$2,000

$2,000. That's ALL it costs to plant one church in India. That number baffles my mind. I would be scared to tally up my receipts of all the things I buy that aren't necessary. I would bet my total would build more than one church in India. One of the countries where Christians are persecuted the most.

I have decided I'm going to make some real sacrifices in order to donate more money to CICM, the organization we learned about at CIY two weeks ago.

I am going to give up Lugia's ice cream. Instead, I will be donating the money I would have spent there to CICM. I am going to look for other ways to make sacrifices too.

We have so much here in the U.S. everything is at our disposal. And its so easy to take that for granted. I don't want to take it for granted anymore. I may never make a mission trip to India to see the persecution firsthand...but I can make sacrifices so those who are called to live in India can reach more people for Jesus.

2 of our kids at CIY made commitments to raise $2,000 each so that CICM can plant two churches in India. If you have cans/bottles to donate to their fundraising, please let me know. I will find a way to get the cans/bottles from you and to them! There will also be some more fundraising in the near future. I know there are fundraisers for everything. But what better reason to raise money than to be able to bring one more person to Christ.

Love Costs Everything

One morning at CIY we watched a Video titled "Love Costs Everything." CIY is working on a theater release for the movie. Please pray they are able to get the theater release. More people need to see this movie than just high school kids and adult sponsors who have attended MOVE this year. Its such a huge part of who we should be supporting as Christians, and those we forget so easily about during our prayer time.

I've known most of my teen/adult years about persecution of the Christian church in other countries, but before watching the video, I didn't understand the magnitude of what those people go through to bring Honor and Glory to God. Their lives are a living sacrifice to Jesus. Its amazing to see how much these people love Jesus and live for Him no matter what their peers may do to them.

The film was a documentary showing different groups of people in different countries. They shared stories of their families being murdered, being beaten in the streets, having to leave their families as teenagers in order to follow God's call on their lives, being in their church when it is bombed, etc. Each person at the end of the movie said they were not victims, but victors for Jesus. What an incredible image. They were being beaten, losing people they loved, and yet they still stand for Christ. While we complain to God about such trivial things.

If you want- watch this clip. It's really intense, I probably wouldn't watch it with young kids around.

http://2011.ciy.com/move/lovecostseverything

CIY

CIY Move 2011 was INCREDIBLE. I cannot put everything that happened into words, but I will try.

The theme this year was "something bigger." We talked about how God has something bigger planned for each of us. We followed the stories of Samuel, Rahab, Josiah, Shadrach/ Mishach/ Abedengo, and John. Learning how God had something bigger for each of their lives than what they could see in the midst of the storm.

God did a lot of indescribable things in our youth group this week. Youth group time at CIY last year lasted 30-40 min IF THAT this year we talked for upwards of 2.5hrs one night. We heard story after story of how much the kids were hurting. I was constantly amazed that with 21 kids their stories were so different- yet so similar. They were hurting to the depths of their souls, and couldn't rise above that pain on their own. No matter what trials they were facing, they realized God had something bigger in store for their lives.

It is my prayer that each of the kids walked away a changed young man or woman.

I'm praying that you remember:

~ its not what you don't know, its what you do know about God that will make the difference. ~ God has called each of us differently, and wherever God places you, shine for His kingdom.

~ Remember when life sucks, to eat the book.

~ Not to put anything into the world, to put it all into God, and take everything from his word. ~ Remember you gave your scarlet cord to God, that he will take care of whatever that cord meant to you.

CIY =)

I cannot wait! We are off to CIY in the morning! Me, Danielle, John, Owen, 13 high school girls, and 11 high school boys in Michigan learning more about God and praising Him with every breath. What could be better? Oh yeah! if Jim was going! I'll miss my love like crazy, but I'm so thankful for the opportunity to spend another week with my girls!

I keep getting asked when I'm going to post our Jamaica pictures- I'm sorry I haven't had time yet, I only had 6 days home before leaving again. In the last week I've had 5 photo shoots- and my clients are far more important than my personal pictures! I'll be home for a week or so between CIY and my next big adventure, so hopefully I'll have time then!

The trip was everything we needed and more =) I love the moments that I fall in love with my husband all over again. And weeks full of those moments are so welcome! Sandals is an amazing place to vacation if you ever want to do something crazy like we did! We spent a lot of time in the sun, talking, healing, and reconnecting. We both still miss Robin more than anyone could know, but we are so thankful to have known her, even for such a short time. I have the greatest husband, and the best friends. Thank you all for your continued prayers. And I love all the cards you guys have sent. They mean SO much to know you are still praying for us =)

I'll leave you with a couple pictures- First- a before and after- they are not edited, our whiteness may cause blindness :P - the settings on my camera were all exactly the same(the lighting outside was different though)

A gorgeous flower. The flowers in Jamaica were absolutely incredible. I think I took more floral pictures than I did anything else. Jim and I keep joking we are going to do a mission trip to Jamaica so we can go back. Jamaican's need God too, right? :)

I can't wait for my next adventure to meet a precious little baby girl that I get to call my niece, Ruby!! <3

Day 5 -- Endurance

The last day of the conference, was about endurance. How we need to endure when we get home, and the things we can do to continue enduring even when life throws us for a loop.

~Something in our lives will probably hurt when we get home. But endure through the pain. Focus on God and take one more step forward even when you feel like collapsing.

~ To know God is to know life.

~ It is going to be hard going back to school, work, and our family. But God is here, with Him we can endure anything.

~ Make sure your life matters, In all you do Honor God

~ Endure- Take one more step, no matter what happens. God knows how hard life can be. When you feel like running away, just take one more step towards Him. Be like Jesus. One step at a time. The faster you run, the easier it is to fall. Keep a slow and steady pace and focus on the One that matters.

~ what motivates us to endure?
1) fear - Romans 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline.
2) Reward - Phillipians 3:14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
3) Love - John 15:9 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love.

Love in the bible is a command, not a feeling.

we were given a similar diagram at the conference. I remade it super quick on my computer..so its not that great. But you can get the point. God loved us enough to send his only son Jesus to earth. Jesus loved you and I so much that he gave His life so we could experience eternity in Heaven. In return we need to Love others like God has loved them. And hopefully because of our endurance, and our influence, we will lead others to our Savior.

Amazing to think that little old me has the potential to help people I love fall in love with my Savior. And if I don't model my life after Jesus, I also have the potential of driving people away from God. What a humbling thought.

Day 4-- Influence

The third day was probably one of the best days, in my opinion. Its amazing to think of the influence we can have as Christians. And how because we are Christians, our lives need to be different than the world.

Some points from the day:

~ Not everyone is a leader, but everyone has influence. It's not something you can escape.

~ TV commercials, media, government etc have a lot of influence in the world. God uses His people to influence the world. So offer yourself to Him, and be His advertising campaign.

~ My FAVORITE point from the whole week... "God so loved the world that he gave His only son...live like it!!"

~ According to Time magazine the Apostle Paul was the most influential person of the last millennium. Jesus was #2. Paul was taught by Jesus, but had a longer ministry than Jesus did.

~ Don't let people look down on you because you are young (1 Timothy 4:11-12). Make them look up to you. Be as much like Jesus as you can.

~ Speech is your #1 influence. It is the foundation of faith and influence. Our lives need to look different to Non-Chrisitans.

Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:2)

~We need to be aware if we are the example and influence or if we are the ones being influenced.

Day 3 --- Godliness ... no matter what

Tuesday morning was our second day of sessions. The speakers talked about Godliness, and how to achieve Godliness.

We all fail sometimes, its what do you do with those failures that make the difference in our lives, and our futures.

There are three steps towards achieving Godliness:

1- We need to want it like we want the newest electronic device, like we want that new outfit in the window of our favorite store. Give up anything that is keeping you from achieving Godliness, you know yourself best, give up the thing that keeps you from learning about God the most.

2- Find something to leverage. Do whatever it takes to learn more about God. Give yourself to God, your time, your energy. He deserves the best of everything, and our first fruits. If you don't sacrifice some things that you need to give up, then Godliness isn't your first priority.

3- Train instead of try. We stumble so many times because we are trying instead of training. If you want to run a marathon, you don't go out and run it. You train for it. We need to train for Godliness the same way. Build ourselves up. Don't get discouraged when you stumble. Most long time Christians have read the bible all the way through, most haven't been disciplined enough to do it one year. Its more about absorbing the word of God than it is about reading it all the way through.

If you do these things you will achieve Godliness, slowly but surely. The bible tells us that if we seek Him, and knock, the door will be opened to us.

Tuesday night session:

~ We try all of our lives to be more Godly, but we always stumble. But, luckily, we have received Grace we don't deserve. So we should train ourselves to be Godly. To be what our Savior deserves of us.

~ Let Jesus be Jesus in you. Its all about Jesus in us and through us that helps us train for and achieve Godliness.

~ If you have sin in your life that you need to get rid of. Run from it. The bible tells us that Paul ran from temptation. We need to flee our sinful past and move forward, and closer to God.

~ Our lives need to look different to the world, because we are striving to be as much like Jesus .

~ We need to pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace, forgiveness, etc.

~ We should do things for others that they cannot do for themselves.

~ Don't be afraid to step out in Faith. Paul wasn't. We will feel alone some times, but we never are. God is by our side, leading us, and strengthening us. Fix your eyes on Him, let His reflection live in us and through us.

Day 2 --- Truth..no matter what

Tuesday was our first full day of the conference, we had the opportunity to spend the morning in a general session learning about Truth, late morning we had a Discussion group with just the girls from our youth group, Scio and Liverpool.

Morning session notes:

~ We behave as we believe. In simple terms... If we believe it is going to rain, we bring an umbrella with us when we leave the house. If we believe Jesus is the son of God, then we are going to live our lives in a way that pleases our Savior.

~We need to always be aware of our surroundings, but not over think circumstances. Over thinking gets us all in a lot of trouble. Be aware of what you are doing, and what you need to do to see the truth in your life. Be aware that there are so many people out there preaching false doctrine. Don't be afraid to speak up if you think something someone says is wrong. If they are right, they will be able to show you using scripture. But, make sure they aren't taking that scripture out of context. You have to show people the truth, lovingly.

Night Session:

During the night session, we watched a video about a pastor who is into specialized martial arts. They showed him sparring with another man and used the metaphor that we all have people we need to go into the ring with. To spar for Jesus. There may be matches we win, and matches we loose, but we need to do it. We all need to be Kingdom Workers, and work towards the advancement of God's kingdom. Weather we do that as missionaries in Africa, or as employee's in corporate america.

Who do you need to go into the ring for? Who's salvation do you need to fight for?

Day 1 --- Grace..No Matter What

I had the amazing privilege of being an adult sponsor for my church last week at the Christ in Youth Conference in Scranton PA. It was an incredible experience. One I wish I could have video taped everything for everyone, but I did take a ton of pictures that are on my facebook page if you would like to see them all! =)

Here are some things that I jotted down in my notebook from each day at the conference.

The theme was "No Matter What" And we spent a majority of the week reading and studying 1st and 2nd Timothy.

Sunday night, the theme was "Grace ... no matter what "

~ Our sins do not disqualify us for a relationship with Jesus. He can use the mistakes you've made, for His honor and glory. We are not bound to our sin. But by not giving up sin we are not accepting the transforming power of God

~ Many people rejected Jesus and his ministry because He wasn't what they expected of their messiah. People expected him to hang out with other missionaries, priests and the higher class population. They didn't expect him to spend His ministry with tax collectors, pharisees, prostitutes, etc. He came to save the sinners and the unclean. So many people rejected His salvation because he didn't fit into the parameters they expected.

The speaker told us an incredible story. He was in Amsterdam for a missions trip, and spent a lot of time in the black light district (I think thats what he called it) praying for the people who were there. He told us about these glass doorways, where men would walk up to the door and pick which woman they wanted to sleep with that night. He was heartbroken for all of these women, who were brought into the country as sex slaves, and he prayed about what he could do for them. On his last day there, he walked by a florist, and decided to go in. He bought as many bouquets as he could. He walked down the street carrying all of the flowers, and stopped at the first door. He opened the door and said to the person "You are beautiful. I love you. And God Loves you" Every woman he said that to, broke down bawling. They didn't understand how God could still love them, with the job they were being forced to do.

What an incredible picture of God's Grace. He loves all of us, He sent His only son to die for our sins. Jesus didn't deserve that, and yet he did it anyways, for me. For you.

Wow.

just...wow