Psalm 69:30, “I will praise God’s name in song and glorify Him with thanksgiving.”
Lilia and I are amazed at just how blessed we are! We had a GREAT Thanksgiving with our family, and hope you had an awesome time with your families, friends, food, and lots of fun! We love you all, and thought of you often, while we remembered just how much we have to be thankful for! I hope you were able to realize just how blessed you all are as well! We love you, and will see you soon 
-J-
At my small group this week we had a great discussion about just how much we as people really need a savior, and when we get down to the nitty gritty of everything, we’re all imperfect people, who sin, and fall short of God’s standard of His perfection. (see ROMANS 3:23) We talked about the difference between mistake, and sin. You see, as people we tend to see what we do as simply mistakes, things that are accidental and can be remedied with trying harder not to do that next time, and if we hurt someone in the process, they have no reason to be hurt by it for too long because after all, it’s just a mistake and it’s not like we meant it. On the other hand we notice other people’s ”mistakes”, and immediately deem them sins that people need to be sorry for, and owe us something if their sin hurts us. We also tend to conciously or subconciously judge those people, and label them sinners, in an underlying effort to make us feel better about, rationalize, and sometimes justify our own sins…uhm…I mean mistakes. Right?
Hey!
Now I know alot of the girls are huge Twilight fans, and I plan on doing a series about the movie soon, but thought this was a cool link for you to check out in the meantime! Lemme know what you think…
Hey Guys,
Tonight is the final message in our series, “I-Life.” I’ve really enjoyed teaching this series, and I hope that you’ve enjoyed studying it as well. It’s full of God’s wisdom about how to have a full, content life, by investing in our relationships with others, and with God. So far we’ve talked about forgiving others, accepting others, encouraging others, and serving others.
Now each week, I’ve said over and over again, that it’s always up to us, which life we choose. We can choose to live life the world’s way, and have conditional, shallow, superficial, self-fulfilling relationships, and close ourselves off to avoid being hurt to the point where no one knows the real us, OR we can live life God’s way and apply all of the truths we’ve talked about so far, and see that a truly happy life, is one that’s lived with genuine, unconditional God centered relationships. Galatians 5:25 says this, “Since this is the kind of life we have CHOSEN, the life of the Spirit, let us make sure that we do not just hold it as an idea in our heads or a sentiment in our hearts, but work out its implications in every detail of our lives.”
Reading that scripture, I’m so encouraged, but also kind of aware that I stink at working it out in every detail of my life. I’m sure I’m not alone there. But, I have to remember that I’m not perfect, I’m gonna mess things up sometimes, and I need to be honest with myself about that, and then honest with God, and ask for His help with my relationships. 1 Corinthians 1:9 assures us that, “God, who got you started on this spiritual adventure, shares with us the life of His Son and our master Jesus. HE WILL NEVER GIVE UP ON YOU. NEVER forget that.”
See you tonight @AYM, 7pm for part 6 of “I-Life”…
Lilia and I just returned from 9 days in California. What a great trip! We went with Lilia’s sister and her husband, and were able to visit Lilia’s family (she was born in, and lived in California until she was 14), spend some QT in Napa Valley, spend a day in San Francisco and see where she grew up! It was truly great! We can’t wait to go back…
All that to say, while we were away, we thought of ACTIVATE all the time! We can’t get you guys out of our heads! Not that we’re trying to…that was supposed to be a compliment…never mind… Lilia and I aren’t sure you understand just how much we (and the rest of the AYM staff) really love you guys! We can’t imagine our lives without you, and even when we’re away on vacation in an amazing place, we’re wishing we could be with you, or that you could be with us! We hope you always remember that, and maybe it encourages you through a crazy day! Now, here’s the meat of this blog post…
We’re so jacked that 3 of you guys got to share your testimonies this past Wednesday! We know it can be kindof nerve racking, and scary, but it’s so good for not just the speaker, but the hearers as well! Job 33:27-28 says “You’ll sing God’s praises to everyone you meet, testifying, ‘I messed up my life-and let me tell you, it wasn’t worth it. But God stepped in and saved me from certain death. I’m alive again! Once more I see the light!” I think it’s awesome that three of you stood up in front of your peers and spoke about what God has done, and is doing in your life! You have no idea what the impact of that will be one day, but believe me, there was someone in that room that feels better about themselves, and more interested in God because of your vulnerability, and willingness to be used by Him! I pray one day, you are told by someone, what a huge impact you (God through you) had on their life because of that night! So proud of you Niko, Keighla, and Allison, and so is God!