It’s Worth it

Check out this post by Pete Wilson- Engage or Withdraw. I really enjoyed this post- it challenged me and made me think about my own trust issues. I definitely have a few :)

Here’s a little bit of what he wrote:

I’ll admit that at times I have a hard time trusting certain people. I generally develop my feelings of distrust after someone has done something intentionally or unintentionally that makes me question their character. And let’s be honest, if you’re in any kind of relationship with someone long enough from time to time they’re going to act in a way that will bring the issue of “trust” to the forefront.

We all have a trust-meter. Every time you interact with another person your trust-meter goes up or down based on a set of factors that would include such things as the person’s truth-telling record, their commitment keeping pattern, their confidentiality, their consistency in character, etc. This is true of all of your relationships…

Pete Wilson also wrote something else a few days ago that bothered me…He wrote this about college students..

I was shocked last week to hear that the second leading cause of death among college students is suicide. Furthermore, I read that as many as 50% of college students have thought about suicide with 15% of them seriously considering it.

You can read the rest of it HERE.

This is upsetting- Matt and I recently started leading the C3 College/Young Adults group with Bryan and Gina Zugelder… To think about the fact that possibly half of them may be considering suicide- honestly to think about the fact that this happens with ANY college students in general is sad. I remember that time in my life- it wasn’t too long ago- and if you’re not careful it is easy to slip into your own world and slowly those thoughts can creep in. I’m very grateful I had people in my life then to make sure that wasn’t the case. My hope and prayer is that all college students will find that… All the more reason to be intentional and invest in people. Because lets be honest… It’s not just college students who have thoughts like that and need help.

I’ve still got Sunday morning on my mind… Remembering what those videos said- “Will you risk it?” “Am I worth it?” I can’t think of anyone who is NOT worth it! I pray I never forget about that and am always intentional in building relationships and inviting people to church…even well after Easter. I also pray that I don’t slip back into that comfortable lifestyle where I just coast and don’t really pay much attention to those around me… because they are truly worth it. And because I’m reminded that God placed Matt and I where we are for a reason- There may be certain people that God has placed in our lives that are waiting on us to invite them… All I know is- it is definitely worth the risk.

C3 Sunday!

Today was amazing in many ways! C3 this morning was powerful and moving… It definitely woke me up to something I may have already known I need to do but have not been following through with it. They reminded us that we don’t know how long we have here, whether we go or He comes back for us… time is precious. Why have I been wasting it? Pastor also reminded us that there are so many who, when He comes back, will be left behind. That’s our job as Christ Followers…to follow what Jesus did and go reach people for Him. There are people we’ve been wanting to invite for a while and honestly we sometimes, flat out, make excuses. We let life get in the way… not remembering that they don’t know Christ. It basically comes down to how much we care about them… all I know is I want to be able to know I did what I could to make sure they won’t be left behind and that they know we do care. I want to purpose to be intentional every day- building relationships with people so that I can share with them the greatest thing that changed my life!

It was just an amazing Sunday- I absolutely can’t wait for Easter next week! If you’re reading this and don’t have place to go for Easter: http://www.c3church.cc – It’s incredible! Of course, if you are in or around Orlando :)

After church we had our flag football game…finally beat the team that beat us in overtime in the championship last year! That felt good :)

Then tonight we had our community group! Seriously love our community group- such real and authentic people who love God and really love others. It’s a place where we challenge each other and get to discuss, on a much deeper level, what Pastor talks about on Sunday mornings. You can see it in the group that they all have such a desire to reach a city… it’s contagious and such a great way to end our Sunday.

Well if I want to start my Monday out productively I better head to bed… I mean technically it’s already Monday and I’ve blogged so I feel like it has already been productive…but…yeah :) I better get to bed!

I love our C3 Sundays!

He Rose

Okay…Sorry it’s been so long since I posted! I said I would but life has just been busy.

Yesterday we celebrated Jesus on Easter. He rose from the grave, defeated death, for you and me. I was thinking yesterday about exactly what that means…I feel like so much of the time we go through life knowing He died for us but not really understanding what that looks like. At C3, they showed a video along with one of the worship songs. It had scenes from The Passion…scenes of Jesus being beaten and crucified. As I watched I remembered… He died a horrible and painful death… all for me. God loves us enough to have sent his one and only Son… to die…. for me… It’s a love we’ll never know from anyone else. Incredible.

I don’t even have words to describe how grateful I am for that amazing love and sacrifice… I’m so grateful that He not only died for me but that He rose…He defeated death… for us.

The lyrics to the incredible song from yesterday were such a great reminder:

See His love nailed onto a cross
Perfect and blameless life given as sacrifice
See Him there all in the name of love
Broken yet glorious, all for the sake of us

This is Jesus in His glory
King of Heaven dying for me
It is finished, He has done it
Death is beaten, Heaven beckons me

Greater love no one could ever show
Mercy so undeserved, freedom I should not know
All my sin, all of my hidden shame
Died with Him on the cross, eternity won for us

Such love, such love
Such love is this for me

Easter Sunday

Today was an amazing Sunday at C3 as we celebrated Christ’s resurrection. The service was an awesome reminder of what He did for us and a reminder that no matter how many Fridays we have…Sunday’s always coming. I am so grateful that Sunday came.

I love Sundays at C3 and I’m pumped about our new series, Big and Rich. Now I can’t wait for next Sunday when we have C3 Day at Moss Park. It’s gonna be a blast!! You can get more info about that here.

Our Powerhouse service was packed out and the actors did such a great job of communicating what God did for us. The kids were really into it and I have to say, the skit gets funnier each week!

Matt and I ate lunch and then I took a long nap…that was wonderful since I only got 4 hours of sleep last night! I couldn’t get to bed…but at least we woke up on time this Sunday! :)

After that we went to see Meet the Browns with Barry, Kayleigh, Darrell, and Andrea. It was a blast- and I would recommend that movie to anyone! It was hilarious and for anyone who follows Tyler Perry, I just saw that Madea Goes to Jail will be coming in theaters sometime this year…that should be a riot! 

Well, I better go. I have class tomorrow and I’m not feeling too well…I have been having some bad sinus problems lately! All the weather change does that to me.

Happy Easter!

Mighty to Save

I didn’t get to blog yesterday…I spent my morning getting ready for a huge test I had that afternoon. I am proud to say I passed it! :) That is glorious because I was terrified I was going to fail. Then after I did that I had to do some research for a paper I had to write for the next day…Procrastinating is like my best friend. I must enjoy the suspense of trying to complete something at the last minute because I do that all the time! 

In the evening I went out with Kayleigh, after we had dinner and did some shopping she talked me into working out with her. What was I thinking! :) No, it was actually good- when is working out ever a bad thing? Maybe that will motivate me to continue doing it on a regular basis.  I have quit drinking soda and I am now realizing how addicted to it I actually was. Matt and I are both doing this and he hasn’t gotten one headache from the lack of caffeine…I, on the other hand, haven’t gone a day without a headache! It’s okay though, it’s been almost a week without any soda and it’s getting better. We’re doing this for a month, my reward at the end is going to be a huge class of Pepsi :) …Just kidding

This week has been a school filled one. Just that time of the semester…It seems like all the tests start piling up within one or two weeks of each other. Next week will be the same. I have another huge test that I have to do well on if I want to graduate in May.  

I am so ready for Sunday at C3…I said it in my last post, but I can’t believe Easter is this Sunday.  It still, and always will, amaze me that our Savior loves us enough to die for us. To know that we have unconditional love and forgiveness in Him…something we don’t even come close to deserving. To know that He desires an amazing life for us, one that we can’t even imagine for ourselves, and to know how much He desires to know and reach those that don’t know Him. It’s incredible to me…it reminds me that I need to show others His love, the love that He died for. I have posted about this song before, but I love it and think the lyrics are amazing:  

Everyone needs compassion
A love that’s never failing
Let mercy fall on me
Everyone needs forgiveness
A kindness of a Savior
The hope of nations

Savior
He can move the mountains
My God is Mighty to save
He is Mighty to save
Forever
Author of salvation
He rose and conquered the grave
Jesus conquered the grave

So take me as You find me
All my fears and failures
Fill my life again
I give my life to follow
Everything I believe in
Now I surrender

Shine your light and let the whole world see
We’re singing for the glory of the risen King…Jesus

Relevance, Wednesdays, and Great Blogs

I can’t believe Easter is almost here. I can’t wait for Sunday at C3– I love that C3 is the kind of place that loves people no matter what. I love their desire to reach people far from God in a relevant way. I absolutely love that every Sunday as I sit in service I learn more and I am shown how to apply it to my life. 

I posted about great blogs yesterday and I have one more to write about. Everyone should check out Andrea’s blog about being “Seeker Sensitive” here. I think those words, “Seeker Sensitive” are something people have tried to label C3…like it’s a bad thing. I think people who label seeker sensitive as a bad thing forget that Jesus loved seekers. He reached out to them, spent time with them…He calls us to do the same, to reach out to the people who are seeking for something. So many people are searching for something, they may not know what for exactly, but they know they need it. They know they are missing something…we should be sensitive to that. It doesn’t mean compromising what God’s word says, but it’s about being relevant to them and showing them that we are real and we have real solutions to their very real problems.

Well, Andrea’s blog about that is awesome- check it out! :)  

I’m actually in class right now- I should be paying attention, but hey :) 

Wednesdays are long days- class in the morning and class at night. I usually try to get in a nap in the middle of the day. I, thankfully, did today. Naps are the only thing that keep me up in my night class! I am really excited though because we ordered our caps and gowns last week and we have only 5 weeks of class left after this week! Graduation can’t come soon enough…

In my morning class we are watching a video about childbirth. The class is at 8:30am. I don’t think I need to say too much about why that is too early to show a video like that! …Just another reason this Wednesday has been a long one!

Well- Our video is over, I better pay attention. Have a happy day!