VELOCITY

Of all the stories being told of the amazing Velocity trip, blobs and all, I would like to first touch on the serious side of camp. I will write a fun entry later, but all joking aside, God did an anwesome work at Velocity. Not that I expected anything less, because when you get together over 80 people already in love with God, and stick them in a camp with no cell phone service and appetizing food to distract them, great things will happen- And they did.

I must first say that I have never seen a whole room of people jumping and dancing like I did the last night of camp. Not one person could I see standing still; shy and bold alike joined in the marvelous praises to our God.
It is a picture that though not taken with a camera, will remain vivid in my mind.

Each person went to Bob Cooper for different reasons, undoubtedly expecting different things.

I didn't know what to expect. May I share my story with you? I share not to pour my heart out to you, but in hopes that pouring out my heart to God on paper will inspire you to do the same.
If you wish to continue and read, please do. If not, know that God has been glorified for 5 days by His children at NSM, and I hope it will not cease.

The Lord is so much more faithful than I could ever deserve. How wonderful it is to know that we don't have to be perfect to receive His blessing and hear His voice. A lesson I am continually learning, it seems I would have this in my heart at all times. But such are the ways of a fallen soul. I cannot pretend that I am always happy, and for this point in my life I have discovered through trial and error the root of my restleness. It is true what they say, that you become so tired mentally and even physically when you try for perfection ad battle within your soul to accomplish everything on your own. This past month has been grueling as I failed again and again to realize my source frustration is because of an unwillingness to hand everything to God. Something I thought I had been doing, and didn't realize until I was invited to Velocity....

I had been inside holding such a prideful spirit and a selfish attitude, that tore up my spirit of willingness. I quickly went from serving to please God to pleasing man.
Thinking every aspect of I service I was doing to honor Him and changing areas of service due to inward frustration, I slowly realized that I clothed myself in a selfish spirit because I performed my tasks in hopes of human recognition. Lack of self-confidence in positions I held in every area of my life was the perfect foothold for the devil to destroy my sense of peace and self-control. Like the climbing wall I attempted on the last day of camp, so internally was I grasping for a handhold I couldn't reach. One by one, the enemy took my footholds of confidence, peace, and suffiency in God and replaced them with slick walls of self-depreciation and pride.

All this to say it was by no accident that after much deliberation, I chose to attend youth camp. My first trip to any summer camp,ever- was Velocity-July 29-Aug.2. Five days I will never forget as one of the most humbling experiences of my life thus far. I may only be 18, but age has no bearing on how many worldly frustrations attack when you allow them.
As I lay one night wondering why I was making such a big deal about whether or not to serve at a youth camp, I realized my decision rested not on my desire to go or not go, but on an inward struggle of service for God vs. man. I know God realizes how very hard-headed I am with making decisions, so I begged Him to reveal His will to me. He was inducive to my selfish request and followed the next day with a sign too clear to miss, and so began my excitement for this camp called Velocity. God practically rolled out a red carpet of opportunities for me to attend this 5-day camp.
I did not force myself to read my Bible or write in my journal, but rather rested in God and engulfed myself in the worship made to Him. He blessed me by sending encouragement my way, along with a couple humbling moments, as I released myself in all out worship to Him.

Shortening my story, all I want you to know is this: Like God says in the Bible, every member of the body of Christ is vital. We make no impact for God and confuse other parts of the body of Christ, when a foot or an eye strives to be a hand or a mouth. Don't let this lie ruin your part in the body of Christ.
I know my attitude of late has been undesirable, and my performance of duties has been severely lacking, and all because of an ungratefulness of spirit towards a God who fixed talents in myself that are unique only to me.
Velocity allowed me the opportunity to release my worries of striving for perfection and worship God in the way I best know how- through my talents, and my talents only.

Amen!

Wow, this explains every thought I could never put into words. But exactly how I feel!



"You cannot legislate the poor into prosperity by legislating the wealthy out of prosperity. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that my dear friend, is the beginning of the end of any nation. You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it."
Adrian Rogers, 1931

Agnese

Wow. I am so excited beyond words tonight! About an hour or maybe an hour and a half ago, I got a call from a strange number I didn't know. I answered it to hear a foreign voice to say, "is this Sarah?"; She said "this is Aggie!"

Agnese Tilinde is my friend from Latvia, a small baltic country between Europe and Russia. She has been my long distance friend for over 7 years now. Our friendship started when I was around 12, and sent a Operation Christmas Child box to her, (not knowing to where it would go) fr the first time in 5 years, I received a response from the child who received my box. Only she was two years older than me! And to my surprise, following the speculations formed about foreign countries, she spoke English! And so began the correspndence- she, 14 years old, I-12 years old. Now at ages 18 and 20, we are still friends today and finally to meet face to face!

She informed me in a letter a week ago that she has been in North Carolina for the past 4 months or so, and will be vacationing in Myrtle Beach. To my surprise, she is making a special trip to Charleston to see me!

I just cannot contain my excitement as I think how God can bring two girls from two sides of the world, to be so different yet so similiar! The more we spoke the more I realized that despite her accent, (and the fact that I have been pronouncing her name wrong all this time) that we have a lot in common.

She is Catholic, but understands the heart of God, and I believe, genuinely loves Him as I do.

The past few weeks for me have been rough. I am going through the stage of life in which I must realize my importance in society and prioritize my time and capabilities to find where it is God would have me. Applying to college, starting a new job, and finding a car have brought blessings and strife to my mental state as of late, and produced less thinking, but the desire to do more writing than ever before.

So this is my first composition in too long, to say that through the stress, God has brought me an encouagement.

To hear a girl my age, from a different country, but in the same situation in life, to say that when she distresses, she thinks of God and the plans He has for her, and how thankful she is, has humbled me to the point of sorrow.

Sorrow for neglecting God in my decisions of late and instead of thanking Him for what I do have, blaming Him for what I don't. I cannot change overnight, and my feelings will waver, but I now think of how Agnese, with less churches in her country than we have in this state, blesses God for her life, that I, in church 8 hours a week, have so much to learn.

Thank the Lord that He has made everyone different, and as she said, though each our countries and people have their faults and bad, we will look at the good and similiarities, and see the beauty of God through each.

Cry of the Free

It seems as though we try so hard
only to be stopped
They supress what we say
only because they want what we've got

Freedom isn't free
it is said just so
but there's more to the adage
something you must know

The men and women in uniform
who fight for our rights
are not the only ones in battle
on the horizon brews a storm-it is clear in sight

Capitol Hill and courtrooms, townhall
they're part of a war that ensues
one just as brutal
where just as many fall

But a war it is, not of violence
and or blood
rather tis one of principles and of laws
a torrential moral flood

To have absolute truth
is to be absolutely right
to posess the sword of words
is to be armed for the fight

When all the lights dim and cease
all's unfair in war and peace

the enemies start their prowl
what they yell is hateful and fowl

And we cry peace, peace, peace

Drop the party lines
let the platforms fall
partisanship kills
we are all one, one in all

Our heritage stands the same
from the Root of our past
but the branchig leaves differ
and explode off with a mighty blast

You may speak of a world of hope
but hope we only dream
because the line of fire has begun
I see they're falling in the stream

We are mighty warriors
different race, color, dissent
but who comes we are from one
mighty Lord from whom we are lent

They tear away our rights
they rip away our pride
they think we must be fools
think our passion will subside

Fools we may be
passion we may roar
but for this country we would die
we love it to its core

again cry the men
peace! but there is no peace
we won't let down our guard
til we bend a mighty crease

A crease to the sheet
of radicals that lurk around
as we watch our morals fade
we watch them shatter to the ground

Silent no more!
let the majority be heard
we must stand for our rights
we must be heard!

Passionate I am
radical I am not
look into my face
see how my heart is wrought

America is my home
forever it will be
but if I stand not now
could it cease to be free?

"When pigs fly we'll get our money back"

I just realized that I never wrote a followup piece on the Tea PArty. Well now that the excitement of the moment has faded, I may be writing with less pizzaz. but writing, nonetheless.

The Tax Day Tea Party in Charleston was what I consider the epitome of patriotism. There were no riots to overthrow the government, no plots to dethrone the President (despite what CNN tells you), but there was a spirit of freedom that you just can't experience while sitting back and watching the news. Truth is, this movement is a cry from a worried but thankful people. We are so thankful for the land that God has given us in which we can practice what we believe. But we are worried that that freedom could be in harm's way in disuise as this "stimulus package". What we fear is simply that the stimulus package is not stimulating the economy. It is stimulating the wallets and digging us further into debt. Despite what Presidents and Politicians may think, spending more money is not necessarily going to produce more money. We must first take a step back and evauluate what caused this economic downfall in the first place.

Short history: as Sarah sees it, (I like speaking in third person, it adds more oomph, don't you think?) our Nation as a whole has relied on credit for too long. The Deomcratic party in cahouts with financial loan and mortgage broker companies lent more money than was plausible. Not pointing fingers or blame, but it kind of all started when President Nixon took us off of the gold standard. The gold standard states that for howver much money is printed, it is backed by an equivalent of gold in Fort Knox. By neglecting this smart rule of accountability, we "opened a Pandora's Box" if you will, and started handling money like a 13 yr. old girl with a credit card.

"Stuff" we simply didn't need we started financing, and loaning, and borrowing, and all that technical jargon I will avoid. And in the 90's when President Clinton progressed our already semi-open trade with China (started also by Nixon), we stopped buying all of our good ole American products and started paying cheaper prices for cheaper made products from China, Thailand, Indonesia, etc.
Both of these principles were broken that the respectable Ronald Reagan had kept in place.

But back to the party: I heard people, young and old, from a Citadel knob cadet to a retired Veteran, speak of erecting morals and responsibilites to hold ourselves accountable, as a nation, as a people, instead of pointing fingers and shoving our problems off onto government and etc. We don't need more taxes by government, by golly thats why we left England!

The most instructive speech I feel was made by our own Governor Sanford. The poor man has been doused in blame and destructive words for rejecting governments handout for our schools.
Gov. Sanford realizes that if we dont fix this problem now, and take the consequences for our own problems, that these children we are worried about indoctrinating, I mean teaching now, then they will have to pay for our mistakes later. Its a shame that we should be as selfiish as to take money claiming its for the benefit of the child, when one day they will have to pay double for their education. They will be taxed for the handouts we recieve.

I hope you understand where the issue lies. It's not about parties, platforms , and pigs. It's about families, fundamentals, and faith. If we dont stick to our guns now, they're going to backfire and kill this way of life we call the "American Dream".

Charleston Tea Party

I don't have time to write at the moment but here are some pictures of the Charleston Tax Day Tea Party! Check back later to read about it.

-Sarah

Spot o' tea anyone?

Many Americans have been surprised and appalled at the amount of wasteful spending put forth in the new "stimulus package". WIth the belief of the impossibility for any of the senators and congressmen to have fully read and approved of everything provided for in this bill, we are standing together to find out more information about and make strides to make the voice of the people heard concerning these and other issues. I am not quite sure what is all entailed in this one hour meeting, but I do know that it is beneficial to any conservative Aerican to make be a part if this day in history. And if you don't know anyting about the situation going on in our country, or in the news, all the more reason for you to join! I am sure you will obtain all the informaton needed to understand the problem and inform those around you.
If you live in Charleston, SC, here is your opportunity: Charleston, S.C. – Wednesday, April 15, from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Old Customs House building, East Bay St. and Market St.

If you live somewhere else, chances are there is one happening in your area too! Simply go to scroll down and find your state and city.

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?fa=PAGE.view&pageId=91398



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