Freshman Year Semester 3

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!"

2 Corinthians 5:17

The semester is finally over! Final grades are posted, and I am back at home relaxing with the family and back working at the YMCA. Before I get started, I just want to apologize for any grammatical errors; it is 5:00 in the morning, and I am working at the Y while running on 3 hours of sleep.

After having a pretty terrible year last year, I decided I wanted to start my college experience over. I am already graduating a whole year later than expected, so why not have a whole other freshman year? Going into this coming year, I felt like I was a freshman again. I did not know my roommate. I did not know who my support group was going to be. I was trying out a different campus ministry and church. I was completely starting over. I came into the year as a different person, renewed in Christ. I had a different mindset going into school, and my goal was to reach out to the other students on App's campus. I was extremely nervous about going back to App, but after my 3rd semester of freshman year has come to an end, I could not have asked for a better semester.

At the beginning of the year I spent a lot of time in my room. I did not really have a support group, and my whole group of friends from the year before changed. I'm not going to lie, the first couple weeks of school was pretty rough. I had this whole gameplan and mindset for the new year, but as soon as I got back to school, it was like it completely left me. After the first couple of weeks, God reminded me that he had everything under control and reminded me of what my goal was for the year. I spent every night praying that God would provide the solid group of friends and opportunities to spread his word. God immediately began to answer those prayers.

I have met so many wonderful people this year. I decided after prayer and talking to the campus minister that I would stay at BCM. I am part of the prayer team, and even though our meetings were on Thursday mornings at 8, I loved waking up early and meeting with those people. Though I hated my Thursday classes, Thursdays seemed to be the best day of the week. The prayer team is led by Jordan, who has been such a blessing to me this semester. The team consist of me, Jordan, Marge, Joseph, Kelsey, and Stephanie. It has been so great getting to know the members of my team and hanging out with them. They always seem to keep me laughing and smiling. They definitely make 8:00 more enjoyable for me. We went throug the book of Colossians, which is probably one of my favorite books in the New Testament, and we finished up the semester in James. I have loved being on the prayer team this past semester, and God has provided me with some amazing people.

It was not till halfway through the semester that I met the people on the 5th floor of my dorm (I live on the 7th). My friend Asheigh from BCM lives on the 5th floor, so I went down there one day to talk to her, and I ended up meeting all of her hilarious friends. I spend mroe time now on their floor than I do mine. They have been so much fun to hang out with and get to know. I love them to death, even though I was trying to taker a nap and they wrapped a whole roll of toilet paper on me.

God has provided me such an amazing support group; I praise Him everyday for providing me with my main group of friends. At first, I was expecting God to just put someone in my life and magically become best friends with them, but it was not that easy. Getting into the semester, I realized that I have to be intentional with people if I really want to get to know them and reach out to them. I started out with getting to know some of the freshman in BCM. I felt like such a creeper, but I invited a couple of the freshman guys to lunch. I am sure I creeped them out with some random guy just asking them to hang out. I got lunch with Caleb first, and apparently the first impression I made on him was not the best. When I walk, I am in the zone. I have my mindset on where I am going, and completely block out everything else. With this said, I was in the cafeteria waiting on Caleb to get there when I saw one of my other friends. I went to go talk to her, and apparently Caleb had came up to me and said hey, but I did not see him and completely ignored him. It was not till a couple days later that someone told me what had happened. Not the best way to start out a friendship, but luckily Caleb has not held that against me, and I can say that now he is one of my best friends at school. We are planning on rooming together next year, and I cannot wait! After getting luch with Caleb, I got lunch with Taylor and Will. They are pretty awesome! Kept me laughing the whole time. Hanging out with them has been great. Will always crackin' your mom jokes and Taylor just being hilarious. I blame both of them for my addiction to LOST. They also brought Sly Cooper! Don't know what that is you are missing out. BEST GAME EVER! Through Taylor and Will, I met Dusty, Beth, Ali, Maggie, Alex, and Madison. These people are AWESOME!!! I love hanging out with them. They always have me smiling, joking, and laughing. God has blessed me with this group of friends, and I praise Him everyday for putting them in my life. I am excited about next semester playing 4v4 volleyball with Maggie, Ali, and Will. Needless to say we will dominate. Speaking of volleyball, my team won the championship this past semester for the 3A league. I am excited to be home for Christmas, but I don't see how I am going to last a month without seeing these people. We are all taking snowboarding together next semester, and words cannot even describe how excited I am about this!!!

There are several other people that I love to death! Hunter has been such an awesome friend this semester as well. I stayed the other night at his cabin (which is extremely nice), and it was one of the best days I have ever had! My "hookup" partner for BCM, Matt Gillis, has been such a blessing to me too. It has been great getting to know him and talk to him. I got lunch most every Tuesday and Thursday with him and some of his friends, and it was great talking to them and joking around. They made me feel a part of the group the day I met them. Marge is also one of my best friends. Whenever I need a venting session, Marge is always there for me. I have loved hanging out and talking to her. She has been one of the hugest blessings at my time at App. She has been there for me every step of the way this year, and I am so blessed to have a best friend like her!

This semester has been awesome. I could not have asked for a better semester, classes, or friends. This year already tops last year by far. This freshman year has been everything I imagined plus more! I cannot wait for this next semester to get back to school and see what all God has in store for me. As for now, its good to be home with the family, and just spending some time relaxing!

5th Floor Doughton: Gotta Love Them!

Zumba!

Lost: Give me your eyes

Give me your eyes for just one second

Give me your eyes so I can see

Everything that I keep missing

Give me your love for humanity

Give me your arms for the broken hearted

Ones that are far beyond my reach.

Give me your heart for the ones forgotten

Give me your eyes so I can see

~Give Me Your Eyes

Ever since the week of Thanksgiving, I have been obsessed with the TV series, LOST. I blame some of my best friends, Taylor, Will, and Dusty for this. Most of the time the only thing playing on my TV is football games, baseball games, or my personal favorite Gomer Pyle, so I have never actually gotten into watching a whole series of shows. LOST, however, has got me addicted. I have found myself shouting at the TV, getting mad at the characters, and constantly thinking about it. It has gotten to the point that I compare everything to LOST. You could say that I am a LOST addict.

I finished up season 3 today, and I started season 4. While I was watching some episodes today, I began to think about what life would be like if we could see through the eyes of other people. If you have never seen LOST before (I strongly recommend that you start watching it), during each episode, there are flashbacks to each of the characters lives before the plane crash. Each episode, you learn about a different character and his or her life. The audience is able to see the person's life before the crash, and learn more about the character. As I was watching a few flashbacks today, I was thinking about what it would be like to see life through the people's eyes around us. What would the world be like if we set aside our own problems, and we started to care about those around us? What if there are people around who are hurting, but we don't take the time to help them. What if the person beside us on the bus, in class, or even in church is going through a rough time, and no one is taking the time to talk to them? What would the world be like if we stopped, listened and cared?

I know recently, I haven't taken the time to look through the eyes of those around me. I know I haven't cared for those who are around me like I should. Lately, I have been really concerned with myself. I pass by people every day in my dorm, classes, and street, but I don't take the time to stop, get to know people, and listen to their story. The times I have actually stopped and cared for people, I have noticed that they have experienced some of the same things I have, and I have been able to tell them how God has helped me in those times. I have also noticed that some people just need someone to listen to them and care for them. So if this is happening, then why am I not caring more about others? What would it be like if we all started truly caring, and not just saying we care? We could reach out to so many more people, and really spread the love of Christ to others.

My goal in my faith for the upcoming year is to love and care for others more. I want to get to really know the others around me, and show that I really do care for them.  I want to be able to reach out to those hurting. I want to rejoice when others rejoice and mourn when others are mourning. Its not going to be about Jess anymore, for I am second, and I want to share the love and joy that God has filled me up with, with others around me. I want the eyes of others!

"If one part suffers, every part suffers with it. If one part is honored, every part rejoices with it"

2 Corinthians 12:26

God is my Healer

"I will exalt you, Lord,

for you lifted me out of the depths

and did not let my enemies gloat over me.

Lord my God, I called to you for help,

and you healed me.

You, Lord, brought me up from the

realm of the dead;

you spared me from going down to the pit.

~Psalms 30:1-3

Last semester was the roughest, toughest,  and longest semester of my life. I went through a extremely bad depression. I took a survey in the counseling center at App State, and on a scale from 1-25 (1 being not depressed and 25 severely depressed), I was a 23. My emotions were all over the place. I couldn't control my thoughts. Life was just miserable. I was alone, scared, lost, hurt, broken, and away from God. My relationship with Christ before my depression was one of hypocrisy and going through the motions. I did not understand what it meant to be a follower of Christ.

It was through that rough time that God healed me. God showed me his love and pulled me up from the realm of death. Over the course of the summer, my relationship with Christ grew tremendously. God constantly showed his love to me. He filled me with an abundant amount of joy. Going from a place of being torn and broken to where I am now, God has healed me more than I could have ever imagined. God has provided some amazing people in my life, and He has really worked through them to help me out. This semester (no longer depressed) every time the devil has tried to bring back my past, God has always provided scripture, friends, family, or whatever to remind me that He is my healer and that He is watching out for me.

This semester has been 30275406530 times better than last semester. My mood has completely changed, and it is all because of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! I am realizing how blessed I am, and how much God loves me as well as the people around me. God has not only healed me, but He is using what I went through to reach out to other people going through similar situations. I do sometimes get upset, but I mean what person doesn't? I do, however, know that God is in completely control and there is nothing that God can't overcome. Death has lost its sting!

Going from last semester to where I am now, I know that my God is mighty and willing to save! God is my healer!!!

God Provides

"Dont worry about anything; instead PRAY about EVERYTHING."

Philippians 4:6

It's amazing how God hears our prayers and then answers them in ways we cannot even imagine! After a rough semester last year, I was worried about coming back and with whom I would hang out with. The first couple weeks was filled with sitting in the room a lot just hanging out trying to find someone to hang out with. I was worried I would not have a solid group of friends to hang out with this year. God taught me to go outside of my comfort zone and to be intentional with people, but I was still worried that even after that I still would not have anyone.

I have Philippians for on my dry erase board in my room, and it is one of my favorite verses! God always pulls this verse out and reminds me of it at the perfect times. I began praying everyday that God would provide me some friends up here in Boone that I could hang out with and grow closer too, and that would also help me in my walk with Him. Well, God took that prayer request and provided me with more friends than I could handle. He has blessed me so much these past couple of weeks, and I am so grateful for the people He has put into my life!

This weekend has been one of the best weekend I have had up here in Boone. Hanging out with some awesome people Friday night. The Wonderful William Walter took Dusty, Maggie, and I to Chilis, and then we watched Captain America. The ending was pretty bad, but the movie in general was pretty good. Saturday, went to Trinity Baptist to do some painting and some other work. God has definitely blessed that Church. They are soooo nice and genuine. Pastor Nathan was so awesome, and the people that went to help out were pretty hilarious. I don't think I have laughed this much in a longgg time.

Saturday was the perfect day to go to the parkway! Dusty and I chased a deer; it was pretty epic. We made the deer run out in front of a car, which could have ended pretty badly, but it was still pretty awesome. My goal before graduation is to touch a deer. We watched the beautiful sunset. God's creation is beyond beautiful! Enjoyed listening to Patrick Austin's guitar playing, and enjoyed bonding with Sarah, Lindsay, Anna, Dusty, Caroline, and Meg. That night we went night hiking. It was pretty adventurous to say the least. The group left me for a little bit, so I got to see what Helen Keller felt like. I was trying to find my way in the dark, tripping over a couple rocks and sticks. Lucky my blanket saved me, and saved me from some rapist! (Caroline haha). We attempted to start a fire, but that was an Epic Fail! It turned out better though, we laid on a huge rock and looked at the stars and saw some shooting stars. Like I said, beautiful does not even come close to describing God's creation. The fellowship with some awesome friends was great. I got to get to know my friends a little better, and got to share some pretty scary and funny stories.

Today, I somehow slept through my alarm and missed church. Pretty disappointed in myself, but my quiet time made up for it! I really wanna try going homeless for a month. Sounds crazy, but lately all my devotions are about looking through the eyes of the less fortunate. I would love to see put myself in their position. I am applying to work with some organization that volunteers to help the homeless. I am pretty excited! This afternoon, I went and cooked with the Prayer Team for the BCM Thanksgiving feast tomorrow night. I absolutely LOVE those people. We had such an awesome time, and cooked some delicious foods. Learned a lot about each other, especially Stephanie! (She surprised me haha). After that we I went to the SRC to play some Volleyball. Looking forward to this game all day, and it was cancelled. The other team didn't have enough girls. #disappointed but we are going to the Championship tomorrow HOLLA!

So to say the least, God has blessed me with some awesome friends. I love seeing God's power. From last semester to now, God has filled me up with so much joy, and I cannot praise him enough for answering my prayers and providing for me. It has been a truly amazing semester so far, and I cannot wait to see what else God has planned for this school year!

Beautiful sunset at Price Lake

Love the 5th floor girls!

Painting at Trinity Baptist

Shannon's Birthday!

Let it Snow! Let it Snow! Let it Snow!

"Come now, let us settle the matter," Says the Lord. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool." Isaiah 1:18

I love snow! I guess it's a good thing I go to Appalachian then. After leaving my prayer team meeting at BCM house this morning, I walked out into the flurry that was covering campus. The first thing that came to my mind (after, "hey, it's snowing!) was Isaiah 1:18. My sins were once as red as crimson, but God made them as white as the snow falling on my face. It amazes me that even in times when we fall short (which I know I fall short of his glory a lot), he still loves me enough to forgive me of my sins.

As I sit in the lobby of my dorm staring out my window at the snow, I cannot help but to think of every snowflake as a sin that has been forgiven. Each one that falls from the sky represents a sin that God has forgiven and made white. No matter how much snow falls to the ground, they are all white. No matter how many sins we commit, God still loves us and is cleansing us of those sins. It is amazing how little things such as snow can symbolize such a huge topic such as God's love and forgiveness.

I was reading my devotional today, The Voice of the Martyrs: Extreme Devotion,  the story the author shared was of a little girl who was beaten because of her faith. The girl was given a white dress when she accepted Christ as her savior. This white dress symbolized God cleansing her heart and making her pure and as white as snow. As the little girl was lying on her death bed waiting her arrival of her new home, she asked for this dress, that was now covered in blood. This dress represents her new life in Christ. The blood that covered the dress was shed as the little girl's father beat her for her faith.   The little girl states, 

"Please, I want to show the dress to Jesus. He was willing to bleed for me. I just want Jesus to know that I was willing to bleed for him"

Sadly enough, the little girl died shortly after saying this. Once the girl accepted Christ as her savior and was made white as snow, she was willing to give up her life for Christ. She was willing to wear the white dress as just more than a dress, but as a symbol of her new life in Christ. Christ shed his blood on the cross to make us white as snow, and this little girl shed her blood to show Jesus how thankful she was for the love and forgiveness he gave her.

As I sit here wishing the snow would stick, I reflect on my life and the new life that Christ has given me. The joy he has filled me up with, and unconditional love he gives me. Am I willing to shed my blood to tell others about the blood shed to make me white as snow? Is the new and pure life that Christ has given me reflecting on my daily actions? As I close out this blog, I pray that you take the moment to reflect on the forgiveness God has poured out on you, and reflect on how he has made you white as snow.

"As the rain and the snow come down from Heaven, and do not return to it without water the earth and making it bud and flourish, that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty,but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:10-11

Flood of Freedom: Freedom of Evangelism

God took the second service in Flood of Freedom in a completely different direction! God showed that He was in total control yet again. 20 of us gathered in the gym of the Ruby C. Hunt YMCA and talked for nearly two hours about what it means to be a true follower of Christ, and what it means to be intentional with others in order to spread the love of God to others. It was an awesome night of fellowship, prayer, and reading scripture. God was moving among us that night, and God was glorified. Even though God took the service in a completely different direction, I know He still prepared the sermon. I figured, why not share it with everyone else besides my monkey Ty? So I pray that as you read this that God will speak to you and that he will open your eyes and hearts to His wonders. Note: Some parts relate to Not a Fan  by Kyle Idleman.

Read: Matthew 28:19-20; 19:16-22; Luke 9:57-62;

Acts 8:26-40; 1 Corinthians 3:6-9

Pray that God will prepare your heart for what you are about 
to read, and that he will speak to you through this.

What is a disciple? The definition from both the dictionary and the one we can construct from scripture is “a follower of Jesus.” Note that it doesn’t say a “fan” of Jesus but a follower of Jesus. Well, what exactly is the difference? Think of the game follow the leader; I know it’s a preschool game, but think of the object of the game. You have the leader, and everyone else tries to copy and do exactly what the leader. While following the leader, it is ok to mess up. The leader doesn’t just kick us out of the game; we just try our best to do exactly what the leader is doing. That is a follower. Christ is our leader, and we are trying to be just like him. The word Christian means “little Christ.” We are trying to be just like Christ, and obeying everything that He does. Now, a fan of follow the leader likes the idea of the game, but might not necessarily play it. He might try to be the leader instead of being the follower. Think of a sporting event you have been to recently. There are many fans at the game. They might have signs, cowbells, painted faces, shirts, whatever else you name it. They cheer for the game, but they aren’t actually out there playing the game. You know what a fan looks like. Well Jesus also has fans. A fan might attend church on Sunday mornings, but by Saturday they are out partying and living their lives the way they want to. A fan might put Christian as their Facebook religion and having a Jesus fish on their car, but not really have a true relationship with Christ. When times are good, a fan puts a Facebook status up with a bible verse, but when times get bad they deny God and do things their own way (I am guilty of this myself). See what it means to be a fan of Christ? In Matthew 7:21 it says,

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the Kingdom of God, but only he who does the will of my father who is in Heaven.”

So just because we claimed we are a Christian, does not mean we will enter the Kingdom of God. There is no such thing as a Luke warm Christian. In Revelation 3:16 it says,

“So, because you are a lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth”

Being just a fan of Jesus isn’t enough; we have to be a follower of Jesus, which is, by definition, a disciple of Jesus. Simply repeating a prayer after someone, raising your hands during worship, walking down in front of everyone doesn’t mean we will enter the gates of Heaven. We can’t just live for Christ on Sunday’s during church, but we have to live for Christ every day, all day, anywhere, and everywhere. We have to have a relationship with Christ, following Him in all that we do.

No one said as soon as you turn your life to Christ that your life will be perfect. Being a Christian is tough. Luke 9:23 says,”

“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross DAILY to follow me!”

We are told we must give up everything in order to be a follower of Christ. You see in the first passage we read, Jesus told the man to sell EVERYTHING he had. In order to be a disciple, we must give up everything we have. We have to deny ourselves and take up our cross DAILY. Not just Sundays or Wednesday, but EVERYDAY. In the passage of Luke that we read, it says that we must leave everything. He tells one man that He might not have a home. He tells the other man that He can’t say bye to his family. In order to be a true follower of Christ, we must give up ourselves and live fully for Christ. There will be times when we feel like God is nowhere near us. We might feel alone, confused, rejected, hurt, or whatever emotion there is, but if we are true followers of Christ, we remain faithful to him even in the deepest times because He is always there. He never leaves us nor forsakes us.

One of the reasons that I started Flood of Freedom is because I was focused on the Persecuted Christian. God taught me through the Persecuted Christian what it really means to be a follower of Christ. They risk their lives to study the bible, to pray, and to tell others of their faith, while we have a church on every corner and we have so many other idols in our lives. They give up everything; they risk their lives, their family’s lives, and their homes to follow Christ. They drop everything to be a disciple of Christ. Are we doing that? Are we giving up our desires and plans to follow God’s plan? Are we going out and giving up everything to follow Christ? I know I haven't been doing that in my life. When Jesus calls Simon Peter and Andrew (2 of the disciples) to follow him, they dropped their fishing nets, which were pretty much their lives, to follow Him. In my bible it says they IMMEDIATELY dropped their nets and followed. That’s what we must do. When God calls our name, we must IMMEDIATELY drop what we are doing and follow. We must obey!

When God calls us out of our comfort zone, we must go. I hate public speaking with a passion. If you were at the last service or heard me talk about it, you saw or know how nervous and stressed out I got. I like playing the background, not having the spotlight, but God called me to lead this which required public speaking. The only answer I could give was yes. No I’m not an incredible speaker, and I don’t feel like I was prepared to speak, but GOD DOESN’T CALL THE PREPARED; HE PREPARES THE CALLED! If God calls you to do something; go! You don’t have to have a seminary degree. You don’t even have to be the greatest speaker. You don’t even really have to say anything. The bible tells us He will do the speaking!

When God tells us to go somewhere, the only answer is yes. If God tells us to go sit with someone at lunch that is alone we must go, and we all know the feeling when we feel like we should talk to them, but we just don’t want to. When we feel that call, we shouldn’t say to God, “What will my friends think?” “I can’t talk to him, he doesn’t look like me.” Or “No, God I just won’t go” That shouldn’t be our thoughts or response. We should say, “Here I am, send me! What incredible thing do you have planned for this?” Philip could have easily said, “No God I just don’t want to go talk to that guy. He is different from me. What will all my friends and the other disciples think of me?” He didn’t say that. If you notice it says he RAN to the eunuch. If God guides, God provides. If he is calling us to go somewhere, there is a reason behind it. We might not know what the reason may be at the time, but the only thing we can do is obey and go.

“Making disciples” might not be as easy as saying follow Christ, we must build that relationship with that person. By building a relationship, we will form trust and able to talk to them about what it means to be a follower. Building a relationship with someone we might not usually build a relationship will open doors for them to see how you are living for Christ and why you act the way you do. God will use that for his glory and lives will be changed! It is our job to plant the seed; it’s God’s job to make them Grow. We have to plant in order for something to grow! We are commanded to go out. Some say they haven’t “been called.” Well, everyone is called to make disciples. It is everyone's mission to go out and proclaim the glory of God. You don’t have to have a fancy degree or anything. God does the work. Simply smiley at someone, helping someone out, building a relationship with someone, there are so many kinds of ways to plant that seed. We can’t just speak the word; we have to also live it! We have to show them even through the rough time, our God is still there. Even when we feel rejected and hurt, He is still there. God will heal. We have to teach the world what it really means to be a follower. We have to show them what it means to pick up our cross daily. We have to go out. No matter if we are at our schools, homes, neighborhoods, work areas, state, nation, or a foreign nation. We must go out and take the name of God to all places! Everyone must hear the greatness of our God. So are you willing to give up everything in order to be a follower and to make his name known? Are you picking up your cross daily? Are we fans or followers?

http://youtu.be/Wgg2KYdMpqc

http://youtu.be/iZByA0bFoNU

Flood of Freedom: Freedom From Sin

Getting Started
At the beginning of May, I was reading the book Radical by David Platt (which I strongly recommend). The first chapter or so was talking about how Platt went to an underground church in India where several people met in secret and risked their lives to study God's word. Throughout the book, Platt talked about being radical in our faith and doing whatever it takes to live for God. The book focused a lot on the persecuted Christian, and how they are prime examples of what it means to give up your life for Christ. While reading this book, God really spoke to me and showed me that I needed to be radical in my faith and "take up my cross and follow him" (Matthew 16:24). I felt God calling me to do something radical in my faith; something that brought followers together to focus on God and learn more about Him. I felt him calling me to just focus on scripture and prayer. No music. No fancy decoration. No object of worship. Just Him and Him alone. As I felt Him calling me, I was like, "hey this is a great idea. I want to do something like this!" But what I was really saying is, "Hey this is cool, but it's not actually going to happen." As a couple days and weeks past, God told me, "look I'm serious! This is going to happen!" I was talking to my friend Stephanie about the idea and she loved it and said she would love to help. I was excited, but in the back of my mind I was still like, "Yeah it's not going to happen!" Then, I was working out one day and the executive director of the Y that I work at saw me reading rereading Radical. He was talking to me about it and said that we could use the Y to meet. This was God both providing and saying, "I told you, Jess. It's happening!" So I met with Stephanie and Cameron, a youth pastor in Boiling Springs, and we set the date and talked about the night of worship. It was going to happen; all my doubt in the fact that it was going to happen, it was actually going to happen. I sat down one day just to brainstorm of what the service was going to look like, and God took off with it. He completely organized the entire service and showed me what to do! It was sooo amazing what God was doing. He provided everything from the planning of the service, to the money, to the name; He provided and planned EVERYTHING! God had something planned for Flood of Freedom; and I could not wait to see what it was.

The Name: Flood of Freedom
I remember sitting in my sister's room talking about this event. We were trying to decide what to name it and neither of us knew what to name it. We were just shouting out random ideas. When I prayed about the name, Lou immediately said, "What about Flood of Freedom?" It was God naming it, neither Lou nor I. The name Flood of Freedom represents that we have a Freedom to worship God but sometimes we take that for granted and focus on the object of worship instead of what worship is really about. Flood of Freedom represents that we need to take advantage of this freedom of religion in our country and be radical in our faith; telling others about God and meeting together in fellowship learning more about Him and growing in our faith. God planned all of the scripture and planned the themes of each Flood of Freedom event. The first Flood of Freedom was: Freedom from Sin. God told me that this is what we need to talk about and focus on. He told me, "I also want to focus on church/worship, love, evangelism, and prayer. Thus, coming up with the worship services, "Freedom of Church and Worship, Freedom of Love, Freedom to Evangelize, Freedom of Prayer. I then realized that God also called the services Flood of Freedom to show me these freedoms that are vital to our walk with Him. It was crazy to me to see how just a simple name of a worship event could have such a powerful meaning behind it.

Prayer
Planning this event since May, I prayed everyday. I prayed specifically for certain things, mainly that God would show up that night. The power of prayer was revealed to me in all of this. So many people were praying for this one night of worship. God answered all of the prayers for the night of worship! God taught me through all the prayer that He wants us to pray to Him. He wants to hear from us. He wants to answer our prayers. He wants us to declare our dependence on Him. He knows the whole picture when we only know a little, so we have to pray for "his will not ours!" (Mark 14:36) The power of prayer beyond belief! One of my favorite verses is Philippians 4:6, "Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything and present your request to God." Through all this planning up to the service and during the service, God really showed me what it meant to not worry about anything, but to pray to Him because He will take care of everything!

Freedom of Sin:
The Amazing Night of Worship
All day, I was freaking out and stressing out about the service. I was running all over the place trying to get things ready for the service. I was getting extremely nervous about what to expect and about talking in front of everyone because I am NOT a public speaker. I was running late getting to the Y to set up so it was making me even more stressed out. I couldn't think straight. I couldn't think of what needed to be done. I just froze. I was just stressed over everything going on. I was stressing about if people were coming, if it was going to be a good service, if it was going to go as planned. If you name something to freak out about, chances are I was freaking out about it! All the way up to the service I was just going crazy. As the service was starting, everything seemed to be  going wrong in my mind. I felt like nobody was there and nothing was going right. I really thought the night of worship that God had planned was a complete disaster. While I was up speaking and reading through the message I was so mad at God. I couldn't even pay attention to what I was reading or talking about. I was just thinking to myself, "God I prayed about this for 5 months and did everything you told me to do. Why are you not here? Why are you leaving me here and doing nothing. I was expecting you to do great things, you have really let me down!" All I wanted to do was close my bible and run away. Far, far away and hide from God, just as Adam did in the beginning! Half way through my message, I got sick. My body was pouring in sweat, my stomach was killing me, and I couldn't see straight. I rushed through the end of the message cutting about half of what I planned. I explained we were going into a prayer service, called up the first person helping me, and took off to the bathroom to find myself facing the toilet getting sick on my stomach. My face was completely pale and I just didn't know what to think of the night. Coming back to the service I just cried. I was just thinking to myself, "God what is going on? What are you doing? Please just tell me!" I was getting so angry with God and couldn't stand it any longer. Then I just stopped. Froze in my boots, well my chacos, and just prayed. "God take control of this. I can't do anything. This is all you. I know you have something planned for tonight, so I'm giving it all to you. Take it into your hands." Immediately my whole attitude changed and God showed up. During the communion part of the service I just broke down. God revealed himself to me and just called out to me. God's words were, "Jess, it doesn't matter about number of people there or following an outline of a service. I have it under control and I am here. I am always here! You did exactly what I told you to do, so let me do all the work! I have got something amazing plan. Let me be in charge. Thank you for being obedient to me. Now watch what I can do and what I have had planned all along." I was sitting with my brother and my dad, who I love so much, and just looked around the gym at everyone there. People praying together, crying, and just growing in their faith and seeking God. I felt the presence of God and just saw him at work. He definitely had something planned, and words cannot even describe how amazing it was. God had spoke to each person that night, especially to me, and just did some incredible things. I was so amazed to see the things God was doing and how everyone there was so eager to become one with God and to seek him! It was just so mind blowing the things that God did during that service. God just took me by surprise and just really did some incredible things that I could never imagine. God showed up during that service and I know this is just the beginning! All the prayers, He answered. All the  worries, He took away. All the doubt, He demolished. All the glory, He accepted. All the work, He did it all. God was in control of everything, and he changed lives during that service and really spoke to us and revealed himself to us. It was an amazing service, and it was a much needed night of worship!

The Things He Taught Me
During this night of worship and all the planning up to the service, God really showed me that He has everything under control and that He has a plan for it all! God is in complete control, and He knows the greater picture while we only know small bits and pieces. He taught me to just trust in Him and to be obedient to Him. If He is calling us to do something, the only answer is, "Yes, God! I will do it!" God really just spoke to me during the service and showed me that He is God and I am not. I need to let Him do all the work; I am just here to do what He tells me to do! He has a plan. Even in the chaos and stress, He has something planned and He is there with us through it all! God showed up; He did things I didn't even think were possible. It was a great night of worship! Words cannot even describe it!

God's Calling to Me
During this all, I have been focused a lot on the Persecuted Christian. I am working with Open Doors USA (visit opendoorsusa.org) which is an organization that works with Persecuted Christians. God has used this organization to teach me to be radical in my faith and what it really means to give up our lives for Christ. The offering taken up during the service (God raised $235) is going to support this organization. I have felt God calling me to continue working with Persecuted Christians and teaching others what it really means to live for Him. He has called me to let others around me know about the Persecuted Christian, and He has called me to use that to teach others about Him. I also felt God calling me to organize more services and things that will glorify Him. I have been blessed with organization skills and planning skills. With this gift He has blessed me with, I am using it all for His glory. Though I'm not the world's greatest public speaker (probably the world's worst), I know that God has blessed me with the gift of organization for a reason, and that reason is to glorify Him and teach others about Him by planning and organizing things to reach out to others. I am praising Him daily for blessing me with these gifts, and I plan on using them for the ongoing of His kingdom and His glory! I cannot even describe how great our God is! I am now living fully for Him, listening to Him, and only saying Yes to Him! Our God is amazing!


Thanks for all the support and prayers! I encourage you to be radical with your faith, and to seek God continuously. We need to obey God, and live for Him! Our God can do things beyond the imaginable! Praise Him. Seek Him. Study his word. Tell others about Him! Our God is an awesome God! All praise be to Him!