Something to Remember

God is bigger than you think he is.

People are more desperate than you think they are.

You can do more than you think you can.

Just a saying I've heard and was reminded of the other day...something good to remember in day-to-day living. Love you guys!

~Alexa

Oh, Your love is a song

Hey Quest! I am loving how this blog is just exploding with posts this week! Keep it up! :) I love how we all help each other whenever we need encouragement. So cool!

I found a great song yesterday called "Your Love is a Song" by Switchfoot. I can't stop listening to it...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LbMxs3HDOs&feature=feedlik. I hope you like it too!

God's love for us is a song; it's a melody. His love is beautiful and satisfying, everything we've ever wanted and MORE. Don't ever forget that. We are all so guilty of turning to the world for happiness and satisfaction...but only God's unfailing love for us can give us permanent joy. Everything we've ever wanted and more.

One part of the song goes like this:

"I've been keepin my eyes wide open,
I've been keepin my eyes wide open."

When I heard this, it reminded me of what Brooklyn and Alexa were talking about in Brooklyn's post below about love. It reminded me to "take hold of the open doors" that God has for us, and to be open to His plan for us, just like Brooklyn and Alexa said. We have to be open to each opportunity God gives us.

"Oh Your love is a symphony, all around me, running through me. Oh Your love is a melody, underneath me, running to me. Oh Your love is a song. Your love is a song."

-Haley :)

Being Noticed

Hey guys!

First of all, contrary to what you may believe, this is not a post about not caring what the world thinks. This is a post of encouragement.

So a couple weeks back, we had a nun come to my school to talk about discernment, which is basically deciding what God wants you to do with your life. As we were walking back to class, one of my friends, who's not Christian, asked me if I was going to be a nun.

I didn't really think much of this until yesterday, when all the sudden something hit me: she thought that I might become a nun! There were other people with us, but she asked ME. This probably just made my whole life, because I have been trying really hard to minister to this girl, but it's been tough, as this is my first experience. But her saying that just prooved to me that she noticed that I've been talking about my faith and trying to live it. People actually DO notice!

Anyway, there's probably some verse about this, but I can't think of any, so if you know one, please share! I was just so excited to know that my efforts are not wasted, and that God has been working through me. If you're in a position where you don't think what your saying means anything, maybe it does because of God. So don't give up hope!

Haha, my hands are kinda shaky right now because I'm so excited by this. So good luck and God bless all of you! You are doing great things in the world!

Broken Down

I just experienced something that I want to share with you all. It's 11:51 on Tuesday night, and i have been praying for about the past 20 minutes. I needed time with the Lord to pray and plead and give all of me up in prayer for another. I won't go into the long version now, but my heart is broken, and it has been for quite some time. It's broken for someone who i never thought it could be this broken for. i know a lot of you have been through rough patches and know what intense, inner, spiritual pain feels like. i know you have. well that's where i am now. my heart and soul ache for someone in my life. i've been kneeling in my room, crying out to God, and crying, too, and it just HURTS. honestly. i don't even know how to fully explain it, really.

sometimes, God breaks us down to build us up, and i have experienced that through this situation, too. and that, well that is incomparably AWESOME. but i've been thinking, maybe it's this inner ache that is our wall that's stopping us from unleashing God's power and glory. i feel like a lot of times i think the opposite, i think about how the pain can reveal God's glory through it. and i'm not saying it can't, don't get me wrong, here. God's power and sovereignty most definitely CAN shine through heartache! but what i'm saying right now is that maybe, just maybe, this deep, throbbing pain that cripples our souls and spirits is what is keeping us from allowing the Lord to work through us. maybe we feel that the pain is too great to deal with, so we shrug off thinking about how much it hurts, when really, if we embrace it and let it out, God's light and sovereignty will take action and truly come alive in our lives. get what i'm saying? i hope so.

okay, have you ever prayed really really insanely hard about something or someone? did you ever feel like nothing was happening, that God wasn't listening or taking action when you thought he should? that's us making God out to be a god we want him to be, not who he actually is. we pray and pray and pray and want something to happen, we expect it because we believe that God will deliver. but when things don't happen, we doubt. the pain washes over us even more and we crumble. can anyone relate? so basically what I'm trying to say is, maybe it's this hurt inside of us that hinders our faith. we let it get to us and it clouds our vision, our perception of God. it's so intense and real that it blinds us from who God is and all that he can do, IF WE LET HIM WORK. guys, if we don't allow God room to work in our lives and the lives of others, how can we expect great things to happen? we've gotta do our part, and that involves not letting the heartache and brokenness block your view of God and his might. keep posting...i'm loving it

-Alexa

Luke 21:38

Hi guys!
This is a really random post, and I'm not quite sure what to say. Basically, I was reading the Bible, and I came across this verse, and I really don't know why (probably God), but I really liked it and had the feeling I should share it. Especially you, DJ, which is weird, but I thought of you when I read it and for the life of me I can't figure out why. So if anything has anything to share about it, please do.

Luke 21:38 "...and he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive."

Anyway, I hope you guys like it!

Encouraging.

I hadn't been on in so long before I posted that last post.
So I went through reading a lot of your posts.
It was so encouraging...
and so many things that I needed to hear were said.

You are all blessings.

Love, what a powerful thing.

To have a life, the only thing that has to be relevant is the beat of your heart; the fact that you're alive. There are many living things on this earth, but right now I'm referring to humans. The most intricate, original living thing. Every single one of us are different, we may find many similarites with one another, but we are all so different. 
Although every day we get out of our warm bed, climb out of our carboard box, or maybe even just open our eyes to find ourselves lying on the floor of the earth because we didn't have a place to sleep the night before; all to go through with another day of this thing called life that we live. Life can make you laugh, it can make you cry, it can be the best thing ever, and it can hurt like hell. No matter how you live it, it's an ongoing battle. We all live it different ways, because like I said we are all so different. We all have different reasons to wake up every morning, and we all have a different mindset; but one thing stands the same. We all want to be loved, accepted, and cared about. 

As humans we search for love in relationships, and I'm not just saying boyfriend girlfriend relationships, but all of them. Including parents, any family, or friends. You look for it, you want it. I know I do, and sometimes you may find that love or maybe you've always been blessed to grow up having a love from family, but you just can't seem to find fulfillment. Then there is those of us who have not experienced love at all, or have gone through periods of our lives when we don't feel it. Either way when we can't find it...we do so much for it. The things we do for "love" (acceptance) are never ending. Alcohol, drugs, sex, emotionaly giving your heart away, or just being something your not. There is a never ending list, but all of these things we do for "love" can affect the rest of our lives in terrible ways. Things that aren't worth it. And then there are the things we do when we don't find love...to get rid of the pain. And there's no place to begin or end with that.

 So now it comes down to why? Why can we not find that complete fulfillment in this world?  Why are there people who can not find love anywhere?  Because my friends this world is broken. The world has screwed up the defenition of LOVE, some people have never truly loved, or been loved. "1 John 4:7-8 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.  Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love." Although, there is those who love well but no one in this world can love perfectly. What is love, do we even know? People define it in so many different ways. BUT YES, we do. Love is patient and kind. It does not envy, it does not boast; it is not arrogant. It is not rude. It does not insist on it's own way. It is not irritable or resentful. It does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things. Believes all things. Hopes all things and endures all things. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)  so are we at loss in finding this love? NO. Because their is a Savior, a Rock, a Reedeemer, WHO. IS. LOVE. His name is Jesus Christ and he can fulfill us beyond what we can imagine with a love that is perfect, a love that we can not even imagine. Our heart just has to be opened to it, and when it is we can get to know his heart and learn to love the way he loves us. And THAT can change our lives and others lives and the world!!! A lot of times we have to be reminded this because we do even as people who have experienced this love fall in to finding fulfillment in this world daily.I wonder what it would be like if we could truly understand his love for us completely?  

I know it would be unimaginable, but running after the Lord and growing in a relationship with him, reveals this love to us more and more. HOW INCREDIBLE IS THAT! Running after this love is an ongoing battle, because we are broken people who live in a broken world, just running the race of life for a incredible purpouse.  It's not easy, it's really hard - but it's well worth it.  

And our calling? To share this love with this broken world that does not know love!  Because like I said this love is life changing and world changing!  

I'm just sharing this with you guys for one because I needed to be reminded this because it is so easy to find fulfillment in this world when you're surrounded by it.  And for two, because we do not share this love enough, I know I don't. This beautiful. redeeming. powerful. love. that we keep to ourselves so often. And there are open doors all around us, daily to be able too. I encourage you to do take hold of those open doors.

I pray that this is a reminder for you, or that if you have been finding your fulfillment completely in the Lord it encourages you to keep after it!  I will praying as well that God opens doors around you for you to share his love, and that your words are his, and that he already begins to soften and open the hearts of the people that you will be sharing with to accept this love. 

Miss you all, and hope that this year of your life is blessed through the trials and the rejoicing. Will continue to be praying for you - Love. 

why?

i can't figure out why day to day living, every moment of every day, isn't spent in utter awe and amazement towards God. what keeps us from that? the world? then how can we stop it? how can we block out the world? how?

i'll keep these random thoughts of mine coming... comment what you think we can do

-Alexa

Unity and Love

Hey you guys! It's Hannah Becker..session 11. Wow! That seems like so long ago! Anyway, I really had the intention of writing something completely different in this post, but I kind of feel led to share this instead.
If you look at the title of my blog..Love and Unity.. I think they kind of go hand in hand, especially when it comes to a body of Christian believers.
Here's a verse you guys are probably familiar with..
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices in the truth. It always protects always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." 1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Okay..So obviously, we know that Christianity is focused around Christ's love for us..and because he loved us it is our job as Christian's to love other people. (1 John 4:19) But think about it..how often as Christians do we catch ourselves not loving others..Think about that one kid that sits alone at lunch..or the one who never has a partner for a school project and gets teased all the time...Do you join in with the people that make fun of the people that don't have very many friends? Maybe not. But just simply staying quiet and not taking part in making fun of someone else isn't what Jesus would do. Christ would go sit with that person, or offer to be their partner..I know I'm guilty of that. Someone might be getting teased, and a lot of times I'll find myself just feeling sorry for that person and walking away. But I encourage you guys to ask Christ to take you out of your comfort zone and completely love other people.
"Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace." Ephesians 4:3
Alright! So when I think of unity I usually think of the body of Christ..and in simpler terms, my youth group, because that's where I spend most of my time at church, and most of my activities are involved with my youth group. But as much as I love them, I still see problems in my group that I see at school. My church group has cliques, and though it's rare that we're ever downright mean to each other, there still are those one or two kids that just don't have anyone to hang out with. Guys, I can't even tell you how important I think it is to love others at school and outside life, but also at church too!! If we can't fully trust or get along with the people that share the most important thing we all have in common (CHRIST!!) then how are we supposed to love other people that aren't believers? It goes back to being a light. My favorite verse: "You are the light of the world, a city on a hill cannot be hidden." Matthew 5:14. think about it. Your friends that don't know Christ might come and visit your youth group one day..if everyone is tense..and not unified through Christ, do you think your friend will feel comfortable there? I encourage you guys, again, to pray to be put outside your comfort zone and continue to share the g ospel with others around you..Pray for a bold attitude. I have faith in you guys!
One last thing...
My really good friend Monica has a friend who's brother was in a car accident. He had an aneurysm and ran into a tree, and has been in a coma for 41 days now. I can't tell you guys how many people are praying for him right now..but I know it's a lot. I really think that Christ is going to do something miraculous here, and show us what the power of prayer can really do! So pray for him and his family!
I love you all SOOO much! Keep safe(:
Hannah Becker.

focusing on the cross

hi friends. I miss you all so much. It brings me so much joy we have this blog where we get to share with one another.

I have recently had my mind focused on one major idea.

Focusing on the Cross instead of focusing on our sin.

It seems like the best thing to do when we are struggling would be to ask the Lord for help and guidance. But when we start constantly praying for help with our sin we begin to focus only on the sin and not on the power of the cross. Jesus has already died to save us from our sin and if we are only thinking about that sin then we forget what he has done for us.

This verse was in my devotional this morning.... what do you guys think it means?

"And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God."

1 Corinthians 2:3-5

Love you guys. Let me know what you think.

Always,

Lindsey

A darker stain

This is a follow-up to "A Crimson Stain."

I talked to my friend today and things aren't well.
I kinda see faith as a step-ladder or a staircase and if we aren't careful we lose our footing and fall. It's when we seek out God again that we're caught by His safety net and put back on the ladder. I use this example to say that my friend has been caught by the net yet, and that she is falling even faster than before. (If any of that didn't make sense, I'm saying that my friend's cutting issue is getting worse.)
She was talking about all her viscious mind cycles and frustration at herself and shame that drives her to do this. I used Jeremiah 29:11, but the next thing she said was this word for word: "Oh, did I mention I'm kinda leaning towards deism as regards His activity in my life. I believe he is there. And does wonderful things in other people's lives. But not mine."

I'm clueless. i looked up deism and it says that they believe that a supreme being created the world and the answer is only found and explained in nature and no supernatural revelation (or something like that).
Things are getting worse and I'm losing hope for my friend. I need help trying to minister Christ to her.
-DJ

Beautiful

You're beautiful.
You were made for so much more than all of this.
You are sacred.
You are treasured.
You are His.

These are the lyrics to Beautiful by MercyMe, this is such a great song. There is so much truth in this. I often find myself confused because i know that we are sinners and we are nothing more than dust and i know that we are unworthy of God's love and thats why its hard for me to remember that I have worth to him. Despite the fact that we are unclean sinners he still loves us. We are SACRED AND TREASURED! that is so powerful. I think this song really speaks for it's self so please look it up. Yall are great. How can we live our lives for His glory today?

"The LORD apperaed to us in the past, saying: 'I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.'"
Jeremiah 31:3

Fading Treasures

This is just a quick little reminder to all of us that things of this world, material things, don't matter in the long run.

1 John 2:15 "Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him."

James 4:4 "Don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred towards God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes and enemy of God."

Matthew 6:24 "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other."

No matter how much we enjoy material things everyday, we can't let them get a hold in our lives. We must make it to a point where we can honestly say that we will be fine without them.

Just a reminder to keep on loving God and serving the world with his love and forgiveness that we have been given ourselves.

keep on keepin on sweet friends,

Alexa

...hopefully more to come soon...

Listen in the silence

Some people have posted before about just listening to what God has to say to you. I had never really done that before, so I tried it a few nights ago! It was awesome. Think about it, when we pray and cast all our worries and anxieties on God, that's great, but He always know everything we're about to say before we say it. So try just blocking off all distractions and listening to His voice in the silence. It's kind of frustrating at first because you'll want to start praying or you'll get distracted by something, but try just being in His presence alone.


"[I] give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ...for [I] have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and the love that you have for all the holy ones....and your love in the Spirit." Colossians 1:3-4, 8. I'm so thankful for all of you! You encourage me everyday. You're awesome - don't ever forget it!

-Haley

hi my sweet friends.

i hope this finds you in a sweet sweet time and that the lord is showing you new things each and every day. i know that it is about this time of the year where we start slacking and find "more important" things to do besides pursuing christ, but i want to encourage you. i pray that you are seeking him and seeking him hard because im realizing more and more, by the grace of god, that there is nothing sweeter than knowing him and pursuing him.

please dont give up this fight. dont let the enemy lie to you and convince you that growing in him can wait. cover yourself in scripture. bathe in prayer. meditate on the word.

keep running hard my friends.

amber

A Crimson Stain

Help.

My friend is in a dark place right now and i wanna help. We all have our issues and personal distractions that take us away from the Lord, well my friends issue is self-injury (cutting). One of her friends was texting her and telling her to throw her "tools" in the trash or something, and she responded "NO!" and then we tried calling her, but she turned her phone off.

Some one please tell how to minister to her cuz I haven't dealt with this issue before.
-DJ

Retreat Continued!

I'm posting a little bit more about what I got out of the Sky Ranch retreat I was at a few weekends ago. The theme here: God is SO HUGELY present in nature it's unfathomable, and we miss out on it more often than we know! This sort of lines up with something I discussed in the last post: taking things, blessings, for granted. To start, check out the lyrics of Phil Wickham's "Beautiful"

I see Your face in every sunrise
The colors of the morning are inside Your eyes
The world awakens in the light of the day
I look up to the sky and say
You're beautiful

I see Your power in the moonlit night
Where planets are in motion and galaxies are bright
We are amazed in the light of the stars
It's all proclaiming who you are
You're beautiful

While I was at Sky, it rained nearly the entire weekend. Now, at first thought, that sounds like a major bummer. Well guys, it was more of a blessing to me. I can't even really put into words how the Lord worked in my life simply through RAIN (this sounds super crazy, i know), but He DID. it's almost as if i could feel the rain washing away my failures and faults, just leaving me and God and time to share between us. it was AWESOME. one night i even took a walk, alone with God, in the rain. i was soaked and it was dark outside. i walked in pure joy that night, and i talked to the Lord about what i needed to give up to him and confess to him and trust him with. i told him my doubts, uncertainties, and failures. i literally walked and talked with God, in the pouring rain, drenched all the way down to my socks. it was such a blessing that i never even knew existed until i left the crowd of people who were warm inside, and went to the cold, windy rain. sound insane? for sure. but whatever happened strolling in the downpour that night, my heart was renewed, changed, set ON FIRE. i will never forget it. in that moment i felt as close to God as i ever have. that story didn't really do the night justice, so i'm challenging you to find God in nature on your own and meditate on it. let it marinate within you. one of my favorite ways to experience God (other than the rain) is the sky. find something personal this week. something that you can worship God in the presence of his creation. i dare you!

-Alexa

Keep this going!

Hey Quest,

I don't know why but I always like to randomly look at the older posts on here from this summer and even from the summer before that. I just looked at the January posts from 2010 and the last post was on January 27th (today!). Let's keep this blog going! I hope that it keeps going all the way up to this coming summer. I look forward to checking the blog all the time and every post encourages me so much, so please don't stop!

So to anyone reading this, keep posting! And if you're reading this and you haven't posted anything yet, post away!

I hope everything's going well for you guys :)
-Haley

"...whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God." 1 Corinthians 10:31

What He Saved Us From

Hey guys!
This is a kinda random post, but this has been on my mind a lot lately.
How many times do you think, "Man, I wish I'd never been in this situation, or met this person" or something. I do that a lot. Why did I have to have a pop quiz? Why did I have to have the meanest teacher?

But I was thinking, what if I didn't? I would never know that God saved me from that. Can you imagine what our lives would be like if God didn't save us from some of those people or instances? Our lives would be absolutely horrible, but God probably saves us about 1,000 times a day.

So, guys, thank God for all those things he saved you from that you don't know about. I hope this all made sense, it's kinda confusing. Basically, the Lord is good! :)

Hope you're all having a great second semester!
God bless!

More from the retreat

Hey guys I'm back, just wanted to share a little bit more from the retreat i went to at Sky a couple weekends ago. I'll sum up what I'm gonna talk about with this quote I made up during a moment of being thrilled with the Lord and his power.

"I've discovered that I love and even at times desire the feeling of brokenness. It reminds me of who God is, everything I'm not, yet all I hope to be."

Have any of you felt that way? Have you ever wanted to be broken for the sake of Christ? Ever considered it a blessing to suffer, to share in the sufferings of Christ? it's an odd feeling. but great at the same time. At the retreat (and a long while before that) my heart was, and is, broken. Broken for people who don't know Christ, who don't love Christ, or who just don't want a part of him. several times during worship we sang a song called "Beautiful Jesus" by Kristian Stanfill. Y'all heard it? well, i never had until the retreat. anyway, when they sang that song, we sang the chorus over and over and over again:

Beautiful Jesus,

Beautiful Savior,

nothing is greater,

Brilliant Creator,

Friend of mine.

Perfect in power,

matchless in glory,

nothing is greater,

Brilliant creator,

Friend of mine.

I just kept thinking in my head about people who don't have what I have, but they CAN! my heart broke more and more with each word i sang. it brought me to tears and in fact, before the song was over, i was weeping out of a broken heart and hurting soul...for others. now, i am a sinful human just like everyone else, so that love and brokenness was not of me, it was of the LORD. he allowed me to experience it to move me to action for his glory, even though a lot of times i take it for myself.

on a related note, think about how much we take for granted EVERY DAY. i bet every one of us could make a list of the things we don't think to be thankful for and it would be as long as, well, i don't know something long! sorry guys my analogies are lacking, i'm dead tired here...anyways, things like waking up every morning. God is perfectly capable of bringing you home whenever and however he wants to! we don't think about that all the time! every morning you wake up is another chance to serve him, serve others, love him, and love others. it's something i know i take for granted, but i'm working on it.

So, for my challenge to y'all (i feel like i always challenge you with something, so i'm gonna keep it up), every day you wake up, make GOD the very first thing you think of. Wake up and think or even say, "God, THANK YOU for waking me up this morning, for giving me another day to live here. I'm making this day about you and your glory. Help me do that today." Focus on him. just try it. make him the joy you have in waking up early, just because you know the fact that HE woke you up for a PURPOSE. so live like you know it!

-Alexa

Between A and B

Hey guys, I just wanted to give yall some encouragement. I've been kind of distressed lately because a lot of my friends already have their heads in college (we're juniors!). They set their sights soley on their grades and become obsessed with doing whatever it takes to get into the right school. Although acceptance to a good school is very important and rewarding we need to stop living from point A to point B. By that i mean that its important to live in the moment, we are here, in high school so we might as well make the best of it. God has given us simple joys and it is important that we learn to appreciate them. Take a break from studying, go hang out with your friends on the weekends, play sports while you still can. If you live your life putting everything you have into what comes next, you will never be satisfied. What kind of life would it be if we were putting everything we had into the next best thing while we put friendships, family or even our relationship with Christ on the back-burner? Our perspective: Once i get to college i can relax, and that leads to- once im in grad school i can relax, once i have the perfect career i can relax, once i get that promotion i can relax, as soon as i get that raise i can relax... In a competitive world its easy to get caught up in that but its important to realize that life happens between point A and point B. I know that a lot of yall are caught up in all this college stuff (myself included) and you are already mentally checked out of high school but i challenge you to question yourself and figure out what you are really living for. By no means am i saying that we should slack off and disregard our grades but instead i hope that we can take some time to truly be at peace with our current situation.

“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” Philippians 4:8

Side note- Take some time to be quiet in front of The Lord, get down on your knees and listen. We often try so hard to fill our prayers with words but God knows our heart and there is nothing we could say that he doesnt already know. Be still and listen.

Help? :)

Hey Quest! I need your help!

My class and I are going on a retreat in February and I'm giving a witness talk about freedom, what it means to be set free in Chirst, and how that is different from the world's view of freedom. The theme of the retreat is "set free." If anyone has any Bible verses or stories or anything at all about freedom that I could use for my witness talk that would be great! Comment on this post and let me know!

Thank you!

P.S. Pleaseeeeee keep this blog going! The last post from last year's Quest group was right around this time...don't stop posting, keep it going! :)

-Haley

the most important book out there

Hey guys! it's been a little bit since i last posted...life is craaaazy! anyways, i've got a quick story and challenge for you guys. i think y'all will like it.

so last weekend my church went to a retreat at sky ranch. it was sweet! one of the messages the speaker challenged us with was about reading the Bible. this one probably hit me the hardest. he asked us, "How many of you have read the Bible?" people began to raise their hands. he continued, "I mean, the whole Bible.."

13 people out of 180 had read the entire Bible--every word. i haven't. he shared with us that as Christians, we have a HUGE credibility problem. how can we claim to believe the Bible if we don't even know entirely what it says? if we haven't even given our best attempt to read it all? so, i challenge you all, every one of you, to read the whole Bible. i am. and even if you've read most of it, start over and read the whole thing. if you have read the entire thing, AWESOME. do it again. you can never read too much of the Bible.

hopefully i can keep posting little things i learned and encountered from the sky ranch retreat last weekend. keep me accountable, PLEASE! text me, comment on here, facebook me, whatever. i'm working on priorities so i need y'all's help with this! love you guys so much

-Alexa :]

Off the top of my Head

hey everbody.

So last night was my school's talent show, and if you guys saw my last post "Help me find our reason to live instead," i asked for verses that said Christ is our reason for living because He died on the cross. I want to share with you guys my speech before we started our performance.

"'Hebrews 12:2-3: Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Pioneer and Perfector of faith, for the joy set before Him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary or lose heart.'"

"This verse is one that brings me joy, but the part that gets to me is the first part, 'Fixing our eyes on Jesus.' There's so much distraction in our world today that we don't remember Jesus nearing at all. So, at this time, PUT ASIDE EVERYTHING. put aside your cellphones, your side conversations, all your stressors. EVERYTHING in your life that is bringing you pain, put it aside for three minutes, and lets remember what our reason to live is."

I didn't rehearse that speech at all. The words literally came to me as I was up on the stage. I felt so good after we performed and so at peace with God.

As soon as you are done reading this last sentence, write down everything in your life that is hurting you on a piece of paper, and throw it in the trash. Give it to God.

I love His deliverance!

Hey Quest! I just wanted to give y'all an update on the Bible Study my friends and I started at my school. It's going sooo well! About 10 or 15 people come to each meeting, and we have really good discussions! And we're still going through James. So if anyone's looking for a prayer request, pray for the people in our Bible study! That their faith may be strengthened and they may serve as Christ's light in our school, in their families, and in our community. Thank you!

And Erin thank you for coming to the meeting! I hope you can come to the next one! I just love that we go to the same school! :)

I hope everything's going well for you guys! Keep this blog going!
-Haley

For Erin!

Erin, we will have a Bible Connections club meeting this Friday! I just sent out the email. If you didn't get it, the meeting will be in SU1 during club time. You can bring your own Bible if you want to, but Ms. Killian will have some in her room. Let me know if you didn't get the email. Hope you can come! :)

-Haley

Something to live by :)

1 Corinthians 16:14

"Your EVERY act should be done with LOVE."

Keep that in mind this week and always. Love never fails (1 Cor 13:8).

-Haley

Help me find our reason to live instead

Hey people, it's 11:30 at night and i thought to myself...... "'hey the Questblog." (i know that was random)

anyway, i had band practice today, and it turns out that we're changing songs for the talent show and i need to find new verses to give the song kind of an intro.

So do u guys know any verses that tell how christ is our reason for living because He died for us.

-DJ

Not-Sure-How-To-Title-This

Hey guys!

This is a little random, but how do you guys memorize verses? I can usually remember what it says, and often the book, but I have a lot of trouble remembering the chapter and verse, so I can't go back to it if I need to. I've tried doing the first-letter-on-my-arm thing, but I'm still having this problem.

Thanks!

Trust and Heaven

Hey guys! Just thought I'd share some things God has been showing me lately.

I don't know why, but recently I've been really trusting God with everything. I'm not going through anything really difficult or anything, so it's not really leaning, as much as not worrying about things I can't control. It's seriously such a great feeling to know that God has you in his hands, and if you can't control it, he will.

Also, I've been really excited to go to heaven, which sounds kinda weird, but it's really not. I'm not gonna go kill myself or anything, because I know God will take me to heaven when he wants to, but I've just been thinking about it a lot. Nothing on Earth can compare to heaven, and I'm just looking forward to it so much!

I think that's pretty much it. The Lord has blessed me so much the past couple weeks with just a feeling of happiness when I think about him, and I really wanted to share it with you.

Keep posting! You guys rock!

happy new year or at least happy two weeks into the new year. better late than never. i just want to share what is going on in my life in hopes that you will be encouraged, challenged, and that you would pray for me.

well for beginners, i start off my last semester with two new roomates. both are godly women who love the lord and want to glorify him in all they say and do. their personalities are completely different yet they mesh well. quite funny actually. and then you throw me in the midst of that and you get a reality tv show. and i bet it would be awesome! ;)

second. there is a part of me that dreads this softball season with every fiber of my being and i think its because im just burnt out. i think 21 years of one sport is enough time to become weary of it. but instead of seeing this as an incredible ministry opportunity, i see it as a dreadful thing im obligated to do. it is incredible selfish of me and thats not ok.

numero three. im in a season life where i must decide what to do about my future. do i go to grad school for sports management or do i go to seminary? it may not sound like that hard of a decision but i often feel like i must make a decision that will affect my whole life...and im only 21! i know that the lord has placed before me different opportunities to glorify him and i pray that i choose something that will stretch my faith and that will glorify him, but at the same time i have these sweet moments where i freak out...quite funny.

so i close with this. i need prayer. i need you to have my back because we are a bevolution. we are a family. brothers and sisters in christ. i need you to pray that the lord takes my perspective of softball and turns it upside down. not so that i will enjoy it more but that through my enjoyment, he may be glorified.

i need prayer for discernment for my future. pray that i will choose something out of my comfort zone so i have no choice but to rely on him and that doing so, he will provide ample opportunities to glorify his name.

any ideas?

hey quest!

you may remember alexa's post a while ago about her idea to stay up all night and pray. well i thought that was a really good idea so i told my youth pastor about it and said i thought it would be a cool thing for our youth group to do together. Anyway, we're going to do it with our church and a few other churches in febuary, and i have the task of making like an hour by hour schedule of what we're going to pray for, and when we're going to have worship and stuff like that. we also have 4 rooms to use so things can be going on in the other rooms too.

anyway, if anyone has any suggestions i would greatly appreciate them! and thanks alexa for this idea in the first place!

-Hannah

it's all about progress.

I just found this awesome song called "Change in the Making" by Addison Road. Listen to it if you get a chance! I think sometimes when people want to be a better person, they expect to get better immediately. This song is really cool because it talks about how it's all about progress, and change won't happen right away. It takes time. This is something that has really played out in my life recently. I'm constantly asking God to make me more patient and loving...and I kind of got mad at God when I didn't become patient and loving right away. But it takes time. Every day things get better, and eventually we'll become the person we want to be.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yU2drg8FtBg

"This is redemption story, with every step that I'm taking. Everyday You're chipping away what I don't need. This is me under construction. This is my pride being broken. Everyday I'm closer to who I'm meant to be. I'm a change in the making."

-Haley

Please read, Haley!

Hi Haley!
It's club meeting time, and I can't remember if the Bible study is on A or B week! I know it's probably to late now if it's B, but please let me know! Thanks!
-Erin

LIVE IT.

Alexa's post below inspired me to be honest with you guys too. So to be honest, I'm really disappointed in myself right now because I'm having such a hard time actually living out my faith. If we believe in God and all He did for us, that's awesome. But if we don't actually LIVE out our faith, then what is the point of believing in what we believe in? This is reminding me of what DJ said back at the Quest reunion..."God can't be just a part of your life; He has to BE your life." Sure, God is a part of all our lives. We all go to church, youth groups, Bible studies, etc. But are we actually LIVING it out? Are we actually turning Biblical truth into ACTION? It almost seems as if the things we learn at these places are a waste if we don't actually live them out, if we don't actually try to live with loving, generous, selfless hearts that want to glorify God.

Romans 3:10-11
"As it is written: There is no one just, not one, there is no one who understands, there is no one who seeks God." As humans, we are so sinful in nature. And it's our natural inclination just to learn about the Gospel but not actually live out the Gospel. It's natural for us to "seek God" while we are at Sky Ranch or church or whatever, but we completely forget about seeking Him when we are out in the real world.

James 1:22-25
"Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his own face in a mirror. He seems himself, then goes off and promptly forgets what he looked like. But the one who peers into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres, and is not a hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, such a one shall be blessed in what he does."

Titus 1:16
"They claim to know God, but by their DEEDS, they DENY Him. They are vile and disobedient and unqualified for ANY good deed."

I posted about this a long time ago, but once I saw a book called "The Christian Atheist." Under the title, it said, "Believing in God, but living as if He doesn't exist." Think about that...

Love you!
Haley

honesty time.

I'm just going to be completely honest with you guys. This may end up sounding super cliche or typical but I'm putting it out there anyways. I'm sure a lot of you are in the same boat as me right now, struggling to get through midterms/finals, end of semester stuff. I just want to be honest with y'all right now and say that lately, I have been talking the talk without waking the walk. and it's killing me. i have been telling other people who are freaking out over their midterms that they have to take that it'll all be okay, don't worry about it, just do your best, that kind of thing. i've been trying to encourage people to lay their burdens on the Lord and let him help and deal with it all. i mean, it is overwhelming, i know. but i haven't been doing what i've been offering to other people to do. i haven't really prayed for strength or help to get through these next 2 weeks, and I haven't really been relying on the Lord alone, if I'm being honest. i've been going at it alone (or so i thought) and getting hardly anywhere. it's tough, not gonna lie. but here i am, deciding way too late to find peace and rest and security in the Lord's sovereignty and strength, even in something as trivial as a midterm...ok well actually 8 of them haha. so this is just a reminder (a slap in the face-freakout reminder to me) to RELY ON THE LORD. he can handle it much better than we ever could. and despite the fact that every part of me knew that, i wasn't living it out. so focus on living out your faith these next few weeks. really focus on doing that. i am!

-Alexa

Wow!

Hey guys!
I know this is kinda random, but I'm just so amazed at how many posts there have been recently! For a long time, noone was posting. I mean NOONE. It was probably 2 weeks between each post, if not more.
Then, all of the sudden, there have been so many I can hardly believe it. There must be 2 a day! God must really be working through you guys.
Anyway, I just wanted to say how excited I've been over this. Keep it up!
-Erin

Prayer requests

My family friend's niece was recently diagnosed with leukemia. She's only 19. I've never met her, but my family friend, who is pretty much like an uncle to me, tells me stories about her and how brave she is being through all of this. Please keep her in your prayers! Pray that God continues to help her be brave and pray that she relies completely on Him through this ordeal. Also, a senior at my high school was diagnosed with leukemia at the beginning of Christmas break. Her name is Michaela White. Please keep her in her prayers as well! And of course, let's all keep praying for Grant's brother. I don't know any of these people personally, but it's crazy how all three have the same illness. Please pray for them!

But even in hard times, God never lets go. Always remember that!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hx5Y9DhoLJQ

-Haley

Help me find peace

Hey everybody!

So guess what, I'm in my school's talent show!!! I'm performing "The Stand" by Hillsong United with my friends playing the drums and guitar while I'm doing my thing on the bass. So I'm talking with my friend, and he said that he thinks it would be pretty cool to open up with a little 20 second devotion or something. He says he just wants to say a couple of Bible verses about finding peace with God, and then just relate those verses to the song.

So, do you guys know any verses that talk about finding peace with God or God's peace or something like that. Anything would be great! :)

Prayer Request

Hi everyone:) It's Hannah Becker, from session eleven. I'm sorry if this is kind of a redundant thing you have all heard about that went to the quest reunion..but for those who didn't, and those who did too..I am in need of prayer..like majorly.
Basically right now I'm dealing with a lot of like..inner conflict as far as jealousy. Without going into too much detail, I got my hopes up because of something the teacher said.. I auditioned for varsity choir and, although I really shouldn't have..I allowed myself to somewhat put my confidence in what others said, instead of relying on the Lord. Well, the auditions come and go..and I move up, but not to varsity. I mean, I should be happy I moved up. And I am. But it makes it even more challenging, because two of my friends..one being a best friend of mine moved up to varsity, a class ahead of mine. I don't know why it's such a big deal to me..but now I just keep on wondering what I did wrong, and how I can improve..but they have a rule that for the December auditions we aren't allowed to ask them or talk to them about the auditions..so I"m kind of in the dark now.
You guys, I have no idea why Christ allowed this to happen. I'm really confused, and I'm trying to be optimistic..because we have another audition in May, where we do this whole thing all over again. I'm really hating all the jealousy I'm having towards my friend, and it's affecting my attitude a little all over. But really, I just want peace, you guys. I want to stop being jealous and wondering what I could have done better..and why I didn't move up further. One way I've been trying to look at is the passage we know so well from James. "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you face trials of many kinds. For you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance."
I wish it were as easy as just reading this verse and just immediately being able to have a new outlook on the situation. But I know as well as anyone that I'm human..duh..and I can't do this without Christ, and without prayer from other people. I love you guys so much, and if anyone is free to call and talk anytime, just let me know!
:)
hannah b.

Answering Prayers

Hey guys!
I've been reading Matthew lately, and I came across this section:

"Then he made the disciples get on a boat and precede him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. After doing so, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When it was evening he was there alone. Meanwhile the boat, already a few miles offshore, was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it. During the fourth watch of the night, he came towards them, walking on the sea...after they (Peter's with him now, I just skipped that part) got into the boat, the wind died down." Matthew 15:22-25, 32

I know we've heard this story countless times, but when I read it last night, the Lord showed me a couple things that I'd never thought of before.

First of all, Jesus was ALONE on a mountain. People probably didn't know where he was, because there would have been a crowd following him. And, finally, he was busy praying.
SO...if there couldn't have been a messenger, noone was keeping watch, and Jesus himself was praying, how did he know the disciples were in trouble? The only answer is that either Jesus knew by himself or his Father told him. Either way, Jesus knows when we're in trouble and need him, and he's willing to help.

Also, I thought this was a good metaphor, in a way (I mean, it's not meant to be, but it works as one.) Sometimes, Jesus sends US out on missions. Sometimes, it's smooth sailing, but other times, it's difficult, and it seems like everything (and everyone) is fighting us. We may feel like Jesus is no longer with us, but, man, he still is. He still heard the disciples prayers, and he can still hear ours now! All we have to do is let him on the boat with us.

Bye, Quest! God bless!

A Cause for Creation

Hey Quest! For as long as I can remember, I've always loved to write. Poems, stories, anything. Since this past summer, I've started writing religious poems too. I only share what I write with a few people in my life, but I wanted to start sharing stuff you guys! This one's called "A Cause for Creation." It basically talks about why (I think) we were created in the first place and what we're called to do in this life we've been given. I hope you like it!

A Cause for Creation

We were created to love and be loved by You,
And Your love is the only thing that is stable and true.

It consumes my soul, my entire being,
And equips me with faith, gives me a reason for believing.

Love alone proves that You indeed exist,
It enlivens me with a kind of peace that I just can't resist.

Every question can answered with the simple response of "love,"
And a true representation of this gift can only come from Heaven above.

Everything points to love, it's the reason we're here,
And if we have love what have we to fear?

It's our call and purpose as God's most holy creations,
To love and be loved in all situations.

Love is the answer.

"God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him." 1 John 4:16

Thanks for reading!
-Haley

Everyone has a starter verse

Hey everyone.

Okay, so this post my get you guys thinking a little.
Think back to the day you were lead to Christ (If you have believed since birth, then think about your most recent moment where you felt one-on- one with God).
Remember how you felt, who you told, and what you gained from that experience. But also, try to remeber this: What verse did you discover/hear at that moment? In my opinion, There's a bible that everyone can call their "very own, little, personal verse." If you go done to the posts: "Let's Summarize", and "JOY (why I'm a Christian).", you guys read my testimony, and my favorite bible verse (which is also my starter verse): Colossians 3:10- "and you've become a new person. This new person is continually renewed in knowledge to be like his Creator."

So if you got the time, post your starter verses.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! :)

The Glorious, Mysterious Unknown

Just wanted to share a story with y'all. A few days ago I attended a funeral for a lady who died after heart surgery. She was only 51. Her daughter is a freshman in college. They go to our church and last year, when her daughter was still in high school, Mrs. Teresa (the lady that passed away) was one of our high school choir sponsors at church. She was my small group leader during our mission trip to San Francisco, so I had the privilege of getting to know the wonderful woman of God she was. She was our own Mother Teresa. Anyways, at the funeral, her favorite verse was read aloud, and it was none other than James 1:2-3, a verse that we are all quite familiar with~"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance." Those words shot me back to my week in Quest and my mind was racing. I recounted all we learned from James 1, especially verse 5 about wisdom: "If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you." When I got home after the funeral, I prayed: God, give me more wisdom, because I am lacking and you are generous to give. Please, Father, give me wisdom.

The next few days were pretty rough for me. I focused a lot of time on the topic of predestination. I searched for truth and still am. I found an explanation backed up by Scripture, and it blew me off my feet. I couldn't understand how God could work like that with predestining people and such. I was confused and frustrated (and honestly, I still am to a degree). So I told God this. I went to him and said that i was confused and frustrated, and that i couldn't understand. Part of me knew that I wouldn't be able to comprehend it. I just did. So as i sat there, racking my brain and spouting the prayers of my heart to the Lord, and it hit me. This is GREAT! Even though I don't understand completely and I doubt, God is still good, and i still trust him. He has a plan that I have not the slightest idea what it is! It's glorious! My feeble human mind cannot envelop or contain the Lord! what a shocker. he is mysterious and astounding, and i will never be able to know the depths of his being. it's beyond me and all of us. for the first time, I experienced, i felt, i understood what it truly means to fear the Lord. It's like nothing i've EVER experienced. in that moment, i knew that just knowing God is not enough. i want to not only know him, but give myself to him even when i am not at all sure of what his plans entail! i want to share in his sufferings and bring him all the glory! I felt his sovereignty and goodness and I FEAR HIM. I revere him. he is beautiful and abounding with so much mystery and glory that we don't even know.

and to top off this glorious encounter with the living God and learning what it means to really fear him, this verse came to mind, Proverbs 9:10. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding."

Told ya he delivers. now that's what I call an answered prayer :)

-Alexa

15 Minutes

Hello Quest!
Happy New Year!

I've been meaning to post this for a loooong time, but I'm actually glad I waited because the message is just now beginning to sink it.

The other day I went to Confession (which is where you confess to God, through a priest, your sins, and he forgives you.) One of the things the priest told me is that knowing God is truly a way to a happy life. If you DON'T know God, you don't know who you are. If you don't know God, you will start having bad thoughts, and, hence, bad actions.

This just set in this week, though. My parents made a comment about how mean I was to my siblings. I don't know why, but it just really hit me. Why am I so mean to them? Why can't I just...not retaliate, or just keep my thoughts to myself or something? And God reminded me of this message. If I don't know Him...I have no reason to be nice to them, you know? If I wasn't Christian, I could do this, and this is my chance to prove that I am a Christian. Does that make sense? The only way you can ALWAYS be nice is if you know God.

The priest encouraged me to take a break every day, and spend 15 minutes completely devoted to God. It's hard to leave whatever you're doing, especially if you're really busy or stressed, but that's no excuse. So I encourage you to do this, too, if you don't already. (I always just prayed at night, but I think I would be more awake if I did it as a break.)

So Happy New Year! I hope it's amazing for everyone. God bless!

A little reminder to persevere

Hey Quest!! It has been wayyy too long since my last post, but I have still been reading all of your posts and they are so encouraging!!

So the other night I was reading out of Hebrews, and I think Hebrews 10:32-36 has a really good message for all of us, especially after having such a wonderful experience at Quest this past summer, and now having our busy lives in full swing.

"Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised."

I think these verses are so cool because they convict me of the times I care too much about what others think of me in regards to my faith and the times I fail to joyfully give up my worries and other things in my life. Sometimes it's difficult to stand firm in your faith when you are with friends or family members that don't have the same beliefs, or that think you're "too holy," but I know for me, it was a lot easier at camp and right after getting home from camp - in those "earlier days" after receiving the light. The same thing goes for giving things up with joy... I feel like it gets harder to serve joyfully and selflessly and to give things up to God joyfully and selflessly because it is so easy to get wrapped up in what the world is telling us. Also, these verses make me realize that the early believers had the same struggles we face. They too went through the "earlier days" after receiving the light - the days when they were totally on fire for Christ - and then as time passed, they too needed the encouragement to persevere and to stay confident in their beliefs. As humans, we are going to sin, we are going to fail, we are going to fall away from being 100% on fire for Christ sometimes, but the important thing is that we persevere through our struggles and be encouraged by one another so that we don't shrink away from our calling to draw near to God and to love each other.

Hope you are all doing great!! It's crazy to think that 2010 is already ending. Everyone have a wonderful New Year! Happy 2011!

- Emma

Dive in.

Hey Questers, it's DJ.
So funny thing, I'm in Cabo San Lucas until the 1st i think, so i hope this post doesn't show up in Spanish or something.
Anyway, I was with my friend and his family and my family and we went to the beach. Only one problem, we couldn't swim. we couldn't swim because the water was too rough and there were rocks to close to shore. But that got me thinking about girls on the beach. (Bare with me, I know what you're thinking, but this is completely relevant to the story)

You see girls on the beach, they lay down their blankets, put on sunscreen, pop in the earbuds, put on the sunglasses, and just sit there for hours reading People magazine or something. They do all of this stuff, but never actually go in the water (let's say in this case, the water represents Scripture, and the beach represents church, bible study, religion class, youth group, etc.)

It's not enough to just go to bible study, it's not enough to Just go to religion class, IT"S NOT ENOUGH to JUST go to youth group. I mean, if you just go for the sake of going, You're not going to walk away with anything of TRUE VALUE.

So what I'm trying to say with this post is that, any opportunity there is at a bible study or youth group, TAKE IN EVERY WORD. MAKE THE MOST OF IT.
-D.J.

Verses

Hi everyone!
I just suddenly wanted to know what everyone's favorite verse is. So, if you could put it here, that'd be great! I'd also encourage you to ask people you know for their verse; you get to hear a good verse, it's good bonding time, and, if they don't have one, you're encouraging them to find one and look into the scripture.
So, I'll start: mine is Psalm 27:1 - "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?"
C'mon guys - answer!

there is more

There is more. There's more to life than family, friends, sports, school, and your whole life. there is more. what i've really been concentrating on the past few days is this: "I am not made for me." God didn't create me to please ME, to make ME happy, to keep ME safe, to satisfy ME. It's all about HIM.

I WAS MADE FOR HIM.

people have it backwards, me included. we get caught up in the lie that our life is about us. as crazy as it may sound, it's not. our desires, hopes, dreams, everything, should all be for Jesus. our desires should be Him and His will. Our hopes should match His. Our dreams should be that His will be done in every part of our lives. it's completely backwards to what we've grown up with our entire lives. and i know y'all know all of this already, but once you let it truly settle into your life, things change. and yeah, it's hard. but remember, we weren't made to live an easy life.

Think about it, God created a LOT of things. i mean, bunches. however, there are only 2 that will remain forever, for eternity, somewhere. 1) His Word and 2) people.

since we know that our life isn't about us, invest in other people. love them, serve them, support them. it's what we were made to do. think of God's greatest commandment, Matthew 22:37-39; "Love the Lord your God with all you heart with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself."

we are commanded to love God and love people. yet, it's what we were created to do. how backwards is that? so guys, let's get to it. love like crazy. let's do it

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, Quest! I hope you are having an amazing one.

As most of you probably did, I went to Mass today (well, midnight), but, anyway, the priest said some really cool things that I wanted to share with you:



Christmas, you might be shocked to hear, is NOT about giving. It's about recieving: recieving God. So, the giving is just something that happens because of our joy at recieving God, and wanting to give something, since he did, too. I think one of the things that happens around Christmas is we get caught up in either the commercial stuff, or we're too busy doing service and getting gifts for others to be with God, which is almost just as big of a problem.

Also, Christmas is the Birth of Life. Because of Jesus, life has come into the world, and it's here to stay.

Merry Christmas!
-Erin

NOW TESTIFY!

Hey there everyone!

First, before i get into my post, please pray for a couple of things:

1. The family of the boy who died at Sky Ranch. pray that they recover and find some form of peace.

2. For Sky Ranch. The family is now trying to sue the camp. This is going to bring my world down because i was lead to Jesus there. PLEASE PRAY.

okay, now for the actual post

It would be really awesome if everyone would post their story of how they were lead to Jesus, how they were lead to Christ's love.

(Just something to think about)

-DJ

Let God Use You

Hey Quest!
This year at my school, we got a new spanish teacher. She's right out of college, and she was pretty nervous about it. She's a really sweet Christian, and she has an awesome genuine love for the kids. At the beginning of the year, I decided that I would write her anonomous letters of encouragement and give her little gifts and stuf- just so she could be encouraged and stuff.

Then school started to get busy, and I kindof pushed the idea to the back of my mind. Then one day in class last week, she told us that somone had been anonomously giving her gifts and letters, and that to whoever it was, she was really thankful for them.

When I heard that, it was like a punch in the gut. I realized that God gave me a chance to be an instrument of his love, and when I blew it off he used someone else. I realized that if God has something he needs to be done, he will do it, weather it is through me or someone else.

This was just a really good reminder for me. I encourage you guys to let God use you, and don't put off any opportunity that you have. It is an honer to be used by God, and I don't want to let an opportunity like that go by again!
-Hannah

something interesting

Just wanted to share something with you guys that I thought was kinda interesting...who would have thought that i would be posting stuff relating to Christianity from a philosophy textbook!? well, here it goes.

I was reading about Plato and it was talking about knowledge and being. it says "The very essence of knowledge is unchanging. What is true is always true. Therefrore, whatever is relative and always changing cannot be true." Looks like Plato got something right. This totally applies to life in a TRUE way! Think about it, the ways of this world are constantly changing: what clothes are in style, what kind of music is popular, even what kind of person to be. Types of movies and tv shows change; almost everything changes eventually! BUT...God never has! He never will! His WORD never will! His word is TRUTH and it ALWAYS will be! He doesn't swap horses in midstream! He remains faithful in his promises and love! It's just awesome.

That's all for now. toodleloo...Alexa :]

Stress?

Hey, guys!
I know all of us have been under a ton of stress with homework and tests and such, and I have, too. Anyway, I read this verse the other day, and it's seriously amazing when we're going through stuff like this.

Matthew 11: 28. It basically says to give your burdens to God. Memorize this verse, it's so useful and inspiring. Somedays, Scripture is the only thing that can keep you going, and this verse is one of those.

Just thought it would help. Like I said, memorize it!
Happy Studying!
-Eirn Walsh

Let's Do It

Alright Quest, I have an idea. I've been thinking about doing it for a while now, but reading Haley's post really made me want to tell y'all about it and see if you want to join in and do it with me.

Go one night without (or maybe with very little) sleep. Spend the night in prayer and intimate conversation with the Lord! Then, the next day when you are probably going to want to fall apart and be grouchy and lazy, depend only on the Lord to sustain you. Because we all know he can! It's just a super practical way to let the Lord work and learn to trust him fully. I mean, think about it, what if you had NO SLEEP from a Thursday morning until Friday night? you would definitely not be able to handle everything on your own for that Friday. You would NEED God, and you would be able to see and feel that need if you already don't.

Someone once told me that the Lord uses you most when you have nothing left to give (on your own strength). So this is a way to let God's strength show through our weakness. Who's with me!?

Who's waiting on whom?

Hey Quest! Last week at church, our priest reminded us that before Christmas we are preparing for Christ's coming. Then he asked us all this question: are we waiting on Christ? or is Christ waiting on us? Well, that really hit me. If Christ isn't your number one in life, and if you put Him off to side while focusing on the things of this world, then Christ is waiting on you. Quest, I encourage you all to really think about the way you live on a day-to-day basis, and see if you are truly waiting on Christ and preparing for His coming or if you are making Him wait on you while you do what YOU want to do, while you give into temptation and sin and turn away from Him, leaving Him waiting for you. Sorry if this is starting to sound really preach-y, but I think this is a really good question to ask ourselves and think about.

Are we waiting on Christ or is Christ waiting on us?

Good luck on all your tests/projects/papers/finals...wow these have been some busy weeks!
-Haley

P.S. One week and one day till the QUEST REUNION! :) Anddd two weeks till Christmas!

For Haley

Hi Haley!
I'm really sorry I wasn't at the club meeting today. I headed out to SU2, but you weren't there...did I get the date wrong or something? Please let me know when the next one is!
Thanks, -Erin

Divine Romance

I'm sure many of you have heard the song Divine Romance by Phil Wickham, but if not, I urge you to look it up! I posted the lyrics below:

The fullness of Your grace is here with me
The richness of Your beauty’s all I see
The brightness of Your glory has arrived
In Your presence God, I’m completely satisfied

For You I sing I dance
Rejoice in this divine romance
Lift my heart and my hands
To show my love, to show my love

A deep deep flood, an Ocean flows from You
Of deep deep love, yeah it’s filling up the room
Your innocent blood, has washed my guilty life

A couple nights ago, i was completely overwhelmed. I had some family stuff dealing with a relative that I could not stop thinking and worrying about. School had taken its toll on me and I had barely been getting enough sleep to keep everything going. Swimming was getting tougher and tougher every day, and I was at the breaking point. It was about 12 that night, and I was laying in my bed, trying to memorize a thing i have to say from memory for church's Christmas program this weekend. I couldn't take it anymore. I couldn't handle (felt like i couldn't handle) life any more at that moment. i wanted life to pause in that moment and just give me a break. so i quit what I was doing and grabbed my iPod. this song, Divine Romance came on. I cried like a baby. We have a Jesus, a Savior who wants to be with us and love us and receive the glory he rightfully deserves! This song just reminded me of that. It made me wanna sing for him, dance for him, rejoice in his presence, and show him my love in whatever way i could. guys, look what Jesus did for us! he died for us, yet he continues to FILL US each and EVERY day. no matter what. he never stops, even when we want to.

Romans 8:38-39. Rejoice in the divine romance we get to have with Jesus!

Trust.

So before i start i just wanted to share with everyone a blog that i have come across.

It has been really helpful and there are daily reflections. Check it out!

http://utmost.org/

So I haven't posted in a while so i just wanted to check in with all of you.

It wasn't until a couple months ago that I started getting involved in a church. I found one that has been working out really well- one that i really seem to like. This had been a long time prayer of mine and it is amazing to finally see it come true. More than that, i had been praying my heart out for a group of girls to be in community and accountability with as well as an older mentor to look up to and learn from. I honestly thought that this would be impossible, when i first started praying about this. Its funny how God seems to laugh at the seemingly "impossible" gifts. I was randomly talking to a girl at my school who has been a teammate of mine and she asked me, out of the blue, if i wanted to go to a bible study at her house. It took off from there and I am now apart of a small group with like 7 other girls and two leaders! I have already learned so much and I am so amazed that this worked out the way it did. It is honestly unbelievable. God has also managed to work in my life in another incredible way. I have been given the opportunity to work with Sky Ranch in the dallas day camps! I am sure this goes for most of us in quest but it has been the biggest dream of mine to be a Sky Ranch counselor ever since I was a little Sky 1 girl. The fact that God has placed me in a position where I can be an example for these girls is quite amazing. I know that it will be challenging at times when I have to wake up early and will be missing out on events with my friends but it will pay off in a much bigger way. There is no work more important than doing the work of God. We are all called to be representatives of his kingdom and we have to do that all for His glory.

These are huge prayers of mine, guys. I never imagined that they would come together in the most perfect way but I guess I just forget how truly amazing our God is. He really does want us to succeed and will give us all the tools we need to do it. If you guys are not in the place where you can really see God working in your life, I pray that you hang in there and cling to Him even tighter because he will provide. Matthew 5:6 "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they will be filled." God WANTS to fill us up, he loves us so much that we cant even understand. Do not be discouraged and dont fill your hunger with other worldly things, because they will not be satisfying. It is better to wait for something great than to be distracted by things that will lead us away from greatness. I know what it is like to feel forgotten about and left behind. God does not forget, we are called to be patient and trust that he has a plan for us. Isaiah 49:16 "See, i have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are ever before me." Trust him to fill up your spirit and bestow his strength on to you.

I love you all; i cant wait for the reunion!

Erin read this!

Hey Erin our bible study is actually going to be on Friday during club time at school! NOT Tuesday after school. I hope you can come! :)

-Haley

Priority

Hey quest just a quick word of encouragement to you all. I love this blog so much and I really hope new posts keep popping up! Just want to encourage you to make God your priority this week. Be intimate with Him. We don't have to do life alone, and we shouldn't! The Lord is here for us so give him control and watch as he works. I know life is crazy busy, especially since school is almost over before Christmas (HALLELUJAH! what a blessing!) and teachers and coaches are piling up the work load. I know. but it's not an excuse, even though I've been using it as one. So just stop what you're doing, slow down, and listen to our precious Lord. he speaks in the silence. "Cast your cares on him, for he cares for you." Don't let life get in the way of you and Jesus this week. Just spend time with him; every second counts.

love you guys. :]

--Alexa

Let's summarize

Let's Summarize: these are the lessons that i got out of how i was lead to Christ.

1. Everything happens for a reason.
2. When you sacrifice something, think about what you gain rather than what you lose (I lost Taylor, but gained my relationship with Christ)
3. Love nevers dies, it just takes a different form (The love for Taylor turned into the love for God)
4. The journey of how you are lead to Christ does not happen through 1 person or event alone. It requires multiple things. (people: taylor, timmy, marcus. Events: the relationship, the prayer, Sky Ranch)
5. God breaks us down, He lets bad things happen to us, in order to bring us up and bring us closer to Him.
6. Your identity should be put in who you are in your faith, rather than earthly items.
7. God answers all our prayers at exactly the right moment.
8. you don't have to be special to have a relationship with Jesus. Christianity is about having an encounter with Jesus Christ and having your heart changed through this encounter.

Hope you enjoyed!
-DJ

J.O.Y. (why I'm a Christian)

Hey DJ's back!

I think i need to share with you guys my testimony of how i was lead to Christ. There are multiple lessons that i learned later on that relate to this story.

I was agnostic up until i hit my seventh grade year. I didn't really think that God could interact in my life or have power in it in any way. I was in a new school my seventh grade year and i didnt really know how to start. There was this girl in my grade named Taylor, and i started to 'like' her. So we start talking, getting to know each other, then i decide i wanna ask her out. I have this plan of how i'm gonna ask her, but then she pulls me aside and says, "So.... wanna go out?" I was like, "Heck yes!!!!"

So we date for about a month, and for that month, I'm happy. But this was a bad thing because i put this girl and our relationship at the center of my universe. I put her before everything because i made this my identity. It's like if i were to get a name tag that said "Hi, I'm ___," i would put 'Taylor's boyfriend' in the blank.
So we date for a month, and on the day i was going to try to kiss her, she breaks up with me (irony much.. haha). and after that, I'm depressed for the rest of the year. I had lost the only thing i could put my identity in and i hated it. I felt that i had nothing in my life to bring me happiness.

Eventually, my birthday comes around, and i turn 14. Coincidentally, my school has chapel that same day, and the message was: What ever you are going through, what ever questions you have, give them to God, who is always with you.
So i prayed (just a heads up: This is my FIRST prayer. I mean my VERY FIRST PRAYER): "Father God, if you know what i'm going through, if you are truly almighty, if you truly love me, then answer this: Why did me and Taylor break up?"
God didn't answer me for a while, But when He did, i was changed forever.

My friend, Timmy Cheatum (who also went to Quest this summer) took me to Sky Ranch for a week. we were campers in cabin 25 (which was Denton Hall back then), and on June 13, 2008, I was lead to Christ.
We were sitting in the cabin watching a video for Bible study and the video was of a girl going behind a changing curtain and changing into a bunch of different outfits, and when she would come out she would have a name tag that read "Hi, I'm Athletic" or "Hi, I'm Goth" or "Hi, I'm Preppy" (remember the name tag reference from earlier).
and the Message was what we put our identity in and what we put at the center of our lives. This got me thinking about my prayer from earlier, then my counselor Marcus said this:
"J.O.Y. stands for Jesus. Others. Yourself. meaning you can not put anything before God."

I. Was. Speechless. When i heard this, I was inhaling. and as soon as Marcus had finished that sentence, I could feel something change as i was inhaling. i could feel a Pure, Holy escense enter my body through my Breath. it felt like i was Breathing for the First Time, I had Breathed Christ into me. As soon as i felt this, i became warm and tears started falling i ran into the bathroom stall and puked. I was Crying as i sat on the floor of the stall and i couldn't stop. I walked up to Marcus and i was talking like a crazy person saying,
"Marcus, what's happening to me? I heard what you said and i felt different , like something came into me and then i felt-"
Marcus: "DJ, (he pulled out his pocket Bible and turned to Colossians 3:10) 'and you've become a new person. this new person is continually renewed in knowledge to be like it's Creator.'
Me: "Marcus, I think I believe in God." then the tears really started to fall.

(Read the next post after this one)
-DJ

QUEST REUNION!

hey guys! WE ARE FINALLY DOING IT! everyone needs to come... i don't care if you live in Kenya... i don't know who lives there (no one actually from our group) but i am trying to make a point here... everyone needs to come! all you LA girls (and I mean Louisiana, not Las Angeles, we are we kidding, we're not THAT cool) all you crazy ladies better be there!

THERE MIGHT EVEN BE AN APPEARANCE BY AKTUKAN AND SHAKIRA!

I am so looking forward to it! AND..... wait for it...

IT IS A TACKY SWEATER PARTY!

so whip out your FINEST! we aren't pretending anymore... hey maybe dana will dress up as Santa and do the DANA!!! I vote YES!

This message is a little hyperactive because I am just SO EXCITED!

love yall! cannot wait to see you soon!!!

always,

Lindsey

p.s. RSVP on the facebook event page! invite all your quest friends!

Just an Idea...

Hey, Quest!
I've been reading my bible a lot lately, especially the Matthew, and, after a while, it just sorta became routine, you know? Like brushing your teeth-it's good, and you know you should do it, but it's more out of habit then not being able to wait.
So, what I started doing is reading the section and doing the inductive bible study. I would find out the literal meaning. (I'm reading about a lot of miracles right now.) Then, I would look for a symbolic meaning. For example, if I read about the cure of a blind person, I would read it first like it is, then read it, pretending that the 'blind' could refer to us, who can't see God or the way.
Anyway, don't know if this is new, but I think it helps me get more out of it, because I can apply it more to my life.
Keep up the good works, guys!
-Erin Walsh

'Worry Verses'

Hey guys!
I have a friend who worries about EVERYTHING- school, sports, her mom, everything! She could spend 100 hours on an essay, and she'd still be worried about the grade.
Anyway, I just feel like this has got to be just so tiring and degrading, so I was going to compile a list of verses to help relieve worry and fear and give it to her as a Christmas gift. Obviously, I don't have time to comb the whole Bible, and I know you don't either, but if anyone has a verse in particular that they love, that would be great!
Thanks, guys!
-Erin Walsh

Something to think about.

Alright, so today I noticed something really interesting.

Have you ever noticed that people who say they are Christians don't act like Christians, but people who aren't Christians do act like Christians?

One non-Christian I know always encourages me. Today she was telling me that I was so nice and such a great person and that I shouldn't ever let anyone tell me otherwise (I'm not bragging about myself, that's just what she said haha). So I was obviously so happy when she said that, especially since I've been trying to minister to her lately through my actions because she's an extreme atheist.

And another non-Christian I know calls me all the time to see how I'm doing...and she's always there for me no matter what, and she's sooo incredibly loving.

I'm definitely not saying that all non-Christians are like this, obviously, and I'm not saying us actual Christians are not like this. Of course, there's a little bit of everything on both sides. Does that make sense? haha

So...are YOU saying your a Christian and then living as a non-Christian? I bet if you look hard enough you'll find people in your life who say their non-Christians and yet they live like Christians (through their love, encouragement, empathy, service, etc.)

Just something to think about :)

Keep postinggg!
-Haley

the power of prayer

hello again!
ok so while i was at quest, we talked about praying for devine appointments, which is basically just what it sounds like. anyway, when I got home, I made a prayer list, and i began praying for devine appointments.

theres this guy in my youth group who has been depressed and cutting himself, and i don't know him that well, but over our youth group's retreat a few weeks ago, God just had it on my heart to pray for him. I have been praying for him for a few weeks, and tonight at our youth group we had a night of worship and sharing testimonies and stuff, and he sat by me. I realized that many of the songs being sung applied directly to his situation. I began praying fervently that God would break through his cold exterior and show him his love. I really felt God moving as I was praying, and I realized that he was singing along... something he NEVER does! After it was over, I heard him tell his friend that he fell in love with God again. It was amazing to be able to be used by God to pray for him and be able to participate in this milestone for him. it was awesome that God actually let me SEE my prayers come true! I know that I had a devine appointment tonight.

it says somewhere in Esther, (i dont remember exactly where...) that if God needs something to be done, he will find someone to work through. I am so glad that I had the privilage to be used by God in this situation!

So I encourage you guys to be prayer-warriors, cause it is such an amazing honer to be used by God in any way!!
I hope that made sense... it did in my head at least...

-Hannah

FCA!

Hey guys I know this is kinda late notice, but if anyone reads this before 7:45 tomorrow morning, please please PLEASE be praying for my high school's FCA meeting tomorrow! Me and another leader (my best friend) are doing the lesson so just pray that it goes well and that God gives us the words to say and the people there ears to hear! I'm so excited but nervous and i just hope and pray that it's gonna turn out well. I really need something good right now so prayer would be beyond AWESOME! love you all!

-Alexa