One Thing You Can't Do In Heaven

So I realize that it has been awhile since I last blogged, but there have been numerous times when I wanted to but didn't have the opportunity to sit down and actually do it. Nonetheless, I have some great things to share from the past few days.
*P.S. you should know that it's 6:10am and I'm eating leftover ice cream cake for breakfast and I'm overly enthused about this! It's basically my coffee/sugar buzz/morning burst since my mother used up all the coffee creamer....but that's all beside the point.

So the last few days have been great. God has continued to strengthen me in my faith and stretch me in ways that I didn't know were possible. This past weekend our youth group went to Tappan Lake for a youth retreat. What you may not know is that I initially was not planning on going, which is new for me because I'm always jumping at any opportunity to go on missions trips or retreats. But for some reason I was set on not going, and when my friends tried to convince me, I was turned even farther away. However, God tugged at my heart and I prayed about the retreat and confessed to Him my fears and angers about why I was so set against going. God heard my prayers and instilled in me this desire to go for whatever reason. My senior paper due two days after we would be getting back got its due date pushed back and other small things happened that let me know God was serious about His wanting me to go. (When God lays something on your heart, never push it away or blow it off.)

The retreat could not have gone better. Apparently there were some problems that came up, but being a student I was unaware of them and felt that the weekend was the best it could have been! Not only did God teach me so much through the lessons, He also pulled me closer to Him during worship, and opened my eyes to the hearts and desires of the other students. I can't even begin to explain how proud of our youth group I am. Although I'm still a senior in high school and not an official leader, sometimes I just feel like one. Going on OB, I was taught to be a leader; not only that, I'm just natually a planner and organizer, and enjoy taking on leadership positions. So call it what you will, I felt like I was looking around and seeing my own students worshipping and pursuing Christ...it was one of the most incredible things I've ever seen.

Not only the students, but the leaders as well amazed me beyond what I thought possible! I guess I'll take this moment to brag about our guys. (Our girls were phenominal and they always have been) Back when the guys were all younger, there were times when maybe we all didn't make the smartest decisions---or to be honest, the guys would do some crazy things and people would look down on them or not see it as 'silly' like I did in my crushing years. ;)  Comments were made that "we have such great girls, we just need some great godly men." At the time, I would agree with those judgements but now it's like a total 360. These guys are stepping up and becoming incredibly awesome leaders in our youth group. Their hearts are being changed by God and they have a love and desire not only for God, but for the students. I've grown up with these guys and to see them now makes me so proud! My friend Virginia and I went on a walk the other day and had a really long, great spiritual conversation. Part of that conversation involved bragging back and forth about how much we love our guys. We tried our best to write them encouragment cards, but there's only so much you can put in writing on a tiny little notecard. But be praying for them...you can only grow when you have people supporting you and encouraging you along the way. Pray that they would find older godly men to disciple them, and that our church would be an encouragment to them!

In addition, the overall weekend retreat was awesome! Watching the kids worship together and interact was sooo neat..definitely a proud moment for me.

On another note, I got this really awesome book called "One Thing You Can't Do In Heaven." (you should read it!) It's all about evangelizing and the reasons behind why it is soo incredibly important. I can't even begin to describe all the things I've underlined in that book, but I felt that it was worth mentioning and worth advertising over my blog. haha. But anyways, I can't really remember why I started this post (I began writing really early before school and now it's midnight so I can hardly remember what I've already talked about) Nonetheless, I want to push for you all to be sharing your faith. No matter what the situation, it is sooo easy to change a conversation into a spiritual one. And the awesome part is, people are most often open and willing to hear what you have to say; the world we live in today is full of hurting people.

That's all I've got for now. Goodnight!