Faith

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see(Hebrews 11:1). I was thinking about how this verse really applies to what we're going through now. We hope for our houses to sell, and they will. It may just take time. Most of us do not see buyers, but we know they are there somewhere. Soon(hopefully) we will be able to look back and see how God was faithful, but now it seems we'll never sell our houses, never find a buyer. But if we have faith, we will be able to trust God more and more. This is a growing time and we will grow in faith as we go through it.

~Do Hard Things Book Study~

Ok, so I think now is a good time to finally start our book study of Do Hard Things. Of course, everyone is familiar with this book, written by Alex and Brett Harris and based off their conference, which most of us went to. I would like to do this book study for a couple of reasons, first because this is a good book. It is not the most amazing book ever written, but I think it is a book that will help us realize what God is doing right now through us. I hoping that the truths that Alex and Brett share in the book will inspire me and you to shoot for something more out of our little collection of youth and strive to make a difference in Mooresville and Kannapolis and everywhere in between and around. So although this is old material, try to read with an open, expectant heart that God will do great things as we do hard things. The second reason is to give us an opportunity to share with each other about our lives and what we struggle with and what we are growing in. That's what a church is all about.

That being said, know that I look forward to what all of you have to say and I know that God will use it to serve me as well. Please spread the word (if you enjoy the study!) to your friends- the more, the merrier.

For the first discussion: Read chapters 1-3. I know this is review and basically word-for-word from the conference, so you can read fast, but read it! Read the little blurb I wrote a couple months ago about things to think about. Post here what God is speaking to you. Comment on what others are saying. Suggest questions of your own for others to think about. Try to finish the section of the book by June 30th.

My thoughts:
I think we'll start our book study by reviewing the conference. So we'll start with the first and second sessions. The first session was about the Harris' twins' experiences. Feel free to post whatever thoughts you had about these. However, I want to focus on the second session, taught by Alex. The topic was low expectations, and how our culture artificially set expectations low for teenagers. In times past, people of our age were accomplishing the work of adults. Today, all we're expected to accomplish is having our beds made, and not even completing a chore until we become 16. So my questions are:
- What are your expectations for yourself?
- What are your parent's expectations of you? Do you meet them? Are their standards too high or too low?
- What do you require from yourself?

A Do Hard Things Book Study

So how many of you are interested in discussing Do Hard Things as we all go through it, using this blog? Alex and Brett just released a study guide for the book, which we could use, or not. Either way, I think it would be a great way to keep these truths alive in our minds and help each other grow.

But this will take participation... I am not going to write up a discussion point from the book every week to only have one person (or nobody) respond.

So what do you think?

More Announcements

We are having a volleyball and badminton tournament at our house Saturday, May 31 for those 12 to 16. If you did not get my e-mail, or have not RSVPed please do so at mjlukavsky@yahoo.com.

More stuff....

~Announcements~

Some things going on this week:

May 31- The Dunham's are moving! Another great serving opportunity

Also, our dear Ming is graduating. Congratulations, Ming!

June 1- Guy's cooking competition (for those 16 and older, for space reasons). Come to Susie and Jessica's house at 6:00 for some fun and fellowship and to watch the guys sweat it out before our panel of judges. Guys are cooking either desserts or appetizers and girls are providing dinner and prizes.

New Attitude goodness

~Charlie's Thoughts~

So some of us have just returned from New Attitude, so I thought I'd give you a summary.

In short, it was amazing. Yes, it was great to be with 3,499 other godly singles, singing, praying and fellowshipping together. Yes, John Piper, CJ Mahaney, Mark Dever, Al Mohler and Josh Harris are incredibly gifted speakers. And yes, the NA Band is quite talented. But all this would have meant nothing if God were not present. But He was! Every worship time was wonderfully joyful, and I could feel the Holy Spirit's real presence. As we sung time-honored songs, He made their truths really clear to me. I found myself jumping for joy all week. Meanwhile, the messages, all centered around the theme of valuing God's word, were very interesting and immensely practical. Every morning we also had community groups (kinda like care groups with 300+ people) where we discussed the previous day's messages. Although I thought my use of the bible was actually a strong suit of mine coming in, I quickly realized how much I can grow. The Bible is not a task, something that is read every day like a school textbook. It is the words of God, speaking to me, more beautiful and more worthy than anything you can imagine- my delight. Also, I realized how much I need that time spent meditating on God's words every day in order to keep from being bogged down in my self-concern. And finally, I need to memorize scripture so it's there with me in temptation.

What you should do:
- Download the messages: http://www.newattitude.org/liveblog/
- At the above site, you can view the live blog written at the conference, which summarizes the messages
- Before listening to the messages, list here what you currently do as far as daily devotions if you like. The point is not to compare but to share helpful techniques you have used or confess areas where you are not as strong.
- After listening to the messages, post what you think you should change about your view of the Bible

I will ask Stephen and Ming, who were also at the conference to sum up their thoughts as well for your encouragement.

In Christ,
Charlie

Interview with Brett and Alex Harris

Here is a interview with Brett and Alex Harris. Check it out HERE. It's a radio interview, so this is not a moive. It had me stumped at first.