Barn Bash!

This Wednesday night kicked off the start of WOW (Westkirk on Wednesdays) with a big 'Barn Bash'. Westkirk is my church that I belong to, and Wednesday nights are the nights where many members of the church attend Bible studies. It is also the biggest night for youth groups to gather. I have decided to become involved with the youth at Westkirk this semester, and can't wait to see what God does with these kids. 

Brandon is our youth pastor, and I think him to be a stellar guy! I feel blessed to be able to be a part of his team, and look forward to working with him to help kids better understand the fundamentals of prayer (our focus this semester). 

Wednesday started off with some scorching Iowa heat, and, for the most part, ended that way. However, God provided us with a nice breeze, so it was bearable. The place we were gathering at is actually really a barn. It is in Urbandale, and is used for parties, gatherings, and the like. We brought a grill from church, and set it on the patio outside of the barn to grill a bunch of hotdogs and hamburgers...real Iowa food! 

So food was eaten, games were played, prizes were handed out, adults talked, children laughed, a short message was given, and pretty soon we were all on our way. But something was bugging me the whole time, and the same thing bugged my sister Kyra, who is also volunteering with me for WOW. As we got in the car, we discussed it.

First off, Kyra and I are both dedicated camp counselors at a very small camp called Camp Appanoose. Camp Appanoose is located in southern Iowa. It is very small, but exceptionally mighty. Because I have had so much experience working with kids at camp, many of my ideas of teaching, mentoring, and instructing young people carry over with me from camp to other areas of my life. This youth gathering at the Simpson Barn was missing something that camp always has: a total focus on Christ.

Every activity at camp brings the kids back to the most important thing in life, mainly, Christ. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, games, activities, conversations...at Camp Appanoose, we always bring it back to Christ. But here, at this youth group gathering, aside from Christian music, and a small message given before dinner, I got the feeling that Christ was forgotten amongst these kids. This, I believe, is a problem that is plaguing youth groups of churches today. Fun! Fun! Fun! We are so focused on letting the kids have fun, that somewhere, in that fun, Christ is forgotten...the Cross is forgotten. 1 Corinthians 10:31 says that whatever we do, we are to do it for the glory of God. I do not think that verse is simply implying that we don't cuss, or quarrel, or drink heavily. As usual with Paul's writing, it is deeper. Christ can't be forgotten my friends! I would go so far to say it is a sin when he is. Now please don't peg me as a legalistic Christian who believes you are going to hell if you don't think of God every wakening moment of your life. However, I do believe that when a body of believers gather to have fun in the name of God, we should do just that. We should do it all under his name. We should be continually focused on him. That doesn't mean that we have to limit the activities we do, but it does mean we should have a purpose for doing those activities. Believe me, when you really get thinking, there are so many things we do that can so easily be related to a Bible lesson. Christ never forgets us...lets follow his example toward Him.

Grace and Peace!

King Gargorio Rodrigo Poblos III  

The Truth! Or is it.....

     As I travel around Iowa, take Iowa collage courses, and talk to Iowan people, It never ceases to fascinate me concerning people's different opinion on what is true. I believe the most astounding thing that I have heard is the term: "There is no absolute truth". Right off the bat this makes no sense to me. How can I even believe that statement if I, for lack of better words, believe that statement. The three words itself is a contradiction. By making that statement, the speaker is assuming that what he is saying is true, which is contradicting the fact that there is no absolute truth.
     I took a college course on philosophy, and was astounded at how many people in my class believed that there is no absolute truth; that truth is relative. Indeed, I was the only one (other than my teacher) who opposed this statement. They believed that if John believed that a towel was blue, it was blue. But if Susan believed that the towel was red, it was red. So in reality, the towel was both blue and red at the exact same time. This is physically impossible, as well as illogical. However, talk to most college students, and this is the idea that you will find most widely accepted.
    For me, it is not hard to see that the root of the problem is a matter of confusion between perception, and reality.  John may actually perceive the towel as blue, and Susan might actually perceive the towel as red. Whereas both of their perception might truly be blue or red, the actual color of the towel can only be one color. Perhaps the towel is actually green. If it is, then the truth of the matter is that the towel is green and that both John and Susan are wrong. Logically and physically, the towel can only be one possible color. The whole population may believe it to be blue, but that doesn't make it blue. Belief and truth are two separate things. That is, of course, not saying that belief can never be true. Often time it is, yet often time it is not.
     So why then is this view so widely accepted. I believe it is part of a new trend called 'Easy Believism'  
Easy Believism is an idea that is running rampant in the churches now a day, and is often focused as a problem solely within the church. However, I believe that this idea is bigger than just a problem with the church. Confrontations are starting to be frowned on. "Don't offend anyone" and "Be politically correct" are terms you hear all too often. We are becoming a wimpy society. We don't want to step on any one's toes, or make anyone mad. Believing in the easy stuff is a fix to potentially offending someone. If someone comes up with an idea that is easy for everyone to believe in, then the chances of one becoming offended is dropped. Maybe it is time that we stop believing what is easy, and forcing ourselves to look at the harder, more aggressive views in life.
    The Bible (which I believe to be completely true) states "Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." Not once does it say "whatever thing are easy". It also makes it very clear that there is a universal truth when it says to think about what is true.
   So some of you may believe what I said to be truth, and some of you may believe it to be false. But I assure you one of those groups is wrong. One truth my friends...one truth.

Friends do crazy things...

Friends. We laugh with them, cry with them, encourage them, and well, do CRAZY things with them.

I must admit that I greatly enjoy making lip-syncing videos. I have a few of them on youtube. But I figured out that adding a friend to this process=WAY more fun. Here is what happens when you get two really close friends together with nothing to do on a very cold winters day....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnkGvQKvdNg&feature=feedu

Wonderful Shepherd!

"I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and my own know me." --John 10:14

These are the word of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

It's an interesting thought, but the Lord knows us better than we know ourselves. I have often made the comment to family and friends who claim that they know me that no one knows me better than myself. I am wrong when I make that statement, and thank GOD I am wrong as well!

About a mouth ago, my manager left Coldstone. She and I had gotten off to a rocky start, but by the time she left, I dearly loved her and hated to see her go. Because she was leaving, I was determined to leave too. Without her, the reasons for me staying at coldstone as an AM (assistant manger) didn't seem to hold up. I was tired of the responsibility, and the main reason I had taken certain responsibilities was to try and help out Gina. Many of our crew were leaving around this time too, and scheduling (which is something I do) was about to get really difficult. I didn't want the 'leadership' role anymore. I didn't want the stress. All I wanted to do was to go to work, have somebody tell me what to do, and do it. I had found out that being in such a leadership position was a lot of work.

I was nearly ready to put my two weeks in when my manager advised me not to. She told me to stick it out. My dad and mom also told me that quitting at a time when my emotions where high was not such a good idea. "Leave when you are content," My dad said "You will regret if you quit during a time when you WANT to quit because of stress". The advise I got, along with other reasons, kept me at Coldstone. I planned to stick it out till the end of Oct.

We ended up hiring a ton of people, and those people needed to be trained. I have, and am, spending a lot of time getting to know our new employees and helping them learn the ropes of a Scooper. :-)

Now, let me take a break for a moment, and fill you in on an important account in my life that happened during the same time I was considering quitting CS.

A couple weeks before all of this started to happen, my leader from a mission trip to France I made earlier this year, came down to a church in indianola to speak about missions. Several other missionaries were there as well sharing about their experiences in the mission field. I of course went for the sole purpose of seeing Rick (my leader). The other missionaries were just a bonus. But God wanted me to be there for reasons OTHER than Rick. See, one of the missionaries got up and was talking about reaching out to people. He spoke on how many people were lost, and how few people there were who were going out to reach these people. He quoted Matthew 9:37 which states: "The harvest is plenty, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest" He then went on to say how he and his team had each set their watch's alarms to 9:37, and every time their alarm would go off, they would all pray the prayer our Lord instructed us to pray in Matthew 9:37. I thought this was so cool, I set my alarm right then and there, and it has become my prayer from then on every morning at 9:37.

Back to CS now. Because of of all the training I had to do with these new people, I was spending a lot of time around them. And it still puts a smile on my face when I think of how many people I've been able to share the gospel with and take to about the wonderful news of Jesus Christ. In my year and a half of working at Coldstone, I have never seen so many people interested in what I had to say about Christianity, and so willing to listen. Had I quit coldstone, had I taken the easy road, had I abandoned the responsibility that God had laid before me, I would never had had the chance to share with these people. I would have lost the chance to grow. I would have not seen so clearly how God answered, and is answering my prayer I pray every 9:37am. I thought I had known what was best for me. But I didn't; God did.

We have a shepherd. One who loves us, cares for us, and will guide us even when we think we are lost. He will lead us to places we don't want to go. He will teach us things we may not want to learn. He will allow us to suffer when we see no reason why we should. And he will save us when we don't think we need saving. And God, in his goodness will often give us a glimpse of his will and his purpose to encourage us like nothing else can. Praise be to our Lord and Saviour! Amen!

Proverbs 3:5-6--"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight."

Opera? Oh yeah.

I went to an Opera.

Now, I have to admit, I never thought that I would go see an Opera. Loud screeching was my impression of Operas...with lousy story lines. However, when my friend Kyla at Simpson suggested I should go I gave it some thought. When I figured out that one of my best friends Rachel was going, I was sold.

This is for all of you Opera haters out there: Don't hate on Operas unless you've actually gone and seen one. Why? Cause it was stinkin' AWESOME! The singing and orchestra were amazing, and if you have good friends to accompany you, there is no reason why a night, (or afternoon) at the Opera should in anyway be dull.

So in short? Give it a whirl sometime. You might be surprised. ;-)

Compliments, recognition, and appreciation (what a mouth full!)

It's interesting, or maybe a better word is sad, at how little people compliment others. A couple days ago I thanked my teacher for an interesting lecture, and told him I enjoyed it. I hadn't really thought about the comment, it just kinda came out when I walked past him. The look on his face was a look of shock. He latter sat down and talked with me while I was waiting for my other class. Clearly, he was excited that I showed excitement for what he was teaching, and appreciation for the work he was putting into it. Now don't get this post wrong, I didn't write this to make a point on how thoughtful Styles is toward other people's feelings. Like previously mentioned, that comment I made to him was just a flippant remark. What I said was true, but I didn't say it for the sole purpose of making my professor feel like he was appreciated. No, my point is that it is so easy to get caught up with 'Me' 'I' and 'Myself' that we tend to forget to pay attention to those around us. What wonderful things a simple 'Thank You!" can do to a person. So I challenge anyone who may read this to find one person who does a lot for you, and let them know you appreciate them. Who knows? Maybe you'll make it a habit. ;-)

Mash-up? So cool!

Wow, I just had to post this up! While facebook stalking certain people (yes, I'm a creeper) I found a friend post this on mutual friends wall. So Cool!

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/9BsjVc/soundcloud.com/dj-dain/dont-worry-im-yours-mashup