I will talk to my kids about sex!!

I read a news story today in which Miley Cyrus talded about how she feels parents should talk to their kid about how cool and magical sex is. How teens know about it because they see it on tv and that parents should be honest with their kids and tell them that you can connect with another person in a way you can't any other way.

You know what, she is right on that. Sex is magical, it is amazing, and you do connect in a way you can't any other way. It is a gift made from God Himself. But it is meant to be shared between a man and wife. Sex is holy and beautiful. It is meant to be special and enjoyable. God wants us to delight in the bodies of our spouse, find pleasure in the arms of our spouse.

So I do feel that parents should talk to their children about it, but not for the same reason she has. I want my kids to know that there is joy in sex, enjoyment in sex, that it is a gift that God created for them to share WITH THEIR SPOUSE.

As I write this I want to you to know that this post is not motivated by anger or some righteous attitude, it is with a heart that truly grieves for all those who miss out on the fullness of this gift. For the young woman who deep down is seeking love through the act of giving her body to someone. To the young man feels that it is just a right of passage to sleep with as many women as possible. For those who fancy themselves in love and give away their heart to have it crushed.

I want the heart and morals of this nation to change. For young people to look at their purity as a gift instead of a shame. To look at the young man or woman they are dating as someone worth waiting for. To treat themselves with the respect they should.

I know that with 4 kids of my own, chances are they wont all wait until they are married to give their purity to someone, heck maybe none of them will. I didn't even wait. But I will tell you that I will pray that they wait. That I will pray when they are joined as man and wife with the spouse God created for them, that they will be unknown to anyone previously.

I WILL talk to my kid about the magic of sex. And encourage them to wait for their wedding night and not because I don't want illegitimate grandchildren or my kids to catch anything, but because I want my kids to discover the enjoyment of the joining of a man and woman with their spouse. With the one they were joined with before the eyes of God.

And I will finish this post with this tidbit of info for you. They have done studies of the brain and found that every time a person has sex with a new partner, their brain connectors(not sure what this is called) in the part of the brain that forms lasting marital type relationships connects and then when they have another partner, this connection is severed and reconnected. This happens with every partner, meaning if they have 5 partners, their connectors are connected and severed 5 times, 10 partners, 10 times, etc. They have found with every reconnection and every severed connection, the strength of the connection is lessened. After multiple connections this connector is unable to stay connected with the strength of the first connection, meaning their ability to form a connection with a person and keep that connection is weakened. With every sexual partner, a person's ability to form a lasting connection with someone and retain it is demonised.

Walking with Jesus

Tonight in youth we read in Luke 24 about 2 men who were followers of Jesus who were traveling on a road on the third day after Jesus died on the cross and were upset because they felt their faith and trust in Jesus was misplaced and that he was not really the savior. And along comes a man who joined them in their travels and they told this man of what had happened with Jesus and how they were upset. And this man proceeded to speak scripture to them and speak life to them. This man was Jesus and even though they were followers of him, they did not know him. It was not until they asked him to join them for a rest and meal were their eyes opened.

How like us these men are! We are all on a walk with Jesus, some of us are at that stage in our walk where we are glancing over at this stranger wondering who this man is; others know him, but because of our disappointments in life we can not recognize him; and others are walking hand in hand with him.

To get to know someone in such an intimate way that you know their voice, the feel of their hand, to sense their very presence means you spend time with them. Your best friend does not become your best friend by never seeing or talking to them. You spend time with them, you pour your heart out to them and listen to what they have to say. This is how we get to know Jesus in a deep and intimate way too.

Fun with peanut butter and m&ms!

Wednesday we decided to have a fun night at youth group. So John bought some peanut butter and we smeared it on the kids' faces and have then race to see how many m&ms they could get stuck to them. It was awesome!! Here is some pictures of the fun.

Then we made the kids put a HUGE marshmallow in their mouth(seriously these were so big you couldn't get the whole thing in and close your mouth) and had then say various things. And we finished the evening with a round of Imagine If, which is a really fun game to play! All and all it was a fun night and I think the kids enjoyed having a bit of fun after the last couple of weeks meetings. We have had some small group type meetings that really made us all think hard about our life and our relationship with God.

For Greater things are yet to come!!

"For greater things are yet to come, and greater things are still to be done in this city."

This is a verse out of a song we have been doing for youth worship and I love it. This is a song for TODAY!!! I believe God is getting ready to release his Holy Spirit over this town, this state, this nation in a way that we have never seen before. It will be like a fire sweeping over this dry, hungry land and the fire will refine this land!

I love the picture of fire that God gave me. Often when we think of fire we think of destrution, loss, burnt ruins. No, this is a purifying fire. When they work with precious metals they purify it in fire to remove all the blemishes, all the junk out of it and then the metal is pure. Pretty cool to think that when we fall on our knees in front of the King of kings, and acknowledge that we are sinners and that we need Jesus in our lives as our Lord and Savior that he starts purify our hearts and takes that ugly, broken, lost heart and makes it new and whole. NOTHING CAN DO THAT BUT THE POWER OF JESUS' BLOOD!!

His will, not ours!

"How little chance the Holy Ghost has nowadays. The churches and missionary societies have so bound him in red tape that they practically ask Him to sit in the corner while they do the work themselves." ~C.T. Studd

I read this quote a couple of years ago and it still sticks in my head. Then a couple of weeks ago I was listening to a program on the radio, I believe it was Focus on the Family, but I am not sure. Anyway the guy speaking said the often people will make decisions or plans for something and it might even be viewed as a good decision, but if God was not included in the planning, then it is an ungodly decision because He had no part in it. Now that is not to say that if after starting something you stop and pray asking God for forgiveness for not following his lead and ask for blessings over that decision that he will not bless it.

But we have gotten into a routine of making decisions and plans without even praying and asking for God's guidence and then as an after thought, or possibly when things are going wrong we stop and pray to God about it. We need to start rising up and being the church, the body of Christ, that we are called to be. To go to the Lord in prayer BEFORE we decided something, and here is the point to remember, actually LISTEN to what he says. To not let our own fleshly desires get ahead of God's desires.

To all the church leaders, me included, even if we have a great idea that we feel will further our church or whatever ministry we are serving in, if we have not prayed and listen to God in that, then it is not a godly decision. We often feel if we are working and doing something for the kingdom of God then it is right no matter what. No, God has called us all to a ministry, to do something for the Body of Christ that we can only do. Just like God does not put a hand where a foot belongs, he does not desire for someone called to children's ministry to be the church office person, or the person meant to reachout to the sick to be the worship leader. He created us all for a purpose, for a ministry, and it is about time the church start listening to his calling instead of trying to figure it all out ourselves.

Before John and I were even married we were prophecied over and the man said that God was calling us for youth and young people. Well I wasn't really wanting to listen at that time. We then had 2 more people prophecy over us, reaffirming the first one. In total 3 prophecies of us being made for youth ministry. John and I have been serving within the church for over 6 years. We have worked with the youth for most of that time, either as the leaders and sometimes as just the helpers, as well as in other ministries within the church body. I know can say that youth is where God has for us to be. Right now our group is kinda small, but that does not mean it is not where God has called us. He has given us a love for the young people of this town. He has given us a desire to help them grow in their faith and in their relationship with Christ.

I pray that the whole body of Christ(us included) would listen to the Lord. That we would take joy in his presence and let His desires become ours! We need to be listening for His will, not let our fleshly desires dictact our path.

Youth was AWESOME!!!

Youth tonight was AWESOME!! John and I had been lacking ambition with the youth group after all the stuff that happened with the last youth leader and most of the youth members leaving over it. We were having trouble getting into the groove of things. Then out of the 3 remaining faithful youth members, 2 graduated and we felt really crappy.

Well we decided to continue and now have 2 faithful youth members and about 4 more casual attenders. I know it doesn't seem like much but we are so excited. We are starting once again with a young youth group(6th and 7th graders) and have decided to change the youth name and paint and rearrange the youth room. We are waiting on approval from the church council but the name we picked is 180 Youth Ministries.

Our whole desire for the youth group is to help the kids to realize that their relationship with Christ is their own. It is personal and something they need to grow in. That they must turn from themselves and the world and turn towards God, hence the name, 180 youth. Our Bible verse we picked is "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, old things have passed away; Behold, all things have become new." 2 Corinthians 5:17

Tonight we talked about:
1.What is most important in our lives? What you put your time and energy into is really what is most important. Therefore even if we say God is yet we spend no time worshipping Him, praying to Him, or in his word, then is he really as important as we think.
2. Were we created for a purpose? God knew each one of us before he knit us together in our mother's womb and created us with a purpose for the kingdom of God that only we can do. That none of us are accidents.
3. What are our plans for the future? That we all have plans, but God also has plans for us and we should pray and seek God's will in our lives and include him in our planning.
4. Is there such a thing as a wasted life? That many waste their life never living for God or believing that they have nothing to offer to the Kingdom of God. But it is never to late to live your life for Christ.
5. Does God have desires for our life? We talked about Psalms 37:4 "Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart" and how this doesn't mean God is a genie in a lamp ready to grant our wishes. But that is we delight in the Lord, take joy in worshipping him and spending time with him, then he will conform our heart to his and therefore his desires will become ours.

I know that John and I walked away from tonight getting just as much if not more than the kids did. I could tell though that they were really listening. Praying that God spoke to their hearts and they grow in their relationship with Christ!!