smile often

what; eXit winter retreat ‘10

character

the characters of GOD;

love/ holiness/ justice/ trinity

when; january 15-17th

where; black lake bible camp

why; to learn about and love Him

so. it’s already almost 1am, but i feel if i don’t write at least something down right now, it’ll slowly start slipping away. therefore, here is a synopsis of my weekend notes, meaning that it’ll be choppy/trailed thoughts. bear with me please? :)

i went this weekend to my church college ministry’s retreat. i went with a mission; a purpose to find out where i am with God. to discover where i stand, so i can learn and grow closer to Him. we left on friday in the afternoon, headed to a very familiar place. black lake has been the retreat spot for many summer youth group retreats, so many of us were really comfortable in going back there, except in a college ministry setting.

our speaker was pastor phil bryant, who was apparently a previous pastor for new life in 2006 or so. he is a very passionate speaker and it’s obvious just how much he loves God and takes his Word seriously. when we got to the conference center at the camp, he introduced the retreat weekend with the theme of ” God’s character ”. we were there to learn more about Him; as pastor phil said, “you can’t love something you don’t know.”

1/15;;

the first evening service centered around the theme of holiness. according to definition, ‘holiness’ is “to be separate”; since God is holy, he is completely distinct. pastor phil went on to discuss the common question of “how good is good enough?” God, being holy, is separate from evil and has become the one standard. so to answer that question, there is only one requirement — that you are holy. however. there is no “middle area” of holiness — you are either holy, or you aren’t. and since He is holy, that means we’re not. no matter what “percentage of good” we are, if it isn’t 100%, we are not holy. this really hit me, because pastor phil went on to say how “we don’t want God to be holy because of the implications it has on us.” since God is the standard, he has a zero-tolerance policy. so we need to be that 100% holy; 99% is just not enough.

isaiah 6:1-5.

1/16;;

in the morning, we discussed the topic of God’s justice. pastor phil brought in an interesting concept. he demonstrated that we live by the equation of 0 * X = 1, where 1 is God and we are nothing in comparison, 0. but as any mathmatical person can see, this equation is impossible to balance. or so you think. pastor phil went on to discuss how we need to remove ourselves from this equation. by removing the 0, the equation becomes X = 1. and the only possible solution is then 1 = 1. God provides the X, which is HIMSELF. wow. God wants to provide us with grace — even though humans would justify with punishment, He is not in human terms.

romans 3:5, 23

1/16 pt2;;

love. a topic that’s been discussed many times over. but still, we can’t get enough of it. i feel like we can never hear about it enough. about His unconditional love. something from this service that struck out to me was when pastor phil said, “God cannot love you any more or any less than at this second.” how true is that? His love for us is unconditional; that no matter how many times we hurt Him, He still loves us dearly. so to grow closer to Him, we need to learn more about Him. Love Him. i mean, pastor phil discussed how Jesus, being God, can do anything he wants. and yet, he walked 30 years in our shoes just to get to know us better.

romans 8:31-39

1/17;;

we finished with the trinity. an interesting point that pastor phil brought up was how people try to bring an earthly counterpart to God’s glory. and why? we are human, He is divine. NOTHING can compare to his love and glory. and yet, we are so desperate to try and explain the trinity; the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. He exists in 3 persons for you, because nothing can show you His love like this.

luke 3:21 &

1 peter 1

jan. 1, 2010

dear michelle,

how are you doing? how’s the start of the new year? the new decade? is it what you expected so far? have you made your resolutions? decided what you wanted and needed to do?

are you where you want to be?

i think that is going to be the biggest question you face this year; in the upcoming days, the months, etc. i know it’s a question that has tugged at you for the past year as you slowly transitioned from summer into sophomore year. and i continue to ask, are you where you want to be?

is sophomore year going the way you planned it to? i’m sure there’s always room for improvement, whether it be academically, in family, in friendship, spiritually, and in so much more. have you taken the time to really look at yourself in the mirror and deep down inside, to see just who you are?

who are you exactly? can you answer it this question?
i know that this is also a question that has tugged at you in the past months, as sophomore year began and fall quarter slipped by.

what do you really want? are you content with everything that you have, or is there that desire for more?
instead of just wanting more, i want you to look carefully and want the things you need. like stability. focus. drive. initiative. become a go-getter.

also, how stable are you in your surroundings? in being yourself? try not to let others’ opinions of you/your actions/your thoughts bring you down; you are who you are meant to be - a person that makes mistakes and learns from them. don’t be afraid to venture out this year - try things you’d otherwise regret not doing. remember last year? let’s be bold & confident in 2010.

in terms of family; continue to be patient and learn how to get along - to find your place amongst them, to develop that balance. sure, now that you’re becoming 20 this year, you want to feel more independent. but are you really yet?

spiritually, i feel that you have fallen a lot this year, your excuse being “i’m too tired.” get a grip, really. imagine how He must have felt back then, how tired He would have felt. did that stop him? i don’t think so. i want you to stop making excuses and open your eyes to your situation. i want you to find your way back again with Him. have a little faith, will you?

friendships have become a big part of your life by now, haven’t they? i know that certain situations, certain relationships have taken a strain but really, don’t give up hope. although you are the type who wants to get things done, who wants to initiate something yourself, you’ve got to realize that there are times when the best thing really is to just sit back and let time do its work. life is about meeting people and developing relationships, some closer and stronger than others. cherish the ones that you have and just leave the opportunity to mend others that have been neglected. but just a reminder; although it is important to nurture the relationships that you have, don’t lose sight of yourself. especially you, who is easily influenced, you’ve got to realize that you can’t please everyone and make yourself happy. learn to balance both, to have a healthy life.

please, please, please put more effort into your academics. you’re 1/3 of your way done with the undergraduate degree. one. third. holy cow. yes, you are working and doing extracurriculars, but don’t lose sight of the reason you’re at the university. you’re there to learn. for the new quarter, take all the opportunity you can to focus and move ahead in your studies. but don’t forget to be social as well - like i said before, having a healthy balance of everything is your best option.

that’s all i can think of right now, but really, just go forward into 2010 with an open heart and open mind. i’m sure that there are going to be ups & downs, but that’s life, isn’t it?

welcome to 2010.

sincerely, me