TobyMac is my Homeboy;Jesus is my Savior
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Baptism!!
Friday, September 14, 2007
The Gauntlet '07
There are certain things in your life that you will always remember. Certain people, certain places, and certain experiences ultimately define your life and how you live it. I left Anderson on June 10 expecting to have a lot of fun at the beach. After weeks of planning and shopping, the day was finally here. My mom yelled, "Jennifer! Come now or you'll be late!"
` I took one last look around my room to make sure I hadn't forgotten anything and grabbed my suitcase. My brother Jordan and I, apprehensive and excited, hurried down the stairs.
The car ride to NewSpring seemed to go by quickly. When we arrived at the church it was 10:00pm. Nine buses were parked in the front. I was assigned a bus and leader, Renee Burroughs, for the week.
Everything was loaded on the buses and the leaders prayed. By 11:30pm, 406 Fuse and Ignite students were on their way to Panama City Beach, Florida for the Gauntlet 2007.
Most of us fell asleep on the eight hour trip. We reached our destination, Majestic Beach Towers, in the morning. We had orientation in the conference room and then headed to the beach for game time. I was put on the orange team with Kacie and Molly. The games seemed to last forever in the hot sun. Finally, we were released to go to lunch. My partner, Ashleigh Frialde, and I joined our leader and were introduced to our roomates. I was rooming with Ashleigh, Catherine, Kasey, Michaela, Taralyn, and Renee.
I thought Renee was really weird at first, but as I got to know her I grew to love her anyway. "Ok girls!!" she said energetically, "Our room is on the 23rd floor!!" Thankfully, there was an elevator.
Next was free time. Ashleigh went swimming with me in the pool and then we went to the beach. The sand was really white and the ocean water was clear.
Renee rounded us up for dinner and afterward we prepared for worship. We were bused to a high school to sing songs and listen to Perry's message. We sang "Glorious One" by Steve Fee. That became our theme song for the week of the Gauntlet '07. Then, Perry Noble came on stage for the message.
"Hey everybody!" he said, "I hope y'all have had a great first day of the Gauntlet!" Everyone cheered. "But right now," he continued, "I want each of you to bow your heads and pray this prayer: 'God, rock my world!' "
God used Perry to speak to us that Monday night. The message was titled "Do you know?" As he was speaking, I tried to remember a time in my life when I had accepted Jesus, or even felt like I needed to. I was nervous because I couldn't remember ever having done this. The service ended and I forgot about it for a while.
As we headed outside, I exclaimed, "Good night, there are a lot of buses!!" to Ashleigh and that became our inside joke.
Back in our 23rd floor condo at Majestic Beach Towers, we changed clothes and brought out snacks.
"Time for small groups!" Renee announced.
She went over the message with us and we told her what God had taught us. After small groups we stayed up several hours after lights out.
Ashleigh and I were sleeping soundly when Renee woke us up at a very early 7:30am. We got dressed and went downstairs under the parking deck for breakfast.
"When we're done with breakfast, we'll be heading up to the tennis courts for a spirit contest!" Brad Cooper [[the high school pastor]] yelled.
Under the pounding sun, we came up with cheers to support our team. Cheering loudly, the orange team won two coins for team spirit. Once we had completed the contest, we went to the beach for more Gauntlet games.
That night at worship we prayed that God would rock our worlds and our friends' worlds. Perry spoke about growing in our faith and sharing it with others. We sang "Broadcast" by Steve Fee to go along with our message.
Back at the condo, Renee led us in small groups. Halfway through, the door opened and someone I had never met before walked in. Her name was Joy and she was another leader. Joy is different from most people. She always has a smile on her face and she is totally in love with Jesus. She was the first person to ever show me what being a Christian really means. I remember thinking, "I want what she's got and i want to know for sure what I believe like she does."
The next day, instead of having free time, I went parasailing. I went with my friend Abi and a leader named Whitney. Whitney tried to scare me and pretended to push me off, but later denied it.
Right when I got back from parasailing, it began storming. Renee was out deep sea fishing and none of us had a key to our room. Kasey, Catherine, Ashleigh, and I sat in the freezing cold lobby for almost 3 hours. Finally, Kasey suggested we try the windows.
Up on the 23rd floor, we climbed into our room and unlocked the door. We showered for worship. Renee returned and passed out on the floor.
Perry spoke to us about being on fire for God during the service. That night in small groups Ashleigh and I stayed up until 3:00am asking Renee tons of questions. For my entire life I had been going to church and Christian school, but I had never had a personal relationship with God. It was not easy, but finally I had to admit to myself that I did not know Jesus.
On Thursday morning, the people who had gotten saved were baptized in the ocean. I went snorkeling after this with Renee and Ashleigh. We missed the final Gauntlet game but my team ended up winning.
Perry's final message was about finishing the work we started and going out and showing others our relationships with Jesus.
Early Friday morning, we woke up, loaded the buses, and went on the beach for quiet time. We hated to leave but we were excited to come back and show the people around us the difference Jesus had made in our lives.
It was a long way back to Anderson. We exchanged cell phone numbers with everyone. We promised to keep in touch and come to Fuse every Wednesday night. At 8:30pm, we pulled into NewSpring and our families were waiting for us. Everyone left the church, ready to start a revolution in our families, our schools, and the world we live in. I was still battling in my heart, but I wasn't ready to share that with anyone else yet.
A few weeks passed and on July 5, I realized I couldn't keep fighting it. With my heart pounding, I prayed to receive Christ. That day was a direct result of the Gauntlet. My life was completely changed forever because of just five days I spent, and the people I spent them with in Panama City Beach, Florida.
` I took one last look around my room to make sure I hadn't forgotten anything and grabbed my suitcase. My brother Jordan and I, apprehensive and excited, hurried down the stairs.
The car ride to NewSpring seemed to go by quickly. When we arrived at the church it was 10:00pm. Nine buses were parked in the front. I was assigned a bus and leader, Renee Burroughs, for the week.
Everything was loaded on the buses and the leaders prayed. By 11:30pm, 406 Fuse and Ignite students were on their way to Panama City Beach, Florida for the Gauntlet 2007.
Most of us fell asleep on the eight hour trip. We reached our destination, Majestic Beach Towers, in the morning. We had orientation in the conference room and then headed to the beach for game time. I was put on the orange team with Kacie and Molly. The games seemed to last forever in the hot sun. Finally, we were released to go to lunch. My partner, Ashleigh Frialde, and I joined our leader and were introduced to our roomates. I was rooming with Ashleigh, Catherine, Kasey, Michaela, Taralyn, and Renee.
I thought Renee was really weird at first, but as I got to know her I grew to love her anyway. "Ok girls!!" she said energetically, "Our room is on the 23rd floor!!" Thankfully, there was an elevator.
Next was free time. Ashleigh went swimming with me in the pool and then we went to the beach. The sand was really white and the ocean water was clear.
Renee rounded us up for dinner and afterward we prepared for worship. We were bused to a high school to sing songs and listen to Perry's message. We sang "Glorious One" by Steve Fee. That became our theme song for the week of the Gauntlet '07. Then, Perry Noble came on stage for the message.
"Hey everybody!" he said, "I hope y'all have had a great first day of the Gauntlet!" Everyone cheered. "But right now," he continued, "I want each of you to bow your heads and pray this prayer: 'God, rock my world!' "
God used Perry to speak to us that Monday night. The message was titled "Do you know?" As he was speaking, I tried to remember a time in my life when I had accepted Jesus, or even felt like I needed to. I was nervous because I couldn't remember ever having done this. The service ended and I forgot about it for a while.
As we headed outside, I exclaimed, "Good night, there are a lot of buses!!" to Ashleigh and that became our inside joke.
Back in our 23rd floor condo at Majestic Beach Towers, we changed clothes and brought out snacks.
"Time for small groups!" Renee announced.
She went over the message with us and we told her what God had taught us. After small groups we stayed up several hours after lights out.
Ashleigh and I were sleeping soundly when Renee woke us up at a very early 7:30am. We got dressed and went downstairs under the parking deck for breakfast.
"When we're done with breakfast, we'll be heading up to the tennis courts for a spirit contest!" Brad Cooper [[the high school pastor]] yelled.
Under the pounding sun, we came up with cheers to support our team. Cheering loudly, the orange team won two coins for team spirit. Once we had completed the contest, we went to the beach for more Gauntlet games.
That night at worship we prayed that God would rock our worlds and our friends' worlds. Perry spoke about growing in our faith and sharing it with others. We sang "Broadcast" by Steve Fee to go along with our message.
Back at the condo, Renee led us in small groups. Halfway through, the door opened and someone I had never met before walked in. Her name was Joy and she was another leader. Joy is different from most people. She always has a smile on her face and she is totally in love with Jesus. She was the first person to ever show me what being a Christian really means. I remember thinking, "I want what she's got and i want to know for sure what I believe like she does."
The next day, instead of having free time, I went parasailing. I went with my friend Abi and a leader named Whitney. Whitney tried to scare me and pretended to push me off, but later denied it.
Right when I got back from parasailing, it began storming. Renee was out deep sea fishing and none of us had a key to our room. Kasey, Catherine, Ashleigh, and I sat in the freezing cold lobby for almost 3 hours. Finally, Kasey suggested we try the windows.
Up on the 23rd floor, we climbed into our room and unlocked the door. We showered for worship. Renee returned and passed out on the floor.
Perry spoke to us about being on fire for God during the service. That night in small groups Ashleigh and I stayed up until 3:00am asking Renee tons of questions. For my entire life I had been going to church and Christian school, but I had never had a personal relationship with God. It was not easy, but finally I had to admit to myself that I did not know Jesus.
On Thursday morning, the people who had gotten saved were baptized in the ocean. I went snorkeling after this with Renee and Ashleigh. We missed the final Gauntlet game but my team ended up winning.
Perry's final message was about finishing the work we started and going out and showing others our relationships with Jesus.
Early Friday morning, we woke up, loaded the buses, and went on the beach for quiet time. We hated to leave but we were excited to come back and show the people around us the difference Jesus had made in our lives.
It was a long way back to Anderson. We exchanged cell phone numbers with everyone. We promised to keep in touch and come to Fuse every Wednesday night. At 8:30pm, we pulled into NewSpring and our families were waiting for us. Everyone left the church, ready to start a revolution in our families, our schools, and the world we live in. I was still battling in my heart, but I wasn't ready to share that with anyone else yet.
A few weeks passed and on July 5, I realized I couldn't keep fighting it. With my heart pounding, I prayed to receive Christ. That day was a direct result of the Gauntlet. My life was completely changed forever because of just five days I spent, and the people I spent them with in Panama City Beach, Florida.
