Disciple NOW 2017 - {RENEW}

photo courtesy of fb

 

Goodness. Have you ever walked away from a weekend with your body so amazingly tired, but your spirit so full of life?? We spent this past weekend with several teenagers, adults, staffers, God-loving folks through our Disciple Now event that was held at our church. And it was EPIC.

 

For those who don't know, Hunter and I absolutely love teenagers. I know, weird. But we do and we love that God has called us to that ministry to be able to love on them, do life with them, and hopefully pass on some valuable life lessons. It's easy for folks to disregard teenagers as the "problem with our society" but I can honestly tell you from years of being around teenagers (and being one myself at one time), they are not the problem. Teenagers go through so many hormones, emotions, feelings, things... It's crazy.

 

Anywho, the weekend's focus was RENEWing your heart, mind, soul, strength and to surrender everything to God for His glory. There were so many Gospel-driven points discussed throughout the weekend but the one thing that stood out to me the most and I want to share with this bloggity blog was this:

 

This life is NOT about you. PERIOD.

 

I'm guilty of forgetting why I'm here day in and day out because let's be honest, life gets BUSY. Life gets hard sometimes and there are days where I'm like, "Let me just get through this day." But that's not how we should look at each day. I really would have to do several posts about all that was talked about this past weekend but I want to leave you with this.... Where is your heart with God right now? Is it even with God?

 

If you have any questions or need prayers, please don't hesitate to contact me. I'm one of those awkward people that will grab you and pray with you in the midst of everything going on around you. 

Disciple Now weekend

I realized that I haven't done an honorary photo dump of our Disciple Now weekend with our students. On MLK weekend, we were able to spend a couple of days doing life and Gospel with teenagers and some awesome college leaders. It really was the best way for us to end our time there as youth leaders.

 

Please enjoy this lovely {borrowed} photo dump from some of our students because #bloggerprobz....

 

 

 

Unfortunately, I don't have really any pictures of the boys because what teenage boy is going to pose for the camera and take 50 shots just for fun? Ha! Even though we had such a small group that weekend, it really was great because it allowed us leaders to have a bit more one-on-one time with students. We were able to really find out some interesting things about them, talk about life, and just laugh over the silly things.

 

Thank you, God, for allowing us to have participated in such a wonderful ministry. Thank you for leading us in the direction we need to go in. God, we trust You and know that whatever You have in store for us next, we will go without questions. Well, I might buck the system a little bit but I'll eventually surrender. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.



Hot chicken on a rotisserie stick

If you're new to these parts, then you will soon learn pretty quickly that my husband and I have a passion for doing ministry and life with teenagers. We love the variety it brings, the joy in seeing a teenager "finally get it", and the dynamics that go into those weird teenagers. They really are a fascinating breed, ha!

 

Unfortunately, a lot of folks don't get that. Especially church folks (now I'm not saying ALL church people don't get it, just a select few... And I speak from experience).

 

Take it from a kid who grew up in church where the youth leaders rotated in and out like a hot chicken on a rotisserie stick - it sucked. Not having the opportunities to really build relationships with our leader, the lack of organization, and the pure frustration in always feeling like you were getting a new "flavor" each week are really some of the main reasons why I stopped going to my youth group. As I got into my later teen years, I was blessed to find a youth group that had the ability to remain constant while preaching the Gospel at the same time.
 

 

As I reflect back on that learning experience, I can so clearly now see the importance of having a youth group that was fully supported by the church family. I'm talking in terms of financial, morally, and biblically. Think about it - kids and teenagers are the future of the church. I know this may come as a shock to the older generations but brace for it: you are going to eventually die. I'll let you catch your breath on that concept real quick...

... Ya good? Okay let's dive into this a bit deeper. So let's be biblically hypothetical here - if I were an older generation (heck, even at my young age now), I would so desperately want to see God's work continue on past my time. I couldn't rest easy if I willingly squandered away my time with worries of trying to do church "my way", or not allowing any young kid in "because they don't fit the mold", or even if I said, "We already do too much for them. What about me and my needs?" I whole-heartedly could not rest easy if I practiced those behaviors just previously mentioned.

Why you ask?

Because it's not biblical. Nor is it morally right. And honestly, it makes you look like a brat.

Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.
-Proverbs 22:6 (ESV)

If you start at a young age of teaching children how to act, loving them like Jesus would, showing them how to be an effective disciple (hence, make more disciples), can you imagine the world we would live in?? Can you imagine the work that would get done after we are dead and gone??

That, my friends, is why investing in your children and youth programs at church are vital to the church's very core and existence. Without the church family to bring up and raise the next generation to be effective disciples, the world around them will do it for you. And trust me, the results aren't as pretty. Invest in the future, support the youth program, and for the love of God, treat the teenagers with some respect. You'd be amazed at the results.

 

Glass House

As a Christ follower, I know that I am constantly watched by all those around me. I know that I'm being watched to see how I react to certain things, what I say, and sometimes, I know I'm being watched to see when I fail.
 

 

We should all be pretty familiar now with the whole Josh Duggar drama that's been swirling around the last several weeks. I'm not going to go into detail about the events, nor will I state whether I agree with one side of the argument or other (because honestly, I have better things in my life to discuss rather than someone else's mistakes), but I do want to hit on something. Josh Duggar and his family were placed under major scrutiny from the very beginning of their time in media simply because of their faith. Plain and simple.

 

Tim Tebow was scorned, and still is completely disrespected, mocked, and ridiculed simply because of his faith. Don't believe me? Just find a couple of articles and there will be mention of his faith. And what's even worse, there are those that are hoping he fails at something in life (other than football - not saying he has) so that they can string him high upon the cross.

 

It's a disgusting and sad world we live in.

 

But! Jesus warned us from the get go that if we take up our crosses daily, we will surely be mocked, hated, scorned, and even killed for our faith. So I can't say that we weren't "told ya so".

 

Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?

Matthew 16:24-26 ESV

 

Hunter and I strive daily to teach our students how to lead by example; we aim to walk the walk and talk the talk simply because we know that we're being watched, not just by our students but even by family, friends, and the community. Do we get it right every time? Heck no, but we make a conscientious effort to live as Christ would. So let me pose this question to you:

 

Are you walking the walk and talking the talk?

 

Don't quote scripture one minute and then use awful words to tear somebody down on social media.

 

Don't pray for someone and then immediately turn around and slander their name just to appease your sinful nature.

 

Don't lie with your wife/husband at night but then lust over the opposite sex all throughout the day.

 

Don't take pictures with inappropriate poses (read: flipping the bird at the camera) and thinking it's all cute and fun. It's not cute, trust me.

 

Are we all going to be perfect in our daily walk and talk? Lord no, and that's why we have the grace that Jesus so perfectly gave us on the cross so that when we do fall short, we can pick ourselves back up and move forward. The whole process is sanctification. Look it up and start living it.

One for the books

Guys, this weekend was awesome. It was wonderfully exhausting and spiritually rejuvenating all in the same. Between spending time with friends, preparing for our huge youth event Saturday night to it finally happening, and then wrapping up the weekend with a wonderful baby shower, I can honestly say... I'm a very happy woman.

 

I will share more later on about each event such as decoration and foods, but for now, I just wanted to share some pictures I took from Saturday's youth event. While ya'll are feasting your eyes, I'll be working on trying to suck down multiple cups of coffee.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I'm so beyond grateful for God's love and mercies. It was a beautiful night seeing roughly 75 students lift their hearts and voices to praise God. I'm so grateful that God has a passion for people and welcomes us all with open, loving arms. Despite our flaws, despite our sins, He loves us. Talk about powerful?!



Real Talk: Youth Leader Myths



This topic has been weighing on my heart and mind for quite awhile. And when I say quite awhile, I'm talking AWHILE. As most of you know, Hunter and I accepted the position as youth leaders at a small church. As most of you don't know, we were very very hesitant to do so. I will be the first to say this: We have an awesome foundation and support of the pastor and his wife at this church. And that really helped us in our decision making.

We realized that the main reason holding us back from making this decision was because of what we had dealt with in the last year or so, and the judgment that (we felt) many people would place upon us for choosing to step away from an unhealthy situation. And we realized that allowing the opinions of others to control our desire to share the Gospel is not Christ-like; Jesus never stopped His works even in the face of resentment, fear, and struggle. Why should we allow past events to control our future decisions?

 

Now that the story (with major details left out simply out of respect for others) of our journey to this point has been made clear, I want to share with ya'll some myths of youth leaders, and why they are blatantly false and honestly, just disrespectful.

 

 one// You're just the "glorified babysitter."

 

I'll be honest, this title makes me laugh hysterically because oh my sweet friend, you are so sorely mistaken. If I recall correctly, the last time I babysat (eons and eons ago) I don't remember spending hours upon hours of planning lessons, diving into scripture in detail to better understand things to be able to put it into teen terms, brainstorming ways to raise money for these kids to be able to do activities, loving these kids as if they are my own, etc. The amount of time, love, energy, and patience that goes into ensuring that these teens are receiving the true Gospel is overwhelmingly huge (in a good way). And this is in addition to my real full-time career (shocker), being a wife, leading a women's ministry group, and trying to maintain some semblance of a social life. And to lay those questions to rest, no, we are not paid to be youth leaders and prefer it to stay that way.

 

two// Teens will do what teens want to do - you can't change anything.

My response to this is: You will do what you want to do - Jesus came here to change that. No, it's not our responsibility to save a person; that's the Holy Spirit's job. OUR job is to do everything in our power to plant that seed to ALLOW the Holy Spirit to work in those teens' lives. It's no different than sharing the Gospel with adults, people in foreign countries, etc. All we are called to do is love them first, and then plant the seed. The Holy Spirit is pretty dang powerful - give Him some credit.

three// Youth leaders are supposed to make youth group fun, not another boring place for my kid(s).

Yes, fun is always good. I'm a firm believer in fun. We will sometimes play games, sing songs, do goofy things, have movie nights, etc. That's all fine and dandy. Here's my issue with this myth: Although the Bible has many wonderful, happy stories it also has it's fair share of serious stories. You cannot, cannot, cannot just take part of the Bible that makes you feel oh-so-happy and disregard the rest. The Bible is applicable in every.single.way. Even the uncomfortable stuff. Everything we do with our teens has a purpose and we always link it back to scripture - the happy stuff and the tough stuff. Heck, our lives are a product solely on the love and works of God in the old and new testament; why shouldn't we do the same and revolve our lives around both the old and new testament?

four// How can you have so many issues? You're a youth leader - you're supposed to be a representation of having it all together!

This myth, by far, irks me the most. I don't care if you're a youth leader, pastor of the church, police officer, politician, mother, father, carpenter... You're HUMAN first and foremost. Just because a title has been placed across your back does not mean you are exempt from struggles in life, sinful temptations, etc. When I'm frustrated beyond words, I will let a cuss word or two slip. When I've had a stressful day, I may have not just one glass of wine, but two! There are moments that my husband and I don't necessarily like each other (doesn't mean we don't love each other). There are people in my life that make me so spittin' mad that I could just slap 'em some days. We're real; we struggle; we're trying to figure out this life too. Take us off the pedestal of perfection and understand that we are human too. Hunter and I believe in full transparency: we've got issues, you've got issues, let's do this together.

There are so many other myths out there, and many more will come up throughout the years. Regardless, Hunter and I love what we do. We love God first and foremost, and then people secondly. We particularly love teenagers and cannot wait to do life together with them. If you have any questions, comments, concerns, constructive criticism, feel free to let me know! Like I said earlier, I can handle the judgment. Can you handle the response?

 

 

Grateful Monday + Cardboard Testimonies

Happy Monday after Easter! I hope each and every one of ya'll had an amazing Easter, ate lots of yummy foods, hunted many eggs, and gave all the glory to our wonderful Father. We had a busy Easter but it was wonderful nonetheless.

 

Our day started off at 5:45am to head over to our small church for sunrise service. Hunter shared his testimony with the folks and it was beautiful to watch the sun rise above the trees.

 

Next we moved onto our main service where our youth did a skit called Cardboard Testimonies. In essence, it's your testimony of "Before" Christ and "After" Christ. These are just some examples of what our students shared with folks...
 

 

 

 

 

Today, I am so beyond grateful for these teenagers and their life stories. I'm grateful for their hearts and souls, and their love for the Lord. I'm grateful that they are real with us, transparent with us, and can come to us to ask for advice or prayers. Thank you, God, for these children of Yours.

Youth Lesson: Dealing with Difficult People

A couple weeks ago, I taught on a topic that is something I struggle with and I know that many others struggle with it as well. All of our youth students have faced, are facing, and/or will face difficult people in their lives whether it's somebody at home, peers at school, etc. We all face those difficult people. The key is, how do we handle those difficult people.

 

Dealing with teenagers, it is important to relate everything biblically because everything we do as Christians is bible-based. But it's also important to put those biblical rules into lament, teenager terms. If you just throw a bunch of bible verses at them but with no real life applications, then you've lost that battle.

 

As Hunter and I dived into this lesson and preparing for it, it really taught us a few things. I want to share with ya'll the steps that we formulated in handling difficult people:

 

(Note: "Difficult people" can consist of friends, family members, trolls, employer/employees, etc. It's anybody that brings conflict and strife into your life.)

source

 

 

one// Love the person and forgive them.

 

Our first command from God is to love Him; the second is to love others. When a difficult person has brought frustration into your life, it's really hard to love them fully and it's even harder to forgive them if this isn't your first rodeo with them. Trust me, I have had those people walk in and out of my life and bringing havoc along with them. I had a student read 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 and we focused on key words. I wanted them to really read and understand this verse; it's not just some cute bible verse to spout out when your boo thang has made you so happy. It's God's command that love endures all things much like Jesus endured all things to save us from ourselves.

 

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

 

two// Confront the person. Don't retaliate.

 

I'm not sure how it is elsewhere, but it seems that the norm for down here in the south is to just ignore the problem, sweep it under the rug, and just "bless that person's heart." No, no, no. Deal with the problem head on using constructive words, not hurtful words. Always say how you felt rather than pointing fingers by using words like, "Well you did this and you did that and...." That just leads to defenses up instantly. And of course, use your words, not hands.

 

As far as the retaliation goes, that's just mean and juvenile. As I told my youth students, one of the best ways of "retaliation" to a person that has hurt you is to turn the other cheek. A person that thrives on drama and hurting others wants to know and see that they have hurt you; it's their drug of choice for lack of a better word. By turning the other cheek, forgiving that person, and continually loving them, you have become the bigger person and not stooped to that level. Trust me, I have witnessed this with my own personal life. It drives them mad!

 

If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

Romans12:18

 

Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord.

Romans 12:19

 

three// If it continues, discontinue that friendship/relationship.

 

This is what threw not only my students through a loop, but me as well. Yes, we are called to love people. We are in no way, shape, or form called to be friends with everybody. We are to love our enemies, but we are to not associate with them. By living your life in love and bearing good fruits, that will reflect to all those around you, including your enemies. It is not your job to fix them, that's the Holy Spirit's job. By being your loving self, you have allowed that seed to already be planted for them to {hopefully} one day be convicted for their wrong doings. It may sound harsh but we cannot, as Christians, lose our focus on the mission we have been placed here to do.

 

Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”

1 Corinthians 15:33

 

Make no friendship with a man given to anger, nor go with a wrathful man, lest you learn his ways and entangle yourself in a snare.

Proverbs 22:24-25

 

Today, I'm so grateful for the openness of our youth students. They are real with us, they are honest with us, and it's the most refreshing thing I've had in a long time. They are the reason Hunter and I make that long drive on Wednesday nights. They are the reason we love what we do. Friends, I leave you with this bible verse that I had my students dwell on:

 

Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Galatians 1:10