January 5, 2007

I feel like I should say something about New Year's or Christmas, but nothing I tried worked. So, instead I am going to tell you about something that happened to me a few years ago.

It was Saturday night, and I was in bed, talking to God. (I seem to do that a lot) I asked if He really was real that He would prove it. Well, once again no vision appeared in my room telling me the answer to life's deepest questions (I thought it would be easier if God worked that way) but something pretty cool did happen the next day. I woke up the next day, not thinking about what I had asked God for, and got ready for church. We went and when church was letting I decided to go visit a friend of mine who was working in the nursery. I walk and she looks at me and says, "Are you here to pick something up?" I give her a look and say, "No, I came to see you" She gives me the same look and says, "Well, I found this with your name on it" She hands me a dvd and an index card with "Maria" written on it in very lousy handwriting. I take it, wondering who it's from and go home. I ended up watching it that day and crying my eyes out. The dvd was about a man who fell from a 1,000ft cliff and didn't die because God Had protected him. That proved to me: He is real. I brought it back to church and the index card. I wanted to return the dvd to it's owner and find the find the person who wrote my name on the card and thank them. I had no idea whose dvd it was and ended up leaving it where my friend had found it. I asked people if they knew whose writing was on the card and they all said the same thing, "It looks familiar, but I don't know whose it is."

Well, 3 years later I still don't know who it is, and I may never found out until I reach Heaven. But that's ok.

God loves you and answers your prayers. You just might not see the answer right way.

Don't back down,
ria

November 29, 2006

Hey Guys,

I know I said that I wasn't updating anymore but God is to amazing!!

I'll get straight to the point without to much detail because I know that no matter how hard I try I will never be able to word it perfectly.

Last week I was in bed, talking to God. For some reason something Sarah Walliser once told me rang through my head. That got me thinking about how I am with God. He has my heart, I know that for sure, but He needs my life also. So, I decided I wanted to become sold out for God. It doesn't matter whats going in with my future or what people think HE is all that matters. I was writing furiously in my journal (which Beth Berreth gave me) when I noticed the verse at the top. I nearly fell off my bed when I read it! It's in Deuteronomy 30 verses 19-20
"I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses.
Now choose life, so that you and your children may live
and that you may love the LORD your God, listen to His voice, and hold
fast to Him. For the LORD is your life"

I recently heard a story that said something to the extent of:
The executive of a business went away for a while and left his business to a manager. He told the manager that he would write him detailed letters about how everything should be done. The manager heartily agreed and the boss left. He faithfully wrote, giving detailed instructions in all his letters and said how he expected everything to be when he returned. When the boss returned home he was shocked to find the building disgusting. He entered and found the Secretary listening to music and filing her nails; the other workers were messing around and when the boss asked where his manager was, they pointed to his office. He entered and the manager gave him an enthusiastic hello. The boss asks him, "What is going on? Did you get my letters? Manager replies, "Oh yes! They were great! We all read them thoroughly and some of us even memorized whole sections! We had study groups and everything!" The boss says, " Why did you not put into action what I said?"

Christ has done SO very much for me that this is my "act of worship". I need to read His Word daily and actually do something about it! When it says "love your neighbor" I need to LOVE MY NEIGHBOR! I don't need to agree with what they are doing but still treat them with love, respect, and friendliness. What would happen if people actually took this to heart?

I want to encourage y'all to really read the Bible and put it into action. Remember that the "LORD is your life"! He has done INCREDIBLE things for you! Live like you mean it!

your sister,
Ria

October 15, 2006

Hi guys!
Unfortunately, this is the last blog update i have to make because I am no longer attending LIFE. However, even though I am no longer going to LIFE I want to leave you with one last thought. Lately, I have been thinking a lot about foreign missions because I believe that is where God is directing my life in the future. Then, for some strange reason I began to think, "who cares? It doesn't seem like God even hears me when I pray. I might as well be talking to a brick wall." Then God showed me this amazing verse:

Isaiah 43: 1-5
¹ But now, thus says the LORD, your Creator, O Jacob,
And He who formed you, O Israel,
"Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name; you are Mine!
² "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they will not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched,
Nor will the flame burn you.
³ "For I am the LORD your God,
The Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I have given Egypt as your ransom,
Cush and Seba in your place.
⁴ "Since you are precious in My sight,
Since you are honored and I love you,
I will give other men in your place and other peoples in exchange for your life.
⁵ "Do not fear, for I am with you;
I will bring your offspring from the east,
And gather you from the west.


After I read that I was amazed! The Creator of the universe thinks I am precious. Not only that but, I am honered and loved in His sight! He will even give other people in exchange for my life! You might be thinking, "Maria, your crazy this verse is not about you, it's about Jacob." Well, that may be true but I believe the Bible is personal and I can insert my name into that verse because God means it for me. Personally. I also believe He means it for everyone alive on this planet! I also love Zephaniah 3:17:

"The LORD your God is in your midst, A victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.

My God rejoices over me with shouts of joy! And I know for a fact He rejoices over you as well! If that doesn't make your day I don't know what will!

Be blessed,
Maria

March 5, 2006

Mr. Jackson has started doing a series he calls "Life Lessons" the basic point of this weeks life lesson was to have an eternal outlook on things. A good example is doing your math homework (or any subject for that matter) if someone asks you what your doing you could say "what's it look I'm doing? Math! hello?" but the best response is " I am using the brain God gave me to uncover secrets about our world". when our outlook is on the eternal our perceptive is different and (hopefully) better. It gives us a positive perspective instead of a negative one. i hope you all focus on the eternal this week!!! have a blessed day (week, whatever)

a certain riarose

January 22 , 2006

Hi guys (and girls)!!

Christmas was wonderful and LIFE started up 3 weeks ago (but being the lazy punk I am I never got around to updating it) = ) We brought in the Christmas (and the New Year) by going on one of Mr. Nobraten's famous treasure hunts. I was great fun. And then last week Mr. Jackson talked about weddings (since Stephanie just got married the night before) and how we should prepare for Christ's second coming since we are the Bride of Christ. then tonight we talked about God's love for us and how He is preparing a place for us. I hope that y'all had a good Christmas and New year! Keep trusting God!!!

Maria

December 5, 2005

Hello all,

sorry I haven't updated in a while (I keep starting my blogs like that don't I). Last night we talked about the names of God. We broke up into small (ok they weren't that small but hey...) groups and Mr. Jackson gave us a sheet that had like 600 of Gods names on them and we had to pick one of them. my group picked the Jasper Stone. The sheet had biblical references next to the name, ours was in Revelation. We couldn't figure out for the life us what color jasper was...I thought it was green, some other people (Ruth DeGray and Amy Murray I think) thought it was red or purple. Mr. Jackson thought it might be clear. We then decided that it didn't matter what color it was but that the message was still the same: God is precious and rare and beautiful. Then Mr. Jackson played us this song that showed us that there is a name of God in every book of the Bible.He also showed us short clips of movies that had to do with being rescued. He told us that mans greatest desire is to be rescued and that's what God is to us: a Rescuer. He appeals to the needs of the human soul, but still people don't want to be responsible to a God because that might mean that we have to change our ways.

This is sorta random but any ways, remember to celebrate Christmas all month and remember what it is truely about.

in Christ,
Ria

August 22, 2005

Hi! sorry I haven't updated in forever. I was moving and gone for a month (to CA for the birth of the twins). Umm...last night Mr.Kittle asked lots of questions about LIFE (as in, our youth group.) One of the questions was "If you could eavesdrop on someone talking about our youth group what would you want them to say?" What we agreed on was a non clickish group who genuinely loves God and you can see it in our everyday lives who makes new people feel welcome. Ruth said something along these lines "we need to go outside our comfort zone and be friendly to the new people" Also since most people in LIFE are homeschooled we don't need to make it a HUGE thing cause that can make public schoolers and private schoolers feel like a outsiders. Now on the subject of prayer groups...Noah said it would be helpful for people to be more broad on their prayer requests like instead of just "school" maybe something like "school because Math is really tough this year and I don't want to flunk" Also it would be good to have prayer partners because I don't know about you but I don't really want to pour my heart out to a guy or someone I don't know really well. But that's just my personal opinion. It would be nice also if poeple would check up on their partners prayer request (Andrew W.). Anyways, the lessons...we all want something that will make us think (that comment courtsey of Emily E., Amy M. and Hannah D.), that would be fun but deep in the Bible (Matt G.) and interactive (Maria).

Oh ya. Deeper Impact. That happened a few weeks ago. I didn't go but I got an earful from Jayne (or Bethany B.) and Emily B. Since I didn't go I am not going to say anything about it but hopefully I will ask Jayne or someone else to.

in His grace,
     Maria

June 7, 2005


Hi guys,

     Sorry I haven't updated in forever. Kept forgetting. Anyway, 2 weeks ago we did those encouragement cards for everyone. It was pretty fun. I can't wait to see what people wrote me!! This last Sunday we had a church baptism and the DeGrays house. 17 people were baptized!!

TTFN!
maria

April 25, 2005

Hello all,

     Mr. Jackson talked about friendship tonight. A friend is someone who is patient, kind, loving, selfless, considerate, forgiving and all that good stuff. Some other things that I just thought of was: they laugh with you, talk with you and encourage you. Mr. Jackson wasn't able to really go into this because of a shortage on time so I will.=) Have you ever thought about the perfect friend? I have and have come to this conclusion: there is only one perfect Friend. And guess what? He saved me and He pulled me from the grave. Sometimes my friends hurt me, but God never will. Sometimes my "friends" leave me, but God never will. Isn't that comforting!! Wow, I never thought about that before!! How cool!! God is also forgiving, which at times is VERY hard to do, for me at least. Isn't it wonderful to know that God is always there for us? He hurts when we hurt, smiles down at us when are full of His love, and grieves when we grieve. How comforting. anyways I need to go, so bye.

in His love,
     Maria Trela

April 19, 2005


To all my fellow LIFErs, LIFEers, People in LIFE????

Anyway, Mr. Jackson started off LIFE with this question: what are you afraid of? Mine is spiders, other peoples were monsters and not fitting in and different things like that. He then pointed out that we should pray about these things. He took the message out of Phil.4:6-9 He gave us 3 steps:

1. Pray
* We should pray for everything
* with thankfulness

2. Think
*Think about things that are edifying and correct and are not putting others down

3. Do
* "the next thing"- like a distraction
* follow others godly example

Hope you are greatly encouraged by this!! Hope you have a blessed week!!!

signed the mystery writers (moohahaha)
A.K.A Ria Trela and her friend Sarah Caulkins

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you
James 4:8a

April 8, 2005

Howdy y'all!!
     Sorry I never got the blog updated last week- various things happened and well it never got done. Anyways, Philip Mohn gave a speech on Zimbabwe, which we are supposed to be sponsoring (and are failing at miserably). Well, it's a really cool country with an awesome name but 70% of the people are under the poverty line. My grandmother who lives in Oregon has a friend who is from Zimbabwe and I hope I have a chance to talk to her about it. I hope really decide to keep sponsoring the AWANA clubs there!!! Anywho, Mr. Jackson wasn't at LIFE, he was at a marriage conference (I think), so Mr.Kittle did the teaching. He talked on Colossians 3:12-14, which talks about compassion, gentleness, patience and forgiveness. He gave us definitions on each one then asked us how we can apply all these to our daily life. You soon realize that you have to have all of these to do all of it. In other words, you have to be kind to be compassionate and so on. I think the one that stuck out to me was being gentle. I'm not always that gentle to other people's feelings. It's something I need to work on. We should all work on forgiveness. It's always hard to forgive someone when they are late and it affects you and only you. I know because it is happens to me sometimes. I can get all worked up about it like "now we're not going of be able to finish our work!!!" it's kind of a dumb thing but for me it's hard. It's so neat to realize that God is always forgiving us no matter how late we are. Anyway, I need to go now so Bye!!!
Hope ya'll have a nice week!!!

Your friend,
     Maria

March 21, 2005

Hey people,

I sent the blog to hannah degray 2 weeks ago but it never went up, so i will quickly rerun though some of the stuff that I put in that blog. hannah degray is very busy so she can never update the blog(as some of you have noticed). So, she asked me (maria trela) to do it for her. So i am. Anywho, Mr. Jackson has been going through Ephesains for a while and here are my thoughts.

As ya'll know Easter (Resurrection Sunday) is on Sun. When i was little I always thought of Easter as a holiday where you got candy and went to church (and for us girls, sometimes got a new dress) but now I realize that it's something much more than that. Mr. Jackson was telling us what Paul said (Eph. 5:17; 6;1-10) about all these different'rules' we have to follow like: always speak encouragingly, obey your parents and don't think impure thoughts. This sounds almost impossible,especially if you look at the'always' part. That doesn't really have much to do with Resurrection Day,does it? Well it does. Jesus Christ died on a cross and then rose up again, right? Well, it must of taken an awful lot of power to do that. So if God can raise Jesus from the dead- can't He help you to obey your parents and speak encouragingly? well, of course! If you are a believer then the power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead lives in you and can help you do the'impossible'. I found that so mind blowing! Jesus lives in me and can help me with all my problems! I don't know about you but that makes Resurrection Day so much more special to me! It's always amazing to think that Jesus died for me, because He loves me!! I hope ya'll have an amaziing week and remember that He lives!!


in Christ,
Maria

December 6, 2004

Hello my dear friends =)
     I thought that the lesson last night was great. I don't know about the rest of ya'll, but it was exactly what I needed = ) It can sometimes be so HARD to give our burdens to God, but while they drive us into the ground, and leave us totally dead, Jesus can carry them easily. And that is what our servant savior came to do!!! That IS what Christmas is about. Jesus came to save us from this messed up life we are trying to live!! He is our strength our ever present help in time of trouble. = ) there is nothing that is burdening us that is too much for him. = ) that is beautiful, and wonderful, and.... yeah!!!!

This is an awesome verse:
Matthew 11:28_30
     "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. [29] Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. [30] For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

we will find rest for our souls. In Jesus, we will find rest for our souls!!

Hannah

November 15, 2004

Hey guys,
I was looking up “Voice” and found this psalm, which is all about Gods voice, and power and majesty, It's really cool:

Psalm 29:1-11
A psalm of David.

Ascribe to the Lord, O mighty ones,
ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
[2] Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.

[3] The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the Lord thunders over the mighty waters.
[4] The voice of the Lord is powerful;
the voice of the Lord is majestic.
[5] The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
the Lord breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.
[6] He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,
Sirion like a young wild ox.
[7] The voice of the Lord strikes
with flashes of lightning.
[8] The voice of the Lord shakes the desert;
the Lord shakes the Desert of Kadesh.
[9] The voice of the Lord twists the oaks
and strips the forests bare.
And in his temple all cry, "Glory!"
[10] The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;
the Lord is enthroned as King forever.
[11] The Lord gives strength to his people;
the Lord blesses his people with peace.

Later,
     Hannah

November 8, 2004

Hello Guys = )
     Soooooo.... what did ya'll think of last night's lesson? I thought it was really cool, I've really enjoyed the lessons the last couple of weeks. The "click" thing especially spoke to me. You know what is really hard about not being "clickish"? It is so hard to tell what is being "clickish" and what is just having close friends. I mean, what is the balance? We obviously need to be friendly to everybody, and not only the people we think are "cool", but we also need close friends. It would be silly to try to be best friends with everybody, and even worse to have no friend with whom you could really share your heart at all. But how do you have close friends without becoming clickish? That is my question. And what is the difference anyhow? Sometimes I think that people mistake close friends for "clicks", of course, on the other hand, I know that very often I'm clickish, and that's no good. I guess we can jut do our best and ask God for help and wisdom. = )

Hey, here's some verses for ya'll:
Col. 1:1-6
Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother,
To the holy and faithful brothers in Christ at Colosse:
Grace and peace to you from God our Father.
We always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you, because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all the saints-- the faith and love that spring from the hope that is stored up for you in heaven and that you have already heard about in the word of truth, the gospel that has come to you.

It is because of our hope in christ that we love each-other. That's the most that I can answer my question. If we are focused on God he will make us into his people.

Hannah



P.S. I recommend reading this whole passage, down to like 20 or so.

---

I was thinking about how to have close friends without being clickish, and the thought came to me. We can spend time and share what's on our hearts with close friends, by having them over or going places with them, but when we'er in a group we should try to include every one. That way we can avoid clicks AND have close friends.

Ya'lls Friend,
Joseph

November 1, 2004

Hey guys
    I just want to post this verse this week; it just seems to say a lot about the things that our group seemed to be going through last night.

     Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace I which we now stand. And we rejoicing the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance character, and character hope. And that hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.(Romans 5:1-5)

Rejoice guys, for we DO have hope.

     May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word. (2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

In the Joy of His salvation,
Hannah

October 25, 2004

Hello again guys=)

     It's been forever since I posted. Sorry about that=)(this is supposed to be a sheepish grin, in case you couldn't tell.)

     Hey, what did ya'll think of last night's lesson? (this is NOT merely a hypothetical question, it would be just awesome if ya'll would E-mail jonathank@trinityhouston.org. Jonathan can put any thoughts ya'll have up here for you =) any-way, I thought the lesson last night was pretty cool. It made me think, though I haven't been able to think on it as much as I would like. What are the strongest temptations and sins in my life? and when I know what they are, where/what is that way of escape that is promised? One of the girls in our group said that a temptation for her was to give up. And really that is such a temptation, even when we are not aware of it. It is a temptation to give up trying to resist temptation, it is a temptation to give up on lots of things, even on life. But, isn't it wonderful to know that, no matter how bad the temptation may be, there is a way of escape? and eventually an eternal escape. That is the thing I am most looking forward to. I can't wait until Jesus comes back and all sin and sorrow and temptation and all that is over and we can just be with him and be his forever. It is so going to be worth the wait!! Hee, hee!!!! I can't wait till he comes back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!(I'm at a loss for words)!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hannah

September 27, 2004

Hey Guys!!
     Those teeth were SO cool!!! It's really kind of frightening to think of how BIG those sharks were!! That one tooth (six inches I think) was early the same size as my hand. It would be so cool, in a scary sort of way, to see something with teeth that size. Sharks are really REALLY awesome. Umm... I can't really think of anything else to say about the things we heard about last night, except that it was really cool. If any of ya'll particularly liked something, E-mail me (At the Church E-mail) and I'll post what you say up here=)

Love Ya'll
Gabe=)

September 20, 2004

Romans 8:35-39
     Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:
     "For your sake we face death all day long;
         we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered."
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Col. 3:1-4
     Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. [4] When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

Col. 3:12_14
     Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

that's everything.
Hannah

September 13, 2004

Hello!
Sorry It's been so long since I wrote last, I've been so busy, with school starting, that I just haven't had the chance to update.=)
     Well... we finished our video series last night. The last video was about what is/is not going to happen now. He basically said that, without a moral standard, some elite is going to end up taking over the law-making or else the world (or at least America) will go into total chaos. The only other option, he said, is for us to turn back to God. And I think he's right. Where we are now, the laws can basically be changed any time. The government doesn't have anything to tell them what's right and wrong, so they just do either what they think will do them most good, or whatever the “loudest” person wants. If you think about it, that is really a pretty dumb way to run something, especially since people are very good at wanting most and “loudest” the very things that are worst for them. =P
     Well... I guess I just want to say one more thing to ya'll. Although we can't really change our government yet (I mean, we can't even vote!!) There is one thing we can do: Be LOUD about your faith.
Your sister in Christ
     Hannah

P.S. be prayin' for the life band as they do their “gig” this Saturday=

August 16, 2004

Hey guys=)
Leah had some really cool stuff to say last night. so often I'm afraid to love the people around me because It's so hard and I'm afraid that I'll be hurt or rejected. but It is not in our own strength that we love all the people we meet. It is only through God that we can love anyone!! Here's the passage that what she was talking about comes from:

1 John 4:16-19
And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.
In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him.
There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
We love because he first loved us.
(NIV)

I just thought that was an awesome passage; we need not fear when we are living in God's love. Then it is not in our strength that we love, but it is in God and for God that we love. That is Cool.

In His strength and for His Glory,
Hannah=)

August 9, 2004

Hey-low=)
     the service last night was excellent.(last night was another of those prayer meetings) I especially liked the way we split into groups to pray/praise. I was with a couple of the girls, and although it was a little hard at first, it was really cool to just pray together. At Life we have those little prayer times, and I really love that, but this was even cooler. We didn't share prayer requests or anything, we just praised God as a group, glorifying him for his goodness and faithfulness, and praising him for his redemption of us, and for his promise of heaven and life with him( Isn't it TOO cool that we will get to spend eternity with God? That is gonna be awesome!) Here's a passage we read during one of the praise times:

Psalm 138

I will praise you, O Lord, with all my heart;
before the "gods" I will sing your praise.
I will bow down toward your holy temple
and will praise your name
for your love and your faithfulness,
for you have exalted above all things
your name and your word.
When I called, you answered me;
you made me bold and stouthearted.

May all the kings of the earth praise you, O Lord,
when they hear the words of your mouth.
May they sing of the ways of the Lord,
for the glory of the Lord is great.

Though the Lord is on high, he looks upon the lowly,
but the proud he knows from afar.
Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
you preserve my life;
you stretch out your hand against the anger of my foes,
with your right hand you save me.
The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me;
your love, O Lord, endures forever__
do not abandon the works of your hands.

Your sister in Christ,
Hannah

     P.S. Hey, could ya'll be praying for my neighbor Katie? I don't THINK that she is saved, and I sent her a letter more than a week ago and still haven't gotten an answer. You can just pray that God will soften her heart toward him and that I would both speak and live as a good witness for him. Thanks=)

August 2, 2004

Hey Ya'll!=)
     I'm actually hoping to have someone who went to camp pearl do the blog today, but I haven't really found any-one yet. I did talk for a little while with Andrew and he said that one of the coolest things for him was just helping the Camp Pearl band and seeing how things go behind the scenes at something like that.
    It's kind of funny how God knows what each person needs to draw them to him. And he does what he needs to do to make us what we need to be, even when we don't like it. I really wanted to go to camp this last week, and I prayed about it a lot, trying to leave it in God's hands, but also making it very clear that I wanted to go, but still he said “NO.” Now that the week has passed, I can see some of the reasons he wanted me to stay home. I don't know all the reasons I needed to be home this week, but I know enough to see that God did have a plan, and that it was best for me to stay here, even If I still wish I could have gone. It's Good. Here, this is just an awesome Psalm:

Shout with Joy to God, all the earth!
Sing the Glory of his name; make his praise glorious!
Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!
So great is your power that your enemies cringe before you.
All the earth bows down to you;
They sing praise to you, they sing praise to your name.
Come see what the Lord has done,
How awesome his works on man's behalf!
(Psalm 66:1-5)

God Rocks!=)
Hannah

July 26, 2004

Hey guys!=)
     It is so cool that we have the Bible. I was just awesome in last nights lesson to see how excited the people were to get the Bible so they could read it. You know, knowing God is so much more than even we, who know him, realize. He is EVERYTHING. Thinking about those people last night just reminded how much we have. We know God!! The one who made us and loves us. Everything we ever run into in this life makes sense, because we have the right perspective, we know that our God who loves us is in control. What a wonderful thing, we can have peace, joy and hope because we know God is in control and, through the bible, we know that he is good, loving and wise. That is just amazing!! Praise God, for he is so GOOD!!!!=)
Here's some awesome verses I found:

My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.

Find rest, O my soul in God alone; my hope comes from him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.
My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge.
Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out you hearts to him, for God is our refuge.

One thing God has spoken, two things I have heard: that you, O God, are strong,
and that you, O Lord, are loving. Surly you will reward each person as he has done.
(Psalm 62:1-2, 5-8, &11-12)

Your sister in Christ,
Hannah

P.S. pray for all those going to Camp Pearl this week, that God will be moving in each of there lives and that he will draw them to him in amazing ways! Also pray for the band, that they will be truly worshiping God and not be distracted by being up front.=)

July 19, 2004

Hey Ya'll,
     I thought the things my dad said last night were cool. I especially liked the part about keeping your mind set on what the Spirit wants. It's so true! If you're thinking about the world and what it thinks is cool it is SO hard not to sin, but if you've got your mind set on who God is and what he wants it is soooo much easer not to be a flirt, distracted from God's will, or whatever your struggling with. It is just amazing to see how focusing on God changes your life. Here's a really awesome verse frome the psalms:
give us aid against the enemy, for the help of man is worthless.
With God we will gain the victory and he will trample down our enemys.
      I just think that is such a cool verse. With God we have sure victory, even when there is obviously no way we can win. But without him there is no hope in our fight against sin.
     Praise God, for he is our strength, our ever present help in times of trouble. Just focus on him this week guys, for from him comes our strength, both to love him and to serve him!

Love ya'll,
Your sister in Christ,
Hannah=)
     P.S. Here's one of the verses my dad used last night. I just thought this verse was great.

Romans 8:5 Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.

July, 12 2004

Hey Guys,
I'm back from Virginia.=) We had a lot of fun, but it is good to be home and back to “Real Life”
     Last night was another of those evenings of prayer. It was different than the other one, but still just as cool, in it's own way. I thought it fit with the sermon yesterday morning amazingly well. It, to me, was a great reminder of how the reason for our service is God and his love. Every act of service (or anything actually) should have God as its source and goal. I mean, his love should be the reason we do things and to worship and glorify him should be what we hope to accomplish in what we do. He is everything and something done without him is totally futile and pointless.
     You want to know something really cool? Yesterday morning, before Church I was praying that God would be moving me that day and that it would be the start of a radical and lasting change in my life. I prayed that he would help me to worship and be focused on him. I prayed that he, through that day, would become more that center of my life and all that i do. And you know what, I really think he did. All day he was showing me more and more how I could use the things he's givin me to worship him and to do his work. He didn't give me the wild kind of worship he sometimes does, but it was just as real, and under the circumstances just as meaningful. It is so cool the amazing and unexpected ways that God answers our prayers. He is so wise and wonderful. GOD ROCKS!!!!=)
I love ya'll!
your sister,
          Hannah

June 21, 2004

     O.K. guys, the prayer meeting last night was TOTALLY awesome! It was so cool!! God's presence was there and we were totally worshiping him and talking to him. It was so awesome! God is so awesome! Oh, I want to always be in God's presence like that! I want to do everything, everyday for God with passion like that! But I guess that is what makes heaven so great- here worship like that will change your life, but in Heaven it IS your life! I can't wait to get to Heaven! God is so great; it will be so awesome to be with Him forever!!
     You know what made last night especially cool for me? When the worship and prayer first started I was WAY distracted, but I asked God to help me to worship him, and to give him pleasure, and it was one of the best worship times I've ever had! God is so good and so faithful! Glory be to Him!!
I pray that this week we will live(or MORE live) our every day for God!!

     To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy-to our only God and savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ, our lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.(Jude 24-25)

Your sister in Christ,
Hannah

June 7, 2004

Hey ya'll! I hope you are all doing excellent! =)
     O. K. I really like this video series we're doing. We did it when I first came into L.I.F.E., but I didn't catch that much of it. I'm really enjoying it this time through. The cool thing about it is, that, while as a whole the series teaches about our culture and what we as Christians should do in it, every week we can learn about what we as individuals, a youth group, and a church should be striving to be.
     Like this week, we studied the Middle Ages, and one of their biggest problems was that they decided that the “church” had as much authority as the Bible. The cool thing is that although we may not say that man's thought has as much authority as the Bible, we often, at least I often will discuss my problems with my friends instead of looking in the Bible for the answers. It's really kind of dumb. Our God, who knows EVERYTHING, gave us His Word, telling us everything He thought we needed to know. And sometimes we don't even look there when we've got a problem. I feel like at total dork!! It must be so frustrating to God to work with such a thick creature!=) God is so cool! He is so patient with us; He waits for us to learn things bit by bit, and doesn't get bored or impatient with our slow learning!! It SO rocks to learn from God!

Thank You God! You are so wise, patient and loving! Thank you for loving me!=)

Hannah

May 24, 2004

Yo!
     The lesson last night was great! It made me think and I wasn't sure I agreed with what Mr. Jackson was saying; I like it when I have to think hard about something. I talked to my Dad about different types of music after life last night. This is what I got between Mr. Jackson and My Dad:

#1- All types of music are from God and thus useful.
#2- Some music can be bad to one person because of bad associations, but what each person associates with a certain kind of music depends on their past, so what is offensive to one person may be great to another.
#3- There is good music and bad music, but that is defined by the quality of the music, not by the type of music.

     I don't know if you all agree with that, but that's what I got. Mr. Jackson also talked about Rock and suff like that being "cotten candy" music and classical being "steak" music, or something like that. I din't exactly get that, and wasn't shure I agreed with what I understood. I'll have to ask Mr. Jackson about it.
I hope you all have great weeks

Your sister
     Hannah

May 10, 2004

Hi ya'll! Sorry I never got around to writing the blog last week. =(
     Not many people(comparatively speaking) were at L.I.F.E. last night, but it was still good. We learned about the fruit of the spirit and how you can tell you're saved when you are growing in the fruit of the spirit. You know what I think is one of the coolest things about Galatians 5, where it lists the fruit of the spirit? Right after it lists all the fruit there is this phrase “Against such there is no law.” Isn't that cool? If we are living in the spirit, people won't be able to find wrong in us. They may not like what we are doing because they want to sin and were in the way, but they will not be able to find anything to accuse us of. That is cool and encouraging, if I'm doing God's work through the spirit, the world will not be able to justly accuse me. That Rocks!=)

Working to live in him,
     Hannah

April 26, 2004

Hey Guys=) I greatly enjoyed the lesson last night. (isn't “greatly enjoyed” a weird phrase?) Weren't the things that Mr. Jackson said about love cool? It's neat to see that even though people don't always know what their lookin' for, we can feel that there is something missing and know that love should be more than it is. And It's true, love should be more than our shallow stretched love is and life never will be full without Jesus. But with him, we can experience True love and know what a full life is!! Oh, what a gift that is!! What more could we ask for? God has been so good to us! How great is his love!!

Hannah

April 19, 2004

Yo!
I Hope all of you are having good days.
     Life was great last night. Sometimes it is so hard not to spend all your time tearing people down. Even when it is just in fun, it isn't good. I used to think that teasing in fun was fine, but I've hurt some people that way and can tell you, even if it starts out just as “good fun” that kind of teasing too often ends up hurting people. It is hard to think of nice things to say, but it is SO worth our time to be encouraging and kind and just NICE to each other. Our words can mean so much to people, one encouraging word can make someone's day. We can use our words for so much good, it's dumb to waste our words tearing each other down when with the right words we can instead help each other and draw each other closer to God.
     I pray that God is in ya'll's words this week.

your sister
      Hannah

April 12, 2004

Hey Guys, It's great to be back!!
     Russia was totally awesome! It was the most amazing thing that has ever happened to me, never before has God's hand, or his love and longing for us been so obvious to me. Oh, I wish Every one of you could have the experiences I've had in the last two weeks; every minute of this trip was an experience beyond any I've ever had before. Seeing how God worked and what he did through camp affected/effected the kids was just amazing.
     On the last night of camp, two of the Russian girls came to our “American teem meeting”(i.e. worship time) and they were just sobbing. They told us they were crying because they didn't want to go home; here they could feel God's love and could talk about him and sing about him. They said they didn't have that in Moscow, there they had no Christian friends, music or support. It was so cool to see that God's love was that obvious in us. The other thing about that incident was that I HAD the CD with the song we had been singing, the song that had started them crying, on it. So I was able to show God's love to these girls even MORE by giving that to them. The whole two weeks God was doing amazing things like that. It was so cool. God is amazing, and the things he does for us are amazing. Consider what a miracle it is that you know God, and what a miracle it is that he uses us every day to bring others closer to him!! May God be praised for his amazing love.

In Him,
      Hannah

March 22, 2004

Hey Ya'll
     You know, I think forgiveness is nearly as difficult as pride. It is easer, I think, to BE forgiving than humble, but knowing what forgiveness is, is very hard. I thought the things Mr. Jackson said last night were really cool. I especially liked the list of “forgiveness is”s. The thing I struggle with most in forgiveness is not to tell others. You're hurting and, I don't know, it always seems to make you feel better, or at least more righteous in our anger, if we tell some one about it. Also we sometimes we need direction, or prayer, or encouragement and its hard to tell when It's OK to go to someone for that. The Good thing is we know we can always go to God for direction or encouragement, or even just for the ability to forgive.
     Well I won't be writing again for awhile(I'm so distraught=)), but ya'll can be praying for us while we're in Russia. I love Ya'll and will be thinking of you(some) while I'm gone. God be with you and shine in you,
       Hannah

March 15, 2004

Hey Guys. Wasn't last night's lesson cool?
     I love it when our lessons mean something to me, and yesterday's certainly applied to my life. Actually there is probably no one in the world who isn't prideful. I'm afraid being humble is probably the hardest thing about loving God's way. Mr. Jackson had some good things to say though. From what he says, the best way too keep humble is to always be trying to show people the good in others and do what's best for them. The most important thing, I think, is to not try to show the world who we are, but to try to show them God and who he is; We can never show the world too much about God, or exaggerate who he is. Besides, that sort-of is what we were made to do anyway. One other thing that helps to keep us from being proud is to not try to make people like us, but spend our time trying to be what God wants us to be. It doesn't really matter what people think, but only what God thinks of us.
Live Gods way and shine him to the world this week.

I love y'all
your sister Hannah

P.S. I don't know if I'll have a chance to write ya'll again before I leave for Russia. I'M GOING TO RUSSIA!!!!=) =)

March 8, 2004

Hey Guys,
      before I write about life last night I would just like to ask for your prayer this week. God has been growing me a lot this past year or two, and his is continually growing me up, but sometimes being patient wile he makes me what he wants me to be is very hard.
    Well, we learned that love is kind last night. At first that sounds so dumbly simple, but really, it is very important. I was talking to Ruth and we both thought that God seemed to be trying to remind us that it is important for us, as Christians, to be kind to one another. You know that verse where Jesus says “by this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” There is a whole world full of people who need to know who God is and what he does, but God does not tell us to go preform miracles in his name, or to be perfect- he simply tells to love one-another. By simple kindness we can turn the world upside-down, by simply living in God's love and letting it overflow to others, God can, through us, change lives. So live in his love this week.

Hannah
P.S. Thanks for your prayer; it's a blessing.

March 1, 2004

Hey Guys!
     Isn't it comforting to know that God is patient? Last night in life we studied the first of seven aspects of love that we'll be studying over the next few weeks. This week was patience. You know what I think is cool about patience being part of love? It means that God is Patient. He will never give up on us and will never do things at the wrong time. He will be there with us through all things and will never fail us. I love that line "Love never Fails" that just says SO much to us about God. He Never Fails!! Do you realize what that means? No matter what happens we can depend on God, we can know that he is in control and that everything is gonna be alright. The all-powerful God loves us with an unfailing, patient love. That is so awesome!
Trusting in him,
Hannah

     OH! I nearly forgot, the 30hour famine was on Saturday. It was really cool, we did some good stuff, and I, at least, actually learned something. I'd never taken the time out of famine to listen to God and hear what He had to say before. It was neat. Anyway, I don't have any pictures right now, but hopefully Jonathan will put some up for us later this week. Bye again!
Hannah

Hey LIFErs, er... livers, I mean people in LIFE... here are the pictures from the Famine.

February 24, 2004

Hey Guys, Look at THIS:

First of all I'd like to thank all of you for praying for me. The card that most of you signed has been very encouraging to me. I am very happy to tell you guys (and girls) God has answered our prayers. I do NOT have a hole in my heart. You guys have meant so much to me during this time. (now the tears start to roll) It is/was such a blessing to have so many friends praying for me. Thank you all so very much.

In Christ's Love,
Bethany J. Berreth

P.S. You can ask me if you want to know more details about my visit to the cardiologist.

February 2, 2004

Hey guys, because of the Super Bowl we did not have L.I.F.E. last night, but we did have the workday on Saturday.
     It was real good; we did lots of weird jobs including scraping paint of the base-boards, and cleaning just about every chair on the premises. It was and fun and satisfying day. We were really fairly productive and it seemed like we got a lot of good stuff done. It's fun to do that kind of thing, It's a cool way of saying "we live for God." It's just neat to be able to say that in such a simple way. Here are a couple of pictures from the project:

Lots of people helped to clean all the white chairs.	Here's Katie Joy cleaning one of the little chairs.
Here are some of the girls steam cleaning the cloth chairs. They had started cleaning those before I arrived and didn't stop un-till right around when I left at five thirty.	Laura, Sarah, and I scraped paint off these baseboards for at-least an hour, and had a lovely time doing it too.
	One other thing that was going on was painting both the prayer room and this hall.

     Hey, I'm still looking for a note from Maria Trela. I'll put that up soon.
      Hannah

January 26, 2004

Hey ya'll
     Wasn't the lesson on Sunday cool? I've often felt that empty longing but never thought about why God put it there or what I am really longing for. Isn't it awesome that when God made us he made us to be complete only in him. We will never be whole, never really have joy, unless we know him. God is SO cool. We are so blessed to be among those that know God! We have the only thing that really matters. Man ya'll, the more I get to know God the more I know what a gift it is to know him and want to get to know him more. God is the only thing we need; He is our joy.
Livin for him(or trying to)
      Hannah

P.S. Here's a note from Sarah:
Yo People! God Rocks. Pray a lot. Keep it real. Anti-yo, swallower.

January 19, 2004

Yo People!
     Life was really cool yesterday. Mr Jackson was planning to show us some movie, but did not have time, so he talked to us about the sermon from that morning witch was about servant hood. The cool thing is that servant hood relates to what we learned in Sunday school yesterday morning. We were talking about unity and that the key to unity is to love one another. Mr. Boyd ended that class by asking us "how do we show people Christ's love?" We then walked into the Church service, and what the sermon was about? Showing each other love through service. It was cool to see how God worked that out so well. God pays attention to everything. Isn't is amazing that God cares about every detail of our lives? God is Awesome.
        Hannah
     By the way, It would be really cool if ya'll put some of your thoughts up here. You can send it to me at the Church address, just specify that it is for life and E-mail it to mail@trinityhouston.org

January 10, 2004

     Hey People, how are you today? We had LIFE last night for the first time in what seems like forever. It was good to be back.
     Mr Jackson showed us, and talked about, a time-line that, oddly enough, had biblical history even though it was a secular time line.
     Isn't It cool how everything works together so well. the world would not be like it is now if even one thing in all of history had been different. God takes everything and makes it what he wanted, he puts the people he needs where he wants them and everything that ever happens is part of the story of his glory. It is just amazing, I can't even imagine a being smart enough to keep track of every person and everything they're thinking and doing, let alone someone who could form all of those things to one purpose and through, not out of, but through them all, make what he always intended from the beginning of time. It is beautiful. God is an amazing fellow. It is so cool to know that I am part of his plan and that he cares what I do.
     God is everything, live for him! Don't ignore him for things that don't matter and don't last, He is everything.
In his Joy,
Hannah

January 10, 2004

I did not write a blog entry this week, but my Dad and I did put together a short page of pictures from the party last week. I'll update the blog on Monday. Click Here
Your sister,
           Hannah

December 31, 2003
Hey Ya'll, It's been forever science I wrote last. I've had a wonderful Christmas and hope that you have too.
     God has been showing me the coolest things lately. Never underestimate God, he can do anything. This week he has been showing me that. We have finally started to work on the Russia trip. It's kind of frightening because it will take a miracle to get us ready and to get the money to go in time. I really believe God is going to do it for us though! It is awesome, already he has been doing amazing things and I know he is going to do more. A week ago I was the only kid who was committed to going and already some people are committed to going and more are very seriously thinking and praying about it. I was also worried about the money, but God showed me that he can take care of that and, If he wants us to go, he'll make it happen! It is so cool! Oh, ya'll, this is such and opportunity! This is a time that we can really do something for God, we can stand up and say that we are his, and we can really make a difference for him. That is such a gift and such a wonderful, awesome thing!
     It is awesome to know that if God wants something to happen it will! God is totally COOL!!

With faith and hope in Christ
         Hannah
P.S. Ya'll are awesome! I'll be praying for you this week. Live for him by faith in him!!!

December 15, 2003

Hey Guys!      The Family Christmas Celebration was last night. It was lovely. I thought ya'll were all great. There were a lot of LIFErs in the program last night; more than I expected. I suppose it must be because were so special(If you read “special” as “weird”) =) Anyway it was a fun evening.
     We also had the babysitting thing this weekend. It went pretty well. I think the kids had a good time, and expect the parents enjoyed the break. Beyond that, all of us, with the possible exception of Andrew, survived the evening.
     I hope all of ya'll are and will continue to have a good and God focused Christmas season.
I'll be seeing ya'll soon (unless I die first)
Hannah

December 8, 2003

Hellooooo People!!      I hope you are having a wonderful day! Mr. Kittle taught at life last night. I thought his lesson was very cool. Instead of talking about Christmas, he “rewound back to thanksgiving.” He talked about The difference between “Being thankful” and “ Giving thanks.” He said that because ‘being' does not have a direct object it does not say who we are thanking, but because ‘giving' is transitive and must have a direct object we have to ask WHO we give thanks to. I thought it was interesting that the different ways we say what appears to be the same thing really does make a difference.
     Another thing that stood out to me last night was that really Thanksgiving leads into Christmas and Christmas into Easter. Think about it. We are thankful for a lot of things but the most important is really Jesus coming. So Thanksgiving makes us think about Christmas, But the whole point of Christmas is that Jesus came To Save Us. Christmas is not complete without Easter. I thought that was cool. Isn't It cool that God had them come in the order they do? God is so, totally Awesome!! He is Beautiful.
     I'll be praying that Ya'll will see his Glory this Christmas.
Ya'll Rock!!
Hannah

December 1, 2003

Hello ya'll!
     At L.I.F.E. last night Mr. Weiss told us his testimony. I thought it was really sad, but beautiful. Isn't it awesome that God is watching out for us even when were not saved yet, and that he uses our relationships with unbelievers to help us grow just as much as our relationships with Christians? God really does love us and care for us. He's "got our backs" as Mr. Weiss would say. That is just cool. God is so big that he can control everything that happens everywhere, but he still uses all those things for our ultimate good. In everything that happens God is doing it for our good. That is Totally cool.
     Hey, guys I've been meaning to tell ya'll that you would be welcome to send me either an entire entry or just some of your thoughts and I will put them up here. Also If you have any pictures of life events They would be greatly appreciated. The original plan for this site included a Photo page, but I have not had any pictures to put up, so I haven't.
     I want to remind ya'll to "Give up the Happy Meal" this week. Look for ways to serve and Honor your God and Savior this week. Give him Glory in all that you do and "with every breath."I'll be praying for you to see and snatch your chance to give up yourself and give God the glory this week.
Your sister
          Hannah