What Does Worship Look Like To You?

What does WORSHIP look like to you?

Does it include dancing in your underwear? Giving all that you have? Journalling? Singing? Playing instruments? Writing poetry? Painting? Drawing? Talking? Lying in complete awe and adoration? 10,000 strong singing together woshipping the God most high? Telling others about how much you love God? Acting? Blogging? Making videos? Writing stories? Writing music?

You probably get it.

I know for me personally, worshipping this amazing God includes: painting, designing shirts, drawing, singing, listening to music, praying, journalling, worshipping with others, dancing, and just sitting or laying in awe of God's glory.

What makes you want to worship this amazing God of ours?

Nature? Friends? Ending results of events? What you read in the Bible? Having things you need or overlooked? Someone coming to Christ?

I know for me, it's almost anything. Mainly nature gets me everytime. There's just sooo much details in nature to think that a God so ominimous would create things with such detail to the tiniest detail. I see things as  a painting sometimes. Almost quite literally, especially the sky, I feel that it's a painting and I can see every little paint stroke that created the clouds in the sky from every vibrant color. The beautiful leaves around this time of year and the flowers of the spring. The smiles and laughter on little kids faces. It just makes my heart smile. When something for the best turns to praise God, I can't help but do the same.

How could you not praise a God that gives you breath everyday? A place to sleep. Shoes to wear. Food to eat... even if it's not the best food. An education. Friends. Family, even if we don't like them. Talents. Walking. Speaking. Sight. Hearing.

I'm Glad... Very Glad My Friends Aren't Blobs

You've heard it before, "If were all blobs, life would be good, no one would make fun of other people, no one would look richer or poorer than the other... etc, etc." Well I think that's wrong, some if not most think it's wrong too.

I am glad my friends weren't blobs. We wouldn't have the conversations we do, we wouldn't be pushing others as far as we do, we wouldn't have talents that when combined is like a frickin' amazing painting or beautiful symphony.

You some of you hear my talking about my other friends and how sometimes they can be a little annoying at times. AND hey don't get mad at me, cause I know you think I am annoying at times too! I like that though.

A good friendship, I believe is going to have fights and trials. It's life. Without trials, you probably wouldn't grow much as a person and you wouldn't know what you as a person or a friendship is capable of.

You are my friend, and there's no way that we exactly the same or it would be boring, honestly. Just be you and no one else. If God loves you for you, then I love you for you!

Schools for Schools at a New Heights!

So I've heard about Invisible Children since about 2006. I was 15 at the time, and honestly didn't think about Invisible Children as I do now, my first thought with Invisible Children was that it was another non-profit that wanted my money.

I look back and think, I can't believe I thought that. But it makes sense cause I didn't do research or watch the documentaries.

I have been active with Invisible Children since fall of 2008. My senior year of high school. The fall before the amazing months and night of my life, which lead to so much more to who I am today.

Alot of you know all of this about me, but today I was looking back on The Rescue, Lobby Days, and the crazy ideas that came with Schools for Schools.

So in the past before I attended JCCC, I heard they were awesome. So awesome that it landed JCCC in the radar of Invisible Children HQ.

Since then I have tried so hard to live up to that expectation and to me previous semesters have failed money wise, although so much more was complished. Multicultural night and the annonymous donor. Dodgeball Tournaments.

Now I do believe that this semester, yes this semester, will bring JCCC back to their radar in case it ever left. Why do I say that? Because currently, today (November 12, 10:06p), JCCC is in third place in our cluster with $2,550. Amazing right?!?

Well that's not all. This last Wednesday, the leaders of Invisible Children Club met with the Center for Student Involvement at JCCC to discuss the screening for this upcoming Tuesday(November 16th, 7p; which you are all welcome to come!). And me having the heart of a Roadie. It came out during the meeting. I told them the statistics I have learned in the past years from previous Roadies and certain Advocates from Uganda. They were shocked, one even got goosebumps. They got so excited that they wanted to help fundraise!!!! So now Invisible Children Club and Student Senate are in a competition to see who can raise the most money before Schools for Schools is over. It's fun competition, but JCCC is going sooo much father than I have ever seen for Invisible Children! And I am so excited! So excited that I may be able to go to the San Diego Summit.

Not only is all of this exciting, but this next Friday is our first Jammin' for Change Benefit Concert! I am so excited to have some great bands such as: Not A Planet, Le Grand, Brent Lee, Elevator Action, I am excited that over 100 people say they are attending on Facebook. Which means in my mind we can raise sooo much money. So much. We may be able to meet our goal of $2,500.

Even though this is exciting too. What could be more exciting you may ask. Well in 8 days, President Obama is going to be releasing a strategy to apprehending Joseph Kony, leading comander of the Lords Resistance Army, and the other commanders. It's just so close I can see the children returning home to schools in Uganda that are sooo much better conditions than when they left them.

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I don't know how people could not love a organization like this.

I mean they don't just focus on the children, they also focus on their families and providing them with jobs to support their families and allow their children to attend schools.

I got a bracelet for Christmas in 2008. It's not your ordinary bracelet. This bracelet was made from reeds grown in Uganda, made by a Ugandan woman, and tells the story of a child affected by war.

My child's name was Grace. A girl who was raped, and kept her child. Who never stopped smiling, even after what happened. Grace, too, was a woman apart of Invisible Children's bracelet campaign and supported her family through this. Now I just read on Invisible Children's blog, that Grace is now going to be working with MEND, another way Invisible Children helps woman in Uganda. I just hope when I do buy a bag from MEND that Grace's name will be in it, just so I know that I am still supporting her all these years.

Just think her children might even go to Gulu Senior Secondary. A school I helped to rebuild through my many years apart of Invisible Children. That would be absolutely amazing! I am even being really touched by this thought. If this happened, I would absolutely cry, and be so happy to know that I've been apart of an organization that's been with someone for so long, since childhood, to motherhood. Amazing.

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If you don't know Invisible Children, please check them out. invisiblechildren.com

We Are So Close...

It's been a while since I've blogged, but this one is important. Amazing awesome. 

This last Friday, I went to a Starfield concert and if you know me at all, you would know that they are my absolute favorite band, their worship really comes from the heart and they let the Holy Spirit move. But that's not what I am going to talk about. During their mid-show, Tim came on stage talked about how it may be a little doing it but they were going to show us a video of Starfield's trip to... where else but Uganda. As one could imagine, as soon as he said that word, I fell. Literally. As we watched the video almost every scene in the beginning reminded me of different parts of each Invisible Children documentaries. Then I started tearing up. Then they showed a part of Tim and Jon talking to this girl, Aranya, whose family just left the displacement camps to their home. Before this part, I forgot to mention that they put a part that was kind of, very briefly, explaining what's going on in Uganda. Which you could guess, made me cry. As Tim and Jon talked to Aranya, the more and more I thought of Papito, Tony, Proscovia, Jacob, and all my other Ugandan friends. Aranya took them to her home and she had a pictures she drew on the wall with chalk and charcoal, and that made me just sooo emotional cause it just reminded me of the ministry that I really want to do or be apart of. On the wall behind Tim was the phrase, "God's grace" or in their language it would be, "Opwoyo Rwot." I only know that from the Grace documentary from Invisible Children. Then Aranya talked about how she wanted to go to school to be a nurse, but she couldn't afford it. And yet again it reminded me of the Legacy Scholarship Fund through Invisible Children and how my dad is helping some of these children get an education.

After this video, I was telling my friend that I can't believe that they went to Uganda, that's like where my heart is right now. She said, well Uganda is becoming very popular right now. At first, I was like yeah it is becoming popular, I am not one to be apart of something that's popular. Then the more and more I thought about it, the more and more happy I became.

This war in Uganda and now Eastern-Northern Africa that's been unseen for over 23 years is now becoming seen. These children that are forced to kill and were once invisible are now becoming visible. And I praise only God for that. He has blessed these many organizations that are helping to make it known to the world so we can finally do something about it.

We are just so close to seeing the end of this. November 20th, which is only 12 days away, is the day that President Obama is suppose to release a strategy to apprehend Joseph Kony and his leading commanders. Which could make capturing Joseph Kony a reality. Something in the near future. Where these children may be able to come home to their families. Their communities. Their friends. It's just so close. I mean people are finally leaving those disgraceful displacement camps to live in their homes now. 

We are sooo close. Tell your friends. Show the documentaries. Host a screening. Check and see when the Invisible Children Roadies may be coming to your area. 

I know hear in the Kansas City area they will be at Johnson County Community College on November 16th, in the Craig Auditorium, at 7p. Be there!