You Don't Know What You Have Until It's Gone

G'morning!

Another great night at Youth last night, we sang King Jesus, Mighty to Save, Lay 'Em Down, and Oh How He Loves. Best setlist ever, I do believe.

But what was just as cool as the music, was Robert's lesson. He talked about Divorce, and Rich Men. The Divorce part hit heavy on me, for a surprising reason.

When he started talking, he said that most of the group knew how tough dealing with Divorce is, and he's right. Probably 60 percent or so have Divorced parents.

But whenever I hear about Divorce, I think to myself, "no, I actually can't relate" and I'm afraid I'll look like the lucky kid like so many other times that happens.

Then it hit me. I've been taking for granted one of the worst things you can take for granted.

A healthy house.

So many of my friends have broken households, and I never even think about how lucky I am that I have one and only one set of parents, that have been married for more than 30 years. How stupid am I to not see that? One of the best things that a teenager could have and I didn't even realize it. Needless to say, it was a humbling thought chain.

If you are lucky enough to have parents that love each other, go give them a big hug, and tell 'em you love them. You don't know how blessed you are. Even if your parents divorced and remarried, if you have two loving & caring parental figures, go hug them. Do it.

And thank God for giving you a healthy household.

That's all I have to say for now, but stay tuned.

Hebrews 11:1

Hebrews 11:1 (NIV)

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.

^1-2The fundamental fact of existence is that this trust in God, this faith, is the firm foundation under everything that makes life worth living. It's our handle on what we can't see. The act of faith is what distinguished our ancestors, set them above the crowd. (Hebrews 11:1, The Message)

G'morning!

Tuesday evening, Sarah wrote an amazing song. Wednesday evening, she played it for youth.

It was amazing. I can't say much, it's her song, but wow it's awesome. God gave her the gift of music and she's using it to glorify him. If she posts lyrics on her blog I'll link 'em.

In other news, The Rock is tonight :D Gonna be good.

Sarah may be getting sick. She's had enough suck this week, no?

Jules and Sarah are probably performing at open mic tonight!

Matt should have his first taste of Rock tonight, he's awesome.

Two friends got their license Wednesday, eashk!

That's about it for now, more as it happens. Share the Bible with someone today.

Reminded Every Day

How Beautiful God is.

1 Corinthians 10:31

1 Corinthians 10:31 (NIV)

"So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God."

^31-33So eat your meals heartily, not worrying about what others say about you—you're eating to God's glory, after all, not to please them. As a matter of fact, do everything that way, heartily and freely to God's glory. At the same time, don't be callous in your exercise of freedom, thoughtlessly stepping on the toes of those who aren't as free as you are. I try my best to be considerate of everyone's feelings in all these matters; I hope you will be, too. (1 Corinthians 10:31, The Message)

I love this verse. I've heard it many times, but not since my life overhaul. It spoke to me this time. Or rather, I let it.

In other news, Sissy can still use prayers. She's had a rough week.

Jules sang King Jesus by Roger Williams Sunday night, and Omigosh it was insanely powerful and lovely. I think that song was made for her voice.

I have tons of topics to blog in the coming weeks. Stay tuned.

I finished the first "Movement" of velvet Elvis, I can not say better things about this book, it's totally worth picking up.

And I do believe that's it.

God Loves You!

Psalm 63

Psalm 63 (New International Version)

A psalm of David. When he was in the Desert of Judah.

¹ You, God, are my God,
earnestly I seek you;
I thirst for you,
my whole being longs for you,
in a dry and parched land
where there is no water.

² I have seen you in the sanctuary
and beheld your power and your glory.
³ Because your love is better than life,
my lips will glorify you.
⁴ I will praise you as long as I live,
and in your name I will lift up my hands.
⁵ I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods;
with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

⁶ On my bed I remember you;
I think of you through the watches of the night.
⁷ Because you are my help,
I sing in the shadow of your wings.
⁸ I cling to you;
your right hand upholds me.

⁹ Those who want to kill me will be destroyed;
they will go down to the depths of the earth.
¹⁰ They will be given over to the sword
and become food for jackals.

¹¹ But the king will rejoice in God;
all who swear by God will glory in him,
while the mouths of liars will be silenced.

Psalm 63 (The Message)

A David Psalm, When He Was out in the Judean Wilderness

¹ God—you're my God! I can't get enough of you!
I've worked up such hunger and thirst for God,
traveling across dry and weary deserts.

^2-4 So here I am in the place of worship, eyes open,
drinking in your strength and glory.
In your generous love I am really living at last!
My lips brim praises like fountains.
I bless you every time I take a breath;
My arms wave like banners of praise to you.

^5-8 I eat my fill of prime rib and gravy;
I smack my lips. It's time to shout praises!
If I'm sleepless at midnight,
I spend the hours in grateful reflection.
Because you've always stood up for me,
I'm free to run and play.
I hold on to you for dear life,
and you hold me steady as a post.

^9-11 Those who are out to get me are marked for doom,
marked for death, bound for hell.
They'll die violent deaths;
jackals will tear them limb from limb.
But the king is glad in God;
his true friends spread the joy,
While small-minded gossips
are gagged for good.

Bible Gateway is a blogger's best friend.

Strangers With Fire

G'morning!

Recently, since I've been listening to life with open ears, I've noticed many more things. But something I've had happen multiple times this past week? Overhearing people talking about God.

Yup. Thursday I was in Vienna (the Coffeehouse) and I couldn't read my book because my ear kept perking up. There was a Bible Study group in the next room over, of at least 12 youth. Not my youth, but youth. One thing that stuck out to me was this, said by the leader.

"Xbox, Cable TV, 7 Layer Burritos, sex with my Wife, all these things are great, but Jesus is greater than all these things combined!"

Made. My. Day.

So after that they started rambling about how there week was yadayada, so I moved back to my book. I think that was a way of opening my ears, almost preparing me to get the most out of what I was reading. (Velvet Elvis)

So that had me giddy. But then last night, it happened again. I was at Starbucks after church and there's a couple next to me, talking about, you guessed it, God. I sent a text to Jules, full of excitement, and she said it shows that there's still hope in this world.

More excerpts!

"Prayer is so important, but it's so easy to get caught up in life and forget to pray."

"Say there's an old lady in a parking lot, that looks like she's had a hard life. Pray for her. She wouldn't know anything of it, but God's working."

That's my story for the day. Oh, if you're reading this, please pray for my Sissy. Thank you.

Hi There!

I'm Everett. Most people call me Evie. I'm a kid who's crazy for God. I needed a place to blab about all the cool things I see in life, and my contemplations or "Ponderings" about them. To post quotes from the bible, books, or wherever they may come from. A place to funnel my "Jesus Musings" to. A place where I can tell stories longer than 160 characters.

But I suppose it'd do a bit of good to give my story.

I was raised in a church, and have been a "church Kid" all my life. That was about all for a while.

In January of 2010, I went with my youth group to a large conference, Resurrection. The speaker was Justin Lookadoo (Amazing dude) and the band was Kristian Stanfill and his gang. The weekend consisted of 4 sessions, and the 3rd, of course, was when you rededicated your life, cried a bunch, and all that. I did, and it was powerful, but I didn't know what to do after that. My fire went out. I fell back into a normal teenage life full of bad. Stuff I shouldn't be saying, stuff I shouldn't be thinking, looking at, yadayada. I had some crap happen between me and some people, and I was just in a bad place. I had no passion, for much of anything really. There were indeed days where it seemed like dying would be better than living. I never thought much worse than that, or did anything, but it was in my head at a point.

But around September or so, things changed. I fixed the crap I had with people, (I can not stress how important it is to fix grudges while you can) I made friends with people, and I started realizing how amazing God really is.

By the time November rolled around, I was on fire again and felt good. I had gotten to become Best Friends with probably the best Best Friend I could ask for, Jules. I got closer to Sarah, who is now a sister to me. I got back on track. But I had no idea what to do with this fire I had.

Intense "God Moments" with friends, and the holiday season among us, I was getting there.

Then we decided to start a bible study.

So now, Jules, Sarah, Matt G., and soon Becca, will be reading "Do Hard Things" (See sidebar), and discussing all things God related and having just a good weekly Jesus session. This is what I needed. Resurrection 2011 was happening between all these things, but that's another post.

Point is, I changed. For the better. I've seen epic differences in the way I socialize, how I think, how I see the world, and how I react to it. We're gonna do something this time.

I am a Jesus Freak.

This has been very choppy, but I had to give a slight background. I, along with my Sissy and my Best Friend, are gonna do something this year. We're not gonna sit around and be lazy, we're gonna learn and share. That's why I'm here, anyways.

Apologies for such a badly written post, but that's my hello. Let the God Moments commence.

Currently blasting: NeedToBreathe - The Outsiders.