Joy never ending.

Hey There!
Well, I had an awesome day today, one of those, drive with the window down, drink iced tea with sunglasses on, be totally consumed with the love of God, be surrounded by people you love, and have FUN! Mm, His joy is my strength, My strength is the joy that I get from Him, and nothing can take that away, I find myself getting closer and closer to Him, and finding my soul being happier and happier with life, and also realizing more and more about what is going to happen in my life.

I am scared that this is going to be a lame post, however I was told today to share some of the stuff that I found in the book of Acts that I really liked, so here are some verses that I have highlighted (see what I did there) haha, I am a comedian! Anywho, it's another one of those tired nights, prepare for an entire week of them, wee hoo. Without further wait, here is some ACTS.

"Whereve they were scattered, they preached the message about Jesus. Many who could neither stand nor walk were healed that day. The evil spirits protested loudly as they were sent on their way. And what joy in the city!" - Acts 8

Haha, another one of my favorite parts is in Romans 13. Basically Jesus first disciples went from city to city until they were no longer welcome, or until God wanted them to leave, and then they went to the next town and continued to show signs and wonders, these men were incredible! So in this specific story, it says that paul and Baranbus were brutally kicked out of a city, and they simply "shrugged their shoulders and went on to the next town, brimming with joy and the Holy Spirit, two happy disciples." I don't know about you, but I want to be like that. Woo, I think this is why I lve the book of Acts so much. Complete joy, maybe it has something to do with the fact that Jesus is alive, and He is right now! We have the exact same reason to be that happy, what is stopping you from jumping up right now and just laughing yourself to complete peace with your personal lover? If there is something, it is definetely fixable on Gods behalf.

In the next city that they went to, Paul was beaten to almost dead and dragged out of town... get this, when he awoke from his "beating" he got back up and went back into the city witha smile on his face. (Acts 14) I feel that a blog bible study of the book of Acts is going to occur soon because I am rambling, and I KNOW that this book deserves so much more.

Who's up for it???? ME, me, pick me!
Okay, so it looks like you are up for it!
I will do my best. :)

Sleep tight my friends? Or I am guessing when you read this you will be waking up, in that case, smile, smile until your cheeks hurt! then massage them and smile more!

I love you,
Colton

CHEESY

Well, it is one in the morning, yet again.
I am not overly tired(well maybe I just don't know it yet), but it's one of those, "all is well" feelings.
I am sitting trying to think about what to blog about.
Hmm.
Well, today was a great day, I spent it with incredible people, doing things that I love, it doesn't get much better than that. Are you ever in a moment of complete "goodness" where you feel like you can sit, and just close your eyes, and things are well. That was today, it was well.
I can't wait for tomorrow, because I know it is a brand new day, and instead of thinking about how it may night be as awesome as today, I can thiknk about how it can be better, and what God can do it tomorrow. A good friend once told me that tomorrow is only a day away. This is true, tomorrow, I love you tomorrow, you are not even here yet, but I am pumped.
Haha, and right now I am ashamed at how corny that paragraph was and I am slowly realizing how tired I am, but hey, it was a good day, great people, great food (although I didn't have any ribs), and a whole lot of Jesus.

God, I pray that TOMORROW will be even more blessed, Your love makes me sing, I pray that all your goodness will shine through in everything that goes on tomorrow, everything I am involved in. Meet me there, everywhere tomorrow.

Oh this reminds me of something I read this morning, it was talking about how when we go to talk to God we are always using the entire time to tell God how much we love Him. It's like a kid running up to there dad being like I love you I love you I love you!!!! and then running away before the dad even gets to say Hi. We do that with god sometimes, so I encourage you to go to your dad, show Him how much you love Him and then get ready for His response. Hahaha, it will be tremendous!

Please ignore my puncutation,
Colton!

It's a beautiful day.

Smile.
Look at all the good around you, if you stop for a minute. Stop. Breathe for a minute, and look. There is so much of it, you are incredibly blessed, and talented and incredibly beautiful. You are loved, constantly. Constantly. It's a beautiful day, don't let it slip away. There is gold inside of you, God put it there, so make today's goal that you will constantly be refining that gold to the purest it can be, let it radiate out of you. You are a force to be reckoned with. Smile.

I was just reading Banning's book, "Jesus Culture", something hit me that I want to talk about, all set?
If Jesus is pursuing us and knocking on our door, then our responsibility is to open it when He knocks. Revelation 3:20 says, "If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me." We must position ourselves in such a way that when He knowcks, we open the door. His voice must be louder than all other voices in our lives. There can be no competition to the knock of Jesus. In fact, the more we encounter His love for us, the less anything else in our lives will have the strength to compare.
Wether it is your daily devotional time or throughout your busy day, the issue is this: Will you turn your attention and affection to Him? As important as having a daily time with God is, it's not the ultimate goal. The objective is to have the affections of your heart pointed in His direction no matter what is going on.
"The moment you look up and are in a place of affection with Jesus the Heavens are opened."

I think the main reason, for myself, of spending certain parts of scheduled day with God is to PREPARE me for the day, and to get me on track for the entire day ahead, where I keep my entire attention and affection on Him. It shouldn't just start and stop during morning prayer time, or evening reading time, it is constant, it is a "lifestyle", not a "10 minute of your day-style." My favorite parts of my day are when out of nowhere I just feel overwhlemed with God's presence, like driving somewhere, or in the middle of lunch break, or rehearsal, when all I can do is smile.
Smile!
It's a beautiful day!
Don't let it get away.

"Take time to determine the way you will live your life. But once you know the way you should go, let nothing distract you from your path." -Ellyn Sanna.

Falling Asleep Now,
Colton

Your love fulfills my every need.

When I am dry and thirsty Lord, and am crying out for more, I know I can trust in Your love.
In the darkness, in the night, when I'm starving for the light, I know I can trust in Your love.
You keep no records of my sin.
You don't remember all my shame.
Your love is everything to me.

Hey there my friends!
Well, I am in Fredericton for the weekend, staying at my aunts house, and I am excited. I don't knwo what sparked this thought, but does it ever accur to you that your day can extremely well, or extremely awful, according to simple decisions you make in a day? Once, again, I'm not sure where this is coming from, but I am just speaking my mind. I guess what's on my heart is that when you think You're having a bad day, or maybe the day is young, and you have already screwed up and you think that you ruined your day. Well folks, that's a lie. God keeps no records of my sin, and He doesn't remember any of my shame.
Which triggers another thought, sometimes I think we feel like we have a bad "history" with something. The thing is, that is straight up bologna. All things are made new, and I feel so thankful for that right now! So thankful! We can go back to those places that were once cites of extreme disaster, as a new person, a person with a new light, and a faith that cannot be touched by our old shame. That is proof of how much we have grown in Christ.

I am at peace, and so pumped by God's COMPLETE faithfulness!

Here is some of Psalms 27, mixed and matched Colton style:
God holds me head and shoulders above all who try to pull me down. Already I am singing God-songs. I'm making music to God! Haha,You've always been right there for me. You've always kept the door open. Point me down your highway God, direct me along a well-lighted street. Take heart. Don't quit.

"He who asks a question is a fool for five minutes; he who does not ask a question remains a fool forever." -Chinese Proverb.

"We must make the choices that enable us to fulfill the deepest capacities of ourselves." -Thomas Merton.

Headed to bed soon, I'm in love
-Colton

Let me try again.

I want to correct something from last night's post, it has been kind of on my mind and heart all day.

Religion, it is not faking something, but let's be honest, is it a natural thing that makes us feel God's love, or let's us FEEl His grace and happiness? In my experience no. For me, religion is the act of going to a certain "religion" church, and following a set of prayers, doing a certain amount of things, following certain rules, in order to maintain righteousness, or whatever you want to call it. To me, that's not right.

Let me try to say this clearer. I find a joy in God that I can't find in anything else, I've had experiences where His love picks me up off my feet and saves me from disaster, and where His forgiveness can take my most terrible mistakes and wash them away. That is God to me, and I love it, really love it. I am in no way trying to convert anybody, to be honest, I don't see the point of it. I just hate to see, teens, who are constantly striving to hold onto something real, be turned off of the one real thing in this world, because of a set of rules and actions that HAVE to be maintained or else "You are going to Hell."

Anyway, I feel like maybe that came out a little more clearly tonight, let me know, I love answering questions!

Now, HI! How are you?

I feel much better to get that off my chest. Let's talk.

When I first started blogging, I think this was one of my first topics, but I want to revisit it for tonight, it seems to fit.

Matthew 11:28-30 ---

"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."

This is Jesus speaking, by the way, and I think when i first wrote about this the blog entry was titled "The ultimate invite." I think you can figure out why, just read it. Basically, in an even simpler form, Jesus is saying, "Come on, let's be friends, I have so much I want to talk about with you, you are awesome, and I promise to be the best friend You have ever had."

Think: Notice all the different ways Jesus is saying, "hang out with me." He says it quite a few ways, which way do you find it most inviting? What would it feel like to walk with Jesus and work with Him? It's okay to be honest; "freely and lightly" may not describe what you think it would really be like. You may think it would be forced and difficult. If so, what would you desire it to be like? Have you feared that a walk with Jesus might require heavy or ill-fitting things? Why?

Live: Walk with Jesus, either in your mind or on an actual walk. As you do, turn these words from Jesus over in your mind: rest, unforced, keep company with me, freely, lightly.

I guess that's it. The difference, between Christianity and Religion... One thing is a real beneficial friendship, the other is rules, and tradition, that people, especially teenagers do not find appealing.

---------------------------------

So, I got this quote book for Easter, I am going to leave you with a couple.

"Success consists of getting up just more times than you fall." - Oliver Goldsmith.

"Don't wait for your ship to come; swim out to it." - Anonymous

BONNE SOIR!

-Colton

Religion vs. Spirituality.

HOWDY

It's funny, this is the only night off I have this week, and at the moment I am really tired. Hmm...

Anyway, today I got to talk with someone about "Religion" and the difference that "religion" and what I feel to be a relationship with my Best Friend, Dad, Hero, etc.

The question came up, "What do people do when they find out you are really religious."

I replied with, "I am not religious at all, I love God, those are completely different things!"

The conversation continued, and it got me to the point where I said the word "religion" has nothing to do with your closeness with God."

Any of you bloggers agree with me? What are your thoughts?

Anyway, after that we kind of got into the topic of praying, and how do you feel His love everyday, that real tangible love. For me, it's like a Dad's hug. You ask for it, I don't know, I pray everyday, two sided conversations. You are not going to go to your best friend, cry about all the things that you want or need help with then run away, You are going to let them talk back to you, why not do the same thing with God? And then some people say, but how can god speak to us? Easy... through the bible.

Today during English we were talking a little bit about how the bible is so hard to read, and how it doesn't make sense, that the sentence structure is off. I wanted to jump up and yell, "GET A DIFFERENT TRANSLATION!" Hah, seriously though, check out the message, it makes reading, a whole lot more enjoyable, and easier to understand, it is cool stuff. I mean, God made this bible, for us! To talk... to us! So let US read it! :)

I know I am rambling, but... bare with me?

2 Corinthians 3:16-18---

^16-18Whenever, though, they turn to face God as Moses did, God removes the veil and there they are—face-to-face! They suddenly recognize that God is a living, personal presence, not a piece of chiseled stone. And when God is personally present, a living Spirit, that old, constricting legislation is recognized as obsolete. We're free of it! All of us! Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him.

Okay this word, for me, is really the break between religion and real-ness! When people stop faking, and actually let themselves see who God is, and how it is so much more then stain-glassed windows and wine in a glass on Sundays. Personal Question... What the heck is a first communion anyway? I feel like when we actually try with full hearts, that "veil" is destroyed, God is there waiting with open arms. He is constantly reaching out to us, will we stop long enough to reach out to Him? This goes for people who are already "Christians." I think this is the break between Sunday morning "christians" and people who want to be with God. I can't say it much better than those verses. Re-read them. Ask God to show Himself to You, Haha... I guarantee You are in for a treat.

Did any of that make sense? Haha... I'm scared I sound like an old hag,

-Colton

Moving Ahead

I have two thoughts right now...

One) I was listening to this song tonight on the way home from a crappy rehearsal, and it felt like the words were coming out of my heart. I feel like the guy who wrote it, did so while examining how I feel. Insane.

Moving Forward - Israel Houghton. ---

What a moment
You have brought me to
Such a freedom I have found in You.
You're the healer
Who makes all things new
Yeah yeah

I'm not going back
I'm moving ahead
Here to declare to you
My past is over in You
All things are made new
Surrendered my life to Christ
I'm moving moving forward

You have risen
With all power in Your hands
You have given me
A second chance

Hallelujah hallelujah
Yeah, yeah, yeah
yeah, yeah, yeah

I'm not going back
I'm moving ahead
I'm here to declare to you
My past is over in you
All things are made new
Surrendered my life to Christ
I'm moving, moving forward

You make all things new
Yes
You make all things new
And I will follow You
Forward

Secondly, I want to tackle a pretty big subject tonight. Haha, and I am a little tired, so this could get good... Compliance.

This was kind of put on my heart this weekend, I felt the difference between, "100% surrendered, let's go for it, let's make a change", and "I like where things are, let's keep it like this."

Compliance is the act of conforming, meaning, finding a comfortable level of joy and peace and challenges that fit in with everything around you, and staying at that level. The fact is, eventually things change. I guess what I am trying to say is, don't waste time just fitting in, being prideful, or just going along with the flow. I find it so unhealthy.

God talks about taking this life in a serious way, numerous times in the bible He uses the metaphor of a race. A race where the runners run to win! To Win! You can't win by just hovering in a safety zone, you have to get on the track and run, challenges will come, you will get thirsty, you might feel a pain, but guess what? When you finish a lap, not only do you have this feeling of complete satisfaction, you also get rest, water, love, and more joy and peace then you felt before. With all this renewed strength, run more, run harder! The more you go, the more you grow, the more people you effect!

The thing is, this weekend I felt a shift in my heart, I felt like I let my pride go. I surrendered, and decided to run, already, I am feeling that sense I am 100% committed, success comes my way so much more, I have more people to talk to, I just am more able to see blessings fly in my direction, and God's presence in my life is that much more real and full of joy.

I feel like God is my coach in the race, standing there, handing me a water bottle after a lap, and He's there with posters being like "Yah Colton, You got this!", and dare I say it, I totally think that when my enemies try to get me out of this race God is totally there to show 'em who's boss - like a proud momma stickin' up for their "baby" haha, You get the picture. I am Moving Forward, and it never felt so good!

Come on, let's run, who's with me?

-Colton