Thoughts from Macy-Heart

After long conversations with close friends and relatives, I’ve become more and more sensitive to the facts of heart, or rather what we’re feeding our hearts. Matthew 15:18 says, “But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man ‘unclean.’” To really understand what’s in the heart, you have to see the heart under the most intense situations, for example: a bad day.

Consider this scenario: you’ve had a really rough day at work. On top of your boss yelling at you, you spilled a double tall mocha on your brand new white shirt. You trip on the random curb as you finally arrive at the place I hope you treasure most, home. What is the first thing you do? Maybe you run for the fridge to pull out your half pint of Ben and Jerry’s half baked ice cream, or perhaps you just go straight to the TV to numb out the days worries. Who or what do you first turn to?

The answer to this question, although it may seem simple, will tell what you fill the void in your heart with. Even a husband or best friend can take the place specifically meant to be filled by Jesus. That’s why you need to learn, as I am learning, to make God your default button. An easy to do this is to have a scripture on your tongue always, and for every occasion, that way when your boss comes in yelling instead of spiraling into self doubt and pity you first reaction will be, “He who loves discipline, loves knowledge, but he who hates correction is stupid.” So, friends I encourage you all to really observe the issues of your heart this week. Find out what God is trying to tell you to fix and fix it!

Thoughts from Tiffany- Mission

So over the past week God has been speaking to me through many different sources about my Mission in life, and how important it is. In our class on Leadership Management we are reading a book called Jesus On Leadership. In this book I have learned a lot about what a true leader looks and lives like. In Principle 5 “Take up the Towel” there were some things he said that jumped out to me. He said:

“When one becomes servant to the mission, that mission becomes the resolve (stead fast purpose) that is the basis of strong leadership during critical times.”

“Leaders falter in the face of challenge when they don’t have or fully understand the mission”

This struck me and really got me thinking about my mission in Life. Then we went to our Furnace spring retreat (Encounter) over this weekend. On Saturday we spent 1 ½ mapping and writing out our mission statement through a series of questions having to do with our passions and core values. It really helps to clarify what I should have my focus on in everyday life, and keeps my mind on God’s plans for me and not my own. I would encourage you to sit down and map out your missions statement to help direct your focus in life to God and His plans for you.

Thoughts from Aly- Ultimate Frisbee

Get this mental image. City Park in downtown Denver. 16 college students. Sunny skies. A light breeze. Patches of snow. Patches of mud. Dead grass. A Frisbee and a field covered in goose droppings. THE ULTIMATE FRISBEE GAME OF THE CENTURY! This past Saturday, we were in Denver for our Furnace Encounter. For the afternoon we split into 10 or so groups to go on excursions.

I led the excursion for Ultimate Frisbee. First we waited for the hotel courtesy shuttle for fifteen minutes. We decided to walk since the park was “not very far”. A mile and a half walk later, we finally arrived at city park. (We kind of cheated and used Google maps on someone’s phone because we were concerned about walking around aimlessly for hours). Most of the fields were covered in snow. In fact, there were children skiing on one of the soccer fields.

Finally in the distance we spotted an open field. It was free of snow, had trees lining one side, and had enough room to play a decent game of ultimate. Once we got closer, we came to the realization that it was free of snow but covered in goose poop. And I don’t mean just patches, I mean COVERED! Since we had already walked so far, we weren’t about to surrender now. We played for two hours. It was an intense game. Each team answering the other with points. Extreme competition was present...all this was accented by trying to keep our footing on the slippery field. Normally you don’t want to fall, but with goose poop everywhere you REALLY didn’t want to!

The ending score was 10-9. The last point took probably twenty minutes to score, but finally my team triumphed! By the end of the game, 3 out of the 16 of us were NOT covered in goose poop and mud. (I was one of the three!) It was absolutely incredible... easily the best Ultimate game of my life!

Thoughts from Whitney-Encounter

Hi Everyone! We just got back from our Furnace spring retreat: Encounter. God really opened my eyes to a lot. He made me realize true happiness only comes through Him, and the longer I go on trying to find my own way through life, the more unhappy I will become.

This past weekend taught me that I have to make an EVERY day commitment, not just a day or a week or a month or a year, but an EVERY day commitment to Him. Every day I tell God I am His, and I am committed to following His will. I find I am learning more everyday about Him with this commitment I am choosing to make daily. Although the commitment I have made this past week is a hard one, I know that His all-powerful will is all I need. No matter where He places me in the world, I will find joy and happiness.

Thoughts from Aimee- Trust

Growing up in a Christian home I always thought that I trusted God in every area of my life. I am slowly learning how untrue a statement that is. Whether it is a lack of money, a question about my future, or even a tragic event, I cannot comprehend how much my life is being revolutionized by the idea of trusting God.

Before this year, my life was stable. I knew what I would be doing the next year, that there was enough money to provide for my needs, and though there were at times tragedies, the negative effects were short-lived. Never before have I had to so fully rely on God. I have been utterly terrified by the thought that I am not in control of my life. Not having control goes against everything in my nature. I am a planner and a fixer, and for the first time in my life, I am not able to figure out how things in my life will work.

Fortunately for me, even with a somewhat chaotic life and unplanned future, I have a God who is faithful and mighty. God has promised I can trust in Him because He has an awesome plan for my life. God is not going to call me and then abandon me. I am on God’s side and He is going to guide me and take care of me.

Psalm 112:7-8 says:
He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD. His heart is secure, he will have no fear; in the end he will look in triumph on his foes.
My prayer is that my heart would be steadfast, trusting in the Lord no matter what my circumstances are. Life may not turn out the way I expect but God is faithful and trustworthy. There is no need to fear.

Thoughts from Cassie- Glory

The other day I was sitting in a prayer meeting and quietly singing along with the band. I was singing quite contentedly when I realized what the words were. They were, “Let your glory fall.” I thought struck me, what is glory? Not just any glory, but what is God’s glory? How can it fall? How can we give Him glory? Just some food for thought.

I looked up glory at dictionary.com and it really cleared it up for me, check it out http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/glory. It appears glory is also another word for beauty or splendor. I also looked up verses on glory and my favorite was:

2 Corinthians 3:17-18
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes fro the Lord who is the Spirit.

Bless you and may you discover the glory of God this week!

Thoughts from Alleli- Growth

I'm surprised the DIs haven't told me to shut up yet. I talk about "my girls" a lot...almost obsessively. Why? Because they're my girls.


One night, almost two years ago, I was driving with one of my girls, Lauren. We were talking about all the transition and change our church was going through. We had a new lead and youth pastor which brought a lot of change. Now, I don't necessarily do well with a lot of change. I was used to the way things were being done. I liked how things were being done; there was nothing wrong with it.

I told Lauren how I felt about all the transition and how I missed how things used to be done. She then said to me, "If you're not changing, you're not growing." That's a lot of conviction from somebody who's four years younger than me. Mind you, she was 14 at the time.

I'm 20 years old; change is inevitable. My parents are graciously taking care of my insurance payments as well as my cell phone bill. But sooner or later, I'm not going to be living in the comfort of my parents' financial umbrella. That's just one example of change I'll be going through shortly. I better grow and learn how to take care of my own financial needs.

So it got me thinking, if we're comfortable, typically we're complacent, we're apathetic, we're wasteful. It's not that we're losing ground, but we're not gaining any. There is nothing inherently wrong with being comfortable, but there needs to be a concious decision to gain ground and at least toe the line of something different.

Thoughts from Curtis-Real Faith

I was reading Psalm 27:2 “When the wicked come against me to eat my flesh my enemies and foes they stumble and fell. Though an army may encamp against me, my heat shall not fear; though war mat rise against me. In this I will be confident.”

I think that is a major declaration of how much David had faith in God and not man. I, for a long time, was really fickle with my relationship with God; on good days I would read my bible (and enjoy it). I was really in to worship and prayer and just felt good inside. But on bad days… it was really hard to come to the conclusion that God loved and cared about me.

As I read this the biggest part I see is we can’t let external elements determine our internal praise to God. You have to know in you heart that you will serve God in the good and bad times. Jesus never said it would be easy for us to live a life fully devoted to the pursuit of God. We know that there will be bumps in the road, but it's not about how many times you're hit; it's about how, when you get hit, if you are going to move forward and onward or back off.

I know this will not be a walk in the park, but if we put our trust in God, we can rest knowing greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world. We will overcome, and it does not matter what happens to us now. We will still be found in desperate pursuit of God.

Thoughts from Jasen- Introduction

Hey there


My name is Jasen Petersen. Over break I did a lot of stuff... mostly just sat around, but I went to see I Am Legend and National Treasurer 2. They were really good. I also had Christmas with my family, and that was awesome. I got to hang out with friends and just have fun. I received a lot of clothes for Christmas as well as a set of headphones and money. I want to encourage you to keep praying and reading your Bible.

Thoughts from Kelly-Radicals

Who are the radicals?? I can't count how many times I've been called a 'radical Christian' since starting this internship. When I think about it, I could've done anything, gone anywhere. I had close to perfect grades and was a multi-sport athlete. I had the whole world in my hands, yet I took a year off school, left behind everything I was accustomed to and comfortable with and began a journey I wouldn't have even been able to dream of. I intentionally left behind the world of my past and started towards something much bigger than myself: a quest towards God.

While talking to an old pastor of mine, I was charged with a question. In the conversation I had made mention of radical Christianity several times before he finally asked me, "Kelly, what exactly is a radical?" It stopped me in my tracks!! Here I was, proclaiming myself to be something I didn't even know the definition of. My pastor could tell I wasn't at all expecting the question and laughed a little, before expanding on his wisdom.

A radical is someone defined as extreme, so what then is extreme Christianity and where exactly is it modeled? A radical Christian is one who is sold out; one who is abandoned to a cause greater than himself. A radical is one who surrenders their all, for the all of their King. The conversation stirred something inside of me. How many times have I surrendered again and again before the cross, yet moments later try to control all that's occurring around me?

So I've made a conscious decision: I'm only picking up my cross, nothing of this world, none of my own desires, worries, or pain. Only the cross and with my cross I will strive to abandonment. I WANT TO BE SOLD OUT!! Anyone with me??