A New Thing

Where I am from, Tent Revivals are so important we learn about them at school. Well, I guess if by "learning" I mean "getting made fun of." haha. 

Its so ironic that in my Kentucky History class we just got done learning about the influence of religion on the civilization of Kentucky and one of the topics discussed was the Red River Meeting House revival right in my home county, which my professor directly paralleled to modern-day "summer revivals" or "tent revivals." Its ironic because I have been in church my whole life and not until this week have I ever attended a legitimate tent revival. 

This is funny:

This is how my professor described revivals: 

"Evidently, the preacher came down and preached hell fire and damnation then people began speaking in tongues and fell into death-like trances and when they woke up they were magically converted. People danced around and said they were full of the spirit and jumped up and down and ran in circles and barked like dogs)..." 

Really?

This is how my grandparents and other elders have described tent revivals to me:

"Everyone worshiped together under a tent and people from all over the community heard the gospel. People would walk in off the streets, drunk or high, and go down to the altar and repent and cry. We baptized people in the river, and people were filled with the Holy Ghost. We had a shoutin' good time and celebrated what God was doing." 

So yeah, they spoke in tongues and danced and jumped around, but barked like dogs? I don't know. When I went to tent revival Tuesday night the neighbors dog was barking.

Its ridiculous how the world takes such a good thing that God has done and twists it to make Christians look like fools.

But I do have good news to share. So I went to the tent revival on Tuesday and I was really excited because I had heard such great things about them (Note: i have been to regular revivals, in churches, plenty of them. But there is something different about tent revivals. The old people love them haha). And it was awesome! About halfway through the sermon a couple came into the tent and they smelled strongly of alcohol, but I could tell they were really feeling the presence of God. They were just crying and they were really reaching out and went up to the altar when the invitation was made. 

And I thought about the scripture in Isaiah 43 that says: 

Thus says the Lord,
who makes a way in the sea,
a path in the mighty waters,who brings forth chariot and horse,
army and warrior;
they lie down, they cannot rise,

they are extinguished, quenched like a wick: "Remember not the former things,
nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?

God has done great things in the past, and we should not forget them, but He is doing a new thing! A great thing! 

What I learned from Jumping Josh

Why has it been SO long since I blogged? (I mean, its been days. Really?) I have so much to say. This past weekend was incredible. I think it will go down as one of the best in my book. Friday night my family sang at a benefit, Saturday morning I went to a kids ministry workshop, Saturday-day Joseph and I did lots of fun things like painted pottery and ate homemade pizza, and Saturday night my sisters and I led praise and worship at a kids revival. Sunday was church church church. So much happened, I want to blog about it all, but there is one thing I really want to blog about right now and that is (as my title indicates) what I learned from Jumping Josh.

Now, if you have been reading my blog for a while, you may remember Jumping Josh from Camp Mulberry. If you haven't (or do not remember) here's the deal: Jumping Josh is a kids evangelist. Check out his website at http://www.kickministries.com/

Anyways, he is fantastic with kids. At Camp, my sisters and I led praise and worship every night for the kids services and he did his thing. I really can't explain it. He does all of this silly stuff that kids love, like sings songs, tells jokes, and acts out Bible stories (really, I feel like I'm doing it an injustice by not going into full detail here) and somewhere in the process he teaches kids how to worship and teaches them about salvation and then BOOM! After he gets done teaching, all these kids come up to the front and start worshiping and praying and getting filled with the Holy Ghost! I think working with him has been one of the greatest and most learning experiences in my ministry.

On Saturday morning Joseph and I went to a kids ministry workshop that Jumpin' Josh was leading (it was hosted by the same church hosting the kids revival). He did two sessions. The first was "Praying for Children" and the second was "The Funnel Effect," in which he broke down the way he goes about organizing a kids service or VBS lesson, etc. The fact of the matter is, I already knew most of what he said, its just the way he said it really opened my eyes to a few things. Here they are:

1. When we are praying for children, it is our obligation to impart faith to the child. To impart faith means, in essence, to deposit faith into the child's life. Here's the thing: we cannot make a deposition of faith if we have no faith. Think about it as a bank. If we wrote a check to a child, but had no money, the check would be no count. Its the same with faith. We cannot impart faith if we have no faith. And children are not ignorant! They can detect our doubt, or lack of faith. Jumping Josh's exact words: "In order to lead a child somewhere, we must go there ourselves. If we want a child to receive the Holy Ghost, we must be filled with the Holy Ghost, If we want a child to repent, we must be repented. If we want a child to make a commitment to God, we must be committed." Whoa. 
2. If a child does not receive the Holy Ghost, its okay. Every time a child prays, he or she takes a step closer to God, and that is still a victory. We need to make sure we encourage that child and let them know that God is proud of them. In the same way, when we are trying to please God or do something for Him, and fail, we have not really failed. Every attempt we make to do something for God brings us into a closer relationship with Him. Maybe you are battling an addiction and you do the best you can, but you feel like your best isn't enough. Guess what? God is proud of your effort! Take heart, we serve a God with unmovable grace and mercy and he loves us no matter what. This isn't an excuse to act stupid, I'm just saying, if we are doing our best to please God, he is proud of us. Keep trying.
3. Jumping Josh taught that when teaching children, there are three steps: Engage, Deliver, and Challenge. I think they are pretty self explanatory, but in this session Josh talked about being versatile and he used an example from the story of the prodigal son that I loved! When teaching about the prodigal son you can teach it in so many ways. You could teach it from the perspective of the prodigal son, which is the way we hear it taught so often. Or you could teach from the perspective of the Father, that he was waiting patiently, like our heavenly father is waiting patiently for us, or you could teach it from the perspective of the older brother. This is the one that really got to me because this one is for the church kids. You could teach church kids that they have everything they need in their father's house, that they don't have to go out into the world to find what they are searching for. What a great lesson! 

Anyways, these are just a few things but this post is getting kind of long-ish, so I will maybe add more later. Really, check out the website and everything. Children' ministry is so important.

Be who you really are

I've never been good at beating around the bush, so I'll just say what has been on my heart lately. This world is full of people trying to be someone else. If you're one of those people, please stop. The world needs the real you, because that's the person God has created you to be. He did that on purpose. He made you you on purpose. Quit trying to be like everyone else. Its easier to just be you. Plus, its more fun. Plus, that's when God will use you.

Plus, that's what the world is looking for. We are called to be a light to the world and what the world is looking for is someone who is real. They are tired of fakers. Shoot, I'm in God's church and I'm tired of fakers. When you are real with yourself, God will open up so many doors of opportunity for you. It'll change your life.

Take my word for it. I know.

I love this day.

When I was in elementary/middle/high school, Thursdays were my favorite days. I'm not really sure why... Something about the next day being Friday makes a Thursday feel better I guess. Still, it seems like Friday would be my favorite day... anyways, I said all that to say "IT'S THURSDAY!" whoo hoo, tomorrow is Friday. The thing is, Thursdays are really good days. For one, Wednesdays are really long for me, so when Thursday comes around it feels like a breeze. 

I am working this morning, but I have only one appointment, which means I'll get all my homework done (if I don't spend all of my time blogging) and then I won't have any tonight... or I could work ahead... nah.

I only have one class, and its so easy. The class is called Literacy for Children, so we learn how to teach kids to read. Sort of. This is my fourth week in class, and we've only had two lectures. All of the other classes my professor spends talking about the projects that we have to do. Projects like write an informational children's book, go read a book to an elementary class, write a lesson plan that involves reading. Piece of cake, except that my professor has this really bad habit about not telling us that projects are due until its almost too late to get it done, like when I had to write and illustrate an informational children's book all in one weekend. Or like how he told us on Tuesday that we had to go back to the school we observed in, read a book to them, write a reflection on it, and turn it in by next Tuesday. Everyone in the class freaked out because a week is not good enough notice for them and they work and have other classes and blah blah blah. It really got on my nerves because guess what? I have a job and other classes, and even more responsibilities than that, and you better believe I'll get it all done. It made my professor mad too because he went on this rant about how if we can't get the work done by his schedule then we should just drop the class because we'll never make it as teachers and he'll never recommend us for the teacher education program. A little drastic, but I kind of agree with him. We're in college, we're almost done. Suck it up and do the work. Get over yourself. Anyways, I like that class.

This afternoon, I'm going shopping with Rebekah. I have a coupon for $10 off any purchase of $10 or more. So, yeah, I'm going to shop the clearance rack and get something for free. 

Also at Einstein's they have coffee mugs for $5 and then you can always get coffee for like a dollar-something-thats-cheaper-than-normal. I want one of those because I love Einstein's coffee... and I like saving money.

On the subject of money, I'm trying to save up for a new camera, but Joseph keeps telling me not to buy one... hm.

I really miss Thursday night dinners with the Hudson family and Chaley. I need to tell Mama Hudson that she needs to start cooking again. Pronto. Because after I go shopping, what am I going to do? Especially if I get my homework done? Dare I take a long shower? A nap? Paint my toenails? all of these things I never have time to do? Who knows, I might enjoy this night off.

Stress-Free Tuesday

Its getting harder and harder to wake up for my 8 a.m. classes and work. This morning I rolled out of bed at 7:30. Fortunately for me, my place of work is only a five minute walk from my dorm and my classes are about the same (though my classes are uphill, and who wants to do that when they first wake up in the morning?). Anyways, yesterday I was scared that my days of going to bed early and getting everything done were over. I realized, after another crazy weekend, that I had not finished any of the homework that was due yesterday and that I had SO much of it. I almost became overwhelmed. On top of that, Mondays are the worst for my homework needs. I have class from eight in the morning until nine at night with just three short breaks (on which I usually try to nourish myself so I can keep on going!).

Its funny though, how when we are in certain situations, we can't see the big picture. There I was, at noon, looking at my schedule, thinking it was never going to get done, that I would have to e-mail all my professors, tell them the work would be late, and then I was going to have to stay up all night doing homework. But it didn't happen that way at all. I got my geometry homework done on Sunday night, I finished my English homework on my lunch break, and well, my reading for History is going to be a little late, but of all the classes to have late work, that's the best one because that professor is the most lenient for sure.

The worst part about Mondays though (usually) is my art class, which is sad. I love art, but this class makes me want to slam my head up against a brick wall over and over and over again. I only have this class on Mondays from 4:30-9:00 pm. It's the worst four and a half hours of my week. I'm not really one to "slam" a professor. When I tutor students and they start griping about profs, I change the subject. Its their job, I'm in their class, don't whine, don't complain... blah blah blah. But this class is the definition of ridiculous. For four and a half hours I glue teensy-weensy pieces of cut-up paper from magazines onto a 8 1/2 x 11 poster from the movie "Its a Wonderful Life." I love that movie, but if I wanted a poster, I would buy one. All the while, we are listening to the most horrendous music ever written. Whoever this guy is that is singing has more hatred in his heart and more vulgar language than anyone I have ever heard of in my life... except maybe my professor because she listens to it. By the time I left the first two classes I felt as though I had been beat up by cuss words. 

But I got smart. I have been praying that the CD player will break, but in the meantime I decided to bring my own music. So I listened to Jesus Culture and Misty Edwards for nearly the whole class, and you know what? It was pretty enjoyable. As it turns out, gluing all those little pieces of paper can be kind of therapeutic. And when I left the class, I didn't feel like I had been beat up; I actually felt good. 

Now it's Tuesday and I have decided to dub Tuesday "Stress-Free Day." Partially because Tuesdays are the days that Joseph comes to see me, but also because I work from 8-12:30, and work doesn't stress me out at all, and then I only have one class. And though that class can be stressful, I'm not going to let it! I usually don't have homework on Tuesdays either. So its a good day. I might even take a nap or something. That would be incredible.

We're a Team :)

I'll sing because You are good!

Saturday night we kicked off the youth rally in Bowling Green with a new song from Christ for the Nations Institute that goes a little like this:

"I'll sing because you are good and I'll shout because you are good and I'll dance because you are good, you are good to me!"

That line has been replaying over and over again in my mind since that moment because, God has been SO good to me. This past weekend was incredible. All last week I battled with worry and doubt about the youth rally. I was afraid kids were burnt out, that no one would show up, and that no one really wanted it or cared for it anymore, but God is faithful and I started praying for the service and building up my faith that God would do something great and he did! So here is a list of all the Awesome things God did:

1. First of all, we had an AWESOME turn out. The church was packed. We had youth groups from Leitchfield, Ky to Murfressboro, TN. It was great. I never got a final count, but the crowd looked good.
2. The music rocked. My sister Christina and Rebekah's boyfriend JJ got the arrangements and everything set up and it was absolutely phenomenal. The anointing was so strong and the music was perfect and the worship followed suit. Christina played the guitar so good... I don't know what I'm going to do with her.
3. I had asked Byron Lowe, from Leitchfield to have a 10-15 minute testimony. He's sixteen years old and God definitely has a calling on his life. I asked him to speak because I want other young people to see how God is using him and know that God can use them too. He blew me away. I was shocked out of my mind. He blew every expectation I have ever had for a sixteen year old kid preaching out of the water. Praise God for him and his ministry. 
4. The flow of the service was so good. God definitely was working and moving things around and leading the service.
5. MARK TIPTON BROUGHT IT! He preached one of the best messages I have EVER heard at a youth service. I mean, he didn't play at all. He preached against sin, and he preached Hell hot. He didn't beat around the bush at all, he told those young people like it was.
6. The alter service was incredible and my cousin Rachel's best friend from school was filled with the Holy Ghost! Ah! It was such an incredible moment watching that happen and it was so good for Rachel as well... I just can't get over it.

Christina said when we left that every service gets better and better, and I agree. I mean, that's what should happen. I know, in my personal life, that I want to constantly grow in the Lord. I never want to go back to yesterday, I want to continually move onward and upward with the Lord. I have been experiencing revival in my own life in the past few months unlike anything I have experienced before, yet I still see so much room for growth and so many things that I want the Lord to do. 

I was in a service on Friday night with several ministers and the common theme seemed to be that yes, God is coming back soon, but he's coming back for a church that is spotless, without blemish, and even those of us who are "saved" still have work to do. We haven't reached perfection yet. I haven't reached perfection, but I know that I serve a perfect God and each and every day is a chance to grow in him.

Like Honey to My Lips

"Accept, O Lord, the willing praise of my mouth,

and teach me your laws.

Though I constantly take my life in my hands,

I will not forget your law.

The wiscked have set a snare for me,

but I have not strayed from

your precepts.

Your statutes are my heritage forever;

they are the joy of my heart.

My heart is set on keeping your decrees

to the very end."

Psalm 119:108-112

I have not had the best day. 

It's not been bad, but its not been good either. I'm just worn out. But once again I'm amazed at the way that the Word of God can refresh a tired spirit. I am so thankful for the Word. Just reading it makes me feel so good, but saying it out loud is like saying "I love you" to God, and there's no feeling like telling someone you love them when you can't even fathom how much they love you.

M&Ms for Breakfast, Oh! And Bluegrass Festival

When school first started back, I posted a list of things that I wish to change this semester. Now here I am, week three into the semester, and I am still holding on! Sort of...

I promised myself that I would go to bed early and wake up early... and I do go to bed early. Every night at 10:30 is lights out, but when 7:00 am comes around its so hard to get up. But I do. I have to. This morning I woke up even earlier, in enough time to shower and make coffee. I also promised myself I would eat healthier, which I have. My parents caved and bought Bek and I meal cards so that we would've have to buy groceries, which makes it tougher to eat healthy, but not impossible. And this morning I ate m&ms for breakfast. Yeah, not okay, but they were amazing and I felt cool eating them, though I will probably regret it later. I think I've lost weight since I've been back in school, so that is cool. I guess its a combination of all the exercise walking up the hill, eating healthier (except the candy) and not stressing as much. Because, according to Grandmama, stress makes you fat. Which explains a lot.

Oh! I wanted to post about the bluegrass festival, so I will do that now. My family has been singing together a long time, about 12 years, officially, but really we have been singing together forever. There is a picture of my dad singing with Rebekah on his hip and mama singing with him with myself on her hip. So yeah, we've been singing longer than my youngest two sisters have even been alive. Anyways, all of that to say, we also play bluegrass instruments, though I've never really considered us a "bluegrass" band. My sisters and I do a lot of contemporary praise and worship stuff like Kim Walker, Christ for the Nations, etc. And my family, I guess we lean towards the bluegrass style, but we're still gospel. But also a little country/worship/whatever. We're just ourselves. 

This past weekend, my aunt Jennifer, who is part of a group called "Friends of Bledsoe" invited us to come sing at a music-festival type deal at Bledsoe State Park in Gallatin, TN. So we went, and it was so fun, but these people were not joking when they said they were Bluegrass. There were old men in overalls playing dulcimers, banjos, and guitars. At one point, I felt so country, I even took my shoes off... hehe

The first band that was supposed to perform wasn't there on time, so they asked my family to open it up (at 11:00 am) even though we weren't supposed to perform until 2:45. So we opened, and we closed, and we sand several times in between. It was so relaxed and really cool. And it was such a GREAT opportunity for ministry. 

There's something my dad says every single time we sing somewhere and that is, "we're not entertainers. We are not here to perform for you. Everything we do is about worship, its about Jesus, so don't just sit and watch, worship with us." And I LOVE that that is what we stand for. And I love that he tells everyone that is what we stand for, because we see such results from it. We got to minister to a few people between singing and really got to minister to one man in particular. He had big tears in his eyes as he talked to us and, according to him, that's a big deal because he "doesn't cry." 

Anyways, all glory goes to the Lord, because he is great and greatly to be praised. I think we will see good things come out of this past weekend. And pray for the gentleman that we met, God is really doing a work in his life.

Things are gettin' kinda crazy...

There is only one word I can think of to describe my life right now, and that is CRAZY! I have never been so busy in my entire life, and there doesn't seem to be a break in sight. It's mainly just the month of September, so hopefully I will make it. 

I've blogged before about what my schedule looks like during the week, but lately my busy weeks have nothing on my busier weekends. The first weekend in September, my family went to a revival on Friday night, shopping, birthday party, and back to revival on Saturday, church Sunday morning, singing in South Nashville on Sunday afternoon, and back home for church Sunday night. Whew! Breathe for like, one second. 

This past weekend was just as crazy. We went to a youth rally on Friday night, sang at a bluegrass festival-sort-of-thing ALL day on Saturday, (must blog about this later!) went to church Sunday morning, sang at my mamaw's church on Sunday afternoon and went back home for church on Sunday night. 

Next weekend, we will be in church services here in Bowling Green both Friday night and Saturday night, and of course we have church on Sunday morning and night. But it looks like we will get Saturday morning off and Sunday afternoon. I sure hope we will anyways. 

The next weekend (I'm serious) we are singing at a benefit on Friday night and singing at a youth revival with Jumping Josh Combs on Saturday night. Finally, the last weekend in September is tent revival at Joseph's church, but that is just Friday night. So it looks like we get Saturday off. 

That takes care of September, so now you know what I'm up to, and probably have an idea of what I will be blogging about ;)

PASS

Let me just take this opportunity to say "I LOVE MY JOB!" 

I don't know if I've ever blogged about it before, but now is definitely the time since I am feeling so positively about it. 

The reason I entitled this post "PASS" is because that is part of my job title. I am a tutor, but I am also a PASS leader. PASS stands for Peer Assisted Study Sessions and it is a service that is offered here at WKU. I heard about it when I was taking my New Testament class freshman year. The New Testament class was notoriously hard, so professor Trafton had begun using PASS. So I went even though I'm not a fan of group study sessions... and it was so much fun. I just love talking about the New Testament anyways so an extra hour two nights a week was just a blast. 

Anyways, at the end of my freshman year the student who had been our PASS leader graduated and I pretty much told her I wanted her job. So she put in a good word for me and bada bing bada boom! I got the job! So now, I lead study sessions for the New Testament class! How awesome is that?

Its really awesome, until you realize that you barely get paid, it doesn't provide many hours, and sometimes no one shows up for sessions. Which is why days like the one I had yesterday are so important.

This is my third semester leading PASS and never, have I ever had a student like one I had last night. She came into PASS and immediately told me that she knows nothing, whatsoever, about the Bible. Nothing. And she was not joking. She didn't know the difference between Jews and Gentiles. She didn't know what a Gospel was. And she can't pronounce "disciple." 

PRAISE GOD! Because sometimes I start to look at my job as just a job. But its so much more than that. Every time I lead a study session I get to teach people about Jesus. And no, I'm not allowed to put in my opinion or to teach anything other than what is taught in the class, but that's okay, because all I believe anyways is Biblical and as long as I get to talk about Jesus, that's enough. And when I meet students like the one I just described it just warms my heart. Its so refreshing to see someone who has no pre-conceived ideas about the Bible or Jesus. She's learning the Bible in its historical context, verse for verse, chapter for chapter, book for book and she gets to decide what she will take from it.

And if she's looking for truth she will find it. 

I'm so happy I get to be a part of that!

Fall Weather

I changed my blog background and design in honor of the weather feeling like fall. It's my favorite season :)

Be Careful What You Wish For

My mom once told me she hates the old adage "Be careful what you wish for, because you just might get it." She said she hated it because she got everything she ever wished for (which was my dad, myself, and my sisters... awww) and she loves her life.

Well, what if what you have always wished for is not really what you have always wanted?

That is the point I want to bring to you today, 'cause guess what? After a summer full of 100-degree days, I wished for cooler weather and cooler weather is exactly what I got. Last week it was in the nineties all week and yesterday the temperature was barely in the sixties and it rained all day. That was NOT what I wanted.

Because I want to be comfortable. My wish is not for warmer or cooler weather, my wish is to be comfortable. 

We do that to God all the time. We wish for a closer relationship with him, but not too close. We pray for growth in our church, but not too much growth. We pray for His will in our lives, but only if it complies to what we want because we want to be comfortable. We don't want anything to disrupt the good thing we have going.

However, God is on the other end of our prayers saying "I dare you to do something out of your comfort zone, I dare you to pray my will in your life, see where it takes you!" 

One of my favorite verses says "Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4 This doesn't mean, pray and God will give you what you want. If you are really delighting yourself in the Lord, your desires will become the same desires that He has for you.

So yeah, maybe my mom was right. Throw care to the wind and wish for the cooler weather, but when you get it, don't be upset if you experience a little discomfort. Chances are, you are exactly where you want to be.

Making Coffee Part 3

As I was making coffee with my new french press I couldn't help but think about my dear friend Hannah. She was one of my first friends here at WKU and we had many heart to hearts over coffee in her dorm room. She too, is a french press user (shout out to Hannah, who makes much better coffee than I do). Hannah got married this summer and we never see each other any more. Ever. She's in nursing school, I'm in teacher education. She's married, I'm not. It's life, but the Lord really impressed upon my heart while I was making coffee that since I was thinking of her, I should pray for her.

And I just thought, how often does this happen? Someone comes to my mind and I pass it off as a memory or simply a fleeting thought. I believe that God places people in our lives for seasons of our lives, that each person we meet is someone whose life did not cross paths with our own for no reason. If nothing else, the Lord places people in our lives that we might love them as He does and to make a mark on their lives. To love someone the way that Christ loves them is to carry a burden for them. To be a friend. To pray. And I want to be just that.

II Corinthians 12:10

A few days ago, my sister Christina stated that so far, 2011 has been the best year of her life. This was on the day I had to have a root canal, I had already been sick, and our family van had been in the shop for three weeks... just to name a few things that were going wrong. I put the most sarcastic look on my face possible, prepared to shut her down on the "best year ever" bit. But I couldn't. Because when I think about it, despite all the tough  stuff that has been going on, this has been the best year of my life so far. 

However, sickness is something that my family has been attacked with this year. Never before have we been so sick. It's just been one thing right after another. Christina has migraines, my mom has rheumatoid arthritis, my dad has... many things (just found out today he has strep throat), and I have had shingles, throat infections, blah blah blah... everything else all year long. I joke and say that I think the devil is trying to kill us... but then I catch myself wondering...

Anyways, this morning Joseph texted me this verse and then, lo and behold, I just checked my e-mail and I had received a message from Joe White, who sends out mass devotionals about once a month that I never read. But I read this on because the first thing I noticed was that he used the exact same verse that Joe had sent me this morning. I love it when the Lord works like that, He must have really wanted me to read this verse. So I am going to share it with you, I hope it ministers to your life in some way.

“My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness “Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.  Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”
II Corinthians 12: 9-10

This kid rocks.