An Evergreen Forest is What We Need..

This is something I was given, clearly to share. It sounds a little rough, so please, offer suggestions.. :)

Evergreen

What is this life, should we really be trying?
To do something here if we’ll just end up dying.

What can we do that would leave quite a mark,
Enough to ignite from just one tiny spark.

There’s got to be something, that’s why we are here:
To serve the Lord’s purpose and draw others near.

I’ve got to be willing to trust in His will,
I must run the next mile, climb the next hill.

I give you my life and ask that you please,
Allow me to live like the evergreen trees.

To live all year round and not just in season,
Your Son as my light, I need but one reason.

Help me to do the work that you’ve planned,
Mold me and guide me with your perfect hands.

Lead me beside the sleeping, still waters,
Teach to love all your sons and your daughters.

Lord, Jesus, I trust that you hear my prayer,
For you are my God, and you’re everywhere.

Father I pray that you hear my hearts cry,
I want to serve you til the day that I die.

Trailing His Path

The first night we stayed in Atlanta, Georgia, I had no bed. I had set a mattress aside for myself like everyone else, but somehow mine went missing.



I had been in the bathroom, brushing my teeth. I was worn out from a long car ride and ready for some shut eye. I wandered to the guys room, most everyone else already falling asleep. There were still a couple guys awake, competing over who could expel toxics into the air the most vehemently. I entered and walked to where my mattress should've been, a couple not yet asleep hands groped at my legs to see if I would trip. My mattress wasn't there. I did not panic, however, not yet. I realized I was in a tricky situation now..



See, I pack really light. I can make do with a carpet if there's no bed to be found. So, naturally, I had left pillow and blanket at home, bringing only a towel which I would use for showers or swimming. First I got out my heavy clothes because the air conditioning was on high. I put on my jeans and big sweatshirt hoping for insulation and cushion against the air and hard wood floor. The I draped my five-foot long towel over my six-foot, three-inch self..I was not comfortable.



Fortunately, Nick was laying close by and saw my predicament. He pushed his towel over to me so that I'd have a pillow. Thanks Nick :)



However, the two towels and sweatshirt did very little to make the hard, cold floor comfortable. So I lay there on the floor for about an hour and a half, listening to my comforting iPod, and trying to get comfortable, but failing miserably.



I must've drifted off, because I woke up from a half sleep, feeling like I'd never fallen asleep. I looked at my clock it read about 1:30 a.m. So I must've dozed for a half hour or so. I lay back down again and wandered the corridors of artists on my iPod. I woke up again, still feeling wide awake. I looked at my clock, thinking it must be almost 6 a.m. and that I'd only have to wait another half hour to get up with everyone. It was 3:30 a.m... I couldn't stand it anymore. I was so sore and I was cold, and as tired as I knew I was, I was wide awake and not going to sleep again any time soon.



I got up and grabbed my Bible from next to me. It was in a cover, so I had stuck a few thin Bible related materials in with it before I had left along with the lines for my pirate drama. I tip-toed around limp, snoring bodies (oh yes, the snoring was terrible..) quietly opened the door and snuck into the hallway.



It was lit; it was the only light they kept on inside at night. I walked to the end and looked out the glass door. The alarm wasn't set on the door, but it was locked, so there was no wandering out into the Refuge's well-lit parking lot. Instead I meandered down a side hallway. I looked at all the different pictures nailed to the walls, painted by some of the kids at the shelter. They were cute pictures of the "bride and groom," the "sower and the seeds,""Spiter-man and Soper-Girl." There were also a few interesting and inspiring quotes pasted on the many doors on either side of the hall.



I simply walked. Back and forth along the same hallway. I wrote down a few of the verses and a few of the quotes, ones that stood out to me. After about a half hour of this, I went into one of the meeting rooms, it was open already, and looked around. I looked out the windows: it was quiet outside, warm too. But the outside world was sleeping. I turned on the light in the room and went over to one of the walls where there were a few shelves with objects of various sizes on them. One of the objects was a simple picture with two sentences on it. "Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead to where there is no path and leave a trail."



It was one of the most inspiring things I'd ever heard. I had to write it down. I wrote it down. I had to write more. I sat down. I unzipped my Bible cover and looked for something to write on. The only thing I could find was my script, so I took it out and flipped it over, to the blank side of the page. And wrote....

Do not follow where the path may lead,
Go instead to where there is no path and leave a trail.
For surely with love you will find what you need,
And through time you will see that His grace will prevail.

Our God does not ignore those who are faithful,
He will bless all of you that are true.
We've been given a heart as well as a soul,
That's all that He's asking from you.

Jesus gave up His life, so we could live on,
Eternally after we die.
Obey His commands, on Rock build upon,
Do or do not, there's no "try."

Watch over His people, lead all of His sheep,
Feed them with His Holy Word.
Beware of the darkness, it snarls and creeps,
Keep it away from His herd.

In all that you do, give it your all,
Give only one-hundred percent.
For all that you give for the Lord on most High,
Is just a fraction of what's already been spent.

While I'm Waiting

I feel so stuck. It's like I went from speeding in life's fast lane to being stuck in driving school again.



I just got back from a missions trip to Atlanta, Georgia where my youth group held a four day vbs for the most amazing children I've known so far. During the trip, I felt hot. not quite on fire yet, but smoldering, ready to explode at the very first opportunity.



Now I'm back home though. Stuck. I tried to bring the heat home, but my family thought I was just radical and slightly crazed and let it slide like they would a stupid joke. They don't have the same passion that I feel.



I want to serve the world. Before going to Atlanta, I knew I had a serious interest in missions. I didn't know how serious, something on the side maybe, I was still trying to figure that out. While I was there, though, I decided that there was nothing I could ever do with my life except serve others in similar ways to what we did in Atlanta. There'd certainly be something, or maybe a couple things on the side so I'd be able to support myself and my family, but my main focus is, and I hope it will always be, to serve others.



I don't know what my plans are yet. The choice between college or something different is so close for me already. My parents are really pressuring me to go to college to go through with a good major "just in case it doesn't work out." Especially my mom..My dad was the same way for a while, but he's sort of sat back recently, To see how it all unfolds I suppose, before he comes out with his wisdom. And I do mean that. Everything he says will happen as a result of my choices always seems to happen, whether it's playing video games, how hard I work on my homework, or relationships. Part of it might be that I have to obey what he says and I'm pushed towards his predictions, but I know that there's always some truth in what he says. God bless them both for what they're trying to do for me. They don't want to see me fail and I appreciate that. But I have another path for my life.



I've been talking to people in my church to find out more about Lee University, a Christian college in Tennessee. I'd like to find out more about it. I've also heard about a program called Master's Commission which sounds just like what I've looking for for a while.

Yesterday night, I was at a Bible study for college/pre-college students. We were talking about rejection that night and Mike asked us to share about a time in our lives when we had faced rejection. No one raised their hand at first, so I tentatively raised mine. Not because I was afraid to share, but because mine didn't have to do directly with rejection. My question was basically this: When there's somewhere you know you need to get to in your life, but can't because important people in your life are holding you back, what do you do? Another student voiced a very similar question right afterwards. Mike quickly caught on to the "important people" and told us that our situations were only a little tricky.

Firstly, we must obey our parents while we are under their roof. That is one of our commandments, "Honor Thy father and thy mother." Otherwise, your road from there on will be screwed. If our parents are keeping us from moving forward, there's obviously a good reason for that. One that even they might not fully grasp. Look at it this way. You want to live out the call you've received from God. The only thing standing in your way is one of His commandments. Clearly, God is telling you to WAIT. I don't want to wait, so it's hard for me. When it's the right time, God will release you. When it's the right time, you will be on fire, hotter than you've ever been. You'll be most effective for His purposes for you.

Obviously we're not jsut supposed to sit around on our behinds doing nothing, waiting for the phone to ring one day to hear a strange voice say "It is the right time..." We have to be working constantly, grinding away at our vices and building up our virtues. Mike also said this: What we become when we are working for God is basically a blown up version of what we are now. That means not only our near perfections, but also our imperfections will be 10 times bigger for everyone to see. We've got to be constantly active to become the individual that God wants us to be.

When Mike told us that I knew that was exactly what I had needed to here. The command to just wait. I've been so eager to get off my chain and go all out, but I haven't been considering that I'm not ready yet. And now that I've realized this, it all makes perfect sense to me.

Not everyone who feels stuck in the slow lane right now is facing the same obstacles. For some people, they thik it's their age, or they can't find the opportunities they're seeking. God has perfect plans though. We need to sow the seeds in our field NOW so that we're ready THEN when the rains come.

While I'm waiting I will serve You.

While I'm waiting I will worship.

While I'm waiting I will not faint.

I'll be running the race even while I wait.