Off to Mississippi

So I'm going to Mississippi with a group of people from my church next week to help rebuild some houses destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, and I'm wicked excited. I went last year and I think it's really cool that I get the chance to go back, and continue to help some people out that really need it. A few years back when Katrina actually hit the Gulf Coast, I remember watching the news or telethons and other tv specials that would show all these hart breaking pictures and interviews of what was going on down there and I remember thinking "all i want to do is help these people". I thought about how I would feel if something like that happened to me and it made me want to just do whatever I could to help them. Last year I got the chance to go down there, and it was one of the greatest experiences ever. The fact that we can go down there and not only help them, but share God's love throughout it all is a really special thing. As Christians, we're supposed to help out our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, whether they are stangers or not. There was still a good amount of damage when I went last year, but it is getting better, and that's the good part. When I go back down next week, I just hope to help a few people, share God's love and hope, and learn more and grow in my realationship with Him. Our team of 18 needs prayer during this week, please pray that we stay safe, and the God uses us in many amazing ways.
I'll certainly have a post about the trip when I get back...

The Loss of a Musical Genius

We are all upset to hear about the unsuspected passing of Michael Jackson- Pop King. When you hear the name Michael Jackson, you think "Thriller" "Billy Jean" "Beat It" and much more. No other artist can compete with his record sales. The music today's generation is inspired by Jackson, and wouldn't be the same without him. His impact on the world of culture will forever be remembered. I was in the car and a radio station was playing only songs of Jackson, saying "we are celebrating musical genious." TV news and entertainment stations are COVERED with Jackson's story and the latest up-to-date news. Fans cry out at the loss of this legend, everyone will be reliving their youth, and learning more about Jackson over the next few days, and we should remember him as a good soul whose talents were like no other. My prayers and good thoughts are with Jackson's family and friends during this difficult time.

R.I.P. Michael Jackson - You will be deeply missed and forever remembered.

Summer Vacation

So I know I haven't blogged anything in a while but now that I am done with school until September I will have a chance to update this thing a lot more! Along with all the sleep that come with summer, I'm excited to be able to do a lot of things I always want to do during the school year, like reading books. All sorts of books from a to z. If anyone knows of ANY good books that you recommend, let me know, I'll put it at the top of my list. This summer I'm also taking the opportunity to be a CIT (Counsellor In Training) at Camp Wilmot in New Hampshire. It's for 2 weeks...I've never been gone for more than a week, so it will be a very new and exciting experience for me and I can't wait! I'm also going on a mission trip with my church to Mississippi to help people who's houses were destroyed by Hurricane Katrina a few years ago which I'm also pumped about. Then there's the usual summer activities such as, goofing off with friends, VBS, sleeping, swimming, tannig, reading, jammin out with my guitar, oh and that AP Biology summer work I have to do...that'll all be my "fun in the sun" summer...CAN'T WAIT!

Praise Him!

I notice a lot of the time when we pray to God we like to ask him for stuff: healing a loved one, keeping people safe, a good grade, security. It's great to ask him for this, to ask for help and guidance in our lives, but shouldn't we praise him a little more? Whenever something goes wrong we might say "Aw God why did you do that!" or "I think God must be out to get me" Do we ever praise him enough? Is there ever enough praise we can give him? The God that sent his Son into the world to save all of man from their sins, the God that provides us with unconditional love forever and always, the God that always forgives you when you sin (cause face it, we're all sinners). Is there ever enough praise we send his way, like "Oh God thank you for this day!" or "God thank you for your love!".

In Exodus 15 Moses and the Israelites sang a song to God, proclaiming their praise and love for him.
"I'm singing my heart out to God-what a victory! He pitched horse and rider into the sea. God is my strength, God is my song, and yes! God is my salvation. This is the kind of God I have and I'm telling the world!"
-The Message

How amazing is that? "I'm singing my heart out to God-what a victory!" The joy they get in saying "Hey God is my everything and I lift his name up in the highest praise!" To be able to praise God is a great thing! To show him that we love him so much for everything he has done and yet to do is rewarding, however you do it. There is a song I really like that's sung by Mandisa (I'm not sure who originally wrote it) and it's called Shackles. The chorus is:

"Take the shackles off my feet so I can dance
I just wanna praise You
I just wanna praise You
You broke the chains, now I can lift my hands
And I'm gonna praise You
I'm gonna praise You"

So Let's show our love for God and PRAISE him. Shout it out! Because he is always there, through the dark and through the storms, he is always there. And that my friends, is something worth praising.

Confirming the Confirmation

I'm getting confirmed at my church on Sunday. Confirmed can be such a big word though, open to interpretation, so I'm going to talk about what being confirmed means to me. Not only does it mean that I'm becoming a member of the church I've attended my entire life and the church my mom and aunts and uncles attended and my grandparents attended, but it's something much more exciting than that. To confirm something means to make it definite, to set it in stone if you will. I'm confirming that Jesus, the Savior who died for every one's sins, is indeed my savior and that I've accepted Him in my heart and will follow Him forever. This whole confirmation is more than a process, it is a journey, a new step in my faith, digging deeper into a relationship with the Lord. When I stand up there Sunday, scared out of my mind to be reading my personal statement with the eyes of the entire congregation on me and my fellow confirmands, I can be comforted by the fact that I'm making it official that my heart is committed to God, that He is happy that I have made the decision to follow Him and have faith in Him. It will be a day of celebration to be able to stand in front of my church and say "ya I AM a follower of God, I love Him, have faith in Him, and I choose to follow Him as long as I live...and then some"

Vacation has FINALLY come!

What's better than a beautiful sunny day around 70 degrees? School vacation, that's what. The time period between February vacation and April vacation is the longest time of all, with only having 1 day off in between. After working and working, a break has finally come! Maybe now, with all this free time I'll have during the week I can update this blog more often?
Ah well I'm off to kick off this break with a nice relaxing time sunning it up on the deck :-D>-< (that was my poor attempt at a cyber-stick figure!)

And Then There Were 9...

American Idol has a different theme each week, this week it happened to be Motown week. Over all the contestants did pretty well...here's my opinion:

Best of the night:
Adam- He surprised us all with a cleaned-up look and a tender song that wowed everyone. Definitely a leader in the competition

Allison- She may be 16, but boy can she sing! Her rendition of "Papa was a rolling stone" was fantastic!

Matt- He actually reminds me of Justin Timberlake a lot. I thought he did really well this week and saw no reason for him being the the bottom 3

They didn't shine, but they can still sing:
Lil- I agree with Smokey when he said that Lil could sing the phonebook because it's true, she has a voice! Her song choice Tuesday night however, wasn't up to par

Kris- Reminds me a lot of Jason Maraz. He can really sing, and would sound good on the radio, I just don't know if he could win the competition

On thin ice:
Anoop(dawg)- Anoop wasn't great, he just wasn't. I'll give him another 2-3 weeks before we say "bye bye"

Danny- Usually Danny does a really good job, he had an off night with a not so impressive song choice. Hopefully he'll do better next week, because he is one guy that will make it far in the competition.

GO HOME NOW!:
Scott- He give the same thing every week, all of his songs sound the same...bad. He isn't really worth anything the competition except a pity vote, sorry to say, but it's absolutely true. He just needs to leave and make room for the singers.

Megan- The only reason she's in the competition still is because she is attractive. Her voice is "unique", I'll give her that much, but it's still not good. She did horribly Tuesday night and it shocked me to see her safe...come on America really? try voting for some good singers.

Michael- I agree with what Simon said about Michael only being in the competition, not actually being competition, or whatever he said. He did do really well on Wednesday and should have been saved though, I'll give him that. He really did need to go though.

Well, that's all my American Idol chatter for now