Hey, guys. I know it’s been a long time since I last posted, and for that you have my deep, sincere, and profound apologies. This Christmas break has been kinda wild for me…sitting around all day at my computer…nothing pressing that I need to do…sleeping in until the afternoon…crazy stuff.

And then I realized, “OMG, I have to get my books and supplies for next semester!”

It’s only a week ’till school starts up again for me, guys. And I still don’t have any of my books. Or the special equipment kit for my Garde Manger (GAR mah-ZHAY) class. This, kids, is what we call procrastination.

I’m a HUGE procrastinator. I always leave everything ’till the last minute. Sometimes I don’t even do it at all (You’ve seen this. On the blog.). If anything can possibly be done later, I blow it off to go chill with my friends or play computer games. This is a problem most of the time.

We all procrastinate in at least SOME areas of our lives. School’s one of them, one that we all struggle with. As is POSTING ON THE BLOG. *ahem*. So what ares of your life do you procrastinate the most? Do you know of a way that we can not procrastinate? Does such a way even exist? Share your thoughts, whether they’re small and shallow or huge and deep.

Tonight we talked about the difference between patience and perserverence, and how they’re both good things. Patience is something we acquire as we mature; we’re not born with it. A little kid wants candy NOW, while an adult knows that it’s probably best to wait until after dinner. What are some ways we can grow in patience? What helps you to be patient? Share a story where being patient was hard, but you did it anyway. What were the rewards?

We had some really great worship tonight. We took the time normally used for the teaching and just continued worship with it. While longer worship times aren’t really my thing, this week was exceptionally awesome. I know some of you out there are more into worship than I am; what was your view on worship this week? How is longer worship better/worse/different? Would you have longer worship every week if you could?

The third week in Christian’s teaching series on character was about self-control. “What IS self control?” you may ask yourself. Well, self-control is the ability to choose what you’re going to do. Self-control is about not making the easy decision all the time. It’s not only about choosing not to do stuff you know will be harmful, but also about choosing TO do things you know will be beneficial. It’s choosing to finish that 5-page paper that’s due tomorrow instead of playing computer games.

Wow.

It’s not easy. Believe me, self-control is a battle I fight every day. Sometimes I win, and sometimes I lose. But as with all things, practice makes you better. Let me tell you a story to illustrate. Even though I’ve worked on self-control from a very early age, I’m still not as controlled as I’d like to be. Those of you who know me know that I’ve struggled with anger throughout my whole life. When I was younger, everything that ticked me off even a little would send me into a rage. I still feel those same emotions today, but I’ve learned ways to channel that anger into less destructive outlets and to allow myself to cool down. Even though anger still comes easily to me, I’m able to let it go much more easily than I would have been able to years ago. I hope that my story plus Christian’s teaching will help to show you that it isn’t impossible to gain self-control, and that it has a positive benefit.

What are some areas that you need to gain self-control in? Be honest and share some ways that you personally could grow in self-control.

Do any of us realize fully how much Christian’s done for us? Seriously, he’s been our youth group pastor for a really really long time; longer than most of us have even been coming to this church. I don’t think any of us fully appreciates all the work he’s put into making the youth group what it is now. After he told us how much he loved us all this past YG, I think it’s time to give him a big round of applause and tell him how much he means to us. I know that Christian has made a huge impact in my life.  One of the biggest ways he’s influenced me, I think, is the way that he leads by example. His particular brand of leadership has inspired me to do the same thing in whatever small ways I can.

How about you? Let’s make Christian feel loved by posting about how much we love him and how he’s changed our lives.

Tonight, Christian’s teaching was about character, and what it is, exactly.  Character can be defined in many different ways, but Christian described character as how you act when nobody’s around. If, for instance, you ACT like a “good Christian” on the outside, but do random drugs and murder people when you’re at home alone, then your character probably isn’t very strong. Unfortunately, we tend to let our facades slip when nobody’s watching us. Referring back to a previous post, we may act a certain way because of who we’re with, how we’re feeling, or what people expect of us. But who we TRULY are is defined by the way we act when there are no expectations, nobody around to judge, and no reward in it for us. Sacrificing time, money, energy, and/or sleep are all signs of character. Those of us who help the old lady with her groceries, who pick up the dropped papers for the college kid, who spend time consoling a friend in tears even though it makes us late for class…these are people of character.

Think about it. The times when we have nothing to gain by helping someone, when we actually stand to lose something — those are the times when our character truly shows. When we sacrifice ourselves for someone in need, we show character. Your true character shows when nobody’s watching. Will you choose to help, or to pass on the other side?

This is tough to hear, I know. Fortunately for most of us (myself included), character is actually easy to build! All we need to do to build character is to practice. When given a choice between school and Facebook this week, try picking school sometime. It builds character. It’s hard at first, but once you get the little things, the bigger things will come more naturally. Every little thing builds your character up a little more each time. Try it out. It actually works!

God’s the ultimate comforter. We all know that. But sometimes when things get rough, we feel like we need a human to help us out — someone who can hug us and assure us that everything will be all right. Don’t worry, it’s normal. We all feel like that sometimes. Thing is, God knows that and even planned it that way. He gives comfort to US so that we can give it to other people. To illustrate:

God ——–(comfort)——-> Us ———(comfort)——–> Someone else

It’s like Christian showed: if David needs water to drink because his cup is empty and asks Becca for water, she can’t give him any because her cup is empty too. But if Becca goes to Christian for water, then she has enough to give to David. Works the same way with redemption and help that God gives us. God comforts us in times of need because: A) We need help B) He wants good things for us and C) Because he wants us to pass that comfort on to others.

We’re meant to be comforters: people who care about and for others when they need it. But if we try to comfort someone using only our own strength and comforting power, it won’t be as effective as it would if we’d gone to God first. So, moral of all this…Christian’s teaching boiled down to ONE line for those of you who have ADD:

Let God help you. Because then you can help others better.

We had a BONFIRE tonight! It was awesome. We almost burned the forest down (not really). Christian also gave a short like 5 minute teaching on the majesty of nature. He made what I thought was a great analogy between the view from a mountaintop and worship. He pointed out that when we climb a mountain, we’re awed and inspired by the view because we never see it. A person who LIVES on that mountain, on the other hand, sees the view every day, and thus is desensitized to it. The same can happen with worship. Because we go to church once a week and worship, it can become a ritual thing, rather than a chance to give back a little to the one who made us and revel in how great he is. Instead of being a celebration of God’s greatness, it can become an ordeal to be endured each week.

So how do you view worship? Is it a special experience each time, or do you have to work at it? When is worship most meaningful for you? How can we make worship more of a special experience rather than a repetition of the same thing we’ve done each Sunday for years?

Tonight we split up into small groups and talked about when we thought God’s presence was strongest. When did we encounter God the most strongly throughout the week? How many times a week? Why do we feel His presence in some situations more strongly than in others? These questions aren’t easy to answer. They’re different for each person. Try not to take the easy way out as you answer these questions:

1. When is God’s presence the strongest for you?

2. Do you feel like you TRULY experience the full presence of God on a regular basis?

3. Who or what do you think has been the greatest influence on how you experience God?

Mission trips. The thought of them strikes fear into the hearts of some, and joy into the hearts of others. Some love them for the immersion experience, others hate them for…the immersion experience. It’s been my personal experience that mission trips pull groups together and make them more unified. I didn’t really get to be good friends with the Hampson boys until after the Mexico trip, come to think of it. So they also build new relationships and strengthen old ones.

As you probably know, Emily Greenplate and Esther Hampson are going away on separate mission trips soon (not sure of the exact dates). As they fly away on their respective planes, our prayers go with them. Remember to pray for these two! It’s kinda important.

Mission trips have been really good experiences for me; I’ve been to two so far: one to Mexico, and one to Belize. But I know that not everyone had the same great experiences as me. I have a couple different questions depending on your “status as a missionary”.

1. If you’ve been more than one, answer this: Which one did you learn the most on, and why?

2. If you’ve only been on one mission trip, what was the most important thing you learned?

3. If you’ve never been on a mission trip before in your life, why not? Would you if you got the chance?

EVERYONE gets to answer these questions:  What are you most scared of about mission trips? What’s your least favorite part?