Alive Summer Camp After Party

After a week hiatus from being at Alive Summer Camp, we are back! I have to say this, Hux and I have been a part of student camps for YEARS; from going to them as students, chaperoning them as leaders, then planning them with a team. We've seriously done it all: Student Life, Fuge, planned our own at the beach & planned our own out in the middle of nowhere BUT this year took the cake for being my FAVORITE year of summer camp. That's saying a lot! Thank you Hux, Patty, Cole & Emily for ALL of your hard work in planning my most favorite summer camp!

I learned two very valuable things this year at camp aside from being spiritually challenged.
1. We work with the best.team.on.the.planet. I wouldn't dare trade in any of our leaders for anyone else! Ranging from college freshmen to people that have been in the game for 25 years, they are the world's best and I love them all so much.
2. Our students are passionate about worship, seeing their friends come to know Jesus, and applying the messages to their lives by living them out. Is there anything better?

So, now what? What do you do when you go away for a week, lives are changed & callings are made?

Last night, we zeroed in on Galatians 5:16-25. If you want to stay on fire for Jesus, you have to walk with Him daily. Your relationship will stay on fire when He's your one desire!

16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh.They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever[a] you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery;20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.

When Jesus walked out of the tomb, sins power had been BROKEN & God's power was PROVIDED

We shouldn't wake up in the mornings asking, "how can I avoid sin today?" but "how close can I get to Jesus today?" When we live & walk by the Spirit and get as close to Jesus as we can, we let go of the desire to gratify our flesh.

Jesus guides us from WITHIN!

We walk by the spirit through WORSHIP...OBEDIENCE (to your parents)...PRAYER...CHURCH...DISCIPLESHIP GROUPS...SCRIPTURE

We have no victory in this life without the Spirit. We can't be FULL of the Spirit until we are FILLED with the Spirit.

We keep in step with the Spirit by staying out of step with the world!

He will give you exactly what you need in order to be a conqueror!

The Spirit will ALWAYS WIN when we stay in step.

Following Jesus isn't about FEELINGS but about FAITHFULNESS!

Hey Alive, because you are SHARING & INVITING, lives are being CHANGED! 

Don't stop!! Way to go!!!

To see recap videos from camp click here

Rescuers // Week 5

There are many things in life that we try to rescue: Dogs from the shelter, people from themselves, or animals in the middle of the road. One thing that we should never rescue is our sin. However, we keep giving life to it by having mercy on it and continuing to do it over and over and over again.

We have to KILL SIN before it kills US!

"Put to death therefore what is earthly in you.: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. One account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them." Colossians 3:5-7
*"put to death" = mortuary

We don't give power to the sins we struggle with, when we stay away from it's source! When you have a tooth that is rotten, you can't clean it up, make it look pretty, and then think your tooth isn't going to still hurt. You have to rip it out from the root in order for the problem to go away. 

What's the source of your sin? Kill it.

"Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." James 4:7

When we feed the spirit, we starve the flesh. When we feed the flesh, we starve the spirit.

If something is distracting you from your relationship with God, why wouldn't you kill it?

The enemy came to kill us with sin but Jesus came to put sin to death!

Quit living as you "once lived" and start living as whose you are.

The choices you make today will determine your future.

"Like a dog that returns to its vomit is a fool that repeats his folly." Proverbs 26:11

Florida Vacation

Each year we celebrate vacation with both of our families - the Huxes in Florida and then the Leopards in Myrtle. Our vacation started with a screaming child. Ya'll, I did research on this before we left Greenville. I researched, "How to take a road trip with a toddler..."How to succeed in the car with your toddler" ... and my personal favorite, "Full proof tips on keeping your child sane in the car." Ya'll, don't waste ya time, those are bologna. Actually, they may work for the "normal" toddler (if there is such a thing) but Brooklynn tends to go counter-culture to everything everyone says about children. I guess that'll be a good thing when she's 18 but for now, "you're killin' me, smalls". 

Anyways, back to the vacation.

My husband is the exact opposite of me in many ways but in one particular way, he's super great with staying in touch with people. We always meet up with his best friends from high school and yes, we are girl heavy with one more on the way (and no people, that one more is not coming from me!) Poor fellas.

We spent the first night in Leesburg since we couldn't get in our place until Saturday so we played with some blocks and learned how to use a child-sized vacuum.

Every morning she went to the window and said, "wooooow". She loved it so much she walked straight down to the beach on the first day and walked straight into the water about chest deep with all her clothes on.

We ate good, talked good, and chilled good. On the way out, we had a quick meet-up with some of Huxes friends from PBA. I'm thinking the world is having an influx of girls. Just me?

Then the car ride...which is best put in a statement from my husband, "After 8 hours in a car with a teething daughter, I got a glimpse of what hell would sound like when they say, 'weeping & gnashing of teeth'." Just for reference, we left with 4 teeth and came back with almost 11 but we are alive, praise the Lord. He is faithful. We do love her though, really ;)

Rescuers // Week 4

We are back and still kicking after vacation. Thank you, Caleb, for holding down the fort last week while we were gone!

As we continue in this series, we are rounding third base by talking about the one thing that the enemy wants to steal from us during the summer - our intimacy with Jesus. During the summer we are (and least WE are) busy. Why are we, as a student ministry, busy in the summer? Because most kids are bored. Where there is boredom, there is more trouble to get into. Boredom is the enemies playground (which you heard about if you were at Alive last week). Summer too consists of very litte routine. I know for me, my routines are off and therefore my time with Jesus is a little off.

Our heavenly Father is eager for us to communicate with Him. He's already communicated to us through His Word and awaits our response. Through His Word & prayer, we have intimacy with Him.

Want to combat satan's lies? Open God's truth!

If you want to be effective in the world, get in God's Word!

You are as close to God as YOU choose to be!

Consistency in God's Word leads to intimacy with Him.

“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. Matthew 6:5-6

The more we pray privately, the more confidence we will have to pray publicly!

Don't pray to people, pray to God!

The Word wasn't written for your INFORMATION but your TRANSFORMATION

The more sacred something is, the more the enemy wants to invade it or interrupt it! ("GO TO YOUR ROOM")

Do whatever you have to do every day to get your attention away from yourself (your phone ;) & others and on God and Him alone!

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Mark 1:35

True prayer is always intimate! Prayer is not meant to be DISTANT but INTIMATE!

We always want a word FROM God but never want to read the Word OF God!

A closer relationship with God is always the reward of spending time with Him.

Your biggest incentive for reading the Word should be Jesus!

Jesus DIED to spend time with YOU!