post winter retreat reflection

retreat was a great time of fellowship... seemed like people really connected. the games were actually fun haha there was a lot of small group time and the groups were really well made so it was a joy to be able to share and chill with these ppl more.. worship went pretty well (which i was originally really worried about bc there were some "issues")... the speaker was a cool guy who was in my smallgrp and was a pretty good speaker(lots of stories :P)...i actually LIKED my room this year =) the "early room" ppl who made me laugh even early in the mroning and latelate at night.. and saw coop faces such as CHRISTIE! :D ahem.

but ANYWAYS. winter retreat has kind of brought me to a conclusion of a few weeks journey of trying to figure some stuff out... ok not a conclusion, more liek a "game plan". i was feeling so estranged from God before ... and a 2 sundays ago at cfc the msg was about prayer and how you should pray with a clean heart because if you "cherish" sin in your heart God might not hear you. (psalm66:18). so i kind of errr realized that there were a lot of things in my life i wasnt' letting go of... and maybe that was why i was feeling so far from God.

then i had this conversation with mike about faith. how sometimes we need to take risks and jump in a DO something TRUSTING that God will work in us despite us and not to always have to be comfortable and have everything laid out exactly right for us beucase how is that trust at all then? if you don't have any risk then are you really trusting in God's ability? or jsut your own?

so i got to retreat thinking ok. i wanan DO smoething. i wanna take a chance and see what God wants to show me and how he wants to grow me and etc. ... but i was stuck. because i didn't know where to start. you can't just JUMP into oblivion. i wanted a little bit of direction as to how to know WHERE God wants me to trust him in, where he wants me to take action and stuff... i was so confused. so a bunch of ppl said things that i dont' wanna type out and then during one of the msgs the pastor was talking about this verse (romans 12 something)

Living Sacrifices
1Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's
mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy
and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual[a] act of
worship. 2Do not conform any longer to the pattern of
this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your
mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what
God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

So here's my "game plan". To "offer" every part of me to God wholeheartedly and fully. i'm gonna schedule out my time so that i can be more effective. cuz i'm really lazy and usually i end up wasting away hour after hour... i'm going to do my best in school... i'm gonna work out ... and i'm going to try and give of myself as much as i can to others incl family and friends and .. i guess even ppl i dont' like. and i'm going to try to love people more. but that's a whole other story that i dont' wanna get into right now ..anyways, when i get my LIFE in check... in FOCUS... maybe THEN i'll be able to see where God wants me to be.

sorry for boring you all for so long and still being so vague but this stuff is so hard to TYPE out. it's hard for me to talk about too. becuase somehow it jsut doesnt' sound as good in words as it does in my head or hopefully in action. so here goes.