We had a youth leaders meeting tonite, which was a blast!! We (well at least I) had so much fun! And believe it or not we got a lot accomplished too! We have a great group of leaders here...I am especially excited about the Student Leaders. They are awesome, and so much fun to have on leadership as well! It's gonna be an exciting 2nd half of internship i'm sure!

Right now though...I am getting another cold coming on...(thank-you Joshua)...I really hope I can kick this thing before it gets bad, since I am flying out to Calgary this weekend...it'll really suck if I have a bad cold well I am there!....So, please pray that this cold goes away!

God is doing amazing things here among the youth!! And the great thing is that he is doing it through the youth!! Students have started a prayer meeting in the cafeteria at the school at 8:30am Mondays and Fridays. This is something I talked to a couple students about, but I did not start it, and I am not the one running it. In fact last Friday was the first time I was able to be there, and since Mondays are my day off, Fridays will usually be the only days I'm there.

So, the point is, this isn't me starting some program and running some program but this is something that some students have totally taken on themselves and run with! Last Friday when I was there I was able to talk to a bunch of students from the highschool that have never been to youth. A couple of them joined our group that morning (one of them actually praying out loud for the wrestling tourny at the school!!). Today I got an email telling me that a new girl joined the group today because she had seen them praying and has been wanting something like this! Students are watching their peers pray....they are asking questions...they are curious....some are rude....but they are noticing, they are seeing Christ's love in these students.....God is at work and it's amazing to see, and it's amazing to wait in expectation to see what He is going to do next...Come Lord Jesus, use these students...change lives, change this school, this community...this church...don't let us be lukewarm and spewed out of your mouth, but let us be Fresh Fire in this world...a people that honour you, and glorify you.
"The truth of the matter is that the devil is not terribly frightened by our human efforts and credentials. But he knows his kingdom will be damaged when we lift up our heart to God." (Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire)

$132 for babysitting 29 kids tonite.....how unworthit is that?

Myself, Jake and Mike and Tara went down to TO for Passion Toronto last night! Passion is a event that has been going on down in the States for the past 10 years. this was the first year that it was in Canada! Louie Giglio was the speaker last night, and is the one who stated the Passion events ten years ago. For those who don't know Giglio is one of my favorite speakers ever, so it was AWESOME to see him live! Giglio has co-written songs with the likes of Matt Redman and Chris Tomlin, so if you know any of their songs, chances are you have sang some of Giglio's lyrics. Chris Tomlin, Charlie Hall and David Crowder Band were all there last night! What a night of worship! Chris Tomlin was amazing!!! The one thing that I loved last night was that they did what Louie called "prayer triangles"....and various times throughout the night we would get into groups of threes and pray for various things (I was with two guys I didn't know names Allen and Liam..that was pretty cool)....It was a good way to get people actively involved in the event, instead of it just being a show for us.......all in all a great night....especially since it was free!

Yesterday I had an amazing day (half a day) away with Jake for a time of Prayer. We did what is called "Lectio Divina". What is that? Well as I learned it is a four step approach to guiding your quiet time with God. If I remember correctly Jake said that it originated from Pope Benedict (not the pope now, but one of the first Popes) The four steps are: Listen, Meditatio (Meditate), Oratio (prayer) and Contemplatio (contemplation). It was an amazing time! A verse that I focused on that day was:

Psalm 46:10-"Be still and know that I am God;

I will be exalted among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth."

I focused a lot on the simple phrase "BE STILL AND KNOW".......the following is just a bit of what I wrote when contemplating this phrase.

BE STILL AND KNOW........"that I am God"

-that I am Mighty

-that you are small.....yet so very valuable to Me; because you are Mine and I am yours!

-I am your strength

-I am ALL you need...your supply

-I am your inheritance

-I am beyond your grasp, your comprehension, your imagination, your dreams.

-I WILL do great things in and through you.....if you would just be Mine.....

BE STILL AND KNOW...

-I don't need you, but I want you.

-I love you

-I made you

-I knit you together

-I have plans that go way beyond your expectations!!

BE STILL AND KNOW...

-this is MY youth group

-this is MY church

-these are MY people

-you are MINE

-I've chosen you

-I've made you worthy

-I've given you ALL you need and more

-I will continue to bless you

BE STILL AND KNOW...

-that your strength is NOT enough

-but MY strength is yours in abundance

-that through MY strength all is possible--never doubt what I can and WILL do....and what I am doing right NOW!!

--that's just a bit, of what God was saying yesterday in my time away with Jake.....

Well, I have just returned from the SONLIFE Seminar. Although I was a little worried about it, and planning it was definately not one of my favorite things, I am sooooo glad we did it! It was awesome! I got a lot out of it, and I think it really spurred on a few things in our leadership! Dave Lane did a fantastic job and I look forward to keeping in contact with him about things. We had 14 people there...not a huge number but Dave says it's pretty good for an Ontario event. Overall this Seminar was more than worth all the work put into it!

Two things I absolutely love (not really) doing.
----Planning a SONLIFE Seminar
----Trying to find students for last minute fundraising things.

This is gonna be one fun week.......

"Christian leaders cannot simply be persons who have well-informed opinions about the burning issues of our time. Their leadership must be rooted in the permanent, intimate relationship with the incarnate Word, Jesus, and they need to find there the source for their words, advice, and guidance. Through the discipline of contemplative prayer, Christian leaders have to learn to listen again and again to the voice of love and to find there the wisdom and courage to address whatever issue presents itself to them....For Christian leadership to be truly fruitful in the future, a movement from the moral to the mystical is required." (Nouwen, 31,32)