The Invitation

 

Times Square

The week in NYC was awesome, tiring, sometimes trying, but awesome! We left from Timberline Wednesday the 10th very very early, 6 a.m. that may not seem bad but when you are up till 1 it's early. Our flight out was a bit after 11. All went well, we made it to LaGuardia about 5:30ish. Then there was a miscommunication with who was and when they were supposed to pick us up. So we ended up waiting in the airport for around an hour and a half. Which was fine me and a few of my buddies took out our instruments and did a little praise and worship sesh right there on the floor in the LaGuardia baggage claim. Once we were picked up and arrived at NYSUM, we had dinner and right after that we went out for a few hours and checked out our surroundings.We got back in about 1:30 a.m. then we were up about 6:30 to make it to breakfast at 7. Due to a staff member just walking out on NYSUM the week before we showed up, our schedule was not quite done. So instead of our free day to explore the city being Tuesday before we left it ended up being that Thursday. 

Before we started our free day the Lord did provide us with a way to serve. There was a truckload of 3000 blankets that had to be unloaded in the morning. So again up at 7 for breakfast then unloading a Semi. Then we headed out on our free day I probably walked about a million miles but it was awesome.

Me And Cody

 I spent the whole day with a group of my friends (Luke, Cody, Naomi, Emily, and Dean). We went all day from 11 to 11. We walked Manhattan and Queens for most of the day. 

I was able to see pretty much all the major landmarks.


We stopped at the 9/11 memorial, which was the one thing I had to see if I couldn't see anything else. We hit up Grand Central Station, the Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center, the Tree out in front of the Rock, Times Square and we took the Staten Island ferry out the night before and saw the skyline and Lady Liberty! We also just wandered a good little bit taking it all in. As it is quite, quite vast and amazing how much there is.

Friday morning our schedule was about worked out. Our large group was split into 3 smaller groups for the trip. My team was able to go to a food pantry over in the Bronx and sort, stack, and handout to those in need.The pantry we were helping was in the Bronx and was actually a Puerto Rican church body, as that area of the city has a very large Latino population. we started about 9 and went till about 2:30. Again after being up late and then up very early. We then headed back to NYSUM for a quick little break and dinner and then we were out again.

Me, Caleb, Lissy

We headed to Rockefeller Center and we caroled under the tree for a few hours. That was an awesome experience. We then split into our groups again. My group went and set up a food truck in front of Penn Station where we gave out hot dogs, water, and hot coco. While doing that we went in groups down into the station with blankets, water, and toiletries, looking for the homeless.  We would assist however we could. We helped quite a few people that night. The one instance that stuck out to me most that night was with a man named Scotty. He had lost his job and started drinking,  he did claim to know Jesus, and did seem to know quite a good amount of Scripture. We talked for awhile, just asking about him and his story. So me and my group brought him some food, water, and blankets then we prayed over him. As we were heading out I was the last to leave from the area, as a couple of officer's came along and told him he had to go. He then became rather hostile towards the officers. So I stepped in talked him down from arguing and yelling at them and got him to move along. If we hadn't been there he probably would have been arrested that evening. I believe that God put us there that night for him and his good.

Saturday our entire group went out in the morning to a very large church that helps underprivileged kids and runs a school there also. We gave out presents, snag songs, made balloon animals, and did face painting. All to make a child's Christmas better.    
Later that night we were out again handing out blankets, water, and toiletries. We also went around caroling and I did a little bit of street preaching. I laid out the Gospel for people passing by.

Me, Cody, Luke, Naomi, Emily

Sunday I went to the Brooklyn tabernacle. Let me just say it was, loud and amazing! Good teaching and good music. After church me and a couple of buddies walked around Brooklyn for a little while and ate Pizza. We had the afternoon off for a bit more time to explore. Later in the day we went to Tom's diner which is the coffee shop that you see in Seinfeld. We had dinner there, I felt like I was in an episode of the show.
 

On Monday we went out to a soup kitchen and helped cook, serve food, stock and organize a pantry. I helped prepare food. Cutting, dicing, and stirring. Later that night we again went out for the blanket ministry. We stood outside of a shelter and gave out all we had to give. Food, water, blankets, toiletries. There were many opportunities for our whole group to share the Gospel, which we did.

Luke, Lyndee, Kassy, Me

For our final day of work on Tuesday we were at a recovery center. We had the privilege of leading worship, sharing testimonies, and giving a message. I had the joy of leading the worship team for the day. A few of my friends shared their stories and my buddy Evan shared a short Devo out of Job.


Because of our flight being extremely early the next morning we did not go out on the homeless ministry. We had a short time to go out and see or pickup anything that we wanted. I shot up to the Bronx real quick with some friends and saw Yankee stadium. then headed back.

We left for LaGuardia at 3:45 our flight was at 6:30. We made it back to Denver about 10:30 a.m. I did not leave to come home for another 14 hours as my flight was at 12:30 that night. I did not get home until 5:45 Thursday morning needless to say I was ready for a shower and a nap.

 I am so happy I have chosen to take this year out at Timberline. Without doing it I would have never had this great opportunity. I enjoyed it very much. The city, the people, and the food was awesome! I was so happy that I was able to be a part of a group that was there to love on people.

I am so glad I was able to go on this trip. From being able to be hands on and help people to seeing the city and having lots and lots of food, it was an awesome week. Not to mention the subway is pretty cool.

As I try and apply some song lyrics to each post I thought of how these really apply well with what happened for me and the entire group in NYC.

 
In the Palace in the land of mercy
The King looked out from His throne
He saw the sick and the homeless and hungry
He saw me lost and without hope
And moved with compassion
He sent out His only Son
With the invitation
to come

This is your invitation
Come just the way you are
Come find what your soul has been longing for
Come find your peace
Come join the feast
Come in
This is your invitation

So I stood outside the gates and trembled
In my rags of unworthiness
Afraid to even stand at a distance
In the presence of Holiness
But just as I turned to go
The gates swung open wide
And the King and His only Son
They invited me inside

As the week went on and every time me or one of my friends was able to help someone and share Christ with them, I now can see a parallel to salvation. We all before Jesus were homeless, some of us accepted the invitation others have rejected it. In the same way I saw this when we tried to help a few people during our time on the streets.

So I want to leave you with this question, are you spiritually homeless, do you know someone who is? If so accept the invitation or give it.
                                                                               

Till Next Time
Love Jared 

NYC update

Depending on the way the week goes I may not have my normal Sunday post up as we will be in NYC pounding the pavement for Jesus.

Till Next Time
Love Jared

Only Getting Started

Ok so check this out! For our guest lecturer this week we had, drum roll please......... ZANE BLACK! For those of you who don't know who he is, he is basically one of the coolest guys alive. Don't believe me just Google him and you'll see. Those of you who know about him you know what I'm talking about. He is also a Timberline alum.

Zane spent the whole week talking to us about the Gospel. He explained easy, efficient, and effective ways to share and start conversations and continue them so they do not hit a dead end. He went over the GOSPEL acronym (which I already knew from my youth group days) it stands for.

G – God created us to be with Him.
O – Our sins separate us from God.
S – Sins cannot be removed by good deeds.
P – Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again.
E – Everyone who trusts in Him alone has eternal life.
L – Life with Jesus starts now and lasts forever.

Another good tool to use is triple A.
Ask- Ask what they believe.
Admire- Admire their faith in their belief.
Admit- Admit that you cant do it without Jesus and that is why you believe in him.

This was an awesome week for these tools to be taught and learned since we will be going to NYC this coming Wednesday and they will most defiantly be useful.     

I am continuing to prepare me devo and put the finishing touches on it! On my practice run I was able to manage under my 10min time frame. We shall see how it plays out when it's game time.

Our OSEF all afternoon Monday was building snow shelters. The type of shelter we were building were quinzees. For you who do not know what those are, what you do is you pile snow, then pack it down, and then carve out the inside so you can crawl inside comfortably and stay of of the elements.
Later that night me and my buddy Luke spent the night in mine. It was rather comfortable inside staying rather warm. But I think if I don't have to sleep in one next time I will choose my bed haha.












Friday we had a Christmas party down at Horizons for our Friday outreach. It was a packed house we had over a 120ish people packed for dinner.

So on Thursday night we had just one class finishing up Isaiah. It was more of a devotional time where we just looked at many different verses from the book. We were to pull truths from the verses, while watching the slideshow of the verses a thought came to my mind. While we would often lump Isaiah into the apocalyptic group of books and would generally think it is more about the wrath of God and how he is going to punish those who do not head the warning. That is true, however as I was sitting just reading the verses I thought to myself "man this book is a love letter to his people." Because it was also written so that we would know what not to do and what to stop doing. I don't think we would normally look at a prophetical book like this. Where as we would always look at the ministry of Jesus is all about love. But honestly think about it the Bible is a love letter to us. So I want to put a few verses here that provoked this thought.

Isaiah 40:31
But those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Isaiah 53:5
But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.

Isaiah 53:6
We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Isaiah 55:8
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD.

Isaiah 41:10
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 40:28
Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.

Isaiah 41:13
For I am the LORD your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.

Those were just some of verses that brought me to that conclusion. I really liked the last one it just hit me like wow "when I can't do it I am being help up no matter what". 

So as I was going through this week I thought of this.

I was just a little kid when
I heard about You for the first time
And all I really, really knew for sure
Is You were God, I wanted to know You

And now the years have come and gone
I'm still singing that same song
You might think by now I would have reached the end
But the truth is...

I am only just beginning
I am only getting started to know You now
I'm only getting started

And when I start thinking I'm getting close to the end,
You just smile at me and say
"Hey kid, you ain't seen nothing yet"

I'm only getting started
I'm only getting started now

Till Next Time
 Love Jared

See The Glory

So in this week to give thanks we had a shorter class week ending on Wednesday. We had Frank Cirone the director over at our sister school Ravencrest come and do an overview of the Minor prophets. When you think about sharing Jesus with someone, where would you turn?
Matthew, Mark, Luke, John? You would never think to start with the Minor prophets. Well guess what? You can. We went through all 12 of the Minor prophets and how all of them while not only telling many people and nations to repent of what they are doing so that destruction does not come upon them, they also have many great depictions of Christ coming. It was very fast paced this week since we didn't have much time before families would be here on Wednesday. When I saw that this was going to be the topic for the week I was very much encouraged, seeing that I will be teaching out of Jonah when our NYC trip rolls around. Which is only about 2 weeks away now. Just the fact that I saw how the book of Jonah is a great way to God's love and justness, now being confirmed by a man who has been teaching that same thought out of these prophets was  a great feeling. Something I had never noticed before is why God wanted to save Nineveh.

Jonah 4:11 - NET

Should I not be even more concerned about Nineveh, this enormous city? There are more than one hundred twenty thousand people in it who do not know right from wrong, as well as many animals!"

The term that is used when it refers to people not knowing right from wrong most likely is referencing children. So think about this, Jonah is so concerned with wanting those who have done wrong to get what is coming to them that he totally overlooks those who are young and do not know the difference. Yet God sees this and that's why he wanted Jonah to go. Not just so that those who were doing wrong could have a chance to repent but also to save the children of the nation. 
So I will ask this question, next time we want someone to get whats coming to them, we should ask ourselves is there someone that has had no understanding of whatever the sin may be that the outcome of the punishment will effect? I am not sure why I asked that question but I felt compelled to type it up. 

Please forgive me as with how busy we were this week I did not think to take a lot of photos. We had around 120 people for Thanksgiving at the lodge. So everywhere you turned there was people. Many of the students parents were out for a long weekend. I was blessed to be able to hang out with my buddy Luke and his family on Thanksgiving. It was nice to be with a big family as I am away from mine. As luck would have it the were a family of 8 so it was about as close as I could get without being home. I spent the day on the mountain, that's one I can check of the bucket list. Snowboarding on Thanksgiving, doesn't get much cooler than that, no pun intended.  Wait why not? Pun intended hahaha. 

Dinner was good but just not the same. I was missing my Gramma's Green bean casserole, my dad's Butternut Squash, my mamma's cheesy pineapple dish, and my Mimi's Apple pie. Just some of what I didn't have on my plate. But don't get me wrong I was thankful. 

We had the great privilege of being able to hear about Torchbearers from 3 generations of the Thomas family. We started with our own director Dan talking about future. Then we had his grandmother the wife of the founder talk to us about Torchbearers past. Finally we had his father talk to us about Torchbearers present. It was super cool to see how God has used this family to impact so many, and those who they impacted make an impact on so many more. 

This past Tuesday in preparation for the holiday and a bunch of visitors coming in, for my work day I spent 3 hours down in our shop painting railing for a deck project we are in the process of finishing. It was nice to be painting in a warm shop during a snowstorm.

It is only a few weeks now till I am home for Christmas break and believe me I am ready to be back for a bit. As I was boarding on the mountain again today I had my music on going down the run. As I was listening to my country music I began to miss home, family, and friends. But I began to think of how if I did not miss them for this short time I would have never had this awesome experience of going west, meeting new people, and trying new things. Least of all being able to go over 38mph down a snow covered mountain in Colorado!(Don't believe me? Check this pic out of my run stats.)  I would be at home doing the normal, and honestly probably okay with it. But not knowing what else is out there. So I challenge you don't be okay with the norm, get out and experience what God has created! Weather it be just going outside and getting off the couch or going across the country as I did. whatever it may be do it before your chance is gone. There is so much God has created that we can enjoy, don't get caught up with small stuff when you can see the big stuff he has made!

So I will leave you with this-

I never did like the word mediocre
I never wanted it to be said of me (Oh no)
Just point me to the top and I'd go over (over)
Looking for the very best that could be

So
What is this thing I see
Going on inside of me
When it comes to the Grace of God
Sometimes it's like

I'm playing GameBoy standing in the middle of the Grand Canyon
I'm eating candy sitting at a gourmet feast
I'm wading in a puddle when I could be swimming in the ocean

Tell me what's the deal with me
Wake up and see the Glory

Every star in the sky tells His story
And every breeze is singing His song
All of creation is imploring (hey)
Come see this grand phenomenon
The wonder of His Grace
Should take my breath away
I miss so many things
When I'm content with
 
I'm playing GameBoy standing in the middle of the Grand Canyon
I'm eating candy sitting at a gourmet feast
I'm wading in a puddle when I could be swimming in the ocean


Till Next Time
Love Jared

A pic of the group from about a week ago

Walk with the wise

So this past week we hit the mountain a lot! I have been to the hill 4 times this week. I'm really getting it down. Loving my Never Summer Snow Trooper as well. This board is freaking awesome! As I am typing this section (Saturday night) snow is coming down. So we will be up early trying to get some of the fresh stuff over at the resort.

 This past Monday our class was at the mountain. We were familiarizing ourselves with the resort and going over how to teach the basics of Skiing and Snowboarding. Reason being the 2nd half of the year we will be helping lead groups on the mountain and working with them. It will mainly be youth groups coming in from what I understand. But seriously whats better for a class on Monday than Snowboarding?!

So this past week we had Brian Onken as our guest speaker. His topic was on the Trinity, it was a very good series this week in my opinion. We discussed how the Trinity is a vital part of our faith. The Godhead 3 in 1 with all parts being different and serving different purposes yet each entity can fill every position. I always love listening to a subject that I have a pretty good understanding of. I realize how blessed I am to have been raised on the truth, the facts and knowledge of the Bible. If you do not have a good foundation of the basics, it will be more difficult to grasp the more intricate aspects of God. I see this in some of the questions asked during class. Where as I may think "well this or that just doesn't line up with Gods character so why would it even apply here"? But I have a pretty good foundation to lean on when it comes to understanding how the Lord works. I credit that to my parents, grandparents, my 2nd set of parents (The Morgans) my pastor, and the other Godly people in my life.

1 big thing that stuck out to me this week in our discussion was how a lot Christians most of the time say a very generic prayer and don't really pay attention to who they are talking to. Whether it be the Father, Son, or Spirit. Think, have you ever started praying and said dear father, and then somewhere a little ways in said thank you for coming to earth and dieing for us? The problem there is that the Father didn't die for us. While it was God fully man, it was Jesus the Son not the Father. Think about that next time you pray, be diligent and specific in what you pray. We may know and understand that to be true but not aware of blurring the lines. We also talked about how no one really ever knows what to do about, or with the Spirit, how he, not it,(because the Spirit is a being of the Godhead not just a thing or """power""" we acquire) can become the strange cousin that we forget about. The Spirit is a vital part of our everyday as Christians. Because without the Spirit there would have been no one to offer up the sacrifice to the Father. Did you know that? I didn't, one of the cool things I have learned this week. Hebrews 9:14 says

 "How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!"

So we see right there how in one very big way how the Spirit is a vital  part of the Trinity and not just the estranged cousin of the Godhead. One other point to mention is that she same Spirit that was given at Pentecost to the disciples is the same Spirit we have today. We often forget about that, and think the time of miracles is over because they were the ones who did them. But it would stand to reason that since we have the same Spirit as the disciples had we can do those same miracles. The one thing we have to look at though is that even when the disciples were healing people and doing miracles, they were doing the will of the Lord. Jesus even did his work the same way, which was by the will of the Father. They did not heal everyone who needed to be. Which brings us back to prayer. When you pray do you ever take time after you are done to listen, or is it just amen and then on with your life? How will you know what you are to do if the conversation is one sided? Along with reading the Bible, when you pray take some time to listen, the Lord may just speak to you.

Eric^^ On The Left And Collin^^ On The Right

 

 This past Friday night we were again down at the coffee hour and then we had the treat of helping Horizons with their Thanksgiving night. We help setup and just sat, ate, and talked with people. About Jesus if the opportunity presented itself, if not just making friendships. Sadly I still have not seen my friend Muhammad so I pray he is doing well and is safe. However I was able to spend a good amount of time with Ivan again this week. I found out that he will be going home in a month to finish school back in Singapore. I am trying to coordinate a day on the mountain with him before he goes. So if you would please pray that we can get something worked out so we can meet up. One thing that I am glad about is that he plays some of the same PC games that I do. So even after he heads back home I will be able to keep in contact and be an influence on him through that outlet.

The Epitome Of Nick

So as I am finishing this up now after a full day on the Mountain a thought just popped into my mind. I had been wondering what song reference I was going to use this week. I like to not only link the lyrics to something I learned about in class but also to something I have been doing the past week. So I was thinking of  "Walk With The Wise" to use this week. It came to my mind because of 1 the subject this week and how because of my walk with people older and wiser than myself I have a somewhat good understanding of the Trinity. Also along with that, the crew I have been boarding with and watching and taking pointers from. Without them I would not be anywhere close to where my skill is right now. Especially my buddy Cody with the years of boarding under his belt has made things know to me I would have never thought of, or been very frustrated learning. So these words came to mind. Starting from verse 2.



I've learned to look for answers in those born before my time
As I listen to them tell me what they've learned in their lives
I talk to friends with understanding much deeper than my own
And gain wisdom beyond measure I could never find alone
       
If we walk with the wise we will grow wise woah woah
If we walk in the light then our path will be bright I know
There's someone who's already been where we must go In the light of what they've learned we find
That we will grow wise if we walk with the wise


Till Next Time
Love Jared

Me, Luke, And Cody In The Back, On Our Way To The Hill

Burn The Ships

Another week in the pages of history. We have been dumped on this week. We have about a foot to a foot and a half of snow on the ground. Which makes everyone very very very happy. Aside from being able to go down the little slope out behind the lodge there hasn't been to much snowboarding or skiing. But we have made due till this weekend. This weekend was the opener at the resort. I went out Sunday. I had prior obligations on Saturday watching Gator football. Plus it was going to be very very crowded opening day I decided it would be better for me to wait just a bit longer and not get run over.

So today all that was open at the ski resort right now is green runs, which was very good for me as they are not to difficult. I had some good runs and didn't get destroyed by the lift. So all in all a very productive day. I am picking snowboarding up very quickly. I will be a part of the Xgames team this next coming season....... okay I'm not that good yet but I am doing very well. Working on carving down the mountain is my next task. I have balance and my stopping down. Picked most of it up by myself but have had some friends give me some pointers which has helped a lot and kept me from learning the wrong way. #4ThisIGiveThanks.
To the right (Luke. Me. Cody.) Below left (Cody) And below right (Me. Cody. Luke. Naomi.)











 This past Tuesday we had our workday and the crew I was on had cutting and splitting duty. For about 3 hours. I helped toss and set rounds on the splitter the whole time. The weather was nice, sunny with the temp right around 18* for the day. That's right that is me in the T shirt representing good ole grace camp!

 To the left is my buddy and one of my small group leaders Daniel. He lead the cutting, splitting, and stacking for the day.







For our New York mission trip I will be leading a teaching for the group I am in. It will be for people we are working with up there. I have decided to teach out of Jonah. The reason I picked Jonah is because of how it can show the love of the God of the New Testament in the Old, and cross right over into the Gospel really easily with a great Old Testament story. I am to prepare a short 5-10 minute lesson. However I am preparing it in a way that my pastor (Mike Hughes) taught me. So when I started preparing I did not know my time frame I had to work within. Which in turn I had started on a 30 minute sermon haha. So I will have to cut it down just a bit.    
 
So this past week we had a guest speaker Jerry Benjamin. His teaching style was very fast and rather hard to follow for me. He spoke on trusting in the sufficiency of Christ. He went through many different passages in scripture. One point though that stuck out to me was a point he brought up about the Israelites in the desert. He pointed out that when the Lord spoke to his people and wanted them to do something that they hadn't done before and that required faith, it was very easy for them to do. However when they were told to do something a second time or something that was very similar to another command that they had been given, they would rely on their own understanding. Because they liked what they knew and didn't have to rely on God in those cases.

I had been wondering what I would point out for my main thought this week, as I had a harder time following our guest speaker. But on Thursday night we had a different guest speaker. A local Pastor (Doug Toller) he spoke on finishing strong. What I mean by that is, how we as Christians can start off so on fire for God and as time goes by we lose the passion. He talked about how the little things we may not think a big deal can in the end start to taint your life and weaken your faith. So then you end up going back to the ways you knew before Christ, because it is easier that way. I thought in the same way Israel did the same things over and over again especially in the desert. We can do the same thing if we aren't careful, not trusting in the one who brought us this far. So I pray that after this year me and the other students here do not let go of what we have learned. So these two verses come to mind.

 James 1:2
Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,

And

Philippians 1:6
And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of
Jesus Christ.


So take heart when the going gets tough. Because when the going gets tough we don't have to get tough and do it alone. So this song comes to mind

Starting from verse 2 into the chorus 

n the spring of new beginnings a searching heart set sail
Looking for a new life and a love that would not fail
On the shores of grace and mercy we landed with great joy
But an enemy was waiting to steal, kill, and destroy

Quietly he whispers, "Go back to the life you know"
But the one who led us here is saying

"Burn the ships we're here to stay
There's no way we could go back
Now that we've come this far by faith
Burn the ships we've passed the point of no return
Our life is here so let the ships burn and burn"

Till Next Time 

Love Jared