Taylor Swift is Legit

"Here's to the birthday boy that saved our lives."
Merry Christmas, everybody!

Reflection

Time with Jesus is our inheritance; nobody can take this away from us except ourselves.

And people can tell when you've been hanging out with Jesus.

Every moment that we spend with Jesus is a moment where we are reflecting God's glory and being transformed into his likeness.

The glory of God is the expression of his good character. Who wouldn't want to reflect that?

We use God's mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the stronghold of human reasoning and destroy false arguments. -- 2 Corinthians 10:4
:)

Importance

In every circumstance, your life counts and your battles count. Every and any dilemma can be something of eternal significance if you'll try to find out what God is saying through it.

The Walk of Faith

Step out.

The worst that can happen is not that bad..the best that can happen is the glory of God.

Sarah

2012!!!

Just wanted to say, I love our class :) And I hope that y'all are doing well in your classes, making room to encounter God on your own time, and forming new & tighter relationships wherever you may be.

Good luck with everything this year, everyone!

Oh, and let's plan hangouts (and also a Fro-So night!) sometime in the future haha (not now).

<3

Just a thought.

Maybe we don't have to wear ourselves out chasing after the right person.
Run hard after God and then look around and see who's running beside you.

susannnnn

hello people!

happy day after fourth of july.

it's gorgeous here in chicago today! :)

anyway, i have a prayer request, if you don't mind. you may or may not know that literally nobody else in my family is christian, and it's something that i've kinda been pushing out of my mind for the past month or so. i keep doing my own thing and going to church but my family and i just don't talk about religion because it's just easier that way.

this past week, my mom's best friend from college came to visit us with her family from michigan. i was amazed to find out that they attend church over there with their entire family, and pretty ecstatic when she started telling my mom about church and how good it is and how awesome it is to see everyone united in one under god. (she started talking about this because i'd gone to church and come home today, all while they were talking over brunch). it gave me hope that maybe my mom would listen to her, her best friend from college, and maybe just open up her mind.

after our guests left, i was disappointed, then, when i started telling my mom, "i would take you to harvest (my church right now) but it's in english, so i don't know if you'll understand..." and she interrupted me and said, "that's okay. i'm not that interested."

to be honest, it felt like i got shut down by a person again while telemarketing --" but it's okay. if you could keep me and my family in mind, i would really appreciate it. thaaaanks!

Six Flags

Hey GCC2012!

I hope summer is going well for everyone and you are all keeping fit and eating really healthy ;)

So, I was wondering if there is anyone that would be willing to head to Six Flags sometime this summer in NJ. I met up with Sarah Ryu yesterday and we both wanted to go and would love to know if there is anyone that would like to join.

So I feel really awful that I haven't kept up with our blog! It's not that I don't miss all you GCCer's, I just... well, I'm just not much of a blogger. :)

Anyway, I have a prayer request for you guys. Some of you may know that I got a missions internship at a summer school/VBS in NYC. I leave tomorrow for my first day of a 7 week trip to Washington Heights where I'll be helping with VBS, doing the art program, and just sharing God's love with the kids. I would really appreciate your prayers for myself, the team I'll be working with, and the kids and community down there that God's love would be evident and working in all of us. I'm both excited and super nervous about this! :) If you want to you can also check out my blog for the trip, http://heathermcmor.blogspot.com/. (Yes, I know blogging isn't my forte, but I'll try to be better about this one!)

Well, thanks so much for your prayers! Hope you're all having a super awesome summer!!

i got a little bit of request if you don't mind.

I'll be teaching at a summer camp at my home church here in Philadelphia; it's for the chinatown community kids and we're trying to spread the gospel, share His love with them. i'll be teaching grade 6. basically, i'll need all the prayer i can get. Honestly, right now i feel very inadequate. i havent really taught before (i don't think sunday school counts). There's not much of a set curriculum and I'm a little worried and anxious for what's to come. it is a 5 week long camp that will start this coming week. if at all possible, would you pray for me? even for the day you read this.. could you pray that I have the wisdom, strength, and the boldness to teach and share the gospel with these children? Also, a heart entirely focused on what God has planned?

Thank you GCCers! (: much appreciated.

ps: i nearly forgot!! pray for the kids too! that they will have a heart open to the gospel.

christine

come on, guys, keep writing!

anyways. i hope you all are doing well.
thanks for being encouraging, even in the summer! it's good to hear from people and keep in touch.

okay. hope to talk to you soon via facebook or gchat or blog or anything.
take care :]

99 Problems? No, but a Girl is Definitely One!

With Freshman year officially being over ( Sorry, Justine! :( ) and me being back at home, you'd think that I'd just be having a completely fun and carefree summer, right? Surprisingly, that isn't the case. It seems that my girl problem is much bigger and more frustrating than I thought. I mentioned it on Facebook, but I'll fill you in again. Basically, there's this girl that I've been pursuing all semester, and I've finally made the decision to man up and ask her how she feels about me. Elli recommended not moving forward because I seemed really unsure of where I wanted to take this relationship. However, the Temple GCC retreat has helped guide me and decide where I want to go with this relationship.

Ever since the NJCA GCC retreat in January, my biggest goal in life is to reach out to and find someone in the same way that God reached out to and found me that weekend. This girl said that she doesn't believe in God, so doing this for her would make my goal that much more special and meaningful to me.

But tonight, I thought about Pastor Young's sermon about discipleship and how it has the potential to be both great and disasterous in this type of relationship. However, my feelings for this girl are so strong that I'd be willing to take this risk.

Basically, I want to pray for guidance from God to make wise decisions concerning this relationship. And if it is His will for us to be together, I pray for the strength, wisdom, and courage to reach out to her and help her grow in Christ. And even if things don't work out, I pray for the strength to put my feelings for her aside, to treat her like a brother and try to reach out to her, and to preserve what we have right now.

justine.

....I'M NOT A SOPHOMORE YETTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

TT________________________TT

But. I hope you guys who are out of school (aka EVEYRONE) are enjoying your time off being at home or going on vacation or just not being in school anymore. There's still 22 days left for me, and not going to lie, it's been so so so hard. Harder than it was before because now everyone's gone and the end of the school year means harder workload and more pressure. I'm cracking like crazy...the other day, I called my mom bawling telling her how much I wanted to go home = ="

Anyways. I think this past year, I struggled sometimes trying to get to know the Freshman class at GCC because there aren't many Drexel people and I didn't really know actually how involved I was in my own class. But I feel terrible now because now that everyone's gone, I can see and feel just how much of a difference in my life there is without you guys...and it makes me sad :(

So yeah...I love you guys, and I miss you all, and I'm excited for those coming back soon!!

susan

hi guys!

i just watched BOLT tonight with some friends :)

it was SO cute. i recommend watching it. it's about the most adorable pixar puppy dog and some girl named penny. the girl's voice was done by miley cyrus, who i am not too crazy about, but the movie itself was freaking adorableeeee. also there is a fat hamster named rhino in the movie....who names their hamster RHINO? i'm gonna get a hamster and name it hippo and get a dog and name it cat and do all sorts of confusing stuff...just cause i can :)

also, i have found a new love: laying in the grass, looking at the sky. it's a bit trickier at night because mosquitos are vicious (and west nile virus is pretty big in illinois, bigger than the pig cold maybe) but during the day, when the weather is perfect, just laying there in the fresh grass (make sure you don't lay down on an anthill, that would be horrible) and just gazing at the sky (also you might squint a lot, i have small eyes AND i had to squint so it was pretty difficult)...so, so, so nice. you should find a pastoryoungwouldsaynofosho significant other to do it with you, and it will be such a nice, relaxing time there on the grass. the sky is pretty. and sometimes you can find weird shapes in the clouds. also, you should do it with clothes on (i.e. don't tan on the grass, because people will look at you weird)...save the bikini for the beach (OR one-piece swimsuits...remember, guys, stay wise..)

love, susan

i love you guys :)

Hey GCC 2012! 

AH. We're sophomores now! It's so crazy. I think I will really really miss being freshmen...especially because we can no longer scream out "FRESHMENNNN UNITE!" or...maybe that was just me :)

I just want you guys and gals to know that you mean a TON to me and that I miss you guys (and gals...lol) like crazy right now! Luckily, some of us will be in Philly this summer - although it would have been more insanely epic if a bunch of us stayed. Missions after senior year, anyone? :D

But in all seriousness, thank you for being my community of believers, the one that I have been desperately needing since I was freaking born. It's so awesome to know that there are people MY age (for once!) who are solid and awesome and so on fire and focused on God. It's reallyyyyy an encouragement and I can't WAIT to see how the next three years unfold. (AH, can you believe we're already down to THREE YEARS? Sad.) 

Seriously, all the upperclassmen think our class is AWESOME. And I know why :) Totally looking forward to this fall, hope you guys have wonderful summers (and update us on what's going on wherever you are!) and I LOVE you guys like crazy sick nasty madness. Pastor Young would say YES fosho. :) (or fo..shes? LOL)

Facebook, email/gchat (sarahroo12@gmail.com), OMGPOP (lollll), call, text, etc etc. There's also my own blog whenever you're bored and you need something to read - breakthesilences.blogspot.com :)

Kk. That was probably the craziest/smiliest post I've ever written. Cool cool. Hope to hear from yall soon!

Yay

Hey GCC 2012,

We did it! Freshman year has come and gone and in 3-4 months time, we can look forward to being sophomores! Scary, isn’t it?

Anyways, I like to conclude things well and since everyone left at different times, I didn’t really get to wish some people farewell or to see people leave. It was kind of weird staying for Commencement and watching our number dwindle, hopefully it will be better next year. Therefore, I was wondering how to thank everyone and knowing how some people are adverse to mass email spamming (refer to Valentine’s Day thread), I thought our class blog would be a great place to do it, so people who can’t be bothered won’t be bothered =)

Moving on, I really came into this year not knowing what to expect spiritually. In high school, I didn’t have many friends who were firm in their faith. The friends that were strong believers were great, but there was just not many of them. Coming to Penn, I was hoping for a strong community of believers and through you guys and GCC, I’d definitely say that I’ve found it. I hope to continue to grow with you guys, have more laughs and shed more tears with you guys as we continue our college adventure for these next three years.

So yeah, I hope you guys have great summers and continue to live for God even though most of us won’t be in our great community at GCC. Feel free to Gchat, email, Facebook or Skype me anytime, I hope to keep in touch with as many of you guys as possible.

My Skype: I actually forgot what this was but just search “Jabez Yeo” or “Jabez” and I think you should be able to get me as a contact.

Gmail: jabezyeo@gmail.com

My blog: I’m going to be more diligent about this but yes, I do have a blog where I post up thoughts and random stuff: its http://jtotheyeo.blogspot.com

Take care and God bless!

Jabez

hey there.

i'm not sure if anyone still checks this, but i'm not sure where else to post. please consider this and pray please.

i have a brother here at temple that i care for. he's a real dude, a real friend. he's close to me, and i'm worried. scared for him. tired too. frustrated. sometimes i wonder when he'll come to his senses. i run out of words to say. anyhow he's struggling alot. simply put it, all i can do is pray. and i ask that you do as well. i know that this year is coming to a close very soon. but pray, please.

pray that God will be full of grace. that truly, Christ will stand as his redeemer. that He will be empowering, truly powerful. i know His presence is always here, but just ask that He will be with him. that He'll never let him go. pray that His will be done.

thanks.

Assassins

ASSASSINS, HOLLA!

;)

justine.

I just want to apologize coz I keep posting new posts that are supposed to be in my other blog into this blog by accident...= ="

On another note, this week is finals week for Drexel!!! It'd be great if you guys could pray for us = = " I spent 15 straight hours last night cramming a whole terms worth of art history into my head...it was a good time! And I think I did really well on my exam today :) I only have one more exam this Thursday...physics :(

Hope everyone is getting well adjusted back to school and stuffz!

yo, i hope everyone's spring break is aweesome! (hope you drexel people are studying hard :] )

some random thoughts/questions i want to share.

I've begun to wonder what it's like to go to a school someplace far from where your from. I mean, I go Temple University, it's like... 30 minutes from home. my home church is in philly chinatown, i see old friends that attend Temple, and funny has it, my older brother is in the same school :) but what is like to go to a school totally different? i mean, i love temple, philadelphia, and everything it has to offer, i can't ask for anything more.. but i still think. who would i be, what would i be? i never lived so far that it takes a plane ride to get back to my parents and to literally not being familiar with the city itself! the people, how they sound; okay, im being stereotypical, but honestly. if i was in the south, i would think everyone would sound like different, you know? cowboy-sounding. apparently they dont. (the georgian girls proved me wrong) :P

I wonder how it feels, the experiences. I imagine if I went to a school in the west coast, or the deep south. or anywhere far away, how different would it be! i know a lot of people in my church at the University City site come from all around the country (even out of the country!) that's nuts. can you tell me how it feels? What is the most interesting thing to be out of your "comfort zone". I really don't know how it is. maybe you might?

christine

Hey everyone, hope you've been well!

I'd like to share a link to a blog that I've been reading. The main poster spoke at a retreat that I attended over Winter Break. He writes about our identity as Asian-American Christians and other things. Some of the posts bring up interesting things that sometimes we don't really discuss.

Hope you find it interesting/useful! See you soon :)

http://nextgenerasianchurch.com/

susan

hello everyone,

i hope spring break (for some of us) is going well and school (for the other ones of us) is also going well.

i kind of have a prayer request right now. 

i don't know who's been keeping up with the news, but there has been intense violence in the past three or four days. a pastor got shot in illinois on sunday; a community lost ten members during a shooting rampage on tuesday; a school lost students to a gunman that ended up killing fifteen on wednesday. 

i don't know why, but shootings - school shootings, to be exact, but in this case, shootings - have always incited in me a greater fear than most people feel. of course everyone is sad, and everyone is scared, as well, but my fear and sadness go beyond what everyone else seems to feel. while most people forget - or at least aren't persistently traumatized - within two weeks, a month, even, my fears persist for months and months on end. my closest friends from home have heard me cry for hours about how scared i am. i've never had an experience with anything even close, but it just scares me to death. 

when virginia tech first happened nearly two years ago, i was so scared to go to college. i couldn't sit still in school; i had a swim coach who was also the school psychologist and sometimes i would just sit in her office and tell her how scared i was. i cried to my best friends. i didn't believe their reassurances. i would be scared of the windows that our doors had on them; i didn't want a seat that was in direct view of such a window. i was so scared. aside from being heartbroken for the victims, i found that i was consumed with fear for myself. i literally felt like jello sometimes during class, and the slightest disturbance scared me so much. 

then on valentine's day last year, a school shooting hit so much closer to home than i ever could have imagined. i was at a scholastic bowl meet, on a team with some of my best friends. the tv was on in a room while we waited for a match, and the breaking news was that a school shooting had just happened at northern illinois university. my heart skipped a beat as i looked over at my best friend, whose older brother went to niu. as she walked quickly out of the room i ran after her, through my arms around her, and both of us burst into tears. 

her brother was fine, and she was mainly worried for her brother. but me? i was scared to death again. it had taken me months to be able to basically forget virginia tech, but i was going to have to start all over again. it was horrible. 

towards the end of my senior year, there was a threat found on our bathroom wall with a specific date. i begged my mom to let me stay home that day, but she didn't think anything would happen. while she was right, that was possibly one of the worst school days i have ever had in my life. i was texting my friend at another school the entire day, unfocused, nervous, scared, jumpy. i was so lucky that i had my friends around me, people who knew about this great fear that i had. throughout the day i was constantly being watched out for, reassured, comforted. but still...

coming to penn, one of my friends reassured me that something like this would never happen at a school like penn. i smiled my way through to believing him, but i can't get rid of the persisting fear in my heart, the lump in my throat, the rush in my veins. i need help, and i need prayer. 

i should know better, i know, especially now that i've come to gcc and come to know an all-powerful being called God. but i can't let go of this fear. i hate feeling scared like this. i know it's going to take me at least another month to be fully comfortable again. i want so badly to give it all up to Him, to know that i'll be loved and protected. to believe that i'll be loved and protected. 

so yeah. if you guys could just...yeah. that would be really, really good. 

thanks.

justine.

Hey, everybody!

Hope that those of you who are on Spring break really enjoy your vacation and get a chance to just relax and be chill~ I personally have two more weeks of school left so...boo!

So, this weekend has been a major up compared to the week I was having last week, and I wanted to thank you guys for your prayers and also for being really encouraging throughout the week and weekend. It was really uplifting and I feel loads better, and more on track now >w<

Also, I realized that this weekend was a huge test for me Lent-wise! I've been starting to feel hungry all the time, and there are other times when I get so sick of soup. I went to the dining hall on Saturday and left right after I swiped in because there was only tomato soup and I...do not really like tomato soup. And I feel like I've been tempted to eat a few times when I'm by myself. Hopefully, I can stay strong for the rest of Lent. I hope everyone else is doing well, I will be praying for you guys!!

chris

man, let's see what I can say here.

it's friday and the start of my spring break (hopefully it's for penn too?) and I'm excited to just kick back. being honest though, I don't think I can relax. I've been struggling to reflect and refocus on the Lord. there's many things in my life that simply aren't bringing glory to Him, and my goals are not directed towards Him. heck, it's hard. and i don't think spring break will make it any easier. i'm far away from my brothers that keep me, encourage me, its going to hard.

would you pray that even when I falter, that the Lord will give me strength? seriously, i don't know how many times i've tripped, and it's only by the grace of God that I can stand. but for this time, ask the Lord, sustain me. i want to spend this spring break walking with the Lord, and if you could lift me up with prayer that'll be great :)

on a lighter fare; I guess since we're all sharing, lemme give a try.

i don't know if i've ever shared this before, but I've been immensely blessed freshman year in college with the brothers that God have given me; they're more than I could ask for. without them, surely would I wander and stray from the Lord.

the year before this, I've really had it in the dumps. but coming into Temple, He defintely provided. wit these guys, for once, I could be honest. i could share without feeling judged. we could actually spur one another wholeheartdly and grow with the Lord. we could just laugh and enjoy one another's company. it's funny, i've grew up in the church, but never have I ever had such true fellowship before. and the funny thing is, we've all got flaws. brokeness. issues. even problems with one another. but the Lord is with us. and it's amazing how He binds us together, even when we're so messed up. what touches me the most, is when we be genuine. no superficiality. with the Lord amongst us, not one. not one of us are better than the other, but we are all loved by God equally. we need not look better than another, we don't need to prove ourselves. who would have thought that such a ragtag "posse" be blessed. what i hope for is that it doesn't remain a small six or seven 'band of brothers, but that it'll grow. im praying that we'll just put ourselves out there, and we'll bring together more people and walk with the Lord.

justine.

Hey.

I could really use some prayer right now. Feels like there's no control or direction in my life at all. I'm just lost, lost, lost...sometimes it feels like to the point where I don't want to find my way back on track anymore.

susan

ahhh i dont know about you guys, but i am going crazy right now haha

i really loved praise night, and for teh immediate couple of hours i really felt overflowed with just GOD hahaha.

since i did just do homework for an hour and a half (at which some of you may scoff - i suck at studying and have absolutely no endurance), i kind of feel like giving a mini-testimony. and also sharing my life story. i think it'd be kind of cool if we did that too. 

so to add on to christine's confessions, let's also share our life stories and maybe even testimonies. haha.

1) CONFESSIONS: i judge everyone all the time --" i can't help it hahahaha. and then i feel bad when they turn out to be nice but i judge them anyway. which is awful but i think it's a self-defense type of thing. i'm working on it.

2) LIFE STORY: born in yokohama, japan, lived there till i was seven; lived in burnaby, vancouver, bc, canada for eight months, then moved to a burb of chi-town where i now reside. also i love/am obsessed with F4 (the first one and the most superiorest one). if you dont know who they are, go google them. and until then we can no longer be acquaintances.

3) TESTIMONY: soooo this is really weird. because if you asked me even five months ago about God i would'ev told you that this whole christianity thing was ridiculous and that there is absolutely no reason for me (or anyone, for that matter) to believe. anyway, even when i first came to america (fob alert...haha) my parents didnt really know a lot of people, so we started going to these bible study group things right? except my parents didnt really believe so then we stopped going. but during that time i went to vacation bible school and all that jazz. my freshman year in high school, i went on a church retreat with a friend. but as my high school years went by, i could only go to youth groups once in a while with friends - my parents went asian on me and told me that i wasn't allowed to go to church becasue i had to study instead and get into a good college (now known as penn haha). so anyway at the end of my senior year, my ap physics teacher gave me a bible and a copy of mere christianity. and while i was packing for college, i decided to bring it with me.

my first semester of college was really hard. i came out of summer having spent nearly every day with my two best friends. i missed them terribly, but even worse, i felt like one of them - the guy - was just drifting so far from me. he got involved with his church right away (like im sure some of you did with gcc). ironically, he goes to hmcc, which is also part of ami. anyway, i was so angry at him and hurt and stuff because he didnt seem to care or have time or whatever anymore (i think this was especially problematic because i kinda liked him over the summer and blahblahblah). beacsue he WAS christian and very god-focused all of a sudden, i was the opposite. to spite him. to be stubborn/angry. whatever. 

but somehow little signs keps popping up. for example, oneo f the activiites i joined here was penn music mentoring. the two girls that i went with were both christian - one of them goes to living water and i cant remember which one the other goes to - and after i'd argued with the kid from the last paragraph, i started asking questions about christianity. after all, this wasnt the first tiem that it had been exposed in my life, and maybe i was curious after all. so one of the girls brought me to FOG - freshmen of god. 

now this is where oneo f you comes in - jabez. haha. so i was facebook stalking (sorry jabez...) and then i saw that jabez seemed very strongly christian and so i snooped adn found that he went to a chruch called gcc. by this time i had semi-made up with guy from paragrph 2 so i told him about gcc, to which he said "what? like ami?" and i wasl ike "idk" but it turns out they are sister churches, right? so i made up my mind and jabez took me to my first ever service. and i like to think that it was at that service that i "became christian" (idk why but i have serious issues using that phrase - i dont likie puttnig a label on it). it was powerful and i ermember just asking God to help me to stop wavernig back and forth. my entire high school career had been praying some nights, not caring others. and i was sick of falling away but coming back. i wanted to stay.

...and now here i am. wheeeee.

back to homework/studying =(

justine.

Hello everybody!

How has your week been? Hope you guys are doing well, and that those who are fasting during Lent are staying strong ^^

I was just thinking about how tomorrow is praise night, and at the beginning of the week, it seemed like our family group's skit was in bits and pieces. But yesterday we practiced and had the screening, and I saw everything come together and was just amazed by it all. I think praise night is going to be totally awesome, and I just know that many seeds will be planted tomorrow night. Definitely keep praying for it, guys! And if you haven't already, it's definitely not too late to invite people :)

I also wanted to ask for prayer for a friend who is struggling in church back at home. She serves on one of the ministries there, and things seem to be getting really legalistic. She feels constantly burnt out and sometimes, it's hard to see where God fits into the picture. I can totally relate to what she's going through because I went through the exact same thing last summer, but my friend was always there to keep me accountable. It's really hard right now because I can't be there for her and every time we talk, I can just see how she's struggling all by herself. So yeah, if you could pray for her, that would be totally awesome. She's going off to college next year, so I guess also pray that she can not lose faith and will try to find a good church to plug herself into next year, a place where she won't be burdened with only duties and obligations, but instead be spiritually fed and loved.

Thanks, guys :) See you all tomorrow night!

christine

Hey guys,
So I thought of something during today's message.

Confessions and accountability.

I went to a youth retreat with my home church over Winter Break, and instead of the typical altar call, the speaker asked people to publicly confess sins that they were struggling with. I think it's true that we might not want to admit our faults because we're fearful that the people around us will judge us for our faults. But everyone's got things to admit, big or small.

Until confession happens, healing cannot begin. And until you confess to someone else, there's no one to keep you accountable.

So... I don't know. I thought maybe we could use this blog as a springboard, maybe, to talk about things that we deal with. Especially because Lent is coming up. We might all be giving up things, but some of us may need more accountability than others, and where better to find accountability from our brothers and sisters?

Maybe you're uncomfortable with sharing what you're struggling with, and that's totally legit. But I encourage you all to definitely share with someone. Two (or more) are stronger than one.

I thought I might share something that's really been on my mind lately. Because some of you read this blog, I hope you can help me be accountable, or maybe help pray for me about it.

I suck at Devotionals.

I didn't do them in high school. Or ever, really. Not that I didn't think about God, but I never really spent one-on-one time with Him. But it's an awesome feeling, you know - to bring every day to God at some point? Now, in college, I want to be consistent with approaching Him. I've been waking up even earlier than usual lately just because I want to have a clear mind and start my day focused on God. But I find that when I get to start QT-ing, my mind is already filled with worries: assignments that are due soon, upcoming quizzes, how cold it is outside, etc.

It really frustrates me that when I finally become consistent with a time to QT, I find myself not approaching God in the way that I should. I subconsciously rush myself through it even though I've set aside a lot of time. And it's just not good for how I start my days with God.

I don't know how you guys are with QT-ing, but I always feel like I'm subpar in that category compared with other people. If you could pray for me, or maybe if you see me during the day just ask how my QTs are, that would be really helpful and encouraging. Thanks a lot!

So, confession: Hi, my name is Christine, and I struggle with devotionals.

susan

you know what ive been thinking about these past few days?

yesterday at fg a question came out: "who is it hard to love?" 

and of course these answers came out first: parents, siblings, friends, etcetc.

but then i was just thinking (and whoever's in my fg will remember)....

it is so difficult to love God. 

it sounds atrocious, right? i thought that i would get kicked out of fg for even saying that out loud haha. but the thing is, it is so difficult to love someone that you literally cannot see. He's so intangible. people say all the time: "how do you know he's there?" because that's the thing: this isn't a "see-and-believe" type relationship. this is a wholly based on faith type relationship, but then what makes it real?

it's so easy to say "i have faith." so, so, so easy to just always repeat "i love God," "i love Jesus," slipping in ever so many "i love yous" as we pray. but sometimes for me those are just words, and it isn't until i step back and evaluate: do i really love God? how can i love someone who i've never ever met? someone that i attribute all these great things to yeah but i've still never met him. it's so so so so difficult to truly, actually, really love God. and to not only say it but to also know it, mean it and feel it. 

on a lighter but also sad note, i lost a necklace today. as of this school year, i have broke a necklace, lost a necklace, had a friend lose a necklace she bought for me, and lost another necklace. what a bad necklace school year. the last time i saw this particular lost necklace was actually at retreat, but i can't remember if i brought it home or not. sighs.

justine.

Hey everybody!

Just to let you know...IT'S WEDNESDAY!
and in 23 minutes, it will be THURSDAY!

So be happy! And if you're feeling stressed, YOU CAN DO IT! :D

---
So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

-Isaiah 41:10


YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY!

Jabez

Woot, first guy post!

Anyways, I think I can speak on behalf on the guys that we are real glad that our Valentine's surprise made all you GCC 2012 sisters happy. We won't lie and said that we had it all exactly planned out but we are glad that our attempt at showing our appreciation for the sisters at GCC went pretty well =).

I think I'm going to start reading this blog now, I just found out about it today, what a newb eh? Hopefully we can get more os GCC 2012ers to participate so that this will be a real nice way of communicating to everyone if needed.

Peace_-_-Jabez

justine.

I read this blog!

Just wanted to say to all the guys THANKS SO MUCH FOR TONIGHT! The Valentine's Day surprise was really sweet and awesome. The home-made bakes were very impressive, as were the roses :) So yay! Thanks again, it really cheered me up, especially after my not-so-good week.

christine

Hi -- who actually reads the blog? Haha.

Hope everyone who attended the retreat had a great time with friends, met new people, and encountered God in powerful and moving ways.

Anyways, I just felt sort of inspired to share these online devos that I loove reading. I know that there are many updated versions for this book, but I like the original, older-English text. Maybe someone will find these as enjoyable as I do? :]
Streams in the Desert

Have a blessed week!




>.-.=.-.=.-.=.-.=.-.=.-.=.-.=.-.=.-.<

Prayer Points:
1. That people will use this so that we can strengthen our fellowship and grow as sisters and brothers in Christ. (Susan)

Questions:
1. Where do you guys want to go for Spring Break? (Joy)

Sarah

Write on, peeps, write on. :) Yeah, I'm lame.

Well, since no one has written during this past week, I suppose I shall contribute:

I am mad excited about the retreat that's coming up tomorrow. Why? Because I haven't been to a retreat in forEVER. The last time I went to one was like in 5th or 6th grade, and even that one wasn't really legit. It was just with my class, and there wasn't too much contact with God during that time. 

I'm not saying I'm seeking a spiritual high or whatever - I don't even know what one feels like. I just really want it to be a changing experience in general, where I can just feel His presence while we're there, amidst all the greasy hair, lack of sleep, hoarse throats from singing/praying. 

I want it to be a changing experience for our class - that we'll just really be able to make the most of our first GCC retreat and really get to know and love each other AND spend time with some of the people that are going to be leaving us in a few months. 

I want it to be a changing experience for our church - that we'll just become more cohesive as a church, across campuses, and just enjoy our 2-day (0.5 Friday + 1.0 Saturday + 0.5 Sunday) break from the stresses and demands of the world. I don't know about you guys, but this past month back has been really, really stressful. I have like a really nice schedule, considering I have five classes. I start at 10/10:30 and end at 2/3. That's pretty good for me, because I like consistency. But in between writing at the Daily Pennsylvanian and trying to get in my at least 200 pg/week readings and still trying to put God first - it's been so much harder than I expected. I even had to give up work so I could make room for everything else. So this retreat, I just really, really want to let go of everything for once and just surround myself with not only the people I love, but a God that loves me.

So yeah. I can't wait until I get out of class tomorrow; I will most likely waste the time between 2-6 pm because I'll be so scatterbrained. BUT I'm hoping I'll tie up loose ends before I go so that when we get there, my mind will only be focused on what's important. And for those that are really burdened with a lot of work over the weekend: pray. I know that's cliched and all, but seriously, I prayed that things would just work out this week, and they kind of did. And I will be praying for all of y'all. This too shall pass, right?

Peace out, girl scout.

susan

i just wanted to say that girls' prayer meeting tonight was awesome...!!

...okay good night! haha

christine -edit

major edit.
{hopefully not another suggestion fail}

hi, maybe we should piggyback entries? with our amount of people, it's easy to lose sight of what other people have written, and no one wants to go through comments in every entry. i suggest always copying/pasting a prayer list or a question list at the end of our entries, so then at least people can think about certain topics. our entries don't have to be responses or even relevant, but i think we should do something to not lose our brothers' and sisters' prayer requests and questions.
-christine


>.-.=.-.=.-.=.-.=.-.=.-.=.-.=.-.=.-.<

Prayer Points:
1. That people will use this so that we can strengthen our fellowship and grow as sisters and brothers in Christ. (Susan)

Questions:
1. Where do you guys want to go for Spring Break? (Joy)

Sarah

Sup GCC2012 :)

I am an avid blogger, so I'm pretty excited to see what will unfold on this one...

Maybe we should make rules, like, 

1) No heinous spelling/grammar errors (unless you meant to do so.)

2) At least one person has to post every week (meaning, we can't go a whole month not writing.)

3) Don't be shy.

Any others? haha

Helen

This is a great idea Susan!

Joy

Where do you guys want to go for Spring Break! :)

Susan

Let's put our names in the title of the post so we know who wrote it =)

Nothing too much going on today yet, but my one prayer request: That people will use this so that we can strengthen our fellowship and grow as sisters and brothers in Christ.

Have a good one!