so here's the deal...

okay well i said that i wasn't going to write about this... but i just sent this email to my youth pastor and i think i did a pretty good job of summing up most of the things i wanted to say. so i'm just going to post it here. (making changes where necessary).

"okay so the past few months i've felt like something was missing in my relationship with Christ. i knew there was something else, and i knew that i was not where i could have and should have been in my faith. but i had no earthly idea what was missing. i had even begun to doubt Christianity in some instances. but this past week i attended the onething conference with IHOP (International House of Prayer) in Kansas City... maybe you've heard of it? but anyway. God used my questions to prepare me for all of the truth i was exposed to at the conference. ah. there was just so much that, growing up in the Baptist church, i had never heard before... but that is all beside my point.

the theme of the conference was centered around the need for revival in our generation and Christ's undying, passionate love for mankind (two very different yet completely related topics) and it was so... ahh... i don't even have the words to describe the emotions i was feeling... but the speakers all really challenged the youth to realize the battle at hand and invite the Holy Spirit to come and prepare us. but they also stressed that we had to love God with our very being, that our essence should be centered around loving God, and that with that will come obedience. but we have to realize that we can only love God because He loves us. we are His beloved children and He delights in us. that is a message that is so hard to get across to our generation, but it is ESSENTIAL to understand. that even through our faults (i had struggled with an addiction to pornography on and off since like 6th grade) He loves us. there is NOTHING we can do that would cause Him to let go of his grip on us.

so all this goes to say. your message was so good [it was about being who we are called to be. and stepping out where we are supposed to step out]. it was an incredible follow up to the whole week. realizing who we are in Christ is so important in our roles as warriors and leaders in our generation. and i am so excited about this semester. i was a little fearful coming back because i didn't know how i was going to keep my "camp high" up. but i am confident that the red letter series [pretty self-expanatory: we are beginning a series on the radical words of Christ] is going to be anointed. and i realize that the Holy Spirit is coming to equip us for the crisis at hand. "



so yeah. that basically hits the high points. there was sooo much else. but it was not necessary to this email... yeah. enjoy. love you guys.