MegaWednesday...pictures

and to continue with updates from the crazy week...Mega Wednesday pics! (video still to come...)

one last rehearsal onstage before we get started!

practice smashing...we were a little scared - but God protected the audience and (to our knowledge) no one was hurt...PTL.

a laptop was also smashed and bottles of "pills" were thrown along with the mirror - all to illustrate destroying the things that Satan tries to use to hold us back. they are a visual for all the lies we COULD believe - but by the power of God, are choosing to conquer. and they no longer have power over us! through Jesus Christ - we are MORE than conquerors! :)

and........the demons. looking all tough.

cute angel! ;) one of the best parts of doing a drama like this is the hair and makeup...LOVE it. so much fun to be creative with.

and No More...it turned out SO great! so fun to watch and so powerful. yay VICTORY!

some of the team w/all their lovely makeup still on...:)

the leaders after doing 13 ppl's hair/makeup and doing a few runthroughs and practicing smashing a mirror.............whew...love these girls!


and (almost) the whole group! :))) LOVE this team. such a blessing!!!!!!

can't wait to see what other opportunities and ideas God gives us! :)

-ALIVE

Ravaged...part 2

So like you saw in the last post – we’ve been a little busy! Haha…but its been so good (crazy and tiring) but so good. and SO worth it!!!
I don’t have a video of the No More drama – yet…but I do have a video of the one from Sunday morning...it is called Ravaged and you can watch it in the post below!
God totally gave us this script –starting with an idea from Erika and sitting down to write the script and recording it and working with part of the team to fine-tune it all…God just used so many ppl and gifts to put it all together and it turned out really well.
I think I wrote about it a little in an earlier post – but just to recap, the theme of the sermon was Ravaged…and how we let other people’s mistakes and bad choices rule over our lives.
And in this drama (but there are SO many different ways this happens in our lives) the girl was hurt by a friend. and she just can’t let it go. So we decide the solution (and we all do it…not in these literal ways probably…but we do it) is to just not think about the person – so we close off our minds. And we also won’t talk to them – to protect them of course…(?) – and we cut off our ability to share the Word or encourage. And then we decide its too hard to look at them and not get angry – so to prevent getting angrier and making God look bad…we decide we won’t see them. But that’s harder than just not seeing them, right? it means we can’t go where they are, we can’t do the things they're doing…EVEN if God is calling us to. And so on, so on. We TRAP ourselves and get so bound up – for our “protection”. So that we don’t get angry or say mean things or hurt anyone…but we end up making ourselves USELESS for God’s kingdom. How can we do anything for Him if we are limiting everything we are willing to do?
“sure, God – I’ll love people! Ooh…well actually I’ll love those ppl over here, because she’s over there and I just don’t want to think about that…”
i dont think that's what He had in mind…? and the only way to get past that and be free is if we FORGIVE. And LET GO. We need to…its so hard. SO hard. I had to let go of a lot of anger at one point in my life- it was absolutely what was holding me back from God…I didn’t think it would ever be possible but I prayed. One day I finally REALLY prayed that He would take it away…(not just a “ok, take it God” and then play tug’o’war with Him while He tries to take it but I still cling to it…yeah...not helpful) and I just remember the next time I had to face the situation that always stirred up this really crazy anger in me – it was gone. And I was AMAZED.
He totally changed my heart.
And it was SO freeing!!!!!!! We were SO not meant to be tied up. it does take a conscious decision not to let it back in my life – but its possible! so lets take off the chains, the handcuffs, the blindfold, and rip off that duct tape…it might hurt and it might be difficult – but think of all the things you can do and hear from God when you’re not hindered at all…
He is not thinking small when it comes to your life, so I absolutely believe that the small area of space around you you can reach while bound up is not the extent of what He is calling you to…
I don’t know what He’s calling us all to – but we’ll never know unless we get rid of all the stuff…

-ALIVE

Ravaged

thanks Abbie, Austin, and Jordan for your work on this!!! :)))

-ALIVE

a busy weekend...

team update time!

haha...only a week or so later..... we'll start with last thursday... we had our normal meeting - and spent the time practicing this No More (the picture is a picture of beckah shae who sings the song we're working with ) drama/dance. it was a crazy time of trying to fit in as much learning as humanly possible. good stuff...

and then saturday morning...8am - bright and early practice. started out really really great. we accomplished A LOT and got really far - and 3 hrs later we all were pretty tired out. but it really was amazing how much work they poured into this. that is a long practice early in the morning...and we decided to schedule one more practice for sunday afternoon...

then took about an hour to work on the drama that would be performed the next day for sunday morning service at Edinbrook...(so grateful that Abbie is so good at garageband...haha saved me quite a bit of time).

and then sarah and i and some of the team took a little field trip to find props for No More...not super productive...but still fun. haha and it ended with sarah and i going to walmart and getting supplies to make swords...did i ever expect to take a saturday afternoon/night with my friend sarah to make swords? no. haha but it was fun and they actually turned out pretty good! haha...who knew?

(quick sidenote) sunday MORNING one of our dramas was performed by Abbie, Austin, and Jordan (the latter two added at the very last minute) for both services. it was written for Pastor Ivan's sermon series (you can watch the sermon here... http://vimeo.com/channels/163677 ) - and the theme was what happens when we hold onto bitterness and anger and don't forgive. i'm hoping to get the video that was taken of it - but basically the idea is that when we hold on so tightly to these things, we imprison ourselves and end up useless for God's kingdom. and looking at how we do it to ourselves! satan doesnt even have to help.... how can God use us if we can't hear Him?

it turned out really great, and God really used it...good stuff.

and then sunday afternoon we went BACK to church! yay...haha just so much time there this week. but we had a 2 hr practice...and it was soooo great! somewhere in there it went from just being something they're trying to learn and became FUN. and they just started having fun with it and i got really really excited to see that. this drama has a really powerful message - VICTORY. victory over lies and sin and bondage...its absolutely w/in our grasp! so its so fun to see it all coming together...i could put up some video - but i'm gonna wait...;)

but tomorrow's the big day!

so excited to do all the hair and makeup and everything! :) and excited for MegaWednesday and the drama and all of it.

God's gonna do very cool things! :)

keep covering it all in prayer!

we have the victory!

:)

-ALIVE

it's not ok

How many times have we heard “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me”? or “you will do greater things even than Jesus did”? or “I will never leave you or forsake you, you will soar on wings like eagles”?
some crazy promises that can be tough to really believe and hold onto…
Now how many times have you thought this… “you can’t live JUST like Jesus did. You can’t live like that forever. You’re just human…”
We are QUICK to claim that one or one like it and it becomes this net that we can fall back on. “well God, I will live my life for you – I will overcome the flesh and I will beat my body into submission – but know that I’m just human, so I will fail sometimes. and its ok because you’ll forgive me. so I’ll try…” and that’s all true…EXCEPT where do we get this idea that it’s a given that we will fail eventually? that we can’t overcome completely – we can just try really hard? Those statements from the beginning - they are PROMISES.
He is TELLING us (not asking) that we CAN do ALL things through Christ. We WILL do greater things than Jesus did through the Holy Spirit. And while we’re doing all that – He will NEVER leave our side. He’ll be there, lifting us up…and He does NOT get tired.

Soak that in…Because it’s huge.
The bible also tells us that we will have trials, that there is sin in the world, that our flesh is weak – but nowhere in there does it say – “you’re going to try really hard, but even on my power, you’ll have to fall eventually”.
In fact – in 1 Peter it actually says “be diligent in these things and you will NEVER trip or stumble”.

Huh…
God is giving me this holy passion lately that we need to stop playing the “well I’ll try, but forever? That’s a long time to (fill in the blank with whatever- disciplining ourselves, reading the bible daily, not gossiping, etc.)”
Yes, its overwhelming. Yes, it seems crazy. And yes, we – on our own – will fail eventually. But we’re not supposed to do it on our own. we’re supposed to lean on Him.
In our youth group we have been asking some tough questions lately…
Do you know if you are going to Heaven?
Are you passionate for God?
Are you on fire for Him?
And the tendency (I know I’ve done it so many times in the past) is to look at these questions and quick say –
well, nobody is passionate ALL the time.
everyone has doubts at one point or another.
sometimes I’m kind of lukewarm, but usually hot and on fire for Him…
and here’s the killer – “but no one can be _____ ALL the time”.

But I’m so done with that.
because every time I hear that answer lately (in my own head or from other people), immediately after- I see God shake His head firmly and say “no…don’t give me that answer”.
Because the reality is – God has given us the power to be able to answer these questions with a firm YES.
Yes I am passionate. It might be different kinds of passion at different times – but the Holy Spirit is the one who gives us passion, and He doesn’t ever stop being passionate.
Yes I am saved! I AM God’s child, and I AM living out my purpose. No doubts ever.
Yes, I am on fire. I am NOT cold, I am NOT lukewarm.
But we settle for just telling Him what we think He wants to hear. We make sure that net is there before we commit – and when we hear God tell us to live in righteousness and let go of our chains, we can say yes, absolutely – but then quick reassure ourselves that if we do fail – its ok. But we need to stop doing that. its NOT ok. we need to practice saying yes. And be done.
as soon as we say “but if I DO fail, I’m still ok, because I have this safety net right here and it’ll all be all right” we allow failing to become a possibility. Yes God will forgive, Yes, God will restore – but why dwell on WHEN we will fail when we can rule out the possibility of there even being an IF???
Because being saved means that we are filled with God’s power, which also means that we, as His followers, have the supernatural ability to live the way Jesus did…to overcome and live holy and blameless... and we don’t have to fail.
So no more excuses, no more quick “sure I’ll try, but” answers.
When we ask ourselves questions like these – answer them truthfully.
If the answer is no, then we need to fix it.
if it’s a “sometimes, kind of”- we need to fix it.
God has given us the ability to answer with a resounding YES as long as we’re living by His power. we don't HAVE to live in constant fear of failing. Let Him work and heal and hold us up by HIS power...He wants us free and living a full life in Him the way He designed us to. strong and whole.
so don’t settle for kind of...
Its not ok.

-ALIVE