Working Hard

Well looks like everything is off to a good start. We have 5 staffers up @ Cherokee with 2 more joining on Sunday. Had a great staff meeting on Saturday night, with some great music and singing and a time of reverence to God! 5 of you were there on Saturday night, but for the others let me share this scripture.

"1 When Israel came out of Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of foreign tongue,
2 Judah became God's sanctuary..."

Psalm 114:1-2

How does this apply to us? We are in a strange land, and even though the language isn't foreign to us, the atmosphere is. The scripture says, that Judah became God's sanctuary. Judah means PRAISE. We must always put our praise on!!! We know God is worthy of it, but also, we are reflecting Christ. I mean in a sense, we are the Jesus that the world gets to see! No, I'm not saying we are Jesus, but we are representatives of Him! We must act in such a way as to always honor Him in every action, in every word, in every job, (from tours to cleaning) and to every person. Remember, God is Love and loves everyone, and we must show that same courtesy...I mean, afterall...we aren't in the secret service. We need to let EVERYONE know Whom we serve and that He is The Source of the Light from which we "SHINE!"

HERE WE GO!!!

The Cherokee Experience begins this week for some of you guys! Hope you're ready to get an awesome summer ignited and ready to SHINE!!! Now as you head up to the beautiful Great Smokey Mountains some of you may have lost that fire that was there at orientation. I want to remind you just like Paul did to Timothy to "stir up the gift of God which is in you..." 2 Timothy 1:6 Remember that we are here under God's leadership & provision, and He will equip us to do what He has called us to do. Many of you may be anxious or even fearful, but remember to know that it's not you working but Christ working through you! The very next verse in 2 Timothy says, "...God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." (verse 7) Remember, whom God has called, He has also equipped!!! I know that each of you have been called to serve him everyday, and to serve Him this summer, so know that we LOVE you guys, and are praying for you, and look forward to seeing you VERY SOON!!!

Transformers

They say, "Desperate times call for desperate measures." Well I say that busy times call for "I NEED A BREAK!!!" OK...so I need to apologize for not posting this week until today, but it has been "crazy" busy.

Today's Thought:

"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."

Romans 12:2

I thought the picture was kinda cool. But more so I thought the wording underneath it was really cool! It says, "Their War. Our World." Sometimes that's the way we think about our lives. That there is a spiritual battle over our lives and whoever wins (Good vs. Evil) will transform us into the person we should be. That's not it at all!!! In fact, the scripture tells us just the opposite...It says be not conformed to this world. Then it says something very key...be TRANSFORMED by the renewing of your mind. WOW! Do you see the implications of that? The reality is that we are not transformed by some spiritual forces, but rather we transform ourselves by renewing our own mind. WE HAVE A CHOICE!!! We can choose to follow Christ & serve His word, or we can choose not to. If we choose not to then we have conformed to the world...(and trust me, it's easy to conform to it!) Instead, let's DARE TO BE DIFFERENT!!! Let's realize that, although there is a spiritual war for our souls going on, their is also a war within ourselves. The war can only be won when we make a decision to RENEW our mind. This has to be done day in, and day out. The only way to renew our minds is to get into HIS Word. The very Word that tells us that HE makes ALL THINGS NEW.

In closing, instead of saying Their War. Our World. Let's come to the realization that it's Their World. Our War!!! FIGHT HARD!!!!

Words of Wisdom from Kristin...

As I look upon the final week of classes and the dreading week long event known as finals in college land I become nervous as to what is to come but something that keeps me leveled and gives me strength is Ephesians 6: 10-11
“A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil."
For the past four years of trial and tribulation in the world of universities if I learned one thing it is this: always have strength in the Lord.
As we all go on to start our adventure this summer we never know what obstacles we will face. Our faith in our Lord will keep us strong and never let us down. Now I am not saying that there won’t be moments when the devil is knocking at our door, but it is our strength in the Lord, and His armor that keep us from opening that door.
So I guess the question of the day would be: Are you packing your armor?

~Kristin

The Blind Side

Click the video to see today's thoughts!!!

Words of Wisdom from Wesley...

My favorite verse is Romans 8:28. "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."

It’s my favorite verse because it lets me know that even when I’m going through hard times, everything will turn out for good.

~Wesley

Greetings from Jason

Greetings to the SummerShiner guys from Jason!