Presbyouth

I was walking around the shops downtown trying to figure out the perfect gift to get my mother before I took off to make the perfect batch of cookies for this family Christmas in October. Then I had to do laundry at lightning speed so I could pack the perfect bag full of the perfect outfits for any possible event that might occur while hanging out at my Grandma's with my family. Oh, and I had to leave my house in the perfect condition--spotless to the point of OCD so that I wouldn't feel stressed when I got home Sunday night. So I'm walking through Lot 2029, looking at jewelry, scarves, coffee cups with fun sayings on them, and I stop in my tracks. On the table is this cute little light pink journal that says "I will hold myself to a standard of grace, not perfection," in gold letters. It was stunning. I just HAD to have it! I flipped it over and it was a billion dollars so I didn't get it. But I snapped this picture and wrote it on a sticky note and hung it o

Hey everyone! I am so excited to start our new series: Crazy Spirituality. We ran into a little bump in the road as we began this series as far as scheduling goes. Because of that, we will be speaking for two weeks about spiritual gifts like speaking in tongues, prophecy, casting out demons, and some unbelievable prayer. We will be talking about why God gives his people these gifts and how they work, as well as dig into what the scripture has to say. Then, on November 2, we will start four weeks of guest speakers who will share their stories, and how their gifts have shaped their lives. While planning this lesson I got to thinking about my faith journey and moments where I have encountered some crazy spirituality. I looked back on the time my mentor Ranelle helped me pray away the pain of my past, the months where prayer and God's presence were the only thing that could stop my panic attacks. All of the times I walked home in the dark afraid until I prayed for God to keep me sa

Hey everyone! We hope you had as great of a night as we did last night! Here are some pictures of our adventures. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of the mini-horse chasing we did but here are some of the others! A big thank you to the Silver Creek Apple Orchard for hosting us last night!

Last week, we were able to talk about what Church is and what it looks like for us.  I shared with my high school students that when I think of Church, I think of Mentos. My Grandma and I had an understanding that if I was well behaved during church up until the sermon, she would give me a Mento. Now, let's be honest, Mentos are probably the least exciting candy known to man, and I only got one. Truly, I was being jipped. But it was the highlight of church for me and it worked really well because sitting in the pew, making my Mento last as long as it possibly could, I found and got to know Jesus.  Then the students shared what they think of when they think of the word Church. I got everything from, "a body of people worshiping God together, to circle donuts and the kiddy bags full of toys. Whatever it is that makes you think of Church, I pray that you find Jesus in that memory.  This week in the Presbyouth rooms, we are creating our own Churches. We have talked abou