2-26-13: Past Weekend = CHRIST-FILLED AWESOMENESS

Hey there!

Ok, I know the title isn't a real word, but I don't know any other description.

It started out on Friday with a Dominican rapper at Willow Creek, and that was awesome because as I'm going to the DR (Dominican Republic) in 26 days, and it was cool to experience their love of music! I didn't understand most of the lyrics, as they were in Spanish and I take German and know, obviously, English, but just how into the music the rapper and other fans were...overwhelming. I cannot WAIT to go to the DR!

Then Saturday, I went to Winter Jam 2013, which was just...I don't even know how to describe it. It's essentially a Christian concert with about 8 artists and a guest speaker. The main (well-known) artists there were Matthew West, Sidewalk Prophets, and TOBYMAC!!! Though I'm super disappointed that they had my favorite band as the pre-show act, and didn't have them as part of the main concert, even though they were part of the lineup: Capital Kings! Their debut album came out on January 8th, so they're fairly new, but they've gotten amazing reviews, and I LOVE them! They're AWESOME! They use a mix of dubstep, rock, electronic, and hip-hop, and just the whole mix is insane! They've also been featured in some songs with TobyMac. I did, however, get to talk to one of the artists, so that was SOOO cool!

Sunday, we had the rapper at Student Impact as a "surprise". That's in quotations because he told me on Friday that he'd be there, but told me to keep it a secret as that was meant to be a surprise. It was SOOO hard not to say it to my DR team, but I SOMEHOW managed not to. Then in youth (house) group, we did the Harlem Shake...it was SCARY. It's part of a competition throughout Impact that was started by Streamwood when they made one and are now challenging everyone else to make one. Here's ours: Barrington West Harlem Shake. Wish us luck!

2-8-13: God, HELP!

Hey guys and girls,

Major prayer request today. It seems like every day brings new troubles and I know it's impossible for me to get through on my own, and I need God, but sometimes the anger and fear and tears wipe Him from my mind. Please pray that I remember He's with me through the struggles and the good?

Anyone interested in knowing more depth as to my emotions, please check out my poetry blog, Many Worlds Set In Few Words. It has more explanation as to what I feel. I express my emotions better through poetry than simple words.

Here's the poem I wrote today, though. It gives you an overview as to what I feel in a nutshell:

My Savior, SAVE ME!

LORD, these things seem to happen just to me,

Most of what I do these days: cry in bed,

LORD, please uncover my eyes, let me see,

What are your plans for me waiting ahead?

God, all troubles happen for a good cause,

But all I see now is this deep, cold black,

I’ve been stabbed many times, I’m clothed in gauze,

I’ll break in two with one more ax’s hack.

Father, save me from this place; I’m dying,

I feel so abandoned, I need You near,

I always say I’m ok, I’m lying,

The real truth is that I’m filled with fear.

Creator, hold my hand, walk me through this,

My Savior, help me escape this abyss.

2-5-13: Blast info follow-up

Hello ladies and gentlemen,

Sorry it took me so long to get around to the additional information about Blast last weekend. I've been fairly busy with stuff with friends and not feeling great (emotionally and physically).There's just been a lot of stuff going on which I'd rather not get into much. Bottom-line, I've had a bad few months with losing friends. Though I've got to say, the friends sticking around, they're AWESOME! I was texting this one friend (name not mentioned) about it and I hadn't been even smiling for days, and of course in one text from him I went from crying, literally crying, to laughing and smiling! Also, he reminded me that I don't need the love from my friends to be ok, because Jesus is the ultimate love and comfort, and He is all I need. That helped SOOO much.

Ok, now I'll get to what I promised last week: the Blast full summary.

So for anyone who hasn't gone to Blast or Sandblast, it's one weekend (Blast: leave Friday, back Sunday; Sandblast: leave Friday, back Monday) and the Saturday night session (service) is the emotional service, as in it's always really deep and often brings people to tears. However, in my case at least, it wasn't that great. The worship, though, brought me to tears, especially when we sang This Is Amazing Grace by Bethel Live. That literally brought me to my knees. "Jesus I sing for all that You've done for me."

However, I also had several friends stand up when Bryan Jones, our pastor, asked anyone who'd gone from a fan to a follower. If you're a fan, when you get into a situation where being a Christian may be a bad thing, you'd leave your faith. However, if you're a follower, no matter what situation you're in, Jesus will always be your refuge and never deny being a Christian. That was by far my favorite part: seeing my friends stand up.

That's just about all I can say that can be a summary without giving you the whole session.


So, for my prayer request, it isn't for me. It's for my friends who stood up. Could you please pray that they continue to stay confident in their faith and don't back down when times get hard? I've seen it happen before, and it's disappointing sometimes.

I also want to remind everyone that if anyone's interested in coming to Student Impact, don't feel bad if you've either never been to church before or haven't been to Willow before! Everyone's welcome, and everyone's greatly encouraged to come if they wish. Something I hear often is the person invited doesn't know anyone who goes, but don't let that hold you back! If you've been invited, you know the person who invited you, and you'd be surprised who you might find out goes.

Praying for you all and always keep God at the center of your life!

Don't forget to comment!