Thanksgiving isn't just a Day

Someone at our church pointed out a need for thankfulness in the Christian life. It's pretty much essential--what other reaction are we to have toward the cross of Christ?

Except what is Common to Man

No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God [is] faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear [it].

-1 Corinthians 10:13

Something that really stood out in this verse was the very first portion: "No temptation has seized you EXCEPT WHAT IS COMMON TO MAN" (caps added). The struggles of my life are not unique--they may be a first for me, but they are not a first on this earth, and they are not a first to God: If God is strong enough to get people in the past through what I am struggling with, why can't I trust Him now?

Also, I think its such a comfort to know that my struggles are shared by other people. I've been attacked spiritually with the idea that I'm alone in a difficult situation. When I get into a spiritual tight-spot, one of the first things that will come to mind is, "You can't tell anyone--they won't understand". What happens then? I don't tell anyone--I become afraid to confess anything. When I don't talk to someone, I miss out on getting council, getting prayer, or even blessing someone else with the knowledge that they're not alone either!

100 letters sent with 1 day left to spare! Woo-hoo!

78 letters sent! 7 days left!!!

LETTER PROGRESS

58 LETTERS SENT! 10 MORE DAYS!!! 

25 letters sent! 13 more days!

Random Question of the Day

Okay--I recently saw the new Star Trek movie. It was actually really good (except for one scene and the language).
But I have this query--(if you haven't seen the movie and you plan on doing so, don't read this!)--the movie involves time travel, right? And alternate realities, yes?
So here's my question--according to the movie, the beginning of Star Trek has changed. Does that mean that the old series of Star Trek (I mean, the really really old school Star Trek..."beam me up, Mr. Scott" and all) comes after the events that occurred in the movie, or before the events in the movie in an alternate reality?
Hm......

25 letters sent. 15 more days!

Please keep the Voice of the Martyr's Project in Prayer. Pray that:

1. It gets finished.
2. The letters are sent to the proper individuals and they are able to impact somebody's life.

11 letters sent! 18 days left!

Bad news/ Good News

So, we just got back from Elevate surf camp...actually, technically we got here at like 11 something ish, but either way...

It was amazing and awesome! I love the ocean and totally wish I could drag it home with me! My group was really cool, and it was awesome that I got to help lead this time!

Some good news and bad news...the good news, I'm home safe, tired, exhausted, and alive! 

The bad news...my cat, (who I've had for a number of years), passed away. I'm really sad about that...I know God's going to work it out for good, but it's still hard...:( :( . Very, very, sad...

The good news is, we adopted a really cute kitten! We think she's part Siamese--she's tiny and playful, and I love her a lot!

More good news--nine more letters got sent for the Voice of the Martyr's challenge! So, all and all, we have ten letters, and twenty more days to go!

So, summary--3 good newes, 1 bad news...

I guess its been a pretty good day :)

100 letters!

1 0f 100 letters sent! 30 days left!

IT HAS BEGUN!!!

The 100 letters challenge has officially begun! (Like, June 17ish). The challenge ends July 17. GOOD LUCK ALL!!!

Yesterday was a beautiful, beautiful stormy day! A gorgeous swallowtail just flew by! It's so pretty--you can hear the birds chirping...
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to make it to church--mainly because my mouth was still swollen and my dad didn't think it would be a good idea to go.

Other than that, there really hasn't been anything going on....um....Elevate's coming up, which is gonna be SUPER AWESOME!

So, here's the latest as far as the 100 letters deal--I'm trying to set up an email that will basically describe what we're planning to do. I will send it to you guys or post it on facebook. The problem lies in the sending of the letters. When we sent of the letters for SOM, one of the things we were told not to do was put down our return address. Anyway, I heard that you can't really just send a letter without a return address--so I'm trying to figure out how we can send these letters. I've sent an email to somebody who helped send the letters off while we were in SOM asking how to do it, and I'm just waiting for a reply back.

Novel Idea!

Hey, this is crazy, but what if we tried to send a hundred letters to the people in the site Voice of the Martyrs? (Basically, if you go to prisoner alert--i think that's the website--you can send a letter to people under persecution in different parts of the world?). What if we tried to send a hundred of those in a month? If a bunch of people just got together and sent those off.
Who would be down with that?

God and Reason

Here's another question--what place does the mind (logic) have in a Christian's walk? You have some verses that say,

"Jesus replied, "Love the Lord your God with all you're heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." (Matthew 22:37)

And then you have another verse, that says,

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
lean not on your own understanding."
(Proverbs 3:5)

Then you'll have another verse that says,

"Do not be conformed to this present world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may test and approve what is the will of God..."
(Romans 12:2)

Whoa--wait a minute--I thought it said we weren't supposed to rely on our own understanding, and yet it says we are to test and approve what is the will of God. What does that mean?

(Same rules apply--check out question "God's Will")

God's Will--A question

K. So I got a few questions for you guys:

1. A friend threw me at this the other day, and its still in my head bugging me (cough, cough--BEN!). It's a question that has to do with God's will. The Bible says about God,

"I know that You can do all things, And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted."
(Job 42:2)

Here's my question--if God's will can't be thwarted anyway, then why do we pray for his will to be done?
If you got an answer for this, please post it up here, and have Scripture ready to back it up, (one rule--NO SCRIPTURE TWISTING! GOD IS WATCHING YOU!!! ).

Wisdom teeth--a mystery....

Okay, so, why do they call them 'wisdom teeth'? they don't make you any wiser, and you have to take them out most of the time anyway.

Anyway, so this site is basically for you guys that know me. You can write what's going down in you're life, what you want prayer for, questions, whatever....

So, does anybody need prayer? How ya guys doing out there?