Hmmm......

So tonight I had the opportunity to give the devotion at Castle Christian Church, a church that my mom serves the youth at on Wednesday nights. Every other Wednesday they have what is called "Poolside Devotions." By the way, it is a mix of horomone strung middle and high schoolers.

These kids, with their judgemental moods, were wishing me to go away with their eyes so they could go back to swimming. As I was encrouching the 10 minute mark (I was told to go for about 15), I decided to end it. My whole heart was not in it. I knew it. They probably knew it too. I knew about 7 of the kids there, and the rest stared me like I used to stare at all of my boring professors.

I was talking about Grace and how His grace is enough *Ref. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10* I defined grace for them (undeserved merit or favor from God). But I could still see the carelessness in many of their eyes. So I cut off the next few parts of the message and asked a girl to close in prayer. I felt terrible, even though many of the students thanked me.

I had no confidence in my message. I went their full of it. I was bursting with confidence! Then I arrived and I saw what I was going to be working against - students who would rather go behind the barn to makeout than listen to me talk about something for more sustaining and beautiful than a mere mortal kiss. I felt terrible.

All in all, I came to realize that even though I was speaking about something extremely important, I did not command the confidence in the grace I spoke so highly of. I did convey the significance in the soul-saving power of His sufficient grace. I spoke about those things, but my body language, tone, and my speed seemed to imply the obligation of speaking rather than the joy of it.

I learned a lesson. First of all, for all those hopeful that I will shut up - I won't. I will still speak and engage in a dynamic relationship with people about His grace and about His love. Secondly, I will be more prepared and practice my perception. By this I mean that I must connect with the audience with more than just a story, I must do so with my body and my tone. I need to better consider my audience as well.

I think that working with kindergarteners has also hindered my performance (though minutely). I almost started talking to these students the way I do with the kids at church. Using the silly jokes or the techniques to get attention. I caught myself in the middle of a story. I got distracted instead of staying focused. I needed to offer a bit more stimulus for these students.

So all in all it was a mediocre experience, though I learned from it. I had prayed beforehand that God would use the message to touch someone, even if I'm not able to see the results or if I do not fully communicate the message properly. I told Him it was His will.

I still believe someone's heart heard the message.

That's all that matters.

That's faith.

---AN

Why We Blog...

I have thought about typing a blog on WHY we like to blog for some time now. Andrew and I decided to start a blog last year sometime, in hopes that we would be able to reach people so that they may become better connected with God. Most of our blogs are devoted to that reason, but we also like to fill in other days with our own thoughts, whether they are rambles, rants, or just overviews of our daily lives. Some of our blogs are more serious than others, but we feel that it is necessary to have that balance of seriousness and fun.

Now, not a whole lot of our friends have jumped on the Blog-wagon yet, but that's okay! Whether we are writing for a close friend or for someone we don't know, someone is still being reached in some manner. It may be spiritually or just in a friendly manner. But all of our blogs are written for a reason. If our blog reaches only one person, then that is the one reason we need to blog.

We are here for a reason. That is that God, the Creator of the Universe, can move through and inspire us to write about anything He places in our hearts. So, that's what we do - and that's how we roll - and that's why we blog.

...lovelove...

Busy Busy!

So here I am again! It's been really busy these past few weeks! Since I last posted (May 24), I have had two cakes to make, one for a girl in my church Growth Group, and one for my cousin's 7th birthday! I really enjoy making cakes. It usually takes about 2 or so days to complete one, the first day is usually the baking and making icing, and then on the second day comes all the decorating. A lot of work goes into the cake, and usually by the end of it I don't want to do it anymore. But eventually I pick it back up again, get excited, and get creative with it. So here are the two cakes from a couple weeks ago:

Summer classes also started up about a week ago. I decided to go ahead and get 2 out of the way (Business Law & Money and Banking) so that I could graduate next spring. Thats one thing I hate about college. They don't tell you going into it that you will probably have to take summer classes if you plan to graduate in 4 years, that is unless you have like 15 hours per semester. So ever since I started my college career, I have taken summer classes. Boy, and I can't wait to get out. But enough about that. So anyways, my classes... are somewhat bearable. In Business Law we mostly talk about the government (Blah) and court cases. The teacher is somewhat entertaining, so it makes the 2 1/2 hours go by fairly quick. My second class (which is right after) is Money and Banking, and it is actually pretty fun. The teacher, who is just out of college, is brand new, and has no idea what to do. He says some of the weirdest/funniest things, and I can't help but giggle. So in conclusion (haha), I think these classes will go pretty well!

So besides cakes and classes, I have started reading a lot more! Some of you may be surprised by this, because ever since the whole Accelerated Reader junk, I have hated reading. But at this stage in my life, I find myself reading books! One is "Walking with God," by John Eldredge. It is sort of like John's diary of his thoughts and encounters with God. He explains in this book how to get closer to God when you may feel distant, and to trust Him even in the most difficult situations. I am close to finishing it, and afterwards, I want to blog on here about my own Walk with God. So stay tuned! I am also reading a "fun book," "The Notebook," by Nicholas Sparks. Such a great book and movie. If you haven't seen/read it yet, it's definitely one worth considering!

And lastly, Andrew and I had our 10 Month Anniversary on June 5th! We made Andrew's famous French Toast, which was really good!!! It's one of the first meals we made together when we started dating. We also walked around at Gainesville square. Here are some pictures:

...lovelove...