Spending summer the right way..

Honestly, my summer is based on getting a solid volunteer job or atleast volunteering frequently. This isn't my main priority because I want to do other things like hang out with friends and family and work out etc. If my summer was COMPLETELY based on volunteering, then I know that my relationship with God would be amazinggggg. Our relationship is already great, but it would be better than ever because I would be showing others his love and grace and ministering to others and so we would be like the bestest buds in the world. This summer I am determined to volunteer alot because it is something that I am considering doing in my life..or at least working with needy kids in general. And not only that, but I also know that I am the happiest and I profess my faith the most when I am working with children. So if my summer was completely based on missions, then I would have a great summer I know, but I would not have as much time to do the immature things, which is a good thing. I am determined to make service a top priority. I know that I will fail in making it the highest priority but I will keep trying because I know that is what I really want to do. Some of my priorities are mature because of the way that I want to live them out. For example, my top priorities as of now are traveling, spending time with family that I dont see often (and still the ones that I do see), hanging with friends, and growing in my relationship with God. So I will use those in a way that glorifies God and helps me grow in our relationship.

Until next time,
Alexa(:

SUMMER 2011!

I can't wait until summer! It's going to be so fun! As of now I am going on two sorta major trips. My family and I havent gone on any real trips for a while so it will be nice to get away. In June I am just chilling with friends and I am going to go with Alyssa McKinzie to the Ronald Mc. Donald House and volunteer 3 times a week or so. I am SUPER excited about that! Even though I am just 15 and they say that I can't do anything but fill bags, I am still really excited to go and serve! For the rest of June, I will probably be just swimming and staying up late and going to Galveston and what not.

In July, I will have more of a structured month. In the beginning I will go to Texas ATM for a basketball team camp. That is always fun so I can't wait for that. Then I will go to Dallas and intern with my aunt. She is one of the top 10 designers in Dallas and will be premiering an episode on HGTV soon so I am excited to get started possibly in designing. At the end of July I am going to Yellowstone with my grandparents and my cousins. I am sorta excited for this but also kind of dredding it. I will be staying in a cabin with no cell service, no internet, no full kitchen, and no tv. I am not worried about the cell and internet service because I can deal with that, I am just scared that it will be hot and I scared about not having a fridge and microwave and stuff like that. But I know that it will be fun. And then the random days that I wont be doing anything, I will be going to RMH again with Alyssa!

Now in August, I will be getting ready for school. The first week in August I am going to Colorado with the other side of my family. I am really excited for this because I love CO and I love the cool weather and what not. Then the rest of the month I will be probably doing school stuff and hanging out. Then on the 18th I turn SIXTEEN! So I am SUPER excited about that...So yeah, that's my summer!(:

Bringing the Gospel Home

I am probably not doing the best job that I should be doing. I do share the gospel with my friends and its great, but I guess I dont as much with my family. We all go to church together and stuff but I don't encourage them with my faith as I need to be doing. I know that I need to because it will help me grow in my faith and become closer to my family. The last time I shared my faith was when I was doing service work where I was with a lot of kids. One of the older mentor people came up to me and was like I can see the joy in your eyes and the love in your smiles when you are with these kids and I just want to know like how or why. And I proceeded to tell her that its through my love for Christ that I want to love others the way that Christ loves us. So that was the last time I shared my faith with a non believer. The last time I shared my faith with another Christian was yesterday at my d group interview and at a drive time at sears. My instructer and I talked about Christ and our churches and what not. It definitely made me at ease while I was driving.
Sooo yeah(:

Until next time....
Alexa :)

Bin-Laden

 I think that we should not celebrate the death of OBL. As much as I am relieved, death is never a happy thing. It is hard not to celebrate because it truly is a great thing that he is dead because of all the deaths that he has caused us. But I am very scared because I know that his death will backfire and something terrible will happen so that we "pay for" his death. But I am glad that he received punishment. Its sad that punishment was death, but he needed to be punished regardless. So I think that it is wrong to celebrate it his death because any death is not worth celebrating but it is a major relief.

homless people dillema

HELLOOO!!

When I am in the car and a homeless man approaches me I feel soooo bad. Most of the time I am with friends so I talk to them or text. When I am with my mom I usually pretend that I am asleep or something. I always feel regret whenever I ignore them because no one deserves to be treated like that. I don’t drive yet so whenever I drive with other people I try and ask them if we can pull over at a mc. Donald’s but they are usually afraid. So whenever I drive I am definitely going to try my hardest to stop and give food to them if I don’t have anything in my car. I usually give 1 or 2 dollars or something like that. I get really encouraged by my brother because even if my brother had just earned 3 dollars from cleaning the porch, he will give it to them because he knows that he has food and a house and that is enough for him..

I would fill a pack with these things:

·            A canteen (hard water bottle)

·            A card that says Jesus loves you and a bible verse (I sometimes leave these things at tables at restaurants).

·            Some of those Kool-Aid/ Gatorade packets that you put in water and make it.

·            Cards

·            Fruit snacks

·            A hand towel

·            Flashlight

·            Maracas

·            Reusable bag (like the grocery reusable ones)

·            Granola bars

·            Lolli Pops

Until next time...

Alexa(:

Radical Series

Radical Urgency: This sermon was about having the right priorities and the right urgencies. A lot of the time we put selfish things like personal plans before God and our priorities as being a Christian. I know that I need to put God at the top of my agenda and I don't need to try and make him fit because he already should.

Radical Compassion: Radical compassion is giving EVERYTHING you have to being a loving and compassionate person. Someone who is like this devotes their whole entire life to loving people and serving them. It is RADICAL and extreme. I am trying really hard to devote my life to serving others and I think that I do, but I know that I may stray from the path.


Radical Sacrifice: Radical Sacrifice is sacrificing everything to the Lord and just giving your life to him. Its like leaving everything behind and carrying the cross forever. This is sorta like radical compassion, but in radical compassion you give up stuff to serve people and the Lord. But radical sacrifice is trusting the Lord with your life and giving it over to him so he can do what he pleases. We have to let Christ make all of our decisions

Radical Urgency

1. In your life right now, what is most “urgent and pressing”?
Right now, the most urgent thing is probably not what it should be. I honestly can not think of one thing, but I know that it is most likely a worldly possession or something of that sort.

2. How have your career plans and personal life schedule taken on an "urgent" status in your life? How is that unhealthy?
My personal schedule is super busy. It is definitely unhealthy in more than one way. First, on the weekends and during the week, I go go go. I have drivers ed at night and my weekends are jam packed. It is also unhealthy towards my relationship with God. I feel like I have to pencil him into my schedule sometimes and I should never have to do that. 

3. Do you recognize the fact that you live your life, everyday, walking through fields that are ripe for the harvest?
I am a little confused but what I think this means is do you recognize that you walk through fields of people who are ready to be changed or something like that or helped. I do recognize that and I try really hard to change how I look at people and how I serve them.

4. There is little urgency to reap a harvest. There is little urgency to share the Gospel truth with others. How can this be the case? What must we do to change this?
There is little urgency to share the Gospel because people say that they are too busy. This can be true, but you should never put those other "urgencies" before the most important one of all. We need to definitely make more time for this and maybe more opportunities for other people to join too.

Radical Compassion

When you understand that the Gospel demands radical compassion, what does radical compassion mean to you and for your life?


  When I think of radical compassion I think of giving your life as a servant to God and a servant to other people. This is not just helping every now and then, this is your life practically speaking. We are all called to be compassionate people and show compassion to others because of our faith, but this is radical compassion. When I think of radical I think of crazy. So, this is crazy compassion (: These are the people who love, support, listen, care, and help those who are neglected, ignored, bullied, and lost. To me, this is the person that I want to be. I do feel that I am a compassionate person, but I am also still living in this sinful world where sometimes satan plays tricks with you and tries to deceive you and sometimes he succeeds. This is definetely something I am working on. I am working on be more compassionate to people that I know of, but I do not personally know. When I leave houston christian, I dont want to be dubbed one of those people who stays within their group of friends. It is SO much easier for me to love and listen and help people that I do not know. I just love it. It is so hard to do the same to people that I barely know. We were actually talking about this in chapel one day a few weeks ago about which one is harder. For me it is definitely people I know. I kind of went off topic, but, for me, radical compassion means to love, care, and do all those things to anyone and everyone with a heart for the Lord and open arms and a willing spirit.

Until next time...
Alexa(:

Kyle Lake Sermon

  "Live. And Live Well. BREATHE. Breathe in and Breathe deeply. Be PRESENT. Do not be past. Do not be future. Be now. On a crystal clear, breezy 70 degree day, roll down the windows and FEEL the wind against your skin. Feel the warmth of the sun.If you run, then allow those first few breaths on a cool Autumn day to FREEZE your lungs and do not just be alarmed, be ALIVE. Get knee-deep in a novel and LOSE track of time.If you bike, pedal HARD… and if you crash then crash well.Feel the SATISFACTION of a job well done—a paper well-written, a project thoroughly completed, a play well-performed. If you must wipe the snot from your 3-year old’s nose, don’t be disgusted if the Kleenex didn’t catch it all… because soon he’ll be wiping his own.If you’ve recently experienced loss, then GRIEVE. And Grieve well. At the table with friends and family, LAUGH. If you’re eating and laughing at the same time, then might as well laugh until you puke. And if you eat, then SMELL. The aromas are not impediments to your day. Steak on the grill, coffee beans freshly ground, cookies in the oven. And TASTE. Taste every ounce of flavor. Taste every ounce of friendship. Taste every ounce of Life. Because-it-is-most-definitely-a-Gift."


I really liked this poem-essay-paper- thing that he read to us. I didn't understand is completely when he read it aloud because I just dont process like that, but reading it now, I really get the meaning. I think he is telling us to live our lives positively and take the most out of every situation. It's kind of like if you're going to mexico, you have to para sail or swim with dolphins or something like that because you want to make the best out of it. So if you live life, why not live well? If you crash, crash well. It also reminds me of what my coaches tell me which is if you are going to mess up, mess up going full speed and 100% because then it wont be as noticeable and you would have tried your hardest. We are meant to try our hardest and enjoy everything about life. So its simple, yet empowering, love life, live life, and live it well.

Radical Sacarifice

1. Do I want satisfaction without sacrifice?
Yes to be honest. It is always in the back of my mind and I have to correct myself because that is what I want, but not what I need and I only want to fill my life with things I need and I need sacrifice because I need him.
2. What are we willing to give up to have true abundant satisfaction?
I am completely willing to give up everything. But, easier said then done. It is so hard to give up everything when the world it telling you that you need more and you need this to become this and you have to do this to be this. I dont want those things but temptation is there and although I might have a slip up, I catch myself and something just comes over me.
3. If Jesus instructs His followers to relinquish all of their lives in pursuit of His glory and desires, how do their lives change in terms of priorities? What should be the center of out lives?
Their lives change completely. Like ALL the way. The center of their lives is God and we should do the same. If that is how it was back then and that is how his followers acted, then his followers now she do the exact same.
4. If we are dead to ourselves, who makes the decisions in our lives? What decisions do we not like to surrender to Him?
 If we are dead, then Christ has to make our decisions. Even if we are alive he has already made them for us because he knows already. We don't like to surrender family, items acting as idols, friends, and other things.
5. Should we truly seek Christ in decisions such as where we go to college, what clothes we wear, what we eat, etc? Why does it matter? What would our lives look like if we did?
Yes, completely. All my decisions need to be based on Christ. My life would look like this, but better. I say that because I know that some of my decisions are based on my pleasure, but I do make my decisions based on Christ too.
6. How do our attitudes toward our possessions reflect our relationship with Christ and our desire for His mission? How would our lives look if we sought to glorify Christ in the way we purchase and obtain possessions?
 Our attitudes toward possessions reflect negatively on Christ if we are caught up in the possessions. If we bought our possessions with the glory of Christ in mind, we would have given it all except what is actually needed, which is little.
7. What does it mean to carry your cross as a disciple of Christ? Are you living your life this way?
To carry your cross means that you have dedicated your life completely to Christ and he is number 1. Yes I do carry my cross but I certainly lack in some areas. 
8. Will Jesus Christ be your supreme joy, or will you forsake Him for the fleeting pleasures of this world?
Jesus is my joy, all my joy. I do try and find happiness in other things but I know that the only time it is true is whenever I am glorify his name.

American Dream.

How is your personal dream for the rest of your life similar to and different than the American dream?

Honestly, I think so many people want the American dream. I don't want the American dream as in a picture perfect life. I definitely do not want anything to do with perfect. The only thing that is relatable to the American dream is that I strive to do the best and I work really hard for my goals. But, that I think is not necessarily bad. If my goals are going to profit me, then yes that is wrong. My goals need to glorify god and strengthen my relationship with him. Right now, I am working on 2 goals. My first dream or goal is to learn how to sew. My dream has always been to be a fashion designer and what not. Well, my dream has been altered and now I want to sew to make my own clothes. I want to make some of my own clothes or accessories because I hate how much money I spend on clothes and what not and then I can't stop and buy a hamburger for a homeless man or go to Wallmart and get a clean shirt for them. So that goal I think is not bad because I am not being so obsessed with the material type of dream that a lot of people have. I mean yeah I have always wanted a house with a family and perfect blah blah blah. but that's not my dream anymore. I know that as long as I live out my other dream like I said above and I keep my faith, I will be taken care of even if that doesn't mean a picture perfect life. My next dream right now is to go on one of the mission trips for school (Africa, 2020 etc). I have never wanted something so bad in my life. I just have a love for people and caring for them and helping them and I want to go so bad. Even if its not going on a school mission trip, I want so bad to go on a mission trip somewhere different. I have gone on multiple ones in texas, but I want the opportunity to expand. I feel like this dream will change my life forever and I am completely ready for that change 100 million percent. I just pray everyday that I get the opportunity to wherever it may be. So right now those are my dreams. I really think that those 2 dreams are how I look at the rest of my life too and how I will live it out. Of course I want to get married and have children and have a nice big backyard for my kids to play in and I want to be a part of a local mission organization. I guess those are my main dreams. It may sound like too perfect, maybe, but its just the dream that I have and I call it a dream because dreams don't always come true and if it doesnt, I know that something even better is coming my way because God has control over my life.

Until next time,
Alexa(:

Stewardship: God Gives Day 2

Examination:
1. How is the stewardship of our time, talent, and treasure related to the character and glory of God? 
We need to be responsible with the way that we use our time, talents, and treasures. If we are careless during these times, then they are pointless. Our time belongs to God, because everything does, therefore we need to use them to glorify him in all that we do.
2. What is the ultimate purpose of the spiritual gifts and treasure that God has given you?
The ultimate purpose of those gifts are to serve him. If he gives us the gift of teaching, then we need to go out and teach. If he gives us the gift of miracles, we need to continue to pray for them to happen for others and not just ourselves. We need to use our gifts for others and not selfish reasons.


3. What is the difference between the Old Testament tithe and stewardship?
 In the old testament, tithe was a law that stated that you had to give 10% of your money away and stewardship is asking yourself how much money do I need to give to God?



Application:
1. How does the way you view and use your money reflect the condition of your heart?
If I use my money in a selfish way, than my heart will be selfish and I will only be thinking about myself. But, if I use my money to give to others, I will find true joy in that and my heart will reflect that.

2. How has your view of money been challenged by this chapter?
I am forced to think about the way that I spend my money and actually, in the past few days I have had MULTIPLE opportunities where I could have gotten a 8 dollar burrito but I instead stopped by a homeless man and gave him some of the money and I had a snack at home. Everyone wins that way!
3. What does stewardship reveal about who or what you worship?
 It reveals if you worship money or God. If you're worshiping God, you wouldn't want to spend your money so selfishly. Money is an idol and so if you are worshiping money and using money in the wrong way, you are definitely not worshiping God.

4. How are you using your time, talent, and treasure to glorify God?
I would like to say that I use all of those to glorify God, but in reality, I don't. Its not that I never do it, I think I do, just not as often as I need to. I know for sure I use my money not glorifying God. I do give, but I also selfishly keep. I do the same with my talents and my treasures. 
5. In what areas of time, talent, and treasure do you need to repent and grow?
I think that I need to grow in all three. Honestly, I think that everyone does. We are humans and we live in a world of sin, we are not perfect and we slip off the cliff sometimes but we have Jesus to forgive us of our sins and repent to. But out of all, I think I need to devote WAY more of my time to glorifying God.

Class Talk

In class today we read an article about money and stewardship. The way we spend our money is definitely not the way that we should and the way that God wants us to. Its okay to have money, but you have to spend it the right way. You can't love God and love money; it just doesn't work. Loving money is considered an idol and God wants nothing to do with that. We can love God and USE money TO love God, thats the best thing we could do along with being stewards of him. A steward is someone who manages something, like land or a house, but does not own it. Thats how we are. We pretty much don't own anything because God blessed us with the ability to get whatever it is, therefore it ultimately belongs to him, we are just taking care of it.  The class discussion was good but I feel like we have already talked about money, but it was from a different perspective so I liked it!

Until next time....
Alexa(:


P.S. this video is just adorable! I love it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MS93Q4jQAO0&feature=related

FRANCIS-you so big!

How did the sermon make you look internally and does your spirtual life match up in god's eyes like with your friends and family and with your reputation? 

 Yes, I think that my spiritual life has matched with my reputation. My faith and relationship with God has grown tremendously this year. When I leave Houston Christian, I want people to remember me for who I am, not who I try to be. I want my reputation to be remembered as someone who exemplified and really mirrored Christ. The way I view myself, I think that my reputation has reflected Christ but of course there are a few things I can work on. I sometimes can have a "double life" where I act differently because of the influence of people. That is definitely something I need to work on.  I always need to remember that I do not need to please ANYONE but myself, and God. He wont judge me on what I wear or any of the worldly things, he will only judge me on my heart.

Until next time...
Alexa(:

Teen Role Models

HEEYY
I am not really so sure what we are supposed to be blogging about...but I guess I will just talk about who my role model is and why.

Sooo,
My role model is probably my grandma. I look up to her more than my parents because I guess I can see myself being more like her. I don't really have a celebrity role model just because I dont really look up to them I guess. But overall, my grandma is someone I really look up to because she is just so loving and truly cares about everyone and is a Christian too.

Until next time....
Alexa(:

Westwood Elementry(:

At Spring Branch Elementary they have a book night every Thursday were they all read and then they have this store where you can buy stuff to help the school for paving the garden at their new school. You can also go on Saturdays to help them pack up things for the new school. We would be able to make things for the store or help them sell things to raise money. Or we would be able to help them pack up the books and stuff from the Library. At Westwood Elementary, they have after school activities and then little camps or clubs on the weekend. The camps and some after school activities are like specialties so they are like art or science clubs and stuff like that. So we would be able to help run the clubs or activities. Also we could help mentor the kids after school and I think that would really help them because these kids have grown up in some really tough circumstances.

MEW!!

HOW HAS THIS WEEK CHALLENGED AND ENCOURAGED YOU TO LOVE HOUSTON WELL? OR NOT?

HEYYY BLOGGERS,

This week has been awesome. I love hearing about loving houston and all that jazz. BUTTT it has also been ehh not so good. I feel like this week will be great for this week but nothing will happen after. I have really enjoyed the speakers though. On Monday, Lisa did a great job sharing just 4 short points and keeping us tuned in. On Tuesday, Drew talked. I have my different opinions about when he speaks. I like to hear him speak but I feel like it is just too long and no one pays attention because it just isnt very interesting. Today, Robby Seay's brother spoke to us. I really like him. He was funny, his stories were relatable and missional and wasn't boring. Overall, I have enjoyed MEW but I dont think that it is very encouraging. I feel like they could have tried a little harder to make us be missional. Like maybe everyday we have an opportunity to bring or do something that will help one cause each day. Or something like that. I want something new and fresh everyday. I have a terrible feeling that after this week people will forget EVERYTHING.

So that is how I feel about MEW...

Until next time...

Alexa(:

LOVING PEOPLE

WHY IS IT SO DIFFICULT TO ENCOURAGE PEOPLE YOU KNOW, DON'T KNOW, AND ARE ACQUAINTANCE WITH?

HAYYY BLOGGERS. 
      So I think that it is difficult to write encouraging things for people because of a few different reasons. One reason would be awkwardness. If you dont know the person then it might be really awkward to write something about them or tell them something. If you are just saying like something generic, then that is a little easier. But, if you wanted to personalize the encouragement then that is definitely harder. That would be the situation where you don't know them. 


If you are friends with them in school but you dont hang outside of school, that can still be really awkward. I think that this is not as hard as the first one because you know them a little more so its not as awkward. The hard part is knowing what to put or say. The whole thing about "your cool" or "your smart" or whatever gets old. You need to actually encourage them and dont just say the same thing you did to everyone else. 


Lastly, if you are friends with them, it is definitely easier.  I wouldn't say that it is really easy, it is just easiER. It is still hard to figure out what to tell them. Like you know what you like about them and stuff its just hard to actually go through with it. Now when I encourage my best friends or my basketball team, its not awkward or hard at all. Im not really sure why, but it comes natural. What doesnt come natural is encouraging your enemies and people you dont like. 


Overall, I really did love this exercise we did in class and chapel. Although it seemed ingenuine at first, i think that people did mean for the most part what they wrote on eachothers backs and papers. I think that it reall opened my eyes about encouraging people. My day was so awesome because of all that love. I really think that what we are learning in chapel will apply to us growing as missionaries for sure. We need to love anybody and everybody no matter what and make sure they know that they are loved and important. 


until next time...
Alexa (:

Father Daughter Date

HEYYYY BLOGGERS

So a few weekends ago I went to a restaurant called "The Egg and I" with my step-dad Gerald. The food was delish and we had a great time. I am pretty close to my step-dad which is good because I don't have my real father in my life so he is like a father figure to me and my brother. I feel very comfortable talking to him about anything. We talked a lot about college and about family issues. He is really smart and he has great advice about college and grades and stuff. We also talked about random things like my step-sisters wedding and stuff like that. I really enjoyed this experience. Although I did not pay for the breakfast just because i don't know that you just be kinda weird. But we did talk about deep stuff and even God. I am not so much "eye-opened" because Gerald and I hang out a lot and do stuff like that because we are really close and it is important for me to have a relationship with him. I have known him since around the time of second grade so I have been with him all my life. Over all, I had a great time and I will definitely do it again.

10 Characteristics of a Missional Church

HEYYYY so i have a few questions to answer so i guess i will answer them... :)

1. What does it mean to live in missonally?
Well, I think that it means that you live an unselfish live, you participate in activities that serve others and serve God. You also rarely do things for yourself and you give tremendously. Also, if you can't do those things, then leading by example is also living a missonally life.

2. Are you living a missionally life?
I like to say that I am living a missionally life, but I am not so sure if that is 100% true. It is true that I live for helping others and doing things that affect them and not me. That is true but maybe I do not do that all the time. I feel like in one aspect of the missionally life I have that, but I am lacking my service to God. What I mean is that I need to pack up everything and just follow him like the disciples did. Paul dropped everything and traveled everywhere on foot and boat to all of these cities, he was imprisoned, beaten, and many other things but he NEVER gave up. I wish that I could say that I have that quality but I don't and that is something that I am working on. It is so important to my faith that I do that because I feel like I don't even know what living means until I do that.

3. What changes could you make in your life to be missionally?
Well I kinda explained it above ^. But, besides devoting more to God, I can devote more of my time to people. I feel like I am very missionally when it works on my schedule and around my plans. Well being missionally also means random acts not just planed actions. Even the slightest things are so helpful and appreciated. So I definitely think that is something that needs to be changed so that I can become more missional.

Until next time,
Alexa :)

Evangalism

HELLOOO BLOGGERS!

1. There are three types of evangelism, E1, E2, and E3. E1 evangelism is more comfortable. Its like when your ministering to people that live in your city and speak the same language and are fairly similar. It would be like me talking to people in Houston. E2 is sort of the same but its more about talking to people with different backgrounds. So they do not necessarily live in the same city that we do and stuff. E3 is the hardest one. E3 evangelism is when you minister to people who live in a different country and have a different culture and language. This is EXTREMELY difficult. I think that Winter considers E2 evangelism very urgent in the U.S. Its more than E1 because its uncomfortable but its not as severe. The most power is E3. Not only is it far away, it is the most powerful because the people receiving the owed and so amazed by God.

2. I honestly do not understand this question. I guess I will just say that to unite Christians, the way going about it cannot be against Christian liberties. This means that they way that you evangelism has to be moral and you cannot break any normal laws or personal respect.

The New Macedonia

hola bloggers como estas?

I am currently in missions right now....woahh...well I'm going to start answering these questions so it isn't homework..so i will probably post this and it will be incomplete so Mr. Rodden if you see this and it isn't complete, don't grade it yet please i will finish it..I just don't have enough time in class.

1. Explain the differences between E-1, E-2. and E-3 evangelism. Which of the three does Winter consider the most powerful? Why? Which one does he consider the most urgent? Why?

2. "Christian unity cannot be health if it infringes upon Christian liberty." Do you agree? What significance does this issue have for "practical evangelistic strategies?"

World Mission Survey!

HEYYYYYYYY.
so today's class rocked. The passage was super long and boring at first but when we started to discuss it, it got interesting. There were 2 questions... :

1. What opportunities for and which obstacles to missions advancement are apparent from each of the areas surveyed in this article?
-Well,I think that one obstacle is the difficulty to reach out to these people. Some of the people who do not know Christ live in a very desolated area that is so hard to get to geographically. That is definitely a huge disadvantage. Another one is that it is hard to find missionaries that can speak the language that they are dealing with. It would be so much easier if you could have a missionary translate to their language and be able to connect with them like that. The opportunities are so great in a sense that these people really need to hear the word of the Lord and we are so blessed to have opportunities like that, but legistically it is just so hard to go through with it.

2. What is the dominant impression left by these articles? guarded optimism? caution? skepticism? enthusiasm?
-So.... my impression left on this article is optimism I guess. I mean I feel inspired and I am dying to go reach out to people and teach them and love them and do everything I can for them. I want to reach out to people who have NO IDEA who Christ is. I want them to want to know everything and be absolutely amazed at what they are hearing about him like he is a superhero or something (because I think he is :) ). So after reading this article, I am determined to want to do something about these low numbers and percentages in certain countries.

WE CAN DO IT!

until next time...
ALEXAAAAA

HCHS..

hellllooooooooooooo bloggers....wassupp?

So today (more like tonight) I will be reflecting on the topic that we discussed in class about the culture at hchs. ahhh there is so much to talk about.

1. I feel like there are a lot of fake Christians. I know that it is definitely not my place to pick and choose fake Christians, which is not what I am trying to do, I am just saying I am sure that there are some. Anywho, I think there are people who pretend to be on fire for the Lord but they dont live out there faith when they leave the school. What one of the worst part is that A TON of people do not take chapel seriously. Honestly, I am serious about chapel because I feel like it is another opportunity to grow in my walk with the Lord and it keeps me on point. Its just really annoying when people laugh and talk and look at their phones or do homework or sleep. It is just really distracting and really gets on my nerves.

We pretty much talked about that in class in a way and we talked about how one of the speakers said that someone said that the only thing christian about Houston Christian is the name. In a way I think it is kinda true because I feel like the people around me do not help me grow in my faith and I really need to find a group of girls that are helping me grow in my faith a lot because that is really hard to find. We also talked about the whole D-group situation. Personally I love my D-group :)

Hmmmm what else can I say...I think that I really covered it...I might come back and add some more if anything comes to mine.

.....
DEUCES.

Dating and Marriage

hellooooo to the one person who reads my blogs...
today's talk was quite interesting. I will say that I do disagree with a few things that were talked about but I guess thats normal. So I will just talk about what the discussion was during class...

So, the main thing that we talked about for a long time was marriage and divorce. We talked about how it is wrong to get divorced under any circumstance because you made a commitment to God. That is completely true and I agree with it, but at the time that we were talking about it I was getting really frustrated with it. We started talking about getting divorced because of bad circumstances for example if it was dangerous being with that person. Well I brought up that point and immediately a few people chimed in. They said to just move out but I dont think that they understand how easy it actually is. Yes, your husband would still be able to find you but when you get divorced you can give him legal papers that he is not to be around your children or you unless it is approved by the legal guardian. I know this much because this situation happened in my family. My family would have been separated anyways if my mom hadnt divorced my dad because of different reasons. Yes it is completely wrong to divorce someone and I am really tied between the two because I have faith that people do change but I also am torn the other way because I dont know what would have happened if my mom didnt get divorced. Ahh its just too confusing...

On another note, I think that it is also important that girls not obsess over guys so much. In high school all girls are boy crazy and want a boyfriend really bad. i personally do not think it is bad to have a boyfriend in high school. But I do think that it is wrong if you go about it in a bad way. If you are so focused on him and nothing else then your relationships with friends will plummet as well as Jesus. We need to have our eyes completely fixed on Jesus and our hearts because when others fail, he will ALWAYS be there for us no matter what. This is advice that I can take for myself too and i think that a lot of girls need to hear it.

Sooo i guess this is all for now.
until next time...

Alexa :)

Teen Faith

Hellooooo bloggers!

So I really liked today's lesson on teen faith. I felt that we could all relate to it because we are either part of it or we know someone part of those statistics. The one that shocked me was the one where there was an increase. I wasn't surprised about the decline in youth activities because I know sometimes I dont go to my youth group on Sundays either. I really like my church but the youth group is really young and I am only really friends with 2 or 3 people because the rest are younger than me and immature and..... i dont know. but I much rather enjoy going to the church service because for my youth sunday school, we dont get a lot done because everyone is talking and just not focused. I also wish that he would have included a statistic about the college kids or at least added grade or ages to the statistics. I think that the older kids get, the more likely the statistic will go down because they will not have determination or the will to want to go to church or do related activities.
So overall, I am not surprised by the decline in the areas involving teen faith. I think that it is SO important for us to get involved now and really fall in love with the scripture so that when we get older we will WANT to go to to church and WANT to do everything to glorify God.

Until next time...

Alexa :)