Verse of the Day!

1 Peter 2:1-10 ~ Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.

As you come to him, the living Stone - rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him - you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For in Scripture it says:

"See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame."

Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,
"The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone,"

and,

"A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall."

They stumble because they disobey the message - which is also what they were destined for.

But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Retreat!! :)

The M28 Freshman/Sophmore Retreat went extremely well! Thank you, God!

It was a 2 1/2 hour drive to Cedar Mountain, and we stayed at Terra Nova Center in Hideaway Lodge. The building accomodations was complete except for the mold or allergin in it. I had an allergic reaction and almost lost my voice! :(

Anyway, we did some really fun things. On Friday afternoon, we swam in a little lake. The weeds at the bottom grossed us girls out! haha! Then we played King of the Dock. Obviously, none of the girls won. The guys really got into it! It was an hilarious game to watch! I wish I had thought of bringing my camera on the dock. As it turned out, I left my camera behind during the best times to take pictures. :( I am really disappointed in myself. I will post pictures that others took once I get them. :)

After the lake, some of us girls and the guys played two-hand touch football. That game rocked!! My team won!!!

Then we had a huge spaghetti and salad meal after which we played bloody potato. I'll have to explain that game in person.


Then we played poker using reeses pieces for "money". We stayed up 'til midnight playing!


Then Anna pulled a prank on Tim for what he did at the LT retreat. She froze one of his shoes in the a bucket of water!! The next morning he looks for his shoe and finds it in the freezer! He was initially upset, but I think he got over it. Needless to say, he did not wear his shoes on the hike!


Then we went and saw some really cool waterfalls! I got brave enough to jump one! It was soooo much fun!! Although, I felt really stupid for thinking of doing it, but I would definitely do it again!
And we also slid down some other waterfalls. Three Hispanic dudes were showing off and doing crazy things that could have gotten them seriously hurt. They were quite amusing!

Basically, that's about it. Oh, and Tyler LeVan taught from 1Peter 2:1-10. Excellent message! Just what I needed to hear for my first year in college and M28.

I'll post that Scripture passage next time. :)

In His Grip,
*Mel


p.s. Sorry for not getting any pictures in. :((((((

Tomorrow!!!

I am so excited about tomorrow!! I'm going to the Freshman/Sophmore Retreat!! Gonna meet all the interns, connect with all the other new M28ers, and have a BLAST!! I'm going to remember to bring my camera so that I can post pictures!!!!! :))))))

College starts in a little over a week! Ahhhh! Ok, much as it's exciting...shopping for the best deals on textbooks is /not/ fun. Especially if the books are expensive and there are many editions of the book and if the book doesn't appear anywhere or the online stores are out of stock.......you get the idea. Yeah, so...pros and cons.

Anyway...I thought I'd post since it's been a week since the last one. :(

Don't worry, I don't think I'll run out of anything to post about. :)

In His Grip,
*Mel

M28!

Yes! M28 is finally starting tonight! I am soooo excited! New people to befriend and new experiences to live out.

This also means that my first year of college is right around the corner...I am excited and apprehensive at the same time. I have no idea how hard my classes are going to be, no idea if my teachers are going to be fair, no idea how fast I'm going to learn where all my classes are (hopefully learn that very quickly), some idea about how to relate to non-Christians, and no idea exactly how busy "busy" will be. :-)

Hope you understood the previous sentence. ;-)

So...I am staring into the great unknown which will eventually become a "known". Can't wait for that to happen...:-)

Anyway, God knows everything, and I trust Him to help me not only survive, but thrive in the busy environment.

Peace,
*Mel

Verse of the Day

Psalm 19:7-11 ~ The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul. The statutes of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The precepts of the LORD are right, giving joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are radiant, giving light to the eyes. The fear of the LORD is pure, enduring forever. The ordinances of the LORD are sure and altogether righteous. They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb. By them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.

whew!...

On Tuesday, I got together with a friend. As I opened my purse to look for my keys, I discovered I didn't have them with me! I looked in the car and the keys were right on the driver's seat! I had locked the car and a sinking sensation came over me..."I guess I'll have to call my parents and have one of them drive to where I was and give me another set of keys."

But first I tried the passenger side door and...it opened! I couldn't believe it! I had locked all the doors and this one just happened to not lock! I'm pretty sure God ordained that. :)

Needless to say, I was very relieved and thankful to God for working this situation out. I love to see when God works!

40th Anniversary of First Landing on the Moon!

Today, July 20, 2009 is the 40th anniversary of man's first step on the moon! It is incredible what we have done and accomplished since then! Although, these are amazing things done by man, God has ordained them. And space exploration only serves to increase a Christian's trust in God and His amazing power! What a mighty God we serve!!


How astounding it is that this God who made the universe by the word of His mouth would LOVE us! What a mind-blowing reality! We should never cease to be amazed and awed by God's AMAZING love!!!


Let us fear God and love and serve Him all the more! He deserves everything we've got, because He has given us EVERYTHING He has: Himself!





Yahweh FLOORS me!! He should shock all of us.





Think about it.





Here is a picture of the first men on the moon:

^

From left: Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins, Neil Armstrong, and Chris Kraft

I couldn't upload a video of the first landing, but you can check it out on http://www.nasa.gov/.

In Him,

*Mel

Just plain AWESOME!

Here are some incredible pictures of the universe that point to the AWESOMENESS of our Almighty God!!

Psalm 19:1-4 ~ The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.

Drama Camp

I had a lot of fun watching the drama camp performance today. Everyone did such an excellent job! So many talents...thank God for wholesome entertainment. :)

I especially liked the Prodigal Son skit...that was just plain hilarious!! I was laughing soooo hard!

With all the reports that this year's drama camp wouldn't be as good as previous years', I was really impressed.

Hope you all enjoyed it, too!

Quote

I've been starting to study The Joy of Fearing God by Jerry Bridges. I thought this was a good thing point he made.
"Any sphere of knowledge you're engaged in--every aspect of your workaday world--should be to you as a believer a source of wonder and worship and should be used as a means of glorifying God. And it will be if you enjoy the fear of God. Finally, we must consider the most important knowledge of all. Jesus said, 'Now this is eternal life: that they may know you , the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent' (John 17:3). In reality this is where true knowledge begins. The person who knows God and fears Him possesses something more valuable than all the combined knowledge of philosophy and science put together. The scientist and the philosopher may discover ways to improve this life; the Christian has found the way to eternal life. That the Christian's knowledge is more valuable was attested by Jesus when He said, 'What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?' (Mark 8:36-37)." The Joy of Fearing God by Jerry Bridges pg. 5.