Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas to everyone!! I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year!! Enjoy your families.

Dinalu

Last year Dinalu was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Disease (Cancer). Doctors found several tumors that covered her body. Dinalu is an incredible leader in our youth group and loves God with all her heart. We were all devastated by the news, but Dinalu remained optimistic. She began her chemotherapy treatments and was constantly in and out of the hospital for months. While she was going through this our students rallied around her and prayed. They started up a facebook page called "Pray for Dinalu" and tons of students committed to pray everyday for her. Dinalu continued to smile and continued to be an amazing witness to everyone. She sent out text messages everyday to all of us with encouraging verses of scripture that God was using in her life. It has been a long journey.

Now, In a couple of weeks Dinalu will be going to have a port removed where medication was transmitted to her body for months. This is the final step in her journey with cancer. DINALU HAS BEEN HEALED!! God has heard our prayers and has faithfully taken care of our wonderful Dinalu. Dinalu has been a testimony and example to us all of how God can use us in our trials and how God can work miracles.

Life at Sonic

There's a student in my Youth Group named Hunter. Hunter is an awesome guy. One of the reasons he is so awesome is because he has an unlimited Sonic card. He and I try to get together about once a month and make a sonic run. We get all the cherry limeades, diet cherry cokes, coney dogs, and chicken fingers we want because his aunt in Texas foots the bill. It never runs dry. I always enjoy hanging out with Hunter, listening to his latest songs on his ipod and eating the free food. Student Pastors, it is so important that we spend time with our students. It's easy to get caught up in meetings, calendar planning, and paperwork and lose sight of our students. We have to go to the schools, be at their games, and hang out at sonic. It will be a blessing to you if you do and you may even get a free meal out of it. Hunter I'm looking forward to Sonic next week.

Interviews with Satan

I uploaded 3 interviews with Satan, above on my video bar, that Craig Groeschel put together while doing a series at his church. Craig Groeschel is the pastor of Lifechurch.tv one of the largest churches in America. I thought this was humorous but very true of Satan's attempts to trick us and deceive us in regards to the church, money, and sex. Check it out.

7 Questions I ask Myself before I Speak.

I got these questions from Francis Chan, he is the author of Crazy Love (great book) and is a Pastor in California. I heard him speak at a conference in Texas a while back and he gave us these questions. I have been asking myself these questions before I speak to a group ever since. They are great for anyone who speaks God's word into people's lives. These questions help me focus in on my subject and they help me check my motives:
1. Am I more concerned with what people think or what God thinks?
2. Do I genuinely love these people?
3. Am I accurately presenting this passage?
4. Have I applied this message to my own life?
5. Am I depending on the Holy Spirit's power or my own cleverness?
6. Will this message draw attention to me or to God?
7. Do they really need this message?