This past week, some CLARIFICATIONS

SOME TIDBITS........

On Thursday I watched UP and wasn't impressed. It may have been my high expectations or my inability to deal with sad scenes. I did, however, enjoy the dog's squirrel joke, that gave me quite a laugh. I'd say it was good but not great.

On Friday I went to FNL and was part of Mikie's Mudling, a variety show starring our very own Mikie T. A night where there was bountiful food and bountiful laughs. What was great about it, was the opportunity I got to share with the FNL group about the benefits of the Word and the transformation God had made in my life since last year's Hofstra conference.

On Saturday I woke up at 6:30am to go to my scheduled time trial swim meet. When I arrived at the pool, my boss told me that the night before, someone jumped the pool fence and pooped into the pool. What a great way to start a Saturday huh? Found out you woke up at 6:30am for nothing.

FRONTLINE....

So today at Frontline, the worship leader made a statement that perplexed me. He said something to the extent of "When we worship (corporately), we should not only be glorifying God but also be edifying the body of Christ." The part of the statement that troubles me is how he puts it as if edifying the body of Christ is just as important as glorifying God. Let me explain my point of view. As Christians, our sole purpose for existence IS to glorify God in everything we do, say, and think. Therefore, edifying the body of Christ should not be held as highly as glorifying God. Edifying the body of Christ is then, a way in which we can bring God glory.

The worship leader also said that worship should not be one on one between you and God. He said that we need to be conscious of others when we worship. My original interpretation led me to I agrue the opposite. Worship should be you and God. When we worship, it doesn't matter what other people are doing, whether they are raising their hands or singing off key. We aren't there to impress anyone after all.

However, I am now convinced that I did not interpret his statement correctly. I think either the wording or the vagueness caused my misunderstanding. In hindsight, It seems that in "conscious" he meant that corporate worship builds unity in the church. If this was his meaning, then I fully agree.

In conclusion, we were both right. How other people worship should have no impact on how we worship. At the same time, corporate worship is a time where believers are able build unity by lifting a joyful noise to our Father in Heaven.

Weekend

Much thanks to all those who came to my bday celebration!!! It was fantastic and I love you all dearly.  A bit of an overstatement for some but I won't include any names.  But thank you all for making it the best bday ever.  :D

Now that I'm turning 19, I have one year left as a teenager... Wow, the years keep passing quicker and quicker.  Something that pops into my mind as I realize how fast time is passing, is that our life here on earth is temporary.  This fact gives me a sense of urgency, to make use of all the time I am allotted.  Especially this summer, my prayer is that I make good use of it, both building my relationship with Him and furthering His kingdom.  God's been faithful and has given me an opportunity to do just that in the form of an internship with the church. 

That leads into what Pastor Todd Phillips talked about today at Frontline.  He talked about Holy Abandon, completely giving up one's life to God without the intent of reclaiming it back.  Talk about a tough task!!!!  The three points that he went over were: 

1. Holy Abandonment to God allows our lives to shine for God

Philipians 2:14-18 - when we leave our earthly beings behind, we set ourselves apart from the world

2. Holy Abandonment is expressed in a joy-filled life

-joy comes from the act of obedience itself

3. Holy Abandon is cultivated over time

-it comes through trying and failing, and trying again, no one is able to lose the earthly desires that have been ingrained in them by nature right off the bat, it takes time and time again.

First post and then some

It's been a while since I last blogged.  The lost of interest came from pointless posts of a bored middle school student where eprops were the sole goal.  But thanks to the encouragement of ms. becky lu, I've learned that blogging is a great way to share what's REALLY going on.  When I say REALLY, I'm not talking about our daily meanderings in this world but rather the journey that lasts a lifetime - our pursuit of Him.  The purpose of this blog is to share what God is doing in my life in hopes that it will be a blessing to those who read.  

Since I'm already posting, I might as well talk about what's been going on... The body of Christ is a family.  It doesn't matter what church you call home because we are all called to the same mission.  Just yesterday, REM and CBC had a joint Friday night youth group.  In every aspect, it exceeded my expectations.  The blend of team activities and camaraderie created an atmosphere that intertwined our two churches.  Just the pure joy seen on the faces of the two respective youth groups was enough reason for me to be there.  I'm grateful.  Grateful that we could glorify God through our praise and fellowship.  Grateful that our churches had an opportunity to see that we are not alone in this journey.  Grateful that there are others running the race with us, not as competitors, but as companions.