Snow retreats near wheres your heart?

What are you doing to prepare your heart for the the 2010 Sr?
Where is your heart? Are you preparing your thoughts, and heart to focus on the messages that Sean will be teaching on? Don't wait till its the night before Sr to try to prepare your heart for great but convicting messages. What I'm doing to prepare my heart for SR is listen to last years messages, also the message J.Sarr has been doing on Wednesday nights at one28. Also I finished reading, The love of God by John MacArthur Jr. Also I'm not listen to secular music, and only Christian, and reading books that will bring him glory. I just started a purpose driven life. So far its been very convicting, We need to focus on what God desires for our life and not what we desire alone. We should desire the same thing as God. I now have a less then a year in half of high school left and I'm starting to pray what God desires for my life as well as talking with my parents.

Don't come into Snow retreat with the only focus of snow and hanging with friends. Yes that's part of it, but if that your only focus you'll miss so much of what Snow retreat is. Time to see where your heart is with God. Its also time for those who haven't accepted Christ as their savior, to repent and accept the gift of salvation.

Last year my focus wasn't entirely focused on God and it was a lot harder to focus on what God was trying to teach me.

As snow retreat draws closer pray for an open heart to what Sean's teaching, and pray that those who don't know Christ will accept him as their savior. Small group leaders that they will be able to see where the teens in their cabin are? They care so much about your soul, and it breaks their hearts when they see you in sin. They may seem mean, they want you to see your sin. Think of how much Gods heart is breaking when he See's you his child in sin. Last keep Sean in your prayers as he prepares the messages that God has laid on his heart to teach us.

Bad beginning, but the what does the future hold.

I just finished watching an eight minute clip on a little girl named Kelsey. She died when she was only two because of the abuse of her step-dad and mom. I take for granted that I'm alive today, that I don't live in abusive home anymore. I was just that that age of Kelsey when she died from getting kicked in the stomach from her step-dad. That could of been me, dead at the age of two. For some reason God choice for me to be put up for adoption, I still don't understand why I was abused, or anyone abused at that age, so small, helpless. What did I do or any child do to get hit, kicked by someone that's way bigger? Where is the joy of leaving marks, broken bones, or the memories that haunt the child for the rest of their life. I still have dreams and flashbacks and I was only two. I'm almost 17 and I'm still effected from it.

So many people dont relize that child abuse is out, or if they do they ignore the fact. It was Kelseys time, but so many people go if Gods wants something he'll do it. God uses us to follow through with his plan.

New year resolutions

There are only a few things I want to really take a year to work, don't take me wrong there are a ton of stuff in my life that I need to work on but for me I can only handle a few things at a time, before starting to feel over whelmed.

1. Letting go of worldly possessions and cling to the unseen things.

2. Taking time when I'm most busy and stop and praise God. When I'm at work or doing school work I'm thinking in the moment of what needs to be done and I'm rushing around not thinking of the things that God has blessed me with. A job that I get to work with the animal I admire the most, or that I live in America where I can do school, or parents that love God more then each other or my brothers and I.

3. Be thankful for what I have, and not taking what I do have granted. I know that I take my things, my home, and my family for granted, and those are things that I didn't have when I first came to my family. God blessed me for those things, he didn't have to choose me, He could of picked a different kid that needed parents that would love them, a home that they knew was their home. I came from a home, that my mom didn't love me, and I never knew a home because we moved to different homes or I was left with a friend. Because of that I should be THANKFUL for what I have and my family.

4. Prayer, I don't pray as much as I should and when I do, I just pray because I need to. That has been something I've been working on since the death of my close friend. God was there for me the whole time, when I prayed I knew God was listening, I had never felt that way. I always felt stupid for taking simple little problems to him, and then thought hey I did when the problem went away. I didn't do anything to make those things go away God did.

5. Be open with those who care what happens. I like being a closed in person a loner. I was hurt in the past so I'm not always the first to tell you exactly what I'm feeling or what I'm thinking. I need to be more open in small group or at least with my small group leaders.

So those five things are what I want to spend the next year working on, and this time stick to it, and not give up like the past. So those who read this could hold me accountable, that would be great. Thanks