Day 18: Words of Encouragement

On my last day of working as a counselor this summer, a special needs camper came up to me. He adopted the identity of a pastor and asked what he could do for me. I laughed and told him I had had a great summer and was sad to go home. Without a moment's hesitation, he replied, "Lift up your heart to the Lord!"



Sometimes all it takes is a few simple words of encouragement. So here's some for you...

The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. 
John 1:9-14

-Jocelyn Smith, CYM Leader, Team Promised

Day 17: Quiet

To begin, click the word 'quiet' below (and come back when you're done):

QUIET

For some of you that may have been tough.
You may still be in overdrive from the big push to finish the semester. But good news! Finals are over, the weekend has arrived, and in some cases many of you are even enjoying a beautiful winter snow. As we all take time away from school, work, roommates, and homework, it can still be hard to find quiet time, to stop and rest. But it is when we forget to take quiet time that we can become weary and tired. 


God promises to always give us rest. As this first official day of Christmas break has begun, I encourage you to take a minute of quiet time today and spend it with God, maybe begin by reading the Christmas account, found in Luke 2:1-20.

"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." -Matthew 28:28-29

-Kyla Stigdon, CYM Coordinator

Day 16: Yay!

Today is the last day of finals (YAY)! Congratulations to all you freshman who made it through your first college finals. Congratulations to the Fall 2011 graduates who finished their final semester. Today also marks the start of your Christmas season…and so much to do in 9 days. 

Finish (or start) Christmas shopping for the family. Bake the final batches of Christmas cookies to give to neighbors. Parents nagging you to help them clean the house for Christmas at your house. Too much stress for a joyous season. But through all that stress, God has a message for you—He is always with you and will never leave your side. 

As Paul said to the Romans, “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” (Rom 8:38-39). Nothing in this world, including the stresses of this life, can separate us from God’s love. He proved this when He sent His Son to this earth that holy Christmas morn. So remember, as your stress level rises above that of finals week, God is always watching and will never take His love away from you.

-Sam Schroeder, CYM Leader, Team Redeemed

Day 15: Dead or Alive?

There has been a lot of talk about the upcoming zombie apocalypse. I would argue that it is already here. Every day, we encounter zombies (a.k.a. the living dead) all around us and we may have never known. 

Why is that, you ask?

The Bible says we are DEAD without Jesus Christ in our lives (“As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world…” -Ephesians 2:1-2a). So, even if we are able to breathe and physically move our bodies, we have no life within us if we are not made alive in Him; we are quite literally the living dead. But there’s hope for us yet! Jesus came so that He could give us an abundant life (“I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” -John 10:10b), so we don’t have to remain lifeless. The choice is ours to make.

I suppose the question left to ponder is: Are you truly alive, or are you a zombie?

-Joy Schroeder, CYM Leader, Team Living Water

Day 14: Prepare and Wait

        Preparing and then waiting. Seems to be the theme of the season, especially this week for us college kids. To do good on your finals you have to prepare and study, then you have to wait. Wait for the grades to come out, wait to see if you can show this report card to your parents, wait to see if your teacher will get a good review or a bad one (I don't recommend this).


         What if your whole job was to prepare and then wait? I would like to introduce you to a man named John the Baptist. He told everyone he saw, "Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him." (Matthew 3:3) John the Baptist's whole job was to prepare the way for the Lord.


       Now, I would like to introduce you to yourself. Your job is to prepare the way for the Lord and wait. How do you prepare for the Lord? Be in God's Word. That is what the season of Advent is all about, preparing for the second coming of Christ. The second coming of Christ is what you are preparing for. The difference between finals and the second coming of Christ is that finals is a one time gig, you only have to prepare once. But you have to continually prepare and wait for the second coming of Christ. My hope is that you will take time to be in God's Word daily.

God's blessings on the remainder of your finals week and the Advent season.

-Adam Rodriguez, CYM Coordinator

Day 13: Hope we ALL have

Psalm 63:3 - "Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you."

John 16:33 - "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."

            God’s steadfast love is better than life! Sometimes that doesn’t seem like that would be too hard to achieve, especially during this time of the year. Often times the holidays are stressful and lonely and may only remind us of things we don’t have or maybe people we have lost. 

           My friend, God’s love transcends all of these things! It transcends the sin that makes this life seemingly unbearable at times. It transcends the sin that makes us think that we are too far gone for God to save. All of the false comfort and hope that this life offers in material wealth and security can never measure up to the hope that we ALL have in Christ Jesus. 

            Christ has suffered through all the things you will ever go through and he has overcome it all. He willingly gave his life out of his love for you, and suffered death for all sin and any tribulations caused by it. This wasn’t any normal death. It was separation from God. When Christ was on the cross he was completely alone, even the Father turned his back to him at that point. This is the unfathomable love of God, that he would suffer all of this for you so that you may have peace.                          

          Through all of your struggles you can have peace, knowing that Christ has already paid your way into heaven, and he still walks with you every step of the way. Now it is our job to share this news and this love with others. May God bless your day!

Hebrews 2:1 -  "We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away."

-Julian LaMie, CYM Leader, Team Rejoice

Day 12: Good or Bad Day?

“I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” Philippians 4:11-13

Good day? Bad day? We all have them. Sometimes we wake up and already know what kind of day we are going to have. Paul’s emphasis in these verses is on contentment. I’m sure Paul had good days and bad days too, but he made a commitment to accept each day for what it was, because he was confident that God would give him the strength that he needs for that day. What if we lived this way? Instead of listing all of the things that didn’t go as planned today or that you're worried might not go as planned, remember contentment and recognize that God has you where you are, at this time in your life for a reason.                  

-Kelly Andrzejczak, CYM Leader, Team Alive