Favorites!

This post is more just fun than anything else :) Here is a random list of some of my favorite Clemson/Upstate things! Hope it brings a few smiles and good memories to fellow Tigers! (and intrigues anyone who's never been to go visit one of the best places in the world! In my unbiased, humble opinion of course ;) )

Crosspoint Church

I still remember work days on the B.O.M.B (big old methodist building). Spending a few CP group nights and a couple saturdays paiting, cleaning and getting to know my church family are now some of my favorite memories.

Discipleship

Getting poured into by and sharing life with some wonderful older sisters in Christ is one of the greatest blessings of being involved in a loving church family. Also, getting to practice the model they've exemplified with other sisters!

Fellowship

CP group, small Group, college ministry activities, and quality time with sweet friends and mentors were some of my favorite parts of my senior year

Clemson's campus

Walks on campus will always be one of my favorite stress relievers. I spent countless hours enjoying the calming atmosphere of campus in early evenings or quiet weekend mornings. So peaceful! (unless of course it was gameday....in which case.... 1-2-3-4-C-L-E-M-S-O-N T-I-G-E-R-S GO TIGERS!)

FCA in the amphitheater

I loved my time at FCA but my favorite meetings will always be those held in the amphitheater in the first few weeks of fall semesters. To me, there was nothing like standing barefoot in the grass during praise and worship with hundreds of brothers and sisters under the night sky. A favorite song that sticks out is Hosanna by Hillsong:

I see the king of glory
Coming on the clouds with fire
The whole earth shakes
The whole earth shakes

I see his love and mercy
Washing over all our sin
The people sing
The people sing

[Chorus]
Hosanna Hosanna Hosanna in the highest [x2]

I see a generation Rising up to take their place With selfless faith
With selfless faith

I see a near revival Stirring as we pray and seek We're on our knees
We're on our knees

Heal my heart and make it clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love like you have loved me

Break my heart from what breaks yours
Everything I am for your kingdoms cause
As I go from earth into Eternity


God is definitely moving through the students of Clemson! I always found it so encouraging that so many college students were giving of their time and their talents to serve the Lord in campus ministries and as daily examples. I especially loved watching the men practice true leadership. Some of my favorite memories are of watching some of my male friends in worship. Watching them surrender to the Lord, giving their lives to His service is so encouraging! I'm so thankful that God is raising up a generation devoted to His glory and the Gospel!

Blue Ridge Mountains!

This was taken from Pretty Place at Camp Greenville (literally IN the mountains) but there are views of them all over the upstate! Driving to school from breaks, I knew I was home when I could see the hills!

Lake Hartwell

I had the blessing of spending a summer in Clemson (a must for any Tiger!) Summer days on the lake were the perfect mini-vacation! I have many great memories of activities and fellowships on or overlooking the lake including getting baptized at Y Beach in August 2007 :)

Orange and Purple Sunsets especially over the lake!

Tiger Football

Football at Clemson is definitely an experience rather than an event! I think my favorite is still night games but I have a lot of great memories throughout each season. Tailgating with friends, the First Friday parade before the first home game, Rally in the Valley (Clemson FCA partnered with the adult FCA chapter and hosted a high school FCA rally in LittleJohn once/season. I really enjoyed meeting the adult members and volunteering for the event!), Tigerama and floats on Bowman during Homecoming week and Big Thursday before the USC rivalry game.

Tiger Paws!!
Pretty much a staple of Clemson life!

Smoothies from Brickhouse Coffee in Simpsonville/Greenville
my favorite road trip treat!

PF Changs China Bistro

I had the timing down just right to call in a take out order and pick it up in Greenville on my way to campus I love the Philips Better Lemon Chicken, lettuce wraps and cheesecake dessert!

Theres so much more I could include from Welcome Back each fall to graduation....I'll always treasure my time at Clemson. There was a lot of laughter and great experiences with wonderful friends. Remembering these always reminds me of how blessed I am to have been given these gifts by God. He knew exactly where I needed to be!

Summer Missions '09

Today, Crosspoint Church Clemson held its student appreciation service commissioning seniors, students serving this summer across the nation and the world and Crosspoint SummerLINK teams. (yes, teamS! SummerLink, just in its second year, is expanding! God is GOOD!)

I couldn't be more excited for this years' teams! The largest will be returning to Hilton Head/Bluffton on May 28! Here are excerpts from a friends' support letter sharing what SummerLINK 09 will entail (he is one of the 2 returning students and there will be a number of returning staff!)

Crosspoint is a church committed to making disciples in Clemson, the state of South Carolina, and abroad. Over the last year, Crosspoint commissioned a team of church-planters to move to the lowcountry of South Carolina to plant a new church, Crosspoint Bluffton, located across the river from Hilton Head Island, and they are in the process of sending out another church planter this May as well as developing an international partnership with church planting in South Asia. This summer I have the opportunity to partner with Crosspoint Clemson and two church plants in the Lowcountry of South Carolina to take part in a missions project called Summer LINK that will allow me to put my faith into action. I will accompany a team of 40 other college students to the Hilton Head/ Bluffton area of South Carolina. You may be asking why Hilton Head/Bluffton? The Hilton Head/Bluffton area is one of the fastest growing areas in South Carolina and approximately 70% of the area is unchurched and continuously more people are moving in. As the area grows and diversifies, there will be a great opportunity to reach many for the Gospel of Christ. The purpose of our ten-week missions project is to help these church plants build relationships in the community and impact the Kingdom for God’s glory. While we are there, we will get jobs in the community so that we may influence our co-workers for Christ. As people begin a personal relationship with Christ, we will be able to connect them to a church body so that they can continue to grow to spiritual maturity. The relationships that we build within the community will be a great catalyst for helping the church plants to continue to gain momentum. It is our hope and prayer to see a thriving, biblically sound church that is having a tremendous impact in the community. During Summer LINK, I will also participate in a small group Bible study and be discipled each week by a staff member. On the weekends, we will do outreaches in the community to serve the local church plants. It is exciting to think about how I will return to Clemson in the fall equipped to impact my campus and serve my local church. I feel that this summer will be a great investment of my time, energy, and resources as God uses us to touch peoples’ lives for eternity.


The second team is SummerLINK Clemson. This group will have a similar structure to SL HH but will be working with the staff in Clemson. This team will be an incredible blessing to Crosspoint as the church will move locations over the summer! The team will also be blessed, though, as they also participate in discipleship, study, and serve together. Its so exciting to see this amazing outreach grow! The Generation LINK website has more information on both programs!

The third team will be going on a short-term (about 10 days) vision trip to INDIA!!! Several '08 SummerLINKers will be going on the trip! A couple who served with Crosspoint Bluffton and the S'LINK team last year, will be moving to India as full time workers in the field in the next year. They will continue to be a blessing to Crosspoint as the church as a whole has chosen to pursue South Asia (particularly India) in overseas outreach. It is hopeful that in years to come there will be an overseas SummerLINK! This trip is the culmination of a great deal of seeking the Lord on His direction for Crosspoint. The church staff has been so faithful in encouraging the church body to cultivate hearts for the lost all over the world. Next year's staff team will include an intern in international ministry.

I've been so blessed to learn from brothers and sisters with incredible hearts for the Lord and for making disciples in all nations. I've learned that Clemson is God's campus-- we have just been entrusted as stewards.
As many of my friends prepare for the coming weeks of concentrated (as we should be ministering daily!) ministry, I wanted to share these great praises as well as ask that you lift up my sweet brothers and sisters in prayer. SummerLINK was a very faith stretching and strengthening experience. It will be an amazing summer for them but also one of trusting the Lord from support raising through relationship building and learning of areas the Lord wants to grow them.
**Pray for their support raising (all 3 teams as well as GenerationLINK interns!) to
provide for the summer but also to prepare their hearts
**Pray for their job searchs to lead them to the right place of ministry for the
summer
**Pray for prepared hearts of both the teams and those they will be ministering to
**Pray for strength in trusting the Lord and obedience following His instruction
**Pray for unity in the teams and transperency in Bible Studies as they grow
together
**Pray for safety in travels especially for the India team
**Pray as the Lord leads! He knows the needs of these teams better than even they
do!

Beyond Measure

I'm not where I want to be in my walk. God's providence ensures that I won't be until Heaven. I'll always have more growing to do. Best of all, I'll always be able to run to Christ, getting closer to Him with each trial, each act of obedience, each lesson (hopefully) well learned, and each season of pruning from the Father.
Although I'm not always able to joyfully praise or accept reproof, my hope and prayer is that the eyes of my heart would be open to truly see God's hand of blessing and protection on my life.

Beyond Measure
Jeremy Camp

The fog has finally cleared to see,
The beautiful life you've given me ...

I know that I've been,
Given more than beyond measure,
I come alive when,
I see beyond my fears
I know that I've been given more than earthly treasure,
I come alive when
I've broken down and given you control

[...I've] seen the works of what you bring
A display of faith that you give,
I don't know if I will ever understand
The depth of what it is you've done inside,
But I know that I won't find any worth apart from you

Everything that I have
Has been given so unselfishly
And shown that even when I don't deserve
You always show the fullness of your love

Steadfast and Faithful

I've been reading through Psalms, Isaiah and Paul's letters in my reading plan. Psalms repeatedly refers to the Lord as "everlasting" (Ps 102) and speaks of His "steadfast love" (Ps 100, 103, 106, 109....) Perhaps the most recognizable reference being 100:5 "For the Lord is good; His steadfast love endures forever, and His faithfulness to all generations" ALL generations.....its just as much a promise to me as it was to my spiritual ancestors. Praise the Lord for He IS GOOD!!
I've been needing to hear these reminders so much lately. Although I still have a peace that the Lord is in control and His plans are for my good and His glory, waiting doesn't get any easier. God's been drawing me to Himself bidding that I turn to Him to strengthen and mature me....and to give Him full control..... not exactly second nature to a type A! (in the words of Mark Driscoll, I've had to repent of my control freak nature!) It's been a growing season that I wouldn't take back. Still, getting disheartened, loosing sight of hope happens all too easily.... oh how subtle and almost unnoticed the deceptions of the enemy.... yet through it all the Lord provides faithfully including hope to persevere and see the Lord glorified through any challenge!
Last Sunday, Steven Furtick was a guest speaker. I've had the blessing of hearing Pastor Furtick preach at Clemson FCA's and looked forward to hearing from him again on Sunday. The Lord provided exactly what I needed: encouragement not to give up hope for my God is in control!
The scripture reference was I Kings 18:41-46. God had promised rain so Elijah sent his servant to check for clouds.... seven times! Finally, a cloud the size of "a man's hand"! The sign was small but led to great rejoicing that God had kept His promise. Ps 105 (which I had read the day before the service-- just like the Lord to use repetition!) also reminds readers of God's faithfulness to keep His commandments and promises. Pastor Furtick urged the congregation to "take another look", to go back to a time when we'd seen the Lord move or clearly speak. He encouraged us to remember God's promise: He has a purpose and plan for each of His beloved children. The process between the promise and the payoff may be long and painful. The results we're waiting for may start small but "little is much when God is in it". God's timing may "cut it close" by our standards but His timing is perfect. This very much spoke to my weary heart. As we sang at the end of the service, my everlasting God doesn't grow weary! Praise Him for He is steadfast and faithful!

"Look to Christ Alone"

This evening, I got to catch up on one of the Restore breakout sessions I didn't get to attend at the conference. Clemson Presbyterian lead pastor, David Sinclair, spoke on "Killing the Demons of the Past: Applying the Gospel to Past Mistakes in the Area of Sexual Purity and Dating”. I really loved how he didn't give a list or how-to pep talk but he truly discussed the Gospel throughout the session! It was a beautiful reminder applicable to so much of life not just the specific topic.
Here are a few highlights: (mostly from his notes- You can download the podcast and notes here Its breakout session 3)
In I Timothy, Paul is writing to the believers in Corinth; probably one of the most sinful cities of Paul's day. Sexual sin was rampant including temple prostitutes and homosexuality. Paul knew of these sins and many others common to the Corinthian people and church body. Grieving for his brothers and sisters to take off the old self and put on the new, he reminds them of the hope of the gospel: (I Tim 1:11) "and this is what some of you were". The sacrifice of Christ has enabled us not only to be forgiven but to take on a new identity in Christ: changed, forgiven, saint!
We have been washed (I John 1:9; Ps. 103:12; Heb. 8:12).
We have been and are continually sanctified (made Holy) (I Cor. 1:1, 2; II Cor. 1:1; Phil. 1:1;
Hebrews 10:10).
This concept is so hard to wrap my mind around.....when my God, my Savior, looks at me, He doesn't see what a horrible, undeserving sinner I am. He sees His son! And through His son, He sees me as Holy.... I'm not perfect and wont be until Heaven (Heb. 10:14) but my God sees me now as Holy and also in the process of being made Holy through the work of the Spirit.....wow....
We have been justified. "It is not only being forgiven, but it is positively being declared righteous in God’s sight. Christ’s righteousness is credited to you by faith (Romans 1:17; 4:23-25)."
These questions really got me....I have a tendency to give myself a hard time for "failures" or things I wish I could change...
“Are you looking to yourself for forgiveness or are you looking to Christ?” Are you seeking to perform some form of penance or are you trusting in Christ’s work? If you are looking to Christ listen to what God says about your past sins, “You were
washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” So stop looking to yourself and look to Christ alone. That, after all, is who the Father is looking at.

As I heard several times throughout the conference: its not about me....its all about Jesus....

wisdom

I'm so very blessed to count as friends and mentors some of the most Biblically wise people I've ever met. They are a continual blessing as they allow the Lord to speak through them in both convicting truth and encouraging wisdom.
These are a couple of their recent blog posts that I have found particularly encouraging and challenging.


Crucifixion
Liz Chasteen shares a narrative of the events of Good Friday.

Playin' Dress Up for Easter
Matt Rogers gives convicting insight on true understanding of the Easter message.

Easter
Matt's wife, Sarah, shares encouraging scripture on the outcome of the resurrection.


I mentioned a few weeks ago that the general sessions as well as the breakout sessions of the Restore Conference would be posted online. They're currently available on Crosspoint Clemson's Teaching webpage. There's a lot of great wisdom on glorifying God through relationships.

I hope you've had a wonderful Easter celebrating this joyous time in our faith. Praise God He RESURRECTED His Son from the dead and everything has changed!!

Easter Anniversaries.....

In the spring semester last yr, my CP group read "Stop Dating the Church" by Joshua Harris. Looking through some of my notes in the book recently, I found one of my favorite quotes:

"...Sunday is the Lord's day in a special way. Jesus has owned it uniquely ever since that first Easter when He stepped out of the empty tomb. Think of it. On that morning, for the first time, He had conquered death. He atoned for our sin. He had made a way for us to come boldly into the presence of the Father. And every Sunday since has been an anniversary of that amazing morning. The Savior has risen--and everything has changed"!!!

As Easter approaches, its a fresh reminder to me of what that first Easter means to the Christian faith and to me personally. My Savior conquered death, atoned for my sin, and made a way for me to come boldly into the presence of the Holy God!! It's both joyous and convicting.
Do I treat every Sunday as an anniversary of Jesus' resurrection? Or do I go about the day in routine? Do I come boldly, confident that the power that raised my Savior is at work in me? Do I cultivate a humble and willing heart, expecting Him to work through me and obedient to His every leading? Or do I tell Him through my actions that I don't believe He changed everything that day?

In my reading plan, I recently finished Ezra and Nehemiah. I'm currently in Exodus. Some of these passages discuss traditional ceremonies of the people of Israel such as the Feast of Unleavened Bread. They were so careful to follow God's instructions with the feasts and festivals commemorating the Passover and freedom from Egypt. Even though they were, at times, incredibly disobedient, most of their actions did show that they knew their God to be very real. They took seriously the celebrations and remembrances of what He did for them.
Do I live as though I know my God's alive? Do I take seriously the celebration of what He did for me? .... Convicting questions ... But I would have far more to be concerned about if God didn't convict my heart to make me more like His Son.

Welcome to the Silence

I was looking for something on the Passion blog today and came across this: for the last session of Passion Regionals in Atlanta, we entered the Gwinnett Center in silence. It was to be a time of reflection and seeking the Lord on the application of what we'd heard over the weekend. To begin the session, this passage appeared on the screens a sentence or two at a time. It was a powerful reminder of God's power, His constant control over anything that will ever occur in my life (what a great comfort that everything is first sifted through His hands!) and His undeserved, unceasing love for me.

Hi. Welcome To The Silence. Life Is So Loud Sometimes And Just Being Still Even For A Few Minutes Can Powerfully Rearrange Everything That’s Assaulting Our Minds And Our Hearts. Especially When God Is In View. After All He’s The One Who Said Be Still And Know That I Am God.

So We’ve Turned The Volume Down As We Start What We Hope Will Be A Beautiful And Raucous Night In The Hopes That The Things We Need To Hear Most Will Become Really Really Loud.

God Knows Who You Are. Where You Are. And He Knows What You Need In This Moment. He Is Not Looking At A Massive Crowd But The Eyes Of The One Who So Easily Spoke Galaxies Into Their Places Are Looking Right At You. Amazingly He Knows Your Name And The Color He Painted Your Eyes. And He Knows What Makes You Laugh And What Makes You Cry. He Is Not Distracted By What You Think About Him. Or What You Want Him To Think About You. He Knows What He Thinks About You And How He Feels. And He Wants To Say Something To You In The Silence.

I Love You.

Let That Sink Into The Silence And The Stillness And The Soil Of Your Heart.

God Loves You. Oh Don’t Believe The Words On The Screen Or The Words Of Somebody. You Don’t Have To Take It From A Third Party. No. The Father Has Spoken Directly To You. The God Of All Creation Is Engaging You In A Pretty Stunning Conversation. And As Is Always The Case God Is Speaking First. Not Waiting For Your Proposal Or Assessment Of Where You Feel You Are. Or If You’ll Ever Be As Amazing As Something Deep Inside Tells You That You Were Meant To Be. He Isn’t Waiting To Hear About All Your Screw Ups Or Your Great Deeds To Make It Up. No God Is Eager To Share His Take On You.

Here It Is.

Mess Up.
Definitely.
Deeply Loved.
Anyway.

Both Are True And Both Things Set Him In Motion Shaping History With A Story Fueled By Unstoppable Grace. You See God Was Not Shut Down By Our Failure. Nor Did The Consequences Of Our Rebellion Dim His Beautiful Heart Of Love. No We Were The Ones Shut Down When Sin Caused Our Souls To Die. And Die We Did. It’s Bad News Death.
Because Dead People Can’t See. Can’t Breathe. Can’t Help Themselves. Dead People Can’t Do Anything. That Is Why They Call Him Savior. When We Were Dead And Could Not Touch God Jesus Came Down And Touched Us. It Is The Most Phenomenal Thing That Has Or Will Ever Happen To You And Me. Divinity Rushing Into Humanity. God In Skin Marching Steadily To The Beat Of His Own Love. And Nothing And No One Could Alter His Course.

It’s True.

We Were A Mess.
Yet We Were Deeply Loved.

Because Of Our Mess His Embrace Would Demand A Cost Beyond Compare. Because Love Was Accompanied By Justice And Justice Demanded Someone Cover Our Debt Of Sin And Shame Someone Would Have To Stand In Our Place And Pay Our Fee. Someone Would Have To Come To Our Aid.

Even If We Wanted To Pay Off The Price Required By Our Mistakes It Could Not Be So. Dead Men Cannot Stand Up For Themselves. So Another Would Have To Take Our Blows And Swallow The Death Our Sins Deserved. But Who Could Do That For Us. It Couldn’t Be Just Anyone. Because If The Price To Be Offered Was Death The Price Would Have To Be Exacted From Someone Who Was Alive. Yet The Whole World Was Dead In Darkness Until A Miracle Happened And A Light Shone Above And In A Manger.

In The Night The Hope Of Us All Was Born Alive. The Only One Ever Born Alive. And The Only One To Live A Spotless Life Of Pure Faith In God. So On The Friday We Call Good Jesus Was The Only One At The Cross Who Could Possibly Die. Because He Was The Only Living Soul On Plane Earth. Hallelujah. Jesus Was Alive When God’s Love Drove The Nails Our Sin Screamed Out For Into His Hands And Feet. Nails Of Love Punctured Flesh As Blood So Precious Streamed Down To The Ground. A Puddle Of Incomprehensible Love Soaking Into The Soil.

His Innocence Now Gone He Gasped And Cried. Purity Now Covered In Muck And Shame. And When The Sun Fully Scorched The Beautiful Bloom Of Grace Jesus Could No Longer Suck In Enough Air To Breathe. And Finally His Heart Stopped Beating.

In An Instant All Hell Broke Lose And Darkness Covered The Moment As His Lifeless Mangled Body Hung For All The World To See. God’s Undeniable Expression.

I Love You.

His Death Shocked Everyone In Heaven And Hell. Everyone Except His Father Who Was On A Mission Of Love And Saw This Day Coming From Before There Was Time. But All Else Missed It. That’s Why Some Wept In Disbelief As Others Exuberantly Shouted Death Has Won.

The Darkness Threw A Party. But As It Turned Out Hell Partied Too Soon. God’s Story Was Just Getting Interesting As He Spoke To His Son. Rise Up Son I Love. Rise Up Oh My Son.

From The Clasp Of Death Christ Rose. His Father Exhaling Glorious Breathe And Neverending Life Into His Lungs. So Tonight We Will Throw The Party And Invite The World To Come. Because Our God Is Mighty To Save. And The Christ We Celebrate Has Overwhelmed The Grave.

He Is Here Now. This Same Jesus Is Here Now. Offering His Life To All Men. To You. Not You Trying To Live A Better Life. But Christ Living His Life Inside Of You. If You Want A Big Theological Word It’s Called Incarnation. If You Need A Simpler Word It’s Called The Gospel Of Grace. Christ In You The Hope Of Glory.

I Don’t Know What The Loudness Has Been Pumping Into Your Heart And Brain. I Don’t Know If You’ve Been Dragged Into The Depths Of Despair Or If Your Standing On The Deceptive Heights Of Your Own Doing. But In The Stillness Hear This. A Miraculous Offer Is On The Table. God’s Love For You Moved Christ To Take Your Blows So That Now In Him You Can Stand Forgiven And Alive.

And There’s More. Christ Lives To Be In You What You Alone Could Never Be.

Say Yes.