to have any kind of relationship, or to have any kind of transaction, you gotta trust.
People with trust issues: you trust the cashier to give you back your credit card when you hand it to them to pay for something. You trust the ATM to give you money when you punch in the numbers and give it your information. You don't have trust issues, you have people issues, or paranoia, one of the two.
If you have both... just pray. God'll take care of both of those issues.
Anyways, if you say you have 'trust issues' what you really mean is, "Somebody hurt me and because of that, I'm afraid that someone will hurt me again and that's why I'm careful to not open up and be vulnerable." I get it. The pain of allowing someone into your heart, or your life, or into your outer circle, and seeing them treat you like you are worthless, that hurts. You either learn to overcome that and forgive them, allowing them to go free and yourself to take the fall, or you learn to hate and get bitter over that.
The second option's easy, because it involves our idea that 'justice must be done,' that this wrong must be made right.
The first option's hard, because it means you gotta trust that God will make you stand when other people make you fall. It means you need to trust in something higher than yourself. It involves a decision-making process that is incredibly hard to make when everything inside of you screams at you to condemn, judge, kill. Your mind calls for justice, for the blood that they made you spill to be spilled by them.
But God, His Spirit, asks for mercy.
"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." He gasped that out when He was nailed by his wrists and feet to a splintered, wooden cross. He who did no wrong was falsely accused, condemned, beaten, and nailed. If anyone had a right to cry out for justice to be done, it was Jesus Christ. But He didn't. Instead, He cried for mercy.
Sometimes, God allows us to go through these weird, crazy situations to get our attention. Where we are, who we are, what our purpose is, what makes up our character, it all has to be refined. After the thing, we realized, had it not been for *insert craziness here*, we wouldn't be who we are today and we wouldn't have a clearer vision of where we need to go. During the whole weird, crazy stuff, it's like, umm God, what's going on? But we need to just trust that He's got a plan. He's doing some weird, crazy things that are for our good. It'll work out in the end.
And that's a promise that you can stake your life on. :)
Happy summer, guys. God bless ya. <3
--Sonya
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