Unbelievable... never before felt... emotion and CHOICE of the heart.

Have you ever been in love? Horrible isn't it? I mean, it's a great thing... but it makes you so vulnerable. It opens your chest and it opens up your heart and it means that someone can get inside you and REALLY mess you up. You build up all these defenses as you go through life... Life experiences have caused you to build up a whole suit of armor, so that nothing can hurt you...no one can hurt you... then it happens, one person, to the untrained, unknown eye they are seemingly no different from any other person yet they simply wander into your life...

And oddly enough, inspite of all the walls you have built up around yourself, you give them a piece of you. They didn't ask for it. They did something dumb one day, like smile at you or hug you or show you that all those walls and defenses that you have built up your entire life are completely idiotic... And eventually that feeling of wanting more, and wanting another person in your life doesn't seem so bad, so you give your heart to them...piece by piece. Then your life and your heart isn't your own anymore. Love takes hostages. It gets inside you. It begins eating away at your insides so that eventually you are hollow and no longer completely yourself...

With some relationships however, it could leave you crying in the darkness. So simple a phrase as 'maybe we should be just friends' turns into a glass splinter working its way into your heart. It hurts. Not just in the imagination. Not just in the mind. It's a soul-hurt, a real gets-inside-you-and-rips-you-apart pain. That type of pain can cause one to truly hate love. But I sit and ponder why that is... Why is it that we allow ourselves to fall so madly for someone that even when things turn sour and that person is CLEARLY not for you, you can't help but still want them? Is it perhaps that we were created to love?!

I mean it is true that to love is to risk not being loved in return. And to hope is to risk pain. And to try is to risk failure, but risk must be taken because the greatest hazard in life is to risk nothing. But what if it were possible to jump into a true love relationship with the knowledge that you would NEVER get hurt? What if it were offered to us, "Let me show you what love REALLY is, then you will be able to show that love to others and in return, you will be able to be loved as well." What an offer! But that is an offer that is already on the table. I mean God is love. And before we offer our hearts to anyone else, God wants us to offer our hearts to Him.

He wants to be a TRUE love relationship with Him. And when we receive that offer, He comes in and shows us what love is. And as He begins to transform us into His mini-me's, He longs to see us BECOME love as well... 1 Corinthians 13 is known as the Love chapter in the Bible... but what if we take it a step further? What if everytime we see the word "love" in the passage in verses 4-8, we replace that with our names? After all, that's what God longs for...us to BECOME love.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8
Abbie is patient, Abbie is kind. Abbie does not envy, Abbie does not boast, Abbie is not proud. Abbie is not rude, Abbie is not self-seeking, Abbie is not easily angered, Abbie keeps no record of wrongs. Abbie does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. Abbie always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Abbie's Love never fails.

Ok...I don't know about you...but that makes me feel like a liar... So where do we go from here?! I think we should recap our lives and ask ourselves DAILY in the famous song of Tina Turner "whats love got to do with it?!" I mean do we REALLY live each day as God's love?! Are you always patient, kind, not envious, not boastful, not proud, etc?! Because I'm sure not...but that has become my prayer... GOD, DON'T JUST SHOW ME LOVE, MAKE ME LOVE...LIKE YOU ARE LOVE!

Bucket List...

I have had this a while. But today we were talking about Bucket lists...aka things we want to do before we "kick the bucket." Here's mine. It grows (and shrinks due to accomplishing things) daily.

Abbie's Life List:

-Get my education paid off and eventually get enough money to pay my parents back for what they have given me to further my education.

-Be able to show my community that you can make something of your life even if you are from a small town in the middle of no where.

-Gain more confidence in all areas of my life. **2009

-Write to somebody famous, and get a REAL reply **Jonathan Safran Foer 2007 (writer of one of my favorite books.)

-Save somebody's life **2007

-Take a road trip with a few friends and document the whole thing. **2006

-For somebody who doesn't know me or anyone i know to know my name.

-To step foot in every state in The US

-To throw out the first pitch at a major league game

-Ride on a passenger train.

-To attend the Olympic games

-Go to every continent

-Dance in the streets of a major city **2006

-See one thing that is the “world’s largest"**2007 Drove on the world's longest bridge

-Stay out all night and go to work the next day without having gone home **2008

-Drive across America from coast to coast.

-Find a job I love. **2007 CAMP!

-Overcome my fear of failure.

-Give a phenomenal speech in public **2004

-Make myself spend a half-day at a concentration camp and swear never to forget.

-Run to the top of the Statue of Liberty.

-Catch a ball in the stands of a major league baseball stadium **1994

-See the Northern Lights.

-Go to top of the Empire State Building

-Visit Mt. Rushmore

-Walk every stair up and down the Eiffel tower

-Own a laptop **2007

-Drive down route 66

-Cook something for a celebrity

-Fall in love....a real love beyond just some high school romance **2008 and more and more everyday since... Oh man do I love that boy! :P

-Get painted like a statue and sit in a park and shock people all the while filming every moment of it.

-Make a dream come true for a friend

-Make a comedian laugh**2008 Mark Lowry

-successfully do a stand-up comedy act **2007

-Learn to do “the worm"

-To meet a really famous person and to pretend I don't know them

-To ride in a limo for a cross-country trip

-To read the Bible cover to cover

-To go Scotland, and sleep in one of those old castles

-To walk down the red carpet at one of those famous movie premiers

-See Angel Falls in Venezuela

-Kiss the Blarney Stone

-Take a cruise

-Teach somebody to read

-Teach somebody to ride a bike **2007

-Take a martial arts class **2009

-Drive at more than 140mph.

-Have my name spray painted on the side of a railroad car **2005

-Get my name in the "thank you" section of a CD

-To be able to say....in everything...whether success, or failure...I Tried

-For somebody to dedicate a book to me **2008 (discovered it in 2008....)

-To have a song dedicated to me on the radio **2000

-To Sky Dive

-To sell a soda at a pro baseball game

-To be a person with a nick name **2007 Bagels...long story. lol

-Crowd surf at a concert **2007

-To sleepwalk somewhere in public **2002

-Fly in a glider

-See every movie that ever won an oscar for best film

-Go to a major league baseball game **1994

-Have my photo taken with a leg on each side of the equator

-Design a video game

-Do something that no one expects of me **2007

-Break a really large plate glass window

-Tip a waiter with something other than money **2008 "Movie Bucks"

-Kick open a door **2006

-Spend a night in a "haunted" house **2004

-Swim with dolphins

-Fly a plane

-Learn to play an instrument well.

-light a match with a gun (my grandfather used to be able to do it with a .22)

-make a movie

-Fly first class

-Jump off of a bridge(into water...duh) with some friends to prove to everyone that “yes I would jump off of a bridge if my friends did."

-Perform an Anonymous Favor **2006

-be on national television for something I have accomplished **2007 Operation Purple Camps

-Work for a cause I believe in. **2005

-SING in the rain! **2002, 2006

-Be able to send my parents on a 2nd honeymoon

-get a tattoo **2006

-Save up $5,000

-Learn to drive a stick shift **2004

-Go to a drive-in movie

-See the ocean **2006

-Go sledding on a food tray **2008 (@Tech! lol)

-Watch the sunrise/sunset from the roof of at least one university-owned building.

-Throw a huge party **2003

-Watch the launch of a space shuttle

-Receive a dozen red roses…just because **2009

-Be a member of the audience in a well known TV Show

-Send a message in a bottle

-Ride a camel in the desert

-Learn a new dance **2006

-Get passionate about a cause and spend time helping it, instead of just thinking about it. **2009 MCH

-Experience weightlessness.

-Learn to juggle.

-Stay in a penthouse apartment in NYC

-Win a contest of some sort **2002

-Buy a house

-Drive in a car race

-meet my heroes of comedy: Ellen DeGeneres, Dane Cook, Jeff Foxworthy, Bill Engvall, among others...

-Graduate High School **2004

-Graduate College **2007 Associate's

-Pull a prank on someone I just met **2006

-Ride in a horse drawn carriage

-Help my dad quit smoking

-stop procrastinating...now....well...maybe later... :D

-exercise more

-lose 20 or more pounds **2006...25 over the summer! woo!

-get an iPod

-run in a marathon

-Learn a new language....fluently

-Attempt to climb Everest.

-have a newspaper story, other than in my small town, with my name on it **2006, 2007, 2008

-spend new years eve in NYC

-be a motivational speaker that travels across the US talking to youth and kids

-get my passport and start filling it up with adventures I have taken...

-have something to show for my life by the time I am 25

-own a horse

-learn to ballroom dance

-make a positive difference in a child's life **2007, Camp

-try sushi **2007 in California! I like it!

-eat a piece of food for every letter of the alphabet

-tell the people that mean most that I love them everyday...and mean it everytime

-go somewhere besides prom that requires a formal gown

-visit an orphanage and become really involved in helping **2009

-not be afraid to step out on faith and do something**2006(roadtrip and camp)

-be completely carefree for a day**2006

-show my friends, who have truly been there more than anyone could have imagined, that I really care for, love and appreciate them then help them make a dream of theirs to come true...

-Buy a sportbike

-get back into riding dirtbikes and race a bit

-Learn to surf

-Get my PhD

-Sleep under the stars**once a year almost every year

-Kiss in the rain

-Write a book

-Change the world for one person**2007, at least he made me feel like I changed the world for him. RIP

-become something great



This is pretty much what my Life List consists of...I encourage ya to write one of your own...if you write it down then you are more likely to actually do the things on there! later yall!

Ongoing struggle to talk to the Creator of the Universe...

I don't know how many times I have sat on a pew within a church and watched as the preacher proclaimed to me that prayer is as much about listening for God's response as it is about speaking to God. And that my words are merely half of a dialogue with God. Still, I continue to struggle—I'm talking major struggle—with the notion of prayer.

I, however, refuse to apologize for this. After all, even the disciples were all about failure to pray... Whatever do I mean?! The disciples?! NO! lol. Ok, well check it out:

Like us, they had Jesus himself as a model. They saw him go off by himself to pray. They listened to him pray publicly. They overheard those seemingly weird private yet public prayers of his in which he told his father stuff like, I know you’re already doing this, but I am just saying this for the benefit of those listening. And yet, they didn’t pray enough—or perhaps the correct way—to cast out demons on at least one occasion. And they fell asleep instead of praying in Gethsemane. And, most importantly, they questioned Jesus about how to pray. They were, in other words, just like me. They were worried about prayer. They decided, or feared, or fantasized, that there might be some right way to pray—the way John the Baptist prayed, perhaps, or Billy Graham, or the way some dorky self-help book on morning devotions described what the author did each day, or the way some preacher told them was how prayer was supposed to be done—and they weren’t doing it that way. They thought their prayers were inadequate, somehow. I know they did. This is how I perpetually feel about prayer.

Don’t get me wrong. I pray. I prayed as a child. Nowadays, as then however, I pray on mostly an as-needed basis. I worry on behalf of others, a kind of intercessory prayer, I think. I also get great relief, many nights, from silently talking to God, so to speak, and knowing that he’s listening. In my few years years of being a bit agnostic, the prayers of my abandoned faith were what I missed most. Asking. Complaining. Being comforted. Feeling heard.

Yet... really... I don’t know what to say here. How did I come about a transition from this obviously knowing how to pray that I have had from childhood—and there is this sense that we all, deep down, actually do know how to pray without being told—to the conviction that my “prayer-life” is somehow faulty in the eyes of God and of men?! Is it just the influence of the sort of people who use such terms as “prayer-life” that devalues my habits? Or is there really some better way to pray, some more mature way of praying beyond the crying out like a newborn and being comforted?

I keep thinking about this, toying with it. It’s a deceptively easy subject, it seems to me. Maybe I worry about it too much? A lot of people tell me this about a lot of things, and they are surely right. Every one of those Fear-not!’s in the Bible was intended for me, I think. The preacher, whoever the preacher may be, says, "Prayer is just talking to God. Like in a normal conversation."

But here’s the thing. In most of the conversations I have with anyone else but God, the person responds. Out loud. In audible words. In my language—or at least in a language which I can understand and recognize as language. Which is not how God does it. .....Unless, of course, my experience of God really is far more limited than I know about. I mean we say that God doesn't speak audibly anymore... but... why not? I mean is that biblical "I shalt no longer speak to thee audibly."?! Don't think so... Yet when we do hear someone say "I heard God speak... I mean ACTUALLY speak to me." We just stare at them and wonder if we should contact those people that will come and give them one of those jackets that makes you hug yourself...

I have decided to consider the way those other conversations I have had—the ones that did not involve the other person audibly responding in recognizable words—to see what might be found there about the nature of prayer. Aside from mental telepathy, which I can't seem to make work the way it's supposed to... LoL, and talking to the radio, which poses similar difficulties, these one-sided conversations fall into two categories for me. Well, three. Conversations with babies. Conversations with animals (mostly dogs, but also hurt birds I have found in the yard. And conversations with dying people who are able to hear and process what I am saying but are not able to respond.

In all of these instances—with babies, with animals, and with people rendered mute as a result of disease—I held conversations, first of all, by paying attention to nonverbal responses. Eye rolling. Smiling. A look of gratitude. Wailing. Those ridiculous conversations I have with my baby nephew that cause me to wonder if people think I am nuts... “Is Christian wanting Abbie? Does he have a poopy diaper? I'm going to change it. Yes, I'm getting rid of that old nasty diaper. Oh, what now? Does Baby want the keys? Here are the keys. Here they are. Yes, Christian likes the keys, doesn’t he?”

Also, as you can see with that baby, I asked a lot of questions. Similarly, a “conversation” with a dog was usually a series of questions too, followed by a few reassuring answers, or, better, the thumping of that back foot when I scratch the "sweet spot" on their belly...

Finally, I typically supplied answers for my silent conversation partner. The best example is with the mortally sick person in the hospital. When a friend's mom lay dying, she couldn’t keep her mouth closed because she wasn't able to get enough oxygen simply through her nose and her mouth STAYED dry. I knew she was desperately thirsty. She panted heavily. Every time I caught her eye, she directed her gaze meaningfully at the table by the bed, where we had kept a cup of ice chips to give her. “You’re thirsty,” I told her. “There, you like that. That feels good, doesn’t it? That’s enough now. You’re wondering where your husband is. He’s gone to get something to eat. Yeah, that’s good. He had your Jell-O at lunch. That was all. He wasn't hungry. Too worried about you. You don't want him to worry, I know. You want me to tell him that. Yes, he doesn't need to worry, does he? It's going to be okay.”

These are inadequate examples of conversations with God, I know. God’s not a baby or a dog or a dying person. And He’s certainly not incapable of responding in my eyes. He's not incapable of anything, except maybe NOT loving us... I mean, He can't help that... God is Love. And God is crazy about us. But what I get from thinking about these conversations with the mute is something relevant, I think, about how we talk to a seemingly silent, invisible, conversation partner like God.

First off, in praying, we have to pay attention to non-verbal information rather than direct responses. Events. Preexisting evidence of truth. Divine gestures, like awe-inspiring weather conditions, a potted plant suddenly blooming, or an auto accident involving the child of friends that suddenly thrusts one’s pettier complaints into perspective. I say we have to pay attention to these things, but, in truth, I think we often do it unconsciously. Sometimes, even, to an obsessive degree, resulting in superstitions and misguided notions about how God works, or ought to work, in our lives. Nevertheless, I believe God does respond to us in such gestures. This idea especially bothers a non-believing friend of mine, who makes much mock of Christians’ egotistical notion that God would cause rain or redirect the attention to a car wreck or orchestrate a bright pink sunrise just for one person praying. Absurd, yes, but, I think, true.

Second, prayer, like conversation with a mute partner, inevitably involves questions. Lots of questions. Sometimes nothing but questions. Questions one is forced to answer oneself, usually with a reassuring offer to take some action. I’m coming. I’m here. I’m ready to do what you want me to.

Finally, if engaging in more involved discussion with God than the prayer-equivalent of reassuring a baby or offering to wet a dying woman's tongue, one has to be ready to supply both sides of the conversation. Supplying another’s unspoken response is possible only to the degree that one is familiar with that person and can recreate what he or she is likely to be thinking. The ability to predict another’s thoughts is, of course, dependent on some degree of previous interaction with that person. Knowing what the person likes and despises, what topics are important to the person, what the person has said in the past.

God’s past utterances, of course, are helpful here. And luckily, lots of them are recorded where we can check and make sure we’re right about them. We can look them up and cross-reference them and read them in all kinds of translations, get down to the word level. That, then—our reliving, if you will, of God’s side of the conversation, of his gestures, the history of our relationship with him, his words on the pages of our Bibles—is what, for today, I have decided that my more experienced Christian friends must mean when they say that prayer is “just being quiet and listening to God.”

I have begun a prayer journal to help me on my journey to a better relationship with God. I am going to begin writing down my prayers in the form of P.R.A.Y. (Praises, Requests, Admitting of sins, Yourself) Then I leave the back of the page open so I can eventually record how and when God answered my prayers.

One last thought. Interestingly, one doesn’t make many requests of babies, animals, or dying people. But prayer does involve requests of God. Or, at least, all of Jesus’ recorded prayers to our Father did.

So, conversely to everything I have written here, perhaps, in praying, it is we who are the mute ones—the babies, the animals, the one who lies dying on the raised bed. We think we are doing the speaking when we pray—casting our thoughts out to some invisible, silent troller of words—but actually we are the ones lying awake and voiceless, listening, trying to respond, wanting to cry out and make our needs known, but, ultimately, silent, while God leans over us and speaks and speaks and speaks and speaks...

Walk the Walk... But not alone.

Ephesians 5:15-21

15Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, 16making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. 17Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is. 18Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit. 19Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, 20always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 21Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

Galatians 5:16-26

16So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 17For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. 18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law. 19The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

Our Eyes automatically blink, lungs automatically breathe, and heart automatically pumps blood... All of this without being told specifically to do so. There are a few things that we can learn to do, like singing, playing sports, or just walking and talking, and some of those things require more effort and years to achieve successfully...

There are also things that we will never be able to do as much as we may try... For instance, flying like Superman or completely stopping the aging process (sorry people... no fountain of youth...) But you know what?! That truth can also be applied to our lives spiritually. Within our Christian walk we will never be able to live a Christian life within our own power. We can stop ourselves from saying and doing things that we may regret, we can show restraint with the opposite sex, we can even read our bibles daily...

But when it comes down to it, we can't depend own our own strength to win over sin consistently and confidently. We simply can't live up to God's standards on our own... WE NEED HIM TO HELP US! To walk on through this life and make the most of it, as the verses above encourage us, we have to acknowledge that we are powerless without the Holy Spirit. We have to surrender ourselves to the will of God and actually let Him take over COMPLETELY. It is extremely hard, I must admit to do this, but in order to live a life fully devoted to righteousness, this is the ONLY way.

You are in my prayers.

Ideas for youth/girls ministry

--Girls/Guys Night Out--Girls go out with the girls of all ages above youth! Guys go out with all the boys youth and older!
--Relationship Weekend followed by "Polite Night"--Godly relationships. Girls and guys will spend friday night at separate houses talking about relationships, sex, etc within the view of what God wants then Saturday afternoon the youth begin getting ready for "polite night" where they will be shown how a Godly date can look. Dress up! Make it fun!
--Daddy-Daughter Date Night--Dads show their "little girls" (ages 6-106!) how they should be expected to be treated by the opposite sex in a night of food, games, a movie (Time allowing), and Bible study! All done at the church!
--Before Prom/Homecoming dance Make-overs/After Party with Jesus--Call up local hair stylists etc, or find some willing people within your church to help the youth get ready for the big night! Then after dancing the night away, youth can spend the night at the church where you can rent blow-up games, have plenty of food, and just chillax' without worrying about the things of the world!
--JC & PJs--Sleep overs just to hang out and be kids! (of course genders are not together on this one people. duh. lol)
--Out on the Lake--Once a month during the summer months, take the kids to the lake for some Fun in the Son (yes...with an "O")--Swimming, boating, Jesus!
--Text Devotions--using twitter or other free/cheap utility
--Letters of Affirmation--(NOT EMAIL, NOT HALLMARK CARDS) But personal notes to each kid!
--"Youth" Magazine--Your own church magazine! Monthly/Quarterly, include photos from past events (church, sporting, ANYTHING YOUR CHURCH FOLK ARE INVOLVED IN!), Notes from the pastor, youth pastor, "member of the month," Q&A, Random Advice, To the Next Step(advice columns for EVERY stage in life--teens to kids, teens to teens, adults to teens, older adults to young adults, etc), Discussion starters--Questions to start conversations within small groups, the home, etc., Scripture of the Month, Daily Devos, Music of the Month. Announcements for the coming months!
--Christian fashion shows--Have some fun showing off the latest fashions that are tasteful and cool! Just cause we're Christian doesn't mean we can't be stylin'!
--Self-defense classes for the girls--Let's face it, there are some just plain ole jerkfaces out there who look for nothing more than to take advantage of our girls...why not teach them how to handle a situation that we hope never happens?
-- Mary Kay Cosmetics apparently has a spiritual "application" to its products...i need to check more into that but when i find it im sure it will be a great thing... includes stuff like applying foundation and how we should look at our spiritual foundations as well. etc.
--Scrapbook nights anyone?! you could just put together scrapbooks for your youth group...at the end of each year you have them to look back at all youve done!
--Creative Prayer Ideas--PowerPoint--Display Scriptures, prayers, words, pictures, etc. and have youth write in a journal what God reveals to them as they pray about what they see/read. Wifitti also has a pretty cool application where youth can text in something about what they see and it will display anonymously on a screen for the group to see.--Pray 30 minutes a day see what God reveals--Prayer stations--each station has a different thing to pray for, pray for it then move on--Prayer stations at the start of the school year to cover schools and all involved in them (teachers, principals, housekeeping, secretaries, students, etc.)
--Dinner with the staff--Youth hang out and actually help in cooking a meal with the staff rather than just ordering pizza.
--Sticky note prayers--give youth sticky notes to take home and put up, once a week, on their mirrors, etc. Just a constant reminder to be in prayer about a certain thing, people, missions, etc.
--Prayer partners--Big Sister age, parent age, grandparent age, etc. every generation to be a part!
--Adopt a grandparent--2-3 kids per grandparent or youth group take one grandparent
--Prayer bracelets--convo starters, beads, etc
--True Love Waits--each youth given a journal with a pocket in the front for their TLW ring. Youth can write notes, prayers, etc, to their future spouse, a gift to their spouse on their wedding night. (how sweet...i know...lol)
--"Show the Love" Valentine's gifts for the children's home... the kids that rarely get love can be shown it through some gifts and just hangin' out with the kids. (MAKE SURE YOU GET PERMISSION AND TRAINING FOR THE KIDS BEFORE YOU GO!)
--"Christmas for others" etc.
--Hospital Missions--food, magazines, goodies, etc to people in the hospital and in the waiting room! (ONCE AGAIN, GET PERMISSION AND TRAINING! ONE BAD VISIT CAN RUIN A MINISTRY FOR A LIFETIME!)
--Clothes Line Ministry--At the end of the school year, have a school uniform drive where people can give "old" school uniforms, take the youth to the laundry mat to clean them and just be a part of a life changing ministry. Give the uniforms to needy families!
--Bus people to church, youth to do community work, bus dem Christians to do some work for Jesus!
--City Wide Love--Shop with a cop, shop with a (whatever school mascot is at the local school), shop with a hero, etc. --Go to local school and ask about local needy families. Allow the kids to go shopping for their family for christmas and buy them some gifts too (as a surprise of course)
--Get youth to hang out with kids that maybe need some help with whatever life throws at them: school work, peers, anything!
--Get involved with the Schools!!!!--Character Counts, FCA, Pre-planning teacher breakfast (provide teachers with breakfast during the time they are at school with no kids the few weeks before class starts), New teacher breakfast, Grill week, Cinnamon Roll week, Pizza for kids coming in late from sporting events, etc so they dont come in hungry...no need to preach just give em some food and let em know ya care!

Francis Chan: Balance Beam Life

Who are you?!

My name is Abbie. I am a 22 year old college student who has always lived in Louisiana. I'm an athlete of all kinds. Lover of fun, adventure, and life. I'm a daughter, a sister, a grandchild, a niece, a cousin and a friend. I'm nearly always a cut-up and my greatest joy comes from seeing others smile and laugh. My love language (how I show others that I love them) is serving and therefore I do it as much as I can. I am a Christian and I believe that Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. I am me.

All of the above shows just a small portion of who I am as a person. I have been molded by my environment, my family and my life experiences.

I got saved when I was 16 years old and at that very moment, I became completely on fire for God. I was so on fire in fact that if I were sitting on a bench and someone were to approach me and ask "is this seat saved?" I would respond with a quick "no. But I am. Let me tell ya about Jesus." I was hot for God. Slowly I allowed that fire to lose oxygen to where although I'm saved, I have my struggles with sin and with living a life that is completely and utterly righteous before the God of the universe.

So how do I come about figuring out who I TRULY am as a person? And how do I change what needs to be changed?!

Let's check out the Word. Romans 12:1-8 says:

1Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.
2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
3For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.
4Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function,
5so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
6We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith.
7If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach;
8if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.

The most important thing about you is what you think about God.

• No matter if you believe God is loving & Sovereign or at the other end of the spectrum you believe there is no God at all then your life will reflect those beliefs.
• What's amazing about this is that even the tiniest bit of doubt in one's faith can be reflected through the life you lead. If you have your doubts about the very existence of God then it is likely that you will not live a life where you are consistently sharing your faith with others.
• It's kinda like this: I am not that great at math. OK. OK. I am HORRIBLE at math. I mean I just recently found out that they are now putting letters in equations! So if someone needed some help with math, would I jump up and say "OH! I can help! I got this!"?! NO! I'd probably even leave the room because math is so hard to me that the stinkin' subject makes me completely uncomfortable and even kinda scares me.
• And if we doubt ourselves about anything, then it becomes uncomfortable to share about that subject. Whether it be math... or Jesus.
• But that's the beauty of Christianity. It's not about OUR abilities. It's about a holy and living God that laid it all on the line for a people that hated Him.
• So now you question. "Ok. If I didn't have the few doubts that I did, then I wouldn't need to be lectured on this. My faith would be rock solid and I could share Jesus with ANYONE."

Then what's your doubts?

• Let's start with the very existence of Jesus. History itself acknowledges that there was a man named Jesus that walked this earth over 2000 years ago. No matter what you do, you can research your entire life and never find anything that says otherwise. He was here.
• Ok. Jesus was here. He came, He got crucified, He died. "I mean how do I KNOW that the resurrection happened?! I mean what if it was a huge hoax put on by the disciples? What if they came to the tomb, knocked the guards out, and stole the body?" Ok...fair enough. Loads of people have tried to say that. But let's look at it a little deeper. First of all the guards. If a Roman guard fell asleep while on duty, or anything happened to them that caused them not to be able to perform and finish the task at hand, then they would be killed! So I am pretty sure those guards would have done every Chuck Norris-ninja move they knew so that those redneck disciples didn't steal the body. So that's a no-go on my list.
• Next in the "the disciples stole the body" theory is the disciples. Maybe they were pulling a hoax. "Ok guys. I have this great idea. Let's try to get EVERYONE on the face of the planet to believe that our boy Jesus rose from the grave. It will be the April Fool's joke to end all April Fool's jokes." then they throw in a few LOL's and celebrate beastin' the world. ...ok...seriously?! Do you remember the freaks we are talking about here?! THE DISCIPLES! The 12 biggest chickens the world has ever seen! I mean, when Jesus was arrested, they broke every land speed record ever held and ran. Peter kinda hung back a bit and checked out the scene but when it came down to it, Peter, the guy that said "Yo' Jesus. I will go 6 feet under wit' cha" denied Jesus 3 times. They were chickens! And there was no way they were gonna peace out of life following a guy that was about to get crucified. Then something happened. Something miraculous. Something HUGE. The disciples became martyrs for the man that they denied.

Deaths of the Disciples:

• Judas Iscariot, hung himself after betraying the Lord.
• Peter, was crucified, head downward during the persecution by Nero.
• Andrew, died on a cross at Perrae, in Achaia, a Greek colony.
• James, was thrown down from a pinnacle of the temple and then beaten to death with a club.
• Thomas, the doubter, was run through with a lance.
• John, died of extreme old age in Ephesus, the only one to die a non-violent death.
• Bartholomew, was beaten to near death then crucified in Armenia.
• James, the son of Zebedee, was beheaded in Jerusalem by Herod.
• Phillip, was hanged against a pillar in Asia Minor.
• Matthew, was slain by the sword in Ethiopia.
• Thaddaeus, was shot to death with arrows.
• Simon, died on a cross in Persia (now Iran).
• Matthias, who took Judas' place, was first stoned and then beheaded.
• Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, was beaten then beheaded in Rome.

Don't you think that if these guys made all this up about Jesus that at least one of them, as the ax was coming down on their head would have raised up and say "ok...ok...you got me. It was a joke. whoo! glad I got that off my chest. Oh man, we almost had ya though right?! I mean, you set up this beheading and everything! whoo! Fun times. Now who's up for some ribs?!" I mean seriously. Something happened to them! Something that changed their prospectives of dying for this Jesus guy. PEOPLE DON'T JUST DIE FOR A LIE!These cowards turned into martyrs! Some life-changing event took place!

We are able to have confidence in God and if we are Christians, we are able to have confidence within ourselves because that very same God lives within us. God gave you the abilities and the talents and the personality He did for a reason. Use them with confidence to share what He has done for us all. And consider this: if we, as Christians, truly believed all the stuff Jesus did on that cross, if we believed with all our hearts that He endured what He did on our behalf, would we be living the same as we do now? I know I sure wouldn't. I wouldn't be afraid of sharing my faith. I wouldn't be afraid of being "different" from this world! I would become such a great asset to Christ that the only way this world could shut me up would be to take my life. We sit here and sing in our churches these songs to God that reflect this so-called desire to come to know Him better. But do we truly believe those words that we say?

Sonic Flood came out with a song a few years back called "I want to know you." The chorus says:
"I want to know You, I want to hear Your voice, I want to know You more, I want to touch You, I want to see Your face, I want to know You more." In Genesis 33, it says that "no man can see God face to face and live."

So as we sing those words, do we mean it? Do we desire to see the works of God so greatly in our lives that we are willing to die?! Because the devil is perfectly content to let us profess to be Christians...as long as we don't practice it. He wants us to live in sin. The devil wants to persuade us that it is ok to call ourselves Christians and yet hold onto that sin that we love so much.

Chew on this a bit: Think of one sin. ANY sin. What if God were to say today that it is no longer a sin...think about it. That sin you just thought about. That sin that just jumped in your mind, no matter how big or small you claim it to be. That is the sin that is keeping you from having a full blown revival in your heart. That is the major sin that keeps holding you back.

The prayer for my life and the prayer I possess for everyone is that we will have a revival within our hearts, we will let go of that sin that just passed through your mind, and that at the end of the day we can change our identity in Christ and proclaim that we are Wide eyed, Sanctified, Blood Bought, Spirit Taught, Bible Totin', Scripture Quotin', Satan Bashin', Sin Trashin', Christ Followin', Pride Swallowin', Hard Prayin', Truth Conveyin', Faith Walkin', Gospel Talkin', Bonafide Big time Believers.

You're in my prayers.

Completely random...

• I am very much a night owl but within the last year I haven't been able to force myself to sleep past 9am.
• I used to hate to read until I got into college. Now I will pick up a book at the drop of a hat.
• My favorite thing in the entire world to do is to cause someone to laugh/smile. Nothing delights me more.
• I recently had a conversation with my boyfriend about jobs and have come to discover that I have had over 10. and I am only 22. ...oh wow...
• Unlike what most people think, I don't talk much unless I know the people around me or feel completely comfortable with my surroundings. I have even been called "shy." This is mostly due to the fact that I have to make sure people can take my personality. Once comfortable though, I am all over the place. :P
• I am a pyro (I am a fire freak).
• My life is consumed with "What the heck?!" moments in which I, and everyone else in my life, wonders how in the world something happened to me...
• One of my biggest fears is simply being forgotten.
• I have studied most major world religions and can explain most things that are to do with religion at any moment...its kinda scary.
• I wish I could sing or have ANY musical talent and because I don't, I usually don't attempt because I am truly self-conscience about what others think.
• I have the desire to do things that are dangerous and some things that could "risk my life" simply for the fact that I am not afraid of death and would rather feel like I have tried things in life than feel like I have not.
• I can eat anything regardless of the flavor and it doesnt bother me, but if something has the wrong texture, I get sick.
• I LOVE summer rains.
• My southern accent shines through a lot sometimes. Even when I try to control it, I will always be a country girl.
• Although I, nor my parents, have never been through a divorce, the concept scares me to death and it also makes me a little afraid of marriage. But I am coming to pass the fear on to God and saying "Just prepare my heart if you ever want me to get married."
• With the previous in the light, I also secretly desire to marry somebody who will do random things like dance with me in the kitchen(You have all seen "Shall We Dance" lol) and do totally random things for a good laugh.
• If I was given the option of a "last meal" it would be ANYTHING my mom cooks. She is awesome!
• It doesn't bother me if someone doesn't like me, as long as they can tell me WHY they don't like me...but it bugs the mess out of me if they just don't like me for no reason.
• My family has never had good communication and therefore I usually hide my true feelings and emotions. Very few people "just know" if something is wrong with me.
• I would rather text, chat on the computer, or be face-to-face with someone that I had call them. And I have no clue why.
• I am currently in the BEST and most godly relationship I have ever been in. Period.
• I LOVE to make and edit movies even though I rarely have enough time or people interested to make them.
• I usually put others before me and it has caused me to not be able to make a lot of small decisions (if they concern others, such as "where do you want to go to eat?" Don't ask me that...just choose. Because if I have to choose we will have lost our entire lunch hour by time I say.). And if I also hate confrontations. Usually, if it came down to fighting or me being unhappy, I would simply be unhappy.
• I have only told one guy, besides my family or kids, that I love them and when I said it, I threw it around and didn't mean it...so I vowed to never say those three words again unless I meant them with all of my heart. Love never fails.
• I have HUGE regrets in my life that still to this day are hard to let go of in order for me to forgive myself.
• 99.9% of my friendships have intertwined within them the phrase or thought "If I didn't love ya so much I wouldn't pick on ya..." and because of this there is basically never a time in my life when I wasn't either involved in a prank or had a prank pulled on me to some degree...If not daily...at least weekly. Always something.
• I LOVE my life and the prospect of where it is taking me daily.
• My Boyfriend and I have vowed to memorize a Bible verse a week...and I am actually sticking to it.
• I'M AFRAID OF SILENCE
• I TALK A LOT WHEN I GET NERVOUS
• I HAVE BEEN CUFFED AND PLACED IN THE BACK OF A POLICE CAR BY AN ACTUAL COP WHO WAS SERIOUS ABOUT IT.
• I'M AFRAID OF FACING MY BACK TO OPEN DOORS
• I'VE STAYED OUT ALL NIGHT.
• I HAVE LOOKED DOWN THE BARREL OF A GUN BEFORE.
• I'VE HAD TO RUN THROUGH A PLACE WHERE BULLETS WERE BEING FIRED
• I AM FASCINATED WITH THE LAW AND HOW THE CRIMINAL MIND WORKS...
• I ACTUALLY LIKE RAP
• I HAVE BEATEN A POLYGRAPH
• THE IDEA OF MARRIAGE ACTUALLY KINDA SCARES ME AND I HAVE NO CLUE WHY....I THINK ITS BECAUSE OF THE HIGH STATISTICS OF DIVORCE BUT I DUNNO...
• I HAVE LOST 3 CLOSE FRIENDS TO ALCOHOL THROUGH ACCIDENTS
• THERE ARE CERTAIN SONGS THAT I CAN NOT LISTEN TO. AND I AM NOT AFRAID TO CUT THE RADIO OFF OR EXIT THE AREA WHEN THEY COME ON.
• I HATE FOR PEOPLE TO GET UP IN THE MIDDLE OF A LECTURE/CHURCH/ANYTHING ELSE WHERE EVERYONE IS SITTING DOWN ESPECIALLY IF THEY ARE NOT SITTING IN THE BACK...I HAVE A.D.D. THEREFORE I CAN'T HELP BUT LOOK AT THEM. DISTRACTING!
• I DO RANDOM STUFF BASICALLY TO GET ATTENTION BUT AM USUALLY TOO AFRAID TO OPEN UP A CONVERSATION TO A STRANGER.
• I LOVE DISNEY MOVIES...WELL...THE "OLDER" ONES
• I'VE BUSTED OUT A "LOL" IN A REAL CONVERSATION
• I'M A GOOD COOK
• I HAVE WORN PAJAMAS TO CLASS SIMPLY TO GET "THE LOOK" FROM THE PROFESSOR
• I AM SELF-CONSCIOUS
• I LOVE TO LAUGH AND THE MOST REWARDING THING IN MY LIFE IS MAKING OTHERS LAUGH AS WELL
• I ONCE WAS A SMOKER AND HAD A PACK OF CIGARETTES A DAY
• I SOMETIMES EAT COUGH DROPS WHEN I'M NOT SICK
• I HAVE A LOT OF SCARS FROM DOING RETARDED THINGS
• I BITE MY NAILS
• SELF DOUBT IS ONE OF MY BIGGEST PROBLEMS
• I HAVE BEEN KNOCKED OUT BEFORE
• I'VE PUSHED ALL THE BUTTONS IN AN ELEVATOR JUST TO TICK SOMEONE OFF
• I AM ACTUALLY A ROMANTIC
• I HAVE DONATED MORE THAN 3 GALLONS OF BLOOD FROM THE TIME I WAS 16 TO THE PRESENT
• I PLAN ON GOING SKYDIVING AND BUNGEE JUMPING BEFORE I DIE
• I'VE SHOPLIFTED I'VE BEEN "FIRED" FROM A JOB AND THEN REHIRED TO THE SAME PLACE WITHIN THE SAME DAY
• I'VE BEEN ON A BLIND DATE
• I HAVE BEEN TAZED BEFORE
• I'VE DRIVEN OVER 1000 MILES IN 1 DAY AND ACTUALLY ENJOYED IT
• I'VE BEEN TO MEXICO
• I'VE BEEN SEARCHED AT THE AIRPORT
• I'VE PULLED A PRANK ON THE PILOTS AND STAFF OF AN AIRPLANE
• I'VE BEEN GIVEN A PROMISE RING
• I'VE EATEN SUSHI AND LIKED IT.
• I HAVE DONE A LOT OF THINGS THAT MOST PEOPLE WOULD NEVER BELIEVE ABOUT ME.
• I HAVE DRIVEN OVER 115 MPH.
• I HAVE DRIVEN OVER 105 MPH WITH A COP BEHIND ME.
• I HAVE THROWN SOMETHING AT A MOVING CAR
• I HAVE ROLLED/TP'D OVER 30 HOUSES
• I HATE RUNNING OVER ANY ANIMAL AND HAVE CRIED BECAUSE I DID JUST THAT.
• I CAN CLIMB TREES, FENCES, AND WALLS INSANELY FAST
• I WAS A TWIN
• I HAVE MORE GUY FRIENDS THAN GIRLS
• MY LONGEST RELATIONSHIP WAS ABOUT 5 YEARS
• MY GREATEST AMBITION WOULD BE COMPLETE IF I BECAME AN ENTERTAINER.
• MY BIRTHDAY WAS ON 08-08-08 LAST YEAR...NOT A CONFESSION BUT COOL. HAHA
• I HAVE TRIED AN ILLEGAL DRUG
• I AM VERY SARCASTIC BUT TONE IT DOWN UNTIL I REALLY GET TO KNOW SOMEONE
• I AM A COMPLETE GEEK AND CAN FIGURE OUT 98% OF ALL PROGRAMS ON A COMPUTER IF I PLAY ON IT LONG ENOUGH
• MY HANDWRITING IS PROBABLY IN THE TOP PERCENTAGES FOR "WORST EVER"
• I AM A COMPASSIONATE PERSON AND WILL DO ALMOST ANYTHING FOR ANYONE I TRUST EASILY...TOO EASILY USUALLY.
• I AM USUALLY THE ODD ONE OUT BUT TEND TO MAKE THINGS FUN BECAUSE OF THAT FACT
• I USUALLY MAKE UP MY MIND ABOUT A PERSON QUICKLY BUT HAVE ONLY BEEN COMPLETELY WRONG ABOUT A PERSON ONCE TO MY KNOWLEDGE
• I HATE TALKING ON THE PHONE.
• I HATE STUPID CHAIN LETTER TEXTS/EMAILS/BULLETINS/ETC IN OTHER WORDS, IF IT SAYS "SEND THIS TO...." DON'T SEND IT TO ME. IT JUST TICKS ME OFF AND I DELETE IT ANYWAY.
• I HAVE NO CLUE HOW TO DESCRIBE MYSELF
• I CAN DEBATE THE BIBLE AND PEOPLES BELIEFS UNBELIEVABLY WELL
• I LIKE TO STUDY RELIGION...ANY RELIGION. IT FASCINATES ME
• I WOULD RATHER DO SOMETHING OUTDOORS THAN INDOORS
• I HAVE AN ABUNDANCE OF TWO TYPES OF PEOPLE IN MY LIFE: PREACHERS AND POLICE
• I HAVE BEEN STOPPED BY THE POLICE 4 TIMES IN ONE WEEK...THREE OF WHICH WERE PRANKS ON ME...JERKS.
• I HAVE HOOD SLID A POLICE CAR LIKE BO DUKE
• I HAVE TWO TATTOOS.
• I HAVE 3 PIERCINGS
• I MAKE A JOKE OUT OF ANYTHING THAT MAKES ME UNCOMFORTABLE
• I HAVE BEEN HELD UP FORCIBLY...TWICE
• I HAVE HAD A PREACHER STEAL MY CAR
• I HAVE HAD A COP STEAL MY CAR
• I HAVE STOLEN A PREACHERS CAR
• I HAVE STOLEN A COP'S CAR
• GUYS WHO WEAR THEIR PANTS ABOVE THEIR WAIST GROSS ME OUT. I HAVE NO CLUE WHY.
• I GO TO A BAPTIST CHURCH AND I CAN DANCE. GO FIGURE
• I AM LIFEGUARD CERTIFIED AND HAVE SAVED 3 PEOPLE, ONE OF WHICH NEEDED CPR.
• I USUALLY CAN'T STAND TO WATCH THE REALLY OLDER MOVIES
• IF I COULD BE A CAMP COUNSELOR FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE...I PROBABLY WOULD
• I KNOW HOW TO GET INTO A LOCKED CAR
• I HAVE CRACKED MY FEMUR BEFORE
• I HAVE FALLEN DOWN STAIRS AND SEEMINGLY BROKEN MY NOSE...OF COURSE I DIDNT GO TO THE DOCTOR BECAUSE WHAT CAN THEY DO FOR YOUR NOSE?!
• I SLEEP WALK IF I AM EXTREMELY TIRED...EXTREMELY
• I HAVE WAKEN UP AFTER SLEEP WALKING TO BE ON A STAGE HOLDING A MICROPHONE