We Raise our White Flag!

I was a rookie at Passion 2012...and it blew me away. Now...aside from the actualy conference, it was pretty miserable I'm not gonna lie. Trying to maneuver 45,000 people to and from the Georgia Dome AND try to get them all fed in the 20 degree weather was a nightmare for people who get anxious around big crowds and can be extremely Type-A (ME!) BUT the bigger picture far outweighed my little bit of uncomfortableness. Here's what happened via pictures!

AND....45,000 18-24 year olds raised over $3,000,000 to end human slavery!!

Lastly, watch this video!!

http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/world/2012/01/05/cfp-clancy-do-something-now.cnn#/video/world/2012/01/05/cfp-clancy-do-something-now.cnn

Psalm 103

Praise the LORD, my soul;
   all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
² Praise the LORD, my soul,
   and forget not all his benefits—
³ who forgives all your sins
   and heals all your diseases,
⁴ who redeems your life from the pit
   and crowns you with love and compassion,
⁵ who satisfies your desires with good things
   so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
 ⁶ The LORD works righteousness
   and justice for all the oppressed.
 ⁷ He made known his ways to Moses,
   his deeds to the people of Israel:
⁸ The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
   slow to anger, abounding in love.
⁹ He will not always accuse,
   nor will he harbor his anger forever;
¹⁰ he does not treat us as our sins deserve
   or repay us according to our iniquities.
¹¹ For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
   so great is his love for those who fear him;
¹² as far as the east is from the west,
   so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
 ¹³ As a father has compassion on his children,
   so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;
¹⁴ for he knows how we are formed,
   he remembers that we are dust.
¹⁵ The life of mortals is like grass,
   they flourish like a flower of the field;
¹⁶ the wind blows over it and it is gone,
   and its place remembers it no more.
¹⁷ But from everlasting to everlasting
   the LORD’s love is with those who fear him,
   and his righteousness with their children’s children—
¹⁸ with those who keep his covenant
   and remember to obey his precepts.
 ¹⁹ The LORD has established his throne in heaven,
   and his kingdom rules over all.
 ²⁰ Praise the LORD, you his angels,
   you mighty ones who do his bidding,
   who obey his word.
²¹ Praise the LORD, all his heavenly hosts,
   you his servants who do his will.
²² Praise the LORD, all his works
   everywhere in his dominion.
   Praise the LORD, my soul.

Merry Christmas

Merry CHRISTmas from The Huxs!

Here's some pictures from our little apartment!

Faith

"Waiting for God to act is fleshly unbelief. It means that I have no faith in Him. I wait for Him to do something in me so I may trust in that. But God won’t do it, because that is not the basis of the God-and-man relationship. Man must go beyond the physical body and feelings in his covenant with God, just as God goes beyond Himself in reaching out with His covenant to man. It is a question of faith in God–a very rare thing. We only have faith in our feelings. I don’t believe God until He puts something tangible in my hand, so that I know I have it. Then I say, “Now I believe.” There is no faith exhibited in that. God says, “Look to Me, and be saved . . .” (Isaiah 45:22)." -Oswald Chambers 

Merry Thanksgiving!

I hope your thanksgiving left you feeling very thankful for the cross, your family, health, and the other blessings that God has placed in your life. Our Thanksgiving was full of laughs and joy. We don't get to spend too much time with our family so we were thankful for a few days of family lovin'! Thanksgiving has become like that awkward period of time right before fall when it's too hot to wear your boots yet too cold to wear your tanks...I feel as though people aren't sure whether to say "Happy Thanksgiving...or Merry Christmas". However, for the sake of this post we'll celebrate Merry Thanksgiving. Enjoy some pics from our trip to Spartanburg :)

Gameday

This past weekend, husband and I had a chance to get away for a few days. We all know that ministers don't get many of these chances since they work on Sundays but we grabbed the opportunity to spend Thursday night in Augusta, GA and then Friday night in Aiken, SC with my family. On Saturday, we ventured to Columbia to watch the gamecocks and the gators play each other. Husband was very excited, as was I, even though I've been battling a wicked cold since Thursday- I sucked it up and went along for the trip. The gamecocks barely won but thankfully we both are caring less and less about who wins when it comes to football...mainly because it brings out the worst in most people and it's quickly becoming peoples' gods. Here are some pics from the game!

All Things to All People

"To the weak, I became weak, to win the weak. I have become ALL things to ALL men so that by  all possible means I might save some." 1 Corinthians 9:22

Are our churches today taking every means possible to save the lost? This is something that has been heavy on mine and husband's heart for quite some time now. Lost people are no longer coming to us...so are we going to go to them? Most times when you talk about "church" to a lost person, a negative connotation  arouses in their mind. So what are we going to do about it? In the words of my husband, "Our God is big yet our faith shows Him being so small. Our BIG GOD should be portrayed in how we do and be the church! The moves we take as churches should be in faith...faith in our BIG God! Some churches portray such a small God. We have to step out and step up in order to reach those souls that don't have a positive view of church.

Have you ever been to a place where you felt SO out of place?? I had to visit many churches when I was still in college as a part of my worship classes and let me tell you, 9 out of 10 churches I visited I was completely out of place..(and under-dressed)...they had a routine and I just followed along like a lost puppy...and I'm saved! Imagine how a lost person would feel walking into some of our churches today...are we meeting them where they are in their life? Are we bringing the gospel to them in terms that they understand in order to save their soul? We have got to think like lost people in order to reach them. Paul is seeking to IDENTIFY with these lost souls. He doesn't set himself above them nor does he preach down to them. He gets on their level- eye to eye- in order to understand where they are. Didn't Jesus do this for us? Am I saying we should take part in sinful activities like the lost? Absolutely not. Am I saying we need to identify with them, befriend them, look at them as God's chosen people? Yes.

I think it's time for churches to identify with the lost in order to get them in our doors because they are not coming to the 'church building' anymore. We have to go to them and bring them in, and lead them to salvation. Let's step it up!