Colorado Trip = highlight of summer

 http://www.desperationonline.com/images/D10_web_598x332.jpg

As a youth leader you typically only get a few hours a week with a student. maybe a few more if you get to hang out with them once during the week. So taking a whole two week trip with a group of students is an enormous blessing!!

I can't even begin to describe how amazing the trip was. The desperation conference was a huge blessing. So many students and leaders were impacted. Students were going to the altar and giving things over to God. Students found their identity in Christ. Students were delivered from past hurts, emotional baggage, and fear. 

As for myself i learned how much God loves me. now doesn't that sound a bit elementary? but it's true. i've realized how awesome a marriage works as a metaphor for our relationship with God. The husband is pursuing the wife, trying to woo her, draw her, get to know her. he loves being with her, talking to her. it is his greatest delight. he is in love with his wife. he looks out for her. protects her. spends time with her. and the wife strives for the same thing. God is pursuing us. and we are pursuing Him. it's a mutual committed relationship. and i've realized how song of songs is an allegory of our relationship with God, although it can be a crazy book at times! Song of Songs 8:6-7 says "Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, jealous is fierce as the grave. It's flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the LORD. Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it."

we had some crazy fun times on the trip as well. we went to an amusement park, went hiking, rock climbing, tubing, water skiing, went on scavenger hunts, and had great fellowship. in all the Lord worked so amazingly. thank you for all of your prayers!!the ranch we stayed at a few days 

Heading to Colorado!

For the next weeks the youth group is taking a trip to Colorado Springs, Colorado! We will be working with a homeless ministry, taking time to explore and deepen our relationship with God, enjoying God's beautiful mountainous colorado, and attending the Desperation Conference!!!

I am excited to get some extended time with the youth!

I/We could use prayer in the following ways:

-fruitful conversation with the youth
- deepened relationship with Christ
- passion for Christ to be stirred in our hearts
- strength for my voice because it tends to get lost real easily on these things and I will be leading some worship times and talking with students quite a bit.
- strength for the leaders
- safe travels
- God's spirit to lead us in all we do
- homeless ministry
- anything else that God brings to mind


thank you so much!!

Water = Death

So I went surfing for the first time this week and it was an insane experience. I really enjoyed it but it was TOUGH. the waves were about 3-5 feet in height and fairly turbulent. I got on my board ok and paddled out to where I could wait for some waves. After waiting a few minutes, a HUGE wave surged forward and THROTTLED me. I traveled really far quickly and I couldn't get to the surface for air. My board, which was attached to my foot, was dragging me along. i finally get up for air, but now I'm stuck in the "crash zone" where all the waves break. and i was being PELTED with more waves. after another wave struck me my board got behind me and got FLUNG forward and NAILED me in the back of the head. I'm just glad i wasn't knocked unconscious. But that didn't break my resolve. I fought the nasty waves and battled back out of the crash zone to catch another wave. I got tossed and turned some more and never got to stand up. I only was able to muster a few attempts. On one attempt I was able to at least body surf on top of a wave and it traveled so fast! it was exhilarating. i couldn't imagine standing up as well.

But as I was out there God gave me a revelation into some of his word. Psalm 42:7 came to mind:
Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me.


I used to think that this was such a pleasant verse. God rushing over you. feeling peace and feeling calm. but it definitely isn't! water is violent! it can literally kill you. destroy you. suck you under and drown you. the guy who wrote this psalm was in some agony. his soul literally disturbed. i can see why he used waves as an image to describe his torment. 


and now i can see why in baptism water represents our death. there were so many times out there surfing i wanted to give up. to surrender. and when we plunge into God's water we have to surrender. it is a spiritual death. it might hurt. it might be extremely difficult. probably will be. but on the other side is life. we get on top of that wave. when we die to ourselves, that's when Jesus can live through us. 


Paul puts it well: 
For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. (2 corinthians 4:11).


We must die to ourselves. And it just might be like surfing. 

Fair Trade

So I was talking with laura last night about Fair Trade. It's crazy how many stores take advantage of people around the world. It is really unfair. But how possible is it to actually avoid it? I don't know what we can do. there are fair trade certified items, but one source I read says the producers only receive 10% of the increased price of these items. and others argue that fair trade attempts to establish a price floor for certain products, which would make for an increase in supply, and therefore lower prices on the goods. 

do fair trade products even help? this is something i fairly uneducated about. here are a few sites with information i found the other night. let me know what you think and if you have any info and/or ideas, comments, questions. ect. 

http://www.behindthelabel.org/pdf/Retailindus.pdf

http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_48/b4011001.htm

http://www.corpwatch.org/

http://www.transfairusa.org/content/WhereToBuy/

Hearing the Voice of God

Hearing God's voice can be a difficult thing. God talks in all sorts of ways. through people. through circumstances. through opportunities. through His Word. in our thoughts. sometimes audibly, although i have never experienced this.

Today, I had to make a decision to not do a planned event for the youth group. Why is that? Because I believe God told me not too. through another person and through my own personal prayer time and conviction. I admit, I partly wanted to do the initial event to do something exciting. To make it look like I actually did something on my internship. But it doesn't matter what my desires are and what my plans are. The Lord has to be behind it. And God is faithful. I ask him to close doors if I am not making the right decision. And he clearly spoke and closed the door on this fun summer event. Instead I think my efforts our best spent elsewhere. I hope to see a weekly worship gathering of students. non-advertised. I feel that this is the leading of the Lord and not my own. I'm grateful for the Lord's conviction. I chose one thing, but he made it evident he wasn't behind it. I'm thankful he lets us in on His plan.

Im grateful for this scriptural truth:

Proverbs 16:9 (New International Version)

 ⁹ In his heart a man plans his course,
       but the LORD determines his steps.

How do you hear God and know his will?

Awesome Sermon

I listened to a sermon my friend casey told me about. It pretty much captures everything i have been feeling about Christianity lately. I don't know exactly how it looks practically and I plan on plugging through the series and diving deeper.

Anyone that wants to hear a great message and/or follow this series with me the link is below:

http://www.brookhills.org/media/series/radical/

Busy But Great Week

This last week has been pretty awesome!

The past weekend was the busiest i've been since coming to hawaii. David and Kelsey were gone for the weekend and Andrew and I  were in charge of planning and getting everything ready for Sunday.

On Friday we worked on getting things done for sunday and went to a sweet luau that a family in the church invited us too. We had some really interesting food. I enjoyed most of it : )

That night we had a few of the senior high guys spend the night at the church. we hung out, had snacks, watched a movie, played guitar, watched videos on youtube and just bonded with them. we became closer to them and we're just able to build the relationships up with them so it was great!

On Saturday finished getting things ready for sunday. then at night went to a surprise birthday party for joel lawson. we had so much food and i got to know a lot of people in the church better.

Sunday finally came. I spoke that morning. I talked about the importance of confession. and being vulnerable and honest. i talked out of 1 John 5-10.

we can make 3 lies when we are living in sin and they are a progression

1. we lie to others about our relationships with God 1 john 1:6
2. we lie to ourselves about it - 1 john 1:8
3. we call God a liar - 1 john 1:10

when we sin we want to cover it up so no one sees that about us. we lie to others about how we are doing. secondly we begin to even think what we are doing is ok. and lie to ourselves about. it seems the more you keep on sinning, the less conviction you have about it. you make up in your mind to feel ok about it so you can keep doing it. and thirdly, by saying that which is sin, to be ok, you call God's truth a lie and His word has no place in your life. it's a progression we want to avoid. confession is a big way to do that.

Proverbs 28:13 (New International Version)

 ¹³ He who conceals his sins does not prosper,
       but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy.

that was the gist of the message. i had them write on cards a secret or a sin they have that they felt God was convicting them about and also to write down a person they could talk to about it. someone they trust. 

after speaking on sunday. went back and rested for a bit. fundraised at walmart for the CO trip for an hour. 


then at 630 we had a get-together with the youth. we played some amazing crazy games! steal the bacon with a fish! and a crazy relay!


we also worshipped together which was amazing. we didn't even have words on the screen and you could hear so many voices out in the crowd. 


it was amazing to hear. there is a guy named justin on the team who told me he hadn't played in front of anyone in 7 or 8 years. and he played guitar and piano tonight. that is so amazing and praise to God! i'm so glad he was able to have confidence to do that and i pray in the future as he goes to college he will use his gifts and talents for the lord. 


another guy named sam led a song it was great. he hadn't led in at least 6 months. and he did a great job. 


on top of this we we're short a drummer. and i met a guy named Jonah who is amazing at drums the night before. and i was just praying about what we should do. and he walked up to the house we were staying at to drop something off! it was so cool. 


overall the night was great. we bonded with students and worshipped together. praise the Lord. 
thank you for your prayers and keeping up with me. 


Much Love, 


Nate

Worship

Yesterday was definitely awesome.

Last night I invited some youth to come play music and worship at the church. two of them are seniors named maggie and justin. the other is a junior named sam. we worshipped together for over an hour and sang praises to God! it was awesome.

I talked to them about training up some younger students to lead worship and be on the worship team. You could feel a sense of passion and inspiration in the room. God was moving on our hearts. I believe He is beginning with something this. He is up to something. We all talked about how there is something anointed about worship. You look through all the psalms and it exclaims "sing to the Lord" or make music to Him of some sort. there is something about music, worship, singing, and God that connect. I'm not sure. It just seems that God has ordained that way. Heads were nodding around the room as we talked about leading worship together this summer. But if nothing happens, we are at least worshipping God. no one can take that from us. it was an awesome experience.

also a man in the church, also named Nate, spoke right to my heart. He encouraged me to not make this about a class at all, but about pursuing Christ and impacting these students for Christ. and it was a good timely word. Getting all the internship stuff in can be pressuring and help me to lose focus. This guy spoke a good word and I believe it is because of all the prayer report i am receiving. I can definitely feel a difference! God is at work. Not me. And that's amazing. Thank you all so much.

that's a cool spot andrew and I went to. the waves were so peaceful.

finally some time to relax

Hello all,

wow it's been a busy week! they say life in hawaii is slow and chillax...not so sure about that! it's been real busy this week! did a lot of work. picked fruit. cleaned a cottage. did a lot of summer planning for the youth. hung out with students. went on a huge uphill hike with youth on the colorado trip! that was sweet. im really starting to get to know the youth. what music they listen to. what movies they've seen. it is really interesting to see where they are at. 

trying to plan a lot of things for them for the summer. going to have a bible study. that should be fun. been jamming some with some students. hopefully worship will happen a few times this summer. i think worship is so key. teens should worship together! i pray i can pass on that passion for worship through song. 

prayer needs:

preaching next sunday- that it would be God's words coming through me. wisdom. passion. guidance. unity with God. that the student's hearts would be receptive. 

summer planning- doing a huge summer program. should be awesome. pray for fellowship. new students. good flow. 

summer bible study- God's direction. for spiritual growth in me and the students. 

rest- been busy as usual! 

much love to you all! 

Hanging Loose

Today is my day off. been in hawaii for a whole week now. feels like a lot longer. staying with an elder of the church right now for a few days. he has a beautiful property where you walk out and see the ocean. it is so awesome.

The first sunday at the church went well. we met some more of the youth and got to hangout with them. we did more fundraising at walmart where we sold candybars. we've done pretty well the last two days raising money so that is a definite praise to God!

This week I got a lot to get done as far as internship stuff. planning a bible study and some summer programming.

one phrase i have been thinking about: who you are boils down to the choices you make.

much love,

Nate

quick update

Meeting the youth was awesome!! they are some really cool kids. thank you for your prayers. 

that night me david and andrew went to the lava flow and saw some flowing lava! it was awesome. pictures to follow. 

yesterday hung out with some youth and put up a fence. that was pretty cool.

today working on a fundraiser for the colorado trip. prayers are appreciated for that! also rest for our bodies!

Thanks!

-Nate

Storage Room Done

Well we finished off the storage room. Andrew and I painted it this morning and we spent the day putting everything back in. looks a lot better. probably should have taken before and after pics : )

tonight we meet the youth!!!!! so excited for that.

prayer needs:
body adjustment to time zone still
meeting the youth, connections, love of Christ shown
safety as we travel to play with lava : )
youth meeting tonight

your prayers mean so much.

-nate

Night Diving and Clean Out

Last night i went night diving which is snorkeling with spears to catch fish. it was so awesome! it was hard at first because i've never really snorkeled before or used a spear and it was at night. kinda intimidating at first but i loved it! i can't wait to go again. God's creation is so cool. seeing all the different kinds of fish and animals. i think i saw a couple of eels...kinda creepy.

today helped David clean out the youth storage area. got a lot of work to do on that. praying and thinking about ways to impact these youth. i meet them tomorrow. prayers are always appreciated.

Thankful,

Nate

First Day in Hawaii

Well I made it hawaii safe and sound! thank you everyone for your prayers.

Hawaii is such a different place. It is a completely different culture and not what I expected. It doesn't feel like the United States at all. At times it almost feels like a third-world country. Soccer is king here. I asked pastor david if I could drink the water last night but it was totally fine :) There are lots of different ethnic groups here. Different islands from eastern Asia, Japanese, Chinese, Tahitian, Native American, White (which they call Howley), and native Hawaiians. There seems to be some animosity between white and non-white groups, but obviously that is not the case for everyone.

Andrew and I are staying with the youth pastor David and his wife Kelsi who live an apartment in Hilo. When we step outside we can see the bay (which apparently is inhabited by hammerhead sharks!) and its really cool. There are beautiful flowers, plants, palm trees, exotic birds, trees I have never seen before. At times if you block out the traffic and downtown buildings it seems pretty primitive. God's creation is so amazing. Nothing is the same. It is so diverse and vast. I am just in awe.

My body is still adjusting the time difference, which is six hours behind from home. I went to bed at 10:30 last night to the sounds of loud neighbors and decent traffic. I woke up at 6:30 Am and i thought it was noon. I was so disoriented.

I went down by the bay to take some time with God. Rocks of all shapes and sizes littered the shore. I found a good rock to sit on, but never became comfortable because of all the insects (including huge red ants!) that were around. But I somehow I managed to sit down and be quiet before God and He gave me this really cool image. The rocks closest to the water were the smoothest. The rocks farther away were rougher and more of a pain to climb around. Also the rocks that were farther up in the tide had some type of life growing on them. The rocks on the shore were barren. I felt that God was showing me that the more we are in His presence, the more he can smooth out our lives like the water smoothes the rocks. He can smooth out the character traits, flaws, and habits that are ungodly. And the closer we get to the water, the more that life springs out of us and benefits others, like the rocks that had moss-like plants growing on them. But some people are content to stay on the shore and be "safer." They don't want to get wet. They get harder and rougher. And some people are content with a splash here and there but don't want anymore than that. Sometimes the waves get pretty big and it might be intimidating. But God wants us to just jump right in and be in His presence so that we can be changed and spring forth life. so that is my goal while I am here. To dive right into the presence of God everyday. because I need to be smoothed out and filled up with His abundant life. Hopefully you all can do the same.

Your prayers are greatly appreciated.

Diving in,

Nate

Brothers, Sisters, Mothers, Fathers

^{1 Timothy 5:1 "Do not rebuke an older man harshly, but exhort him as if he were your father. Treat younger men as brothers, 2older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity."}


Over the past couple years as a youth leader, I have really focused my time and energies on my small group guys and other guys in the youth group. For the most part, I didn't make a huge effort to connect with the girls too much because  I figured I'm a guy leader, I should invest in the guys, and because of some of the precautions you need to take as being a guy leader. Being 1 on 1 with the opposite gender is something I think you should never do as a leader. But I took it even farther by not really talking to them a whole bunch. 


So ladies, I apologize. I realized I should've made for of an effort. Some of the these girls need an older brother to look up to. Someone who isn't flirting with them and looking to date them. A positive influence. 


The verse above  says basically treat everyone as family. family are people you are close to and don't ignore. If a younger girl is my sister, I need to treat her as one, with absolute purity as the verse indicates. So next ministry I am in, I'm still lovin on my guys, but I won't be afraid to be a brother to the ladies either. 

Like Your Last

If you haven't heard yet, I will soon be leaving Crystal Valley Youth Group. God has called me to other places. I will be in Hawaii this summer for an internship and returning the next fall, as hopefully an RA.

After Adam announced I would be leaving, many people came up and gave me a hug and told me how much they would miss me. One of my small group guys gave me about 5 hugs.

As I was taking it all in, I was wishing that I had done more. That I had prayed for them more while I was them or that I had a deeper conversation with the students. And I started to tear up. I was really going to miss this place. 

It was during this moment I felt the Spirit saying to me: Nate, minister to people as if it's your last time with them. 

It could be the last time you get to pray for them, to talk to them, to tell them what they may need to hear.

Now, taken literally, this phrase could get carried away. But it's the attitude that is important. To do ministry like it's your last time. To go out with a bang so to speak, but to strive to do that every time. Imagine how your ministry and life might be different. We aren't guaranteed tomorrow.

As the apostle paul says, "¹⁵Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, ¹⁶making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. ¹⁷Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is."

The Righteous Man

I thought this Psalm was a beautiful picture of a righteous man, perhaps a counter to the proverbs 31 woman, although both passages have good things for both men and women to strive after. Take some time and reflect through it.

Psalm 112

 ¹ Praise the LORD.
       Blessed is the man who fears the LORD,
       who finds great delight in his commands.
 ² His children will be mighty in the land;
       the generation of the upright will be blessed.
 ³ Wealth and riches are in his house,
       and his righteousness endures forever.
 ⁴ Even in darkness light dawns for the upright,
       for the gracious and compassionate and righteous man.
 ⁵ Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely,
       who conducts his affairs with justice.
 ⁶ Surely he will never be shaken;
       a righteous man will be remembered forever.
 ⁷ He will have no fear of bad news;
       his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD.
 ⁸ His heart is secure, he will have no fear;
       in the end he will look in triumph on his foes.
 ⁹ He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor,
       his righteousness endures forever;
       his horn will be lifted high in honor.
 ¹⁰ The wicked man will see and be vexed,
       he will gnash his teeth and waste away;
       the longings of the wicked will come to nothing.

Become a Child Again

Being at a Christian College and a member of the chapel band, and a ministry major, it is often easy to be an environment where Christianity becomes a religion instead of a relationship. Playing worship becomes technical. Reading the Bible becomes dissecting it and trying to explain everything away, when the answer may just be simple and plain. Although it is good to play skillfully and study the Bible, I realized I need to get back to a child like relationship with God. Expressing my love for Him unashamed. 

Matthew 18:2-4  "He called a little child and had him stand among them. ³And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. ⁴Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."

Children are humble. They believe in big great things. They have dreams. They love and admire. They are simple. They adore. They are full of wonder. They are believers. They are unashamed. God loves children. As followers of Christ and members of God's adopted family, let's be children before the Lord :)

IHOP KC

My time at the international house of prayer was a good time of learning and being with the Lord and with friends. we attended for a leadership summit that had sessions of worship and teaching.

My next few posts will be lessons i have learned from being down there.

One main one is the importance of abiding in Jesus.

John 15: 5 says "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."


God wants us to abide in him. To be with him. He loves being with us. He loves us. He likes us. He enjoys us. Being in love with God and being with Him is so important. 


When God is speaking to His people Israel, through the prophet Zephaniah, he says: "The LORD your God is with you, 
       he is mighty to save.
       He will take great delight in you,
       he will quiet you with his love,
       he will rejoice over you with singing."

As Christians, we are God's people. He will rejoice over us with singing! He delights in us. He is might to save. Spend time with the God who loves you more than anything. How will you abide in God better in 2010?