God’s Glory in the Little Things March 10, 2009

I read a book with a group of girls over the summer called Do Hard Things. Its by these twin boys who were around 17 when they wrote it, and it’s all about how adults don’t expect enough out of teenagers and how capable teenagers of are doing amazing things for the glory of God when they get over the low expectations. If you want to learn more about the things God can use you for and help get over the idea that you can’t do anything, I strongly encourage you to read it. It’s an AWESOME book.

 

In the book, there was an awesome quote that, at first, just sounded beautiful. But God’s been relating more and more things back to this quote, so I wanted to share it, and some verses from His Word, to challenge you as I have been challenged.

 

“If it falls your lot to be a street sweeper, sweep streets like Michelangelo painted pictures, sweep streets like Beethoven composed music… Sweep streets like Shakespeare wrote poetry. Sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will have to pause and say: Here lived a great street sweeper who swept his job well.”

                                                            ~Martin Luther King, Jr.

 

Colossians 3:23 “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.

 

1 Corinthians 10:31 “So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

 

These verses are saying exactly the same thing Dr. King is: that everything you do is important, so do it to the best of your ability. God can and will use even the little things, like math problems, texting, or taking notes in class, to His glory. No matter how seemingly small or insignificant your actions are, they are affecting and influencing someone. Your actions can bring glory to in God in this simple way: By doing them 100% and giving them your all, just because God has asked you to do them. And when you do those little, repetitive things that you could get away with not doing, God is strengthening you and preparing you to do more and bigger things for Him:

 

Matthew 25:21 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things.’”

 

So if it feels like God’s given you the leftover jobs, when it feels like you’re not doing anything important, if you want to do bigger things for the Kingdom of God, try being faithful in the little things. I challenge you to sweep streets today. Force those around you to take notice of your diligence. Live a life full of little excellence.

Paige Elliott-9th Grade

Mentoring February 9, 2009

Hey Girls,

Mentoring has been my passion ever since I came to Long Hollow.  One of my dreams is to see us start a mentoring program for Girl’s Ministry.  We are on our way to seeing that happen.  Below is a promo video for our program.  I hope that it will minister to the hearts of every age.  It is a responsibilty of our older women to train the younger.  Titus 2:3-5 says, “Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and chilren, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the Word of God.”  I pray that whether you are student at Long Hollow, or an adult sitting in your chair, that reading this post God would start to stir within you a desire to invest in someone younger.  For those of you who are in our girl’s minsitry I pray that the Lord places a desire in your heart to be invested in and mentored through such a crucial time in your life.  If you are interested in being mentored we will have sign ups during Riversedge on Wednesday nights.  For adult women or are interested in mentoring please email me at brittany.stephens@longhollow.com and I will send you the profile sheet to fill out.  The vision Julie Woodruff(womens minister) and I have is to see generation by generation mentoring or being mentored.  Our God is a big God and he is up to something here at Long Hollow that can not be expressed in words.  I know that through this ministry the Lord is going to great and mighty things in lives of girls and women.  Get ready because there is no telling what the Lord could do! I hope you will join us in the fight for becoming the godly girls and women that Christ has called us to be!  Love you all!

Here is the link to watch the video: http://www.vimeo.com/3103475

Brittany Stephens (Girls Minister)

Who Am I??? January 20, 2009

I walked into my room and tore off my Peyton Manning jersey. It was over. I can’t believe they lost in over time. I got to control myself. There was not a Super Bowl for this year at all, now.  The last was when I was in seventh grade. I’m afraid that it’s the one and only one that he’ll ever win. Back in seventh grade I was completely obsessed with Peyton Manning it could probably be obnoxious well, it was annoying. I wanted to meet him so bad. But looking back on it as a freshman, I’m glad I had that phase of such obsession, but I still love the Colts.  I am now using it as lesson. And there are days I wish that I could still meet Peyton. After the game that night I found myself relooking and trying to figure out the game. I know I’m crazy. I’m a girl and I love football?

            That’s apart of me that makes me special. My friend always used to joke with me and put it this way, “If everyone is special, then no one is special.”  Some days I would spend hours thinking about that. Truly I came to realize that everyone is unique in his or her own way. Some days though, I can’t seem to figure out myself. Some of you might have this problem too. Wondering who you are?

            There is no way to tell you who I think I am cause I have good days and bad days and I am still confused on how to describe myself when people ask me to “Be yourself and you’ll be fine.”  Who is that? Well okay am I a tomboy? Cause I like football, a lot. Am I a girly girl? Cause if I had a million dresses I would wear one every day. Am I loud? Cause most of the time I am a people person, but sometimes I want to crawl in hole and hide for months just to be alone. I’m confused talking about it.

            Then I heard one say, “Be who you are through God.” WHAT? I tend to be a thinker at this kind of stuff dealing with eternity and Christ. I have time with God throughout the day, growing, but if I were truly growing I would be showing, right? My concerns, thoughts, and feelings would change too and then I would become a different person the person who God created me to be. Doing that would allow me to be myself through God, but are we really growing? Or are we sitting on our duffs looking at the world drowning in sin and having no passion? Can we throw them the life saver? Who am I really? If I change will others see and want to transform too?

            Discovering who you really are all comes through Christ. It doesn’t matter if you like all kinds of different things or just some, what really matters is your actions and words that represent the example of Christ. Are you going to laugh at that joke the class clown has made fun of that girl who is mean to others and seems to hate the world? Or are you worthy enough to gossip behind your best friends back, or even the girl you hate most? Maybe that guy you have created drama between has got you knee deep in lies or confusion, Are you going to blow up or spend time in prayer? It all comes down to your decisions through Christ and how loud the Holy Spirit’s voice has raised around you and your life.

            Peyton Manning? Yeah! Any day I would want to meet him. (or see him in another Super Bowl J) There are other things that make me, me too. Like the way I talk to God each day. Or who my Christian friends are and the woman of God I will become. But instead of meeting some super cool quarterbacks or fulfilling a life dream (you fill in the blank) I would rather be seeking His face, leading others to Christ, on a mission trip, weeping for the lost, or spending time with the people I love demonstrating the love of Christ. Not saying dreams are worthless to make, but get your priorities straight. Start by growing the love of Christ by spending time throughout the day thinking of Him, praying to Him and soon enough you will begin to notice the change. Like as special and unique God the father is become the closest example you can to Him and you will see miracles happen. Because when God is on our side nothing is impossible or too big to do. Discover who you are and see what he can do. We are on your side rooting for you!

 Mikaela-9th Grade

Growing Closer with the Lord January 20, 2009

      Well God has been teaching me a lot just in my 9th grade year! the fall retreat, was a really big thing for me. i absolutley loved it, and it really helped me get closer in my walk with the Lord. we talked about getting in the Word, and having a hunger for it in one of our breakout sessions. And that made me think, i spend so much more time getting ready in the morning on the outside, than i do getting ready on the inside with God. i should have a hunger for His Word, not just do my quiet time because i know im supposed to. So, lately, i have had a hunger for God’s word, and it has helped me so much! Yes, i have to get up earlier, and im not at all a morning person, but i am now ok with it, bceause i get to spend time with God! And, our theme, complete, made me think of myself in a whole new way. I realized i needed to go deeper in my walk with God, not just stay the same. And, also, memorizing scripture has been a big thing for me. I am in roundtable, and travis challenged us to memorize a section of scripture. And just knowing scripture in my head, where i can pull it out, is great. So, God has been teaching me so much! But i am excited for what he has in store for me the rest of my freshman year!

Caitie Hurst -9th grade

Romans 12:2

Passionately Pursuing Christ December 16, 2008

There has been something about this year I can’t describe. Its not normal. Which is good because its pulling me out of my comfort zone. Back when school started and for a few months I would get up, take a shower, get dressed, take forever on my hair and makeup and TRY to squeeze a quick chapter of the word to grab a challenge for the day, most days it was very quick cause I had to run. But the commitment the Lord has laid on me these past few months is incredible.

You see, starting off in High School totally has changed my view on the Lord. Our whole class was nervous, but I was so excited! Well, the first day passed, the first week, and before you knew it a month had passed. My daily routine stayed the same. Yeah I got through it not noticing what was really going on inside of me until someone brought it to my attention.

Travis started the roundtable this past summer for our youth group. We were in out first trimester and he was talking about the love of Christ. He shared some experiences that he had had and I thought it was awesome. I went home and sat down and had a nice long talk with the Lord that night. I met face to face with him and even tears came. How can I not spend at least 30 minutes or of my day with Him? I’m spending too much time getting ready. Why am I living up to the world’s expectations? When I should be living up to His. That night changed the way I looked at things. The next day my friend handed me a book called “Do Hard Things” I had been wanting to read it but hadn’t got the chance to borrow it from her. I wanted to finish it fast so that way I could do other things in my day. Well, I found myself taking it slow and taking notes. I am seeking his face in this book. I want to give Him glory. The holy spirit has worked in my life through this book. God has grown my passion for the Lost and doing those ‘hard things’ to bring the one and only glory. Next thing I knew it was the fall retreat. Man oh man, was it not just pleasing to hear Julie speak? I want to be complete. Every girl wants to be. The Lord God Almighty showed me how I can be. I even added thing to my husband list that I know he should have that I didn’t even thing about. But the very last night of worship I was bawling for the Lost. I even had to step outside to take a breath. I knew this burden was not just for the Lost now, it was for my grade and where our freshman class should be. We’ve got to raise the bar. That night I called a meeting with all freshman girls. We were all in the same cabin so it worked out. Sooner or later that night we crammed 20-25 girls in a room with four beds. We explored the questions like; What does our class need to do to bring glory to the Lord and lead out? What can we do to prepare for the upcoming years of our high school career? We spread out our thoughts and came up with a few ideas and we’ve already started two. One is praying before school as a group once a week, the first day there was 9 and we’re going to grow. Another one is community service, we want to go out and share the love of Christ to our community not just our school. Also, keeping each other accountable. Not as a accountability group but as a whole we watch out for each other. We have set other goals too. We even are going to meet once a month starting in January. But this isn’t about me asking to meet as a group. Its something the Lord has brought together. Something he had planned and He is going to bring it together. (and I’m sooooo excited!!!!)

The Lord sure is working and don’t forget that everyone is rooting you on in your walk with the Lord, the more you know the Lord, your love for Him grows.

Thanks for reading! ☺

Mikaela Diel-9th grade

P.S. Don’t fear. God is near! Go and do hard things for Him.

“Do not be anxious in anything but in everything with prayer petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Phil. 4:4-6

Girls Retreat December 2, 2008

Hey Girls,

Paige Elliot asked me if she could share with you all what the Lord taught her at Girls Retreat! I hope you are challenged by what the Lord is doing in her life! I am amzaed at the ways the Lord worked throughout the weekend.  I will be posting pictures in the next couple of days. Love you all!

Britt

Hey Girls!
I wanted to share a few of the really cool things I heard from older and wiser women at the girl’s retreat a couple weeks ago. (They deserve a huge pat on the back for taking the time to come and teach us and hang out with us, by the way.)
One of the breakout sessions the high schoolers went to was “Dating, Good and Best”. Traci Jenkins was leading it and she said some of the best things I’ve ever heard about Christian dating. She said that our goal as Christians in life is to glorify God, and we can do that in our dating as well.

The first way she talked about to bring glory to God in dating is to have a deep satisfaction in God and obedience in His word. She said that without these, you have no business dating. Wow… that was harsh sounding to me at first. But what her point was is that you have to be completely satisfied in God before you can ever find satisfaction in a guy. Psalm 37:4 says: “Delight yourself in the Lord” (first) “and He will give you the desires of your heart.” Without being complete in God, we definitely won’t find completion in a guy.

Then she said that the second way to glorify God in dating was to have a commitment to guard the sacredness of sex. Hebrews 13:4 says: “Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure.”
She said that the longer the list of things that aren’t a big deal to do before marriage, the shorter the list of really special things that you and your husband will share after marriage. She said the question isn’t “how far is too far?” but “how much of myself am I saving for marriage?” That really challenged me to total purity; not just not having sex, but being pure in my whole lifestyle. What are the little things that we consider okay, but that really are things we should be saving only for our husband?

Traci also handed out this thing called “Believe and Be Satisfied” I want to share a part of it with you:
“Everyone longs to give themselves completely to someone. To have a deep relationship with another, to be loved thoroughly and exclusively. But God, to the Christian, says no, not until you are satisfied and fulfilled and content with living, loved by me alone. I love you my child, and until you discover that only in me is your satisfaction to be found, you will not be capable of the perfect human relationship that I have planned for you. You will never be united with another until you are united with me. I want you to stop planning, stop wishing, and allow me to give you the most thrilling plan existing- one that you cannot imagine. I want you to have the best. Please let me bring it to you: you just keep watching me, expecting great things. Keep that satisfaction knowing that I AM. Keep learning and listening to the things I tell you. And you must wait. I love you utterly. I am God Almighty, believe and be satisfied.”

The theme of the weekend was Complete. John 15:11 says: “I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.”
Are we complete in God, or are we trying to complete ourselves with other things?

Paige Elliott-9th grade

Girls Fall Retreat October 23, 2008

 

Hey Girls,

I am so excited about our Girls Fall Retreat that is coming up November 21-23.  You don’t want to miss this weekend.  Our theme for the weekend is going to be “Complete”.  We are going to be laerning about how we are made complete in Christ. Our speaker will be Julie Woodruff and our worship will be lead by Haley Hamilton and Brooke Voland.  Throughout the weekend we will also be having breakout sessions on missions, accoutability, relationships, and being lovers of God’s Word.  You can sign up at www.longhollow.com or fill out a “save a spot” card on Wednesday nights or Sunday mornings! I love all you girls very much and I am so excited about what the Lord has in store for us at Fall Retreat!

Brittany

“I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.” ~John 15:11~

Student Crusade! Oct. 5-8 September 30, 2008

 

Hey Girls,

I hope you are all having a great week!!! I just wanted to remind all of you about Student Crusade.  It starts this Sunday (Oct. 5) at 6pm and goes through Wednesday (Mon-Wed. starts at 7pm)! You don’t want to miss it! Make sure you are inviting as many friends as possible.  This is a great opportunity for them to hear the gospel. How exciting!! If you want Crusade cards to pass out come by the office and pick some up.  I am excited to see what the Lord is going to through Crusade! Like Bro. David said on sunday, ” Expect great things from God, attempt great things for God”  Girls, lets pray expecting God to great things at Crusade!

Matthew 28:18-20, ” All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.  Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all the I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always; even to the end of the age.”

Have a great week girls!

Britt

Fall Bible Study September 8, 2008

Hey Girls,

I wanted to let you know that this Tuesday September 9th our High school/Women’s Bible Study is starting.  We are going to have worship, teaching, and small groups.  It starts at 6:30pm.  You don’t want to miss this.  We are going to be studying Biblical womanhood.  This is so crucial for us as girls to grasp.  What does it mean to be a biblical woman today?? I really hope that you will come and find out the answer to that questions. 

Brittany

Broken September 4, 2008

Hello girls! I hope that everyone is doing well, and all of you are having a great start of the school year! Anyone already excited about summer????? Ha Ha JK…but seriously.

When Brittany asked me to write, I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to share. I began to make up cliche stories and ideas in my head that would probably sound good and “right” on paper, but I really don’t want to just provide a good story. I wanted to be REAL with all of you. As members of the Body of Christ, we are called to “spur one another towards Christ” (Hebrews 10:24)-to encourage and challenge one another. So, here it is girls. This is what I’m dealing with right now…

A broken heart. Can anyone relate?

I’m not going to fill you in with all the little details that don’t really matter, but in a nutshell-much of what I placed all of my security has been completely stripped from me. How easy is it to say you have complete security in God when you still have those tangible things there for you as well? I am in college – broken up with my boyfriend (security) – 4 hours away from my best friend who was, at one time, going to be my roommate (security) – 3 hours away from my family (security). Don’t get me wrong. College has definitely been awesome so far, and I’m not wallowing in complete misery. However, there are many times when I have just felt completely broken. I tell you all of this to ask you the question: 

Where is your security?

It is so easy to say, “I trust God in everything” when life is going smoothly. How strong is your faith and trust? If something happened to test your faith (small or big), where is your security? Again in Hebrews 10, the Bible calls us to “hold UNSWERVINGLY to the hope we profess because (this is the best part) HE WHO PROMISED IS FAITHFUL.” (vs. 23) Yes, all of this is truth, and we will surely be blessed when we remain faithful. However, we all know how awful our “times of testing” can be. I don’t know how many times I’ve been told:

“Just give it time.”

“Talk/cry it out.”

“It WILL get better.”

While all of these statements do hold true for the most part, life can flat out hurt sometimes, and you just really don’t want to hear it. I had one of those days yesterday. There were lots of tears, and I just felt broken. With so much of my security gone or far away, I have no choice but to completely (for real…going beyond the words here) depend and fix my eyes on Christ. He never says that life is going to be easy, or that difficult times won’t hurt. And when I say hurt, I mean that sharp pang that seems to shoot through you at random moments during the day. Following? Well, as I was and am struggling, I remembered something Beth Moore said. She was teaching out of Luke 8 about the Parable of the Sower. The seed talked about in the chapter represents God’s Word and Truth in our lives. There is the seed that is heard, but takes no root. These people are easily shaken by difficulty and fall away. There is seed that takes root, but it is choked by worry and fear. Worry and fear hinders us from taking full root in Christ Jesus. This is another topic, but I am a worrier and planner and am constantly striving to surrender those worries/plans to Christ. After doing so I know that true freedom and satisfaction can be found. Anyway…Finally, there is the seed that hears, takes full root, and preservers to produce crop. This should be the goal for all of our lives. One statement Beth Moore made is something that really struck me…

“For the seed (God’s WORD) to take complete root in my life, I must become completely BROKEN (through trials, difficulty, tragedy,…etc.) in which my tears LITERALLY grow the seed, and I am desperately seeking His face.”

Also, in church last night (after quite a rough day) we sang two songs that I’m sure all of you know by heart that provided me with renewed strength and a new attitude. God is so good. In the midst my hurt and worry, he provides comfort. I don’t know how many times I’ve heard these songs, but I was able to take something new away from them. It really was what I needed to hear. It’s NOT about the song, but the content. Always keep your eyes and ears open. God speaks in so many different ways.

“Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord…Our Hope Our Strong Deliverer!”

“At the Cross I bow my knee where your blood was shed for me. THERE’S NO GREATER LOVE THAN THIS.”

Whew. That’s a lot of stuff. Now, I don’t know what you are going through. It could be ten times worse than what I have shared or what you may think is “not that big of a deal.” God knows our hearts and cares about every little detail in our lives. Nothing is too big or too small for Him! I challenge you to persevere! Place your security in Jesus Christ. He will NEVER let you down. Use your brokenness as a time to truly fix your eyes on Him. He is teaching, growing, and stretching me like never before! (Oh, and it is definitely VERY painful at times) But, He always provided me with the strength to make it! “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness!” -2 Cor. 12:9 Girls, we love to talk to each other and vent about EVERYTHING! I pray that in your moment of despair, you cling to His Word and truth like never before! He is the one that will fully satisfy, comfort, and help you. Hold on UNSWERVINGLY! This is my prayer for you! May your faith be unshakeable! Don’t even give Satan the opportunity! Lean on each other, but above all, lean on Him. He will never disappoint. He’s got the plan, girls. And, I am 100% positive it is going to be worth our while to trust that He has got our back! 

I’m praying for you girls! I hope that you are seeking His face daily! He’s got great things planned for you. I better see all of you Fall Retreat! Love you!

Paige Meadows