But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.  That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.  For when I am weak, then I am strong.


~ 2 Corinthians 12:9-10

Light Up The Sky ~ The Afters

When I’m feeling all alone and so far to go
The signs are nowhere on this road guiding me home
When the night is closing in
It’s falling on my skin
Oh God will You come close


Light, light, light up the sky
Light up the sky to show me You are with me
I, I, I can’t deny
Oh I can’t deny that You are right here with me
You’ve opened my eyes so I can see You all around me
Light, light, light up the sky
Light up the sky to show me You are with me


When stars are hiding in the clouds
I don’t feel them shining
When I can’t see beyond my doubt
The silver lining
When I’ve almost reached the end
Like a flood You’re rushing in
Love is rushing in


Light, light, light up the sky
Light up the sky to show me You are with me
I, I, I can’t deny
Oh I can’t deny that You are right here with me
You’ve opened my eyes so I can see You all around me
Light, light, light up the sky
Light up the sky to show me You are with me


So I run straight to Your arms
You’re the bright and morning Sun
To show Your love, there’s nothing You won’t do


Light, light, light up the sky
You light up the sky to show me You are with me
I, I, I can’t deny
Oh I can’t deny that You are right here with me
You’ve opened my eyes so I can see You all around me
Light, light, light up the sky
Light up the sky to show me You are with me


Oh oh oh oh oh oh
You are with me
Oh oh oh oh oh oh
You are with me
Oh oh oh oh oh oh

Christianity is like driving a car with God as your navigator.  You get in the car and don't know exactly where you are going, but God gives you directions.  Sometimes He tells you far in advance what to do; sometimes it's last minute instructions.  The only way to get to your destination is to follow what God says, otherwise, you will get lost.  You have to give your navigator your complete trust that He knows where He's going and knows how to get there.  Ignoring His directions and finding your own path just doesn't work.  But God gave you the wheel and the choice to either listen to Him, or go your own way.  He's there to help.  Because He's the only one who knows the way.  Will you trust Him to guide you, or will you try to find the way yourself?

In Christ Alone

"I can do everything through Him who gives me strength." 
Philippians 4:13


"Look to the Lord and His strength; seek His face always." 
Psalm 105:4


"I love You, O Lord, my strength." Psalm 18:1


"In Christ alone my hope is found,
He is my light, my strength, my song;
this Cornerstone, this solid Ground,
firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
when fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My Comforter, my All in All,
here in the love of Christ I stand.

"In Christ alone! who took on flesh
Fulness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones he came to save:
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied -
For every sin on Him was laid;
Here in the death of Christ I live.

"There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain:
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave he rose again!
And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me,
For I am His and He is mine -
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

"No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath.
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand."

Trust vs. Fear

Do we trust or be afraid?  


Why is trust so hard?  


Why do we live in fear for so long?  

To My Classmates

Well, tomorrow is the big day!  I want to wish everyone God's blessing on the test.  We've all studied hard and know what we're doing, we should be fine.

This was not my most enjoyable class this year, but it was fun getting to know you all and working along side you.  Congratulations to all you Seniors who are going off to college.  And keep up the good work Juniors, next year is yours.

I hope everyone has a great summer and is able to relax a bit before heading to college or back to school.

Here's to 5's for all of us!

"And they spent all of their time in the Temple, praising God." - Luke 24:53 NLT


And we only spend 13% of our time with God...if that.


Why is it that we put so many other things before God?  He is the first thing we cut out when our lives start to get busy.  But He is what we need the most.


All of us can't go to church all day long and just pray and worship, but we can talk to God throughout the day.


"...pray continually..." - 1 Thessalonians 5:17


Often times, I forget to pray during the day.  I get too caught up in my activities (school, work...) that I forget to talk to the One who created me and loves me more then I could ever imagine.


God wants all of us, our whole hearts.  He may call some of us to become nuns or monks and literally spend 'all [our] time in the Temple praising God.'  But not everyone is called to that kind of life.  


But we can spend all our time with God.  We can spend specific amounts of time studying the Bible, we can pray throughout the day, we can reflect, we can serve, we can repeat memorized verses, we can thanks God for His beautiful creation, we can be Jesus to those around us, we can dedicate whatever we do to God, the list goes on and on.


In the car is the perfect time to God.  Alone and stuck with nothing to do for minutes on end, this is a great opportunity to talk to God.  I've had some great conversations with God when I was driving.  So turn off the music and talk to God.  Or listen and let Him talk to you.

"What does this earth matter?  Endure it and share the good news.  Show love to all people.  Ask the Lord to help you overcome you sins.  Ask forgiveness when you fall.  Obey and serve God.


Heaven will be so much better.  What is a little suffering compared to the glories of heaven? What is some mocking here when you get to spend e t e r n i t y with your Lord, the God Almighty, King Over All, Creator, Master, Sustainer, Lover, King of Kings and Lord of Lords?


Like a moment compared to 10,000 generations is our time on earth compared to the time we will spend in heaven.  Heaven is limitless.  There is no time there.  Heaven goes on forever and ever.  Eternity spent with my Lord and Savior.  Such a thing I cannot imagine.  My mind cannot grasp hold of it.  To wonderful for me; to large for me to comprehend.
But oh the joy there will be in that place after we have overcome this life.


Looking around my room, I realize that none of the stuff I have matters.  It will all be gone.  So what do I want to put my time into? Making money (which won't last) and accumulating more stuff?  It's all worthless.  Relationships are what matter.  People are important. What makes a difference and what really counts for something is how you treat others and if you are willing to touch others' lives.  This could mean personal sacrifices or going out of your way or doing something you are afraid of.  But out of all the things in this life, that's the thing that will make a difference in the next.


So live, love and serve.  And don't be afraid to jump, cause if you do, God's gonna catch you and carry you through."
~ Anonymous

Fun Things To Do With Pictures

I was taking pictures in black and white on my camera and this other setting called septa.

Then I put them on my computer and played with the coloring and lighting in Picasa.  This isn't the exact same picture, but it had the same color as the one above.

I think it's pretty cool.

Faces From Honduras

To Save A Life

Director: Brian Baugh 

Starring: Randy Wayne, Deja Kreutzberg, Joshua Weigal 

To Save A Life came out in theaters January 22 and although it was made by a Christian organization, it wasn't advertised as such.  The main character of the movie, high school senior Jake Taylor, has it all.  He's got a girlfriend, he's lined up to go to a great college, he's captain of the basketball team, things seem to be going pretty well for him.  Until one day, Jake's old friend Roger walks into school with a gun and shoots himself.  Jake and Roger had been best friends growing up until high school when Jake started hanging out with a different group of friends and began ignoring Roger.


Roger's death really bothers Jake.  He starts to wonder who's fault it is the Roger died and that maybe if he hadn't ignored Roger, he would still be alive.  Jake meets this youth pastor named Chris and starts going to church, something he hasn't really done before.  Jake is able to talk to Chris about Roger and begins hanging out with other members of the youth group at school.  Jake wants to help other kids who might be in Roger's situation, desperate and alone.  At school, he befriends Jonny, a kid everyone picks on and no one talks to.  

But Jake's problems aren't over.  His parents are getting a divorce and his girlfriend is pregnant with his child.  Jake has to make some tough decisions that will effect not only him, but his family, friends and the lives of others.

Honduras, Day 3: Monday

Monday the 22nd:
So on Monday a bunch of us got up to see the sunrise at 6 and do our devotions.  But...the front door to the porch was stuck shut so we had to look out the window a the sunrise and do our devotions in the dinning/living area.  It was a little disappointing, but there would be other days to see the sunrise.


After breakfast, we loaded up the vans and headed to our first clinic.  It was like and hour away.  The roads were dirt and we drove way up a mountain.  Actually, we drove up mountains every day.  But Honduran driving is crazy.  There are pot holes all over and we were always swerving to avoid them.  And we would pass cars when there were cars coming in the other lanes towards us.  There weren't lines on the roads to separate lanes and there weren't really any rules either.

So the clinic that day was in a school.  At first I think we were all a little unsure of what so do (cuz the MAMA staff were setting up and we were just standing around).  But we went out and started talking and playing with the kids.  We blew up some balloons for them and they loved them; although they ended up popping most of them.  Other people were braiding the girls hair or painting their nails or just trying to talk to the kids.  This one boy was talking to me and I had not idea what he was saying.

Then we all spread out and helped with different things.  A group went to do cement, and those of us at clinic either played bingo with the kids, helped with de-worming and vitamins, helped with blood pressure, worked in the pharmacy, helped measure and weigh kids or what I did which was help Emerson (one of our translators) measure hemoglobin levels.  That involved pricking fingers to get a drop or so of blood and compare it to a little chart.  The darker the blood the healthier.  So that is what I did all day.  And the little kids would cry and struggle to get away from their mothers.  It was really sad and I felt really bad for them.  So all day I pricked fingers.  And in the school it was so hot, even though we were in the shade.  Just sitting at a table I was sweating.  Anytime a breeze came through we windows, Emerson and I would comment how nice it felt.

When we had seen everyone (a total of 192 people) we began packing up the clinic supplies which we waited for the cement crew to come back.  A few of us went with Dr. Brad so a house down the road to see a woman who hadn't walked in 12 years.  She had some sort of really bad arthritis and he joins were all swollen.  All day she would sit in her little chair doing nothing.  Anytime she wanted to go anywhere, two people would have to carry her and to eat, others had to feed her.  It was really sad but she seemed content and she was very bright.  She and Dr. Brad talked in Spanish and he would translate what she said for us.  We sang her a few songs and she asked us questions.  It was really touching to see her.  Dr. Brad was able to give her some reading glasses and pain medicine but there wasn't much he could do for her.


Shortly after we walked back to the school, the cement crew came back.  That day, that had had to carry their supplies, buckets of sand, water, bags of concrete, shovels and hoes up a hill to the house they were going to do the floor at.  And it was up a hill in the sun and in the heat that I had been sweating from just sitting down in the shade.  I can't imagine how hard it must have been for them.  But they did it and they persevered.

Monday night is a whole story by itself so I will blog about it later.

Honduras, Day 2: Sunday

Sunday we our 'fun' day.  We went to a hotel that was right on this huge lake.  We went on a long boat ride on the lake and our tour guides pointed out interesting landscapes and trees to us (in Spanish, which Dr. Brad translated for us).  It was so beautiful that day and I got a lot of nice pictures.  After the boat ride, some people went swimming and the rest of us just relaxed, either tanning in the sun, or laying in a hammock in the shade.  Then we had lunch at the hotel which was really good.  

After the boat ride, about 9 of us went horseback riding.  It was so much fun and totally different than an American trail ride.  At first we were just walking our horses along the road, but then our tour guide, horse guy person was like "one, two, three!" and he took off down the trail.  So the group of us right by him, our horses just went cantering after him.  It was so much fun!  At first my horse had been so slow but not now!  We stopped at waited for the rest of our group to catch up.  They were happily walking, although very slowly!  We ended up making a big circle around the hotel.  At one point we got to this really big field and we could see the lake straight ahead of us.  It was so beautiful.  And my horse trotted down the entire field!  That was fun, although not he most comfortable in flip-flops and shorts. :)

Shortly after our horseback ride was done, we left the hotel and drove to this really big waterfall.  That was really pretty too.  There were people going over it on a zip-line and a couple of people at the top, standing in the water!  We walked down a trail to the bottom of the falls and got a little wet in the mist.  It felt great though.

When we got back to the MAMA house, we did a pinata for the village kids.  It had been a girl's birthday the previous day, and that day was another girl's birthday.  So on the way back from the waterfall, we had stopped and bought a pinata and candy for the kids.  A ton of them came.  We hung the pinata in the tree and sang happy birthday to the girls (in Spanish and English) and then they got the first turn hitting the pinata.  A lot of other kids tried too, then the leader of our group, Mike, got a turn and he and Dr. Brad ripped it open.  When all the candy fell, the kids swarmed and piled on top of Mike.  They were so excited to have candy.  Even one little piece brought a big smile to their faces.  They had so little and yet they were happy.

That night, we went to a church service in the village, a short walk from the MAMA house. Let me just say that that was one of the most amazing parts of the whole week.  We got there a bit late but the people there were very kind and helped us find seats.  The church was quite small and our group probably made up like half the congregation.  The seats were plastic deck chairs and even though they had fans, it was really hot.

They were singing in Spanish (of course) so we couldn't understand the words.  But they started playing a song that I recognized the tune of.  It was Agnus Dei, the Micheal W. Smith version.  I was able to sing along in English, while people around my sung in Spanish. It really struck me then that it didn't matter where you were or what language you speak, you can worship God.  That was just really amazing.  Other people in our group commented that it reminded them what heaven will be like.  When the singing was over, the speaker got up and started speaking in Spanish.  Suddenly, he began speaking to us in English.  I have to say that I was quite surprised.  I had expected to sit through a entirely Spanish sermon and not understand a word of it.  But he translated his entire sermon into English for us.  That was so amazing because what he talked about felt like it really applied to our group and to me personally.  He used the verses in Ephesians that talk about putting on the armor of God and talked about how we should (with God's help) break down the strongholds in our lives.  It was really neat too, because he was a guest speaker that day, not the normal pastor.

And their church was so different than the one I go to.  When the message was over, we were singing more songs and people would just start praying out loud.  Or when the pastor got up and prayed, other people would just join him in prayer.  It didn't have to be perfectly silent during a prayer.  People poured out their hearts and came forward to have other people pray for them.  The whole service really impacted me.

After the church service, we walked back to the MAMA house and talked about the day and what stuck out to us the most.  Then we broke into small groups and discussed James.  Each day, we would read a chapter of James and write down some things that stuck out to us from the chapter.  Then every evening, we would break into our small groups and talk about it or anything that happened during the day.

Honduras, Day 1: Saturday

Taken from my journal:

Saturday the 20th.  We woke up at 4am and were down in the lobby of the hotel at 4:30.  The shuttles from the hotel to the airport go every half hour so we were going to take the 5 and 5:30 shuttles.  But for some reason we couldn't go at 5 so the shuttle guy took 11 of us to the airport at 4:30 and rushed back the get the rest of us.  It was only 8 of us who were left, me, 3 guys, 3 guy leaders and one of the leader's 11 year old son.  And we had 25 suitcases to bring to the airport plus our carry ons.  We loaded up the shuttle but one we got to the airport, we were really weighed down.  Each of the suitcases weighed 30-50 pounds.  We got a few of those luggage cart things and lugged everything through the airport to the check in place where we met the rest of our group.  We had to wait in line a long time (and hour maybe?) all the while pushing and dragging out heavy luggage forward when the line moved. Once we got our bags checked, we headed over to security and over to the waiting area for our plane.  We had some time so we wondered around and got some breakfast.  Then we boarded and left the country!  The flight was like 5 hours and seemed to take forever.  I was really excited.

When we landed we felt the heat immediately.  We got our bags and met the group from the MAMA project.  A family from our church, the Moyers, had been in Honduras for a week already and they were at the airport.  We loaded up a truck with all the suitcases and loaded ourselves into two big vans.

The MAMA house was about an hours drive from San Pedro Sula and we spent the time looking out the windows and taking pictures.  The first thing that hit me about Honduras (besides the heat) was the mountains.  I thought we had mountains here in Pennsylvania but our mountains are hills compared to theirs!

Once we got to the MAMA house, we unloaded and got settled into our rooms.  The girls had one big room on one side of the house and the boys had one on the other side.  In between was the kitchen and dining/living area.

Then we went to the nutrition centre which was a short walk down the road.  We saw a very malnourished little boy there.  He was 3 I think but he was so tiny and his arms were so skinny.


Some people played soccer and the rest of us talked (or, tired to talk) to the kids and played with them.  They liked to have their pictures taken and loved to the themselves afterward.

Then we went back to the MAMA house and had dinner.  I don't really remember what we did Saturday night.  I think we just talked about the day and hung out.

Already Home - Thousand Foot Krutch

The trouble with truth is it never lies,
and the trouble with wrong that it's never right,
so I rest my head onto your light.

The trouble with peace is it never fights,
and the trouble with love that it's always blind.
I want to walk to the edge of it tonight, and I fall down.

I'm on my knees cause your everthing I need,
and I've made a mess of myself on my own.
Well I am on my face and I'm calling out your name,
and I won't run away cause I'm already home.

The trouble with tears is that they dry,
and the trouble with faith made me wanna cry.
I've never felt so much like I'm alive,
I wanna open my eyes and see your face.
If I have to wait a thousand days,
I'd still be right here right next to you.

And I fall down,
I'm on my knees cause your everthing I need,
and I've made a mess of myself on my own.
And now I am on my face and I'm calling out your name,
and I won't run away cause I'm already home.

and I won't runaway,
I won't runaway,
I won't runaway cause I'm already home.

And I know I haven't always been
Where you wanted me
standing here on top looking down, before you.
I know I haven't always been,
where you wanted me, standing here on top
Looking down,

I'm on my knees cause your everthing I need,
and I've made a mess of myself on my own.
And now I am on my face and I'm calling out your name,
and I won't run away cause I'm already home.

Cousins

Under The Overpass

By Mike Yankoski

This is one of the best books I have ever read.  I started it Sunday evening and finished it Monday afternoon.  I would have read it straight through if I could, or I would have stayed up all night reading if I wasn't already really tired.  I just couldn't put it down; once I started reading I had to keep going.  After I finished it, I contemplated reading it again--maybe I will.  It was so interesting and gave me lots to think about.


Under The Overpass is the story of a young man named Mike and his friend Sam who lived on the streets of Denver, Washington, D.C., Portland, San Francisco, Phoenix and San Diego for five months.  They were ordinary college students before God placed this idea on Mikes heart.  They only brought backpacks (packed with the bare essentials), sleeping bags and their guitars.  Before they could eat, they would either have to panhandle for money by playing their guitars and singing (Christian worship music), or wait in long lines at homeless shelters.  Sometimes nearby churches that would give out free lunches; but some of the time they went hungry.  Other times they dug through the trash or took other partially eaten food that would have been thrown away.  They slept on the streets and were often awakened by city noises, rats, rain, people telling them they had to move and sometimes thieves.  They met other homeless people who shared their stories and struggles and were able to witness to them and help them.  Many of those on the streets wrestled with addiction.  People were surprised when Mike and Sam told them they didn't smoke or drink and even more surprised when they discovered they were Christians.

Most of the churches Mike and Sam attended and visited while they were homeless rejected them.  Once they slept outside a church hoping that when the people came to the service they next day, they would see the two homeless men outside and offer them help.  But no one did.  Other times they were kicked off church property.  Or professing Christians would see their needs, but not do anything about them.  Now, there were some Christians who they met who were very kind and Christlike.  Once someone took them out to eat; others gave them food and money for the bus; and once they were invited to a dinner after a church service.

Mike and Sam learned what it meant to trust God completely.  Sometimes they didn't know where their next meal would come from, but God provided for them.  They began to look at homeless people differently and recognized that everyone is created in God's image, even the poorest of the poor.

One scientist was picked by his peers to tell God that, because cloning people was practically a reality and with many other scientific miracles an everyday occurrence, He wasn't needed. Perhaps He could retire or just 'get lost'.
After listening patiently, God said, "Very well, how about this?  Let's have a man-making contest."
"Okay, great!" the scientist replied.
"But," God added, "we're going to do this the same way I did it back in the old days with Adam."
"Sure, no problem," said the scientist, as he bent down and grabbed a handful of dirt.
God smiled and said, "No, no, no.  You have to get your own dirt."

So What's The Difference? by Fritz Ridenour.  page 175

Well...

So I didn't really blog today.  I tried like three times to put pictures on facebook of the trip but so far it hasn't worked.  I took today off from school (because I'm home schooled and I can) and unpacked and journaled a lot.  So much happened, there are so many memories and so much to process.  I would say I'll blog tomorrow but I'm not sure I will.  Probably by the end of this week I will and I'll do my best to have pictures up on facebook too.

City On Our Knees - tobyMac

This song if off tobyMac's new album Tonight and our group in Honduras really thought it applied to our trip.


If you gotta start somewhere why not here
If you gotta start sometime why not now
If we gotta start somewhere I say here
If we gotta start sometime I say now
Through the fog there is hope in the distance
From cathedrals to third world missions
Love will fall to the earth like a crashing wave

Tonight’s the night
For the sinners and the saints
Two worlds collide in a beautiful display
It’s all up tonight
When we step across the line
We can sail across the sea
To a city with one king
A city on our knees
A city on our knees
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh

If you gotta start somewhere why not here
If you gotta start sometime why not now
If we gotta start somewhere I say here
If we gotta start sometime I say now
Through the fog there is hope in the distance
From cathedrals to third world missions
Love will fall to the earth like a crashing wave

Tonight’s the night
For the sinners and the saints
Two worlds collide in a beautiful display
It’s all love tonight
When we step across the line
We can sail across the sea
To a city with one king
A city on our knees
A city on our knees
Oh-oh-oh

Tonight could last forever
We are one choice from together
Tonight could last forever
Ooh

Tonight could last forever
We are one choice from together
As family
We’re family

Oh Tonight could last forever
We are one choice from together
You and me
Ya, you and me

Tonight’s the night
For the sinners and the saints
Two worlds collide
In a glorious display
Cuz its all love tonight
When we step across the line
We can sail across the sea
To a city with one king

A city on our knees
A city on our knees
Oh oh oh
A city on our knees
A city on our knees
Oh oh oh

If we gotta start somewhere why not here
If we gotta start sometime why not now