Quote of the Day

"If you guys were on skates you'd be like...ICE SKATING!"

-Katie Russell

Quote of the Day

"Have Jesus sit on your face!"

-Jen Dittmann

JEN!

I had the privilege of spending the past 2 days with my gorgeous, Jesus-filled, sister in Christ! It still amazes me how blessed I am to have Jen in my life! The way the friendship began was completely God and since then He has been the center of it all. She has a heart of gold that is desiring everything that God has for her. The second I met her, I knew something was different. The love of Christ radiated out of her smile and poured out of every word she said. I was so sad when I had to leave Casa that night. We had barely said 2 words to each other! I could not have explained why I wanted to be around this total stranger, but I immediately knew that I had to be her friend. A piece of me was broken until a few months later we were able to meet up again at SCCC. AHHH!! God had his hand on our lives so that Jen and I could not only be friends, but part of His family.
We have a ton of fun together! We really are the biggest dorks in the entire world, but even more than that, I just love being around her and feeding off of the Jesus that is inside of her. Jen is sooo encouraging! She pushes me to be who God has created me to be and won't let me settle for anything less. She speaks words of truth and love. Sometimes I have to take a second look to make sure that I am not hearing words from Christ himself. Jen knows her Creator deeply and allows Him to speak through her. Her life is a testimony of God's grace and the love of the Father. She is selfless, caring deeply for whoever she is with. It blows my mind to watch her get into the lives of the girls in our youth group. She covers you with love and makes you feel like every word you say is important.
What a prayer warrior! As much as I sometimes try to hide the fact that I'm hurting, Jen always knows. And rather than immediately turning to her own thoughts and words, she just says, "Let's deal with this!" It is such a blessing to grab her hands and hold on as her words are carried straight to the Father on my behalf. I know that they are not her own words because I can feel as God speaks directly to my heart through her mouth. She is His vessel! Then after praying, she lets me share what's going on in my life. Somehow, she always seems to turn things around and I remember the faithfulness of God. He has never let us down and we will be victorious again!
Words really are meaningless! I can barely begin to describe how incredible this sister is that God has given me. Jen is an irreplaceable part of my life and I am so thankful for her! She is the Zenith of Creation! She is a treasure of Heaven and truly a trophy of God's grace!

SISSY'S

GOOD MORNING BROTHER! HAVE A PHENOMENAL LUNCH!

Spring Break!

Today began the much anticipated Spring Break and it feels wonderful! Last week I thought school was going to kill me, but I made it and now this week is going to be awesome! God's already working and I know He wants to do a mighty work in my life this week. Last night we had the Parachute Band concert at church. WOW! The presence of the Holy Spirit was undeniable! Tonight is Corporate Prayer and hopefully Pastor Thompson from India will be joining us.
I can't even begin to explain how much prayer is shaking up my world right now. "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." Luke 11:9-10 All you have to do is ask and God will answer. He may not always answer when or how you want Him to, but He will answer every time. Also, God wants to give you the desires of your heart. "Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart." Psalm 37:4 If you seek Him with everything you have, He will pour out so much blessing in your life, more than you can imagine!
Right now, I know that God is leading me in a new and exciting direction in my life. I'm not sure exactly what that is, actually I'm not sure at all. But, I am trusting that He will provide for me and reveal to me where my life is going. One thing that really hit me last night was that I need to be seeking God for God...not for what He is going to do in my life. I should be striving to know Him and His heart and character. "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Matthew 6:33 Seek Him above all and everything else will fall into place.
He also revealed to me that I am trying too hard to figure Him out. I am trying to tell God how I want my life to be rather than just waiting patiently for Him to lead me. Deadlines are approaching and so my human mind freaks out and says that I need to have everything under control right now. NO I DON'T!!! I have an Almighty God that has me firmly in His hand. He is the only one that needs to know and I just have to trust. He has always been faithful and never let me down, so why should I worry now? I need to sit back and watch as God moves. And in the meantime rather than trying to figure it all out, I can spend time drawing near to my Father who only wants the best for me!

Footprints - New Version

Imagine you and the Lord Jesus are walking down the road together. For much of the way, the Lord's footprints go along steadily, consistently, rarely varying the pace.
But your footprints are a disorganized stream of zigzags, starts, stops, turnarounds, circles, departures, and returns.
For much of the way, it seems to go like this, but gradually your footprints come more in line with the Lord's, soon paralleling His consistently.
You and Jesus are walking as true friends!
This seems perfect, but then an interesting thing happens: Your footprints that once etched the sand next to Jesus' are now walking precisely in His steps.
Inside His larger footprints are your smaller ones, you and Jesus are becoming one.
This goes on for many miles, but gradually you notice another change. The footprints inside the large footprints seem to grow larger.
Eventually they disappear altogether. There is only one set of footprints. They have become one.
This goes on for a long time, but suddenly the second set of footprints is back. This time it seems even worse! Zigzags all over the place. Stops. Starts. Gashes in the sand. A variable mess of prints.
You are amazed and shocked.
Your dream ends. Now you pray:
"Lord, I understand the first scene, with zigzags and fits. I was a new Christian; I was just learning. But You walked on through the storm and helped me learn to walk with You."
"That is correct."
"And when the smaller footprints were inside of Yours, I was actually learning to walk in Your steps, following You very closely."
"Very good.. You have understood everything so far."
"When the smaller footprints grew and filled in Yours, I suppose that I was becoming like You in every way."
"Precisely."
"So, Lord, was there a regression or something? The footprints separated, and this time it was worse than at first."
There is a pause as the Lord answers, with a smile in His voice.
"You didn't know? It was then that we danced!"

"To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven: A time to weep, a time to laugh, a time to mourn, and a time to dance." Ecclesiastes 3:1,4.