This was originally posted 9/25/2008, but I accidentally posted it as a page rather than a post. My bad. If you’re just now reading this, it’s kind of old news.

So we are back from the cruise and I tell you what… it was a blast, guys. It was an entire week long and we did everything from fancy dinners on the boat to traveling an hour to a jungle in Belize to zip-line from tree top to tree top.

While we were there we saw so many things that opened our eyes to how blessed we are in our every day lives. In Belize, there are only five stop lights in the entire country! There are some places in the country where people live without electricity in grass huts. Pastor Sam mentioned that when we become Christians, we are not joining A church, we are joining THE church. That means that we are joining hands with Christians all over the world and sharing in God’s glory with people from Africa to England to Belize!

The same joy that we experience every day because of the peace that Christ has given us, is the same joy that the people in Belize experience every day. It doesn’t matter to them whether they have a Mercedes or MTV, they have Christ in their hearts and that peace and joy surpasses any material thing they could ever own.

Remeber as you guys get ready for your next week what we talked about tonight!

KNOW THE GOSPEL / BELIEVE THE GOSPEL / SHARE THE GOSPEL

If we are unashamed of Christ, He will be unashamed of us and our every actions will glorify His name! God bless you all and I’ll see you on Sunday!

p.s. – The scripture we went over tonight was the first chapter of Colossians.

-The G-

Have you ever done something really stupid, but at the time you thought it was genius? Welcome to my 8th grade year(s). That’s right, there is an “s” after year. And it all started with a few friends getting together and deciding to fail 8th grade on purpose. 

You have to understand at the time I was still a teenager who was still reeling from a recently divorced home. I also had a group of idiot friends who were also trying to stay afloat in their own shipwrecked families. We were young, angry, and tired of adults telling us what to do. Can you relate?  So we decided to band together and make a stand – one which we thought was absolutely genius.  “You aren’t going to fail me this time. I’m going to fail you!”  That was the message we thought was going to be remembered as we all failed 8th grade. We expected getting some flack. But what we got was not what we predicted.

The next year most of my idiot friends were expelled, leaving me and my best friend Paul to return to the gawks and stares of our new classmates – the same classmates who were the 7th graders we made fun of the previous year. There is nothing more humiliating and annoying than to sit next to them in a class you already had, with a teacher you still can’t stand. Our once bannered genius idea was crashing into the realm of stupidity – an 8th grade realm that lasted 36 torturing weeks. Even though we survived and passed the second 8th grade year, Paul and I were both asked not to return.  

To this point in my life, I had been forced to go to church and endure the predictable services. I reluctantly sang the songs from the back row as I played with the half pencils located in the back of the seat in front of me. But one specific youth service, I was thinking why my life was so difficult when I realized that I was part of the problem. It wasn’t just my parents or idiot friends. I was responsible. Then I realized I didn’t want to live that same way anymore. I was tired of lying, being angry all the time, and sick of the tension I always felt. Maybe you know what that feels like, too. It was then when I started listening to my goofy youth pastor, and that night I also started listening to God. That is where I met Christ. Cue the sappy music and we all lived happily ever after? Not even close.

Going to a new school was hard. Starting out your Christian walk at a new school and not knowing anyone can be even harder. So I still stayed in touch with Paul even though we went to different schools.  Soon I began making new friends. But these new friends were different than the idiot friends I used to have at my old school. They actually brought out the best in me, rather than what happened when I was at my old school. I was invited to play volleyball with a few of them and I fell in love with the sport. But in order to be on the team I had to keep my grades up. But here is the lesson I wish to share -something changed in my life. I actually desired to keep my grades up! I even graduated top of my class. Now, was it because I suddenly got really smart? It was because what I valued had changed, and my behavior changed to reflect that. It was because I valued my new friendships, my new volleyball passion, and my new relationship with God that the way I behaved and acted in everything else had to follow and reflect that. But that is how we all act, really. If you really value something you protect it, guard it, feed it, and enjoy it, whether it be a hobby, career, relationship, or even a baseball card. Because I discovered my value in Christ, I was able to discover the value of living a life that brought value to others.

“For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” -Jesus Christ

What in life do you treasure the most? Where is your heart? Is what you value the same as what God would want you to value in your life? What’s in your “wallet” in life?

P.S. If you are wondering what ever happened between me and my friend Paul, that is another life lesson for another blog…

Pastor Dani Karvonen

What up Groundswell,

I was reflecting on a couple of things this week and thought that I would share them with you. As we saw last week – God is huge. So many times we try to shrink God down to our size in an attempt to understand Him. We never will understand the complex perfection of God. With things that are out of our control we just have to have faith that God really is perfect and things are never out of His control. I’m sure all of you heard about the death of Taylor Haugen, the senior who attended Niceville High School. When tragic events like this happen, people’s first reaction is to question God – to ask why God took this individual. What we have to realize is that God doesn’t come to kill or destroy, and when somebody is taken from us, we have to realize that the all-powerful God does have a plan that will use this tragic event for His glory. We may not understand it, we may not even see it in our lifetime, but I believe that will be one of the best parts of heaven – to be able to look back on events that happened in our lives that were hard and see situations with God’s plan. We’ll look back and say, “Man, if I only knew that would happen because of THAT.” Until then, however, we have to have faith that God knows what He’s doing. If you guys were at Groundswell last week, it’s pretty obvious looking at our universe that He does. I’ll write a little bit later this week. Feel free to respond to this and tell me what you guys think. Remember – NO GROUNDSWELL THIS WEEK!!!!!!! I’ll see you guys either on Sunday or next week on Thursday at 5:30 at the Waldens’. Lata!!!