ir a principal |
Ir a lateral
As I was walking down the jam-packed streets of the Big Apple a few weeks ago I couldn't help but notice a few things. A)These people have somewhere their walking to B)These people looked lonely and sick of life. Now, that just could be me but oh well. As I cheerfully hopped on the Lower-Manhattan bound Subway I couldn't resist looking at everyone! I swear people stared at me as if I have an Osama sticker strapped to my forehead. I was amused with the City, its one of m
y new favorite places. Its not the enormous buildings, architecture, nor the statues that grasp my attention, its the people. Each person struts down the side-walk with a face that says get out o f my way Scrub. Its interesting. I look at the faces of the people who pass. No one looks happy and no one looks like they care. They each look so lonely. The NYC lifestyle looks tough to me. Mass amounts of people piling in a Subway cart all heading to the same place with the same face, the same face that says I hate life. I'm definitely not a shrink but I do have the ability to see when someone is clearly unhappy with life. Thousands of people, each with a unique story that life has given them. No one talking to ANYONE, most people just have their ipods on. Im not claiming that all of NYC is depressed, thats not what im saying. There are just so many of them who want more out of their stressful lives. I wanted to talk to someone just to see how their day was going. But their looks say they just don't care. For such an Enormous city you would be surprised how many lonely people their are out their looking for something in their lives...Just something.
I've been thinking about this new feeling that I've been getting lately. For a few months now I've had the passion to go somewhere else in the world and do missions. Its something I have been thinking about lately and its something that I would really love to do. I would love to be somewhere else where people don't have the opportunity to learn about God. And its been a growing passion.
I can only come up with one word to describe Countdown, amazing.For anyone who doesn't know Countdown is my churches(Christs Church of the Valley) new years party, its a great outreach event. This was most definitely not your churches typical new years party. The planning and preparation process took a long time. I know I spent many hours in different meetings planning and preparing for this incredible event. The party started at 9pm New Years Eve, and lasted until 7am for those daring the stay up all night. I began setting up with a bunch of people the day and the day before the party, its always fun to hang out with my buddies so I was cool with the whole set-up process. I also did some shopping a few days before, it was a great learning experience. I learned to never go shopping with 5 girls again. Enough said. Our current youth group size is about 140-160 each week so any attendance over that was good. The "hoped for" number was around 300, but my pessimistic side was kicking in and I didnt think that would happen. Anyway, 9:00 rolls around and the people start arriving, at this time there were more blue-shirted leaders walking around than students, but that was quickly to change. I walk outside and i see the registration line, The line was at least 50 people, and it stayed that way for a while. There were large crowds of people trying to get in, it was an incredible feeling trying to see all of the people try to get in! As people began to walk in I started talking to random people, My attempt was to get people excited and pumped for this party! There were so many things going on around the building. 25 xbox/xbox 360 systems(halo3, halo2, NCAA,Madden, Call of duty 4, Dance Dance Revolution, Guitar hero 2/3. In our upstairs kids classroom the stage was rocking with RockBand, the new Xbox game. That was one of the most popular systems. The speakers were blasting and the stage lights were shinning, all great effects to pump kids up for the game. There was at least a 45 minute wait for people's bands to play, it was awesome. Along with all the manly rooms there were make-over rooms, and board game rooms, and a room for poker and relaxing. There were two Large inflatables, some larger than what the book said, but it was okay. There was also a nice coffee house style/karaoke tent set up outside, along with a bball court and some other sports.The band also rocked the place! they played a pretty good set, opening up with Paralyzer by Finger Eleven.
at 3am there was a fashion show, it was...interesting. There were some ugly people, but thats okay too! Jesus still loves them. It was an incredible night, the best part about it was discovering that there were 380 kids there!!!!!
150 of them never being at ccv before. The night was great, most things turned out great and everyone had a good time, I cant wait to see what happens next year because this year turned out to be one to remember.
For more pictures of the night click here!
I've always been told that God can work so far up the river that you cannot see Him preparing something for your life. Its true. This blog is 100% in relation to my "Burned" Post from November. Its amazing how God can make things happen. Its incredible how God can work in my life so quickly and make such an incredible Impact. Its incredible how God lets things sit in order for His plan to help me grow. God works in all different ways, and fortunately I got to experience God work through the "Breakdown" phase. And this is how it happened. What happens is EVERYTHING went wrong. I woke up, and the second I opened my eyes, I knew it was going to be terrible day. Family fights, anger towards church, and a heart not willing to serve...a perfect combination for a minor spiritual breakdown. I will leave out the details about how the breaking-point part of my day went, All I will say is it was involved with a dozen F-Bombs, and 23904 other words i shall not repeat. God knows its time for things to change and then it happens I realize things need to change. All the RIGHT things fall into place. I talk to the right people, hear the right things, sing the right songs. Its incredible how I can get hurt in such a small time, but whats even more incredible is how my heart can change in an even smaller amount of time. Maybe you didn't read my other blog, "Burned" but now I am here and I feel more content with serving. I'm taking all the right steps and heading in the direction I need to be going...Finally. Heres God taking me and shaping me into who he wants me to be, a Yearning Disciple striving for a life for Him.
I said the unthinkable the other day. Words so harsh. I actually said something I thought would never come out of my mouth. I said Halo3 was not as good as good as Call of Duty4. It was blasphemy. I regret it. And recently I've been asked which one I prefer. I have history with the Chief. Going back to Halo1 tearing apart the covenant to finding out a new group called the flood. Then me and Chief going to Earth in Halo2, Good times. And then in Halo3 me and him saving the earth and taking down everyone. We have history!!! but whats this? Here comes this new guy from the USMC, I don't even know his name and side with him? that's like...bad! I take it all back, nothing can take me away from my beloved Halo3. Not even a Us Marine fighting off middle eastern rebels.
Now as I go back and read this blog, there are a few adjectives that are probably going through your head right now that probably describe me. You're probably thinking I'm a...nerd, a bum, lazy game player, halo junkie, freak. No.... This blog emphasizes everything beyond belief. I love Halo, just like the other 1/2 of the world. And that's really all. It could be worse. I could be like those weird kids that fantasise about having weird sexual relations with cortana....(yes the hologram.)they do exist. but im not... Heres some rankings below
Its Christmas time! Awesome, I enjoy it. A time for people to spend time with their family and friends, and also a great time for people to spend all their money!!! Awesome? No. I came across some intense stats recently that said how many families will go into debt this time of the year. Ironic how Americans go in bigger debt and grow more depressed around Christmas time aka the celebration of Christs' birth. Oh well not me. I stumbled across this awesome bible verse the other day. It really caught my attention and reminded me of all the chaos that happens this time of the year. Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,"Never will I leave you; 7 never will I forsake you."
-Hebrews 13:5-7
It reminded me that Christmas isn't all about getting the coolest best looking most expensive presents. I can definitely get wrapped up in the whole presents idea. I'm a teenager! I hear my friends talking about getting some of the coolest things with and/or having a $600 spending amount. Ridiculous. I wont let money tear me apart from what Christmas is about. That sure sounds like a cliche statement, but its me being genuine. Maybe these blogs are me talking to myself hopefully not, I do enjoy it very much though. Maybe my next one won't be so profound aka "Deep." Thanks,
Evan
So this weekend was amazing. My sister took a train into town for the weekend and my brother spent the weekend home from college. It was great!! I cancelled all of my plans just spend each minute with my family. This time of the year is my second favorite. I hate cold and I hate cold rain and typically I'm not a huge fan of late fall early winter, but I love this time because its a great oppertunity to spend time with my family. I prayed earlier today during church because I thanked God for such an incredible family. I love this time of the year because I love to spend tons of time with people I who have known me since I was alive. I cherish every minute because I cant be sure who will be gone tomorrow. Its probably one of my biggest fears. That fear relates back to an unexpected death in the family and me seeing the pain that people suffered. Its this time of the year that I try to enjoy every second I have with my family. My Sister, Brother, and I went to target the other night. Its probably the first time I spent time with JUST them in a long long long time, its incredible I cherish those moments because I always a negative idea in my head that it could be gone tomorrow, that's not my point. I'm thanking God for the incredible family that I have.
y new favorite places. Its not the enormous buildings, architecture, nor the statues that grasp my attention, its the people. Each person struts down the side-walk with a face that says get out o f my way Scrub. Its interesting. I look at the faces of the people who pass. No one looks happy and no one looks like they care. They each look so lonely. The NYC lifestyle looks tough to me. Mass amounts of people piling in a Subway cart all heading to the same place with the same face, the same face that says I hate life. I'm definitely not a shrink but I do have the ability to see when someone is clearly unhappy with life. Thousands of people, each with a unique story that life has given them. No one talking to ANYONE, most people just have their ipods on. Im not claiming that all of NYC is depressed, thats not what im saying. There are just so many of them who want more out of their stressful lives. I wanted to talk to someone just to see how their day was going. But their looks say they just don't care. For such an Enormous city you would be surprised how many lonely people their are out their looking for something in their lives...Just something.
