What are you Christmas?

by: Abi Rivera

What are you Christmas? Where did you come from? Are you the hot coacoa that I drink with the company of a fireplace? Are you the cheesy music that invades my ears singing about Santa and how he owns reindeers? Are you the snow we all wait so patiently to fall in December? Or are you the gifts that we anxiously open on the 25th of December?

The traditional Christmas is all of the above. But what we do not realize is that

Christmas time is here!!

by: Jessie Hurlbut, Jessie Arnold, Rafael

Christmas to me means to be with family and love one another and be greatful for being alive, because Jesus died on the cross for our sins. We shouldn't just celebrate it just on Christmas we need to celebrate it everyday all day because you wake up everyday and live and breathe because of Him. So Christmas to me means to love and live on this day. It doesn't matter how many presents or what you get that matter, it's love and life. So enjoy Christmas because that's what it means to me. -Jessie Hurlbut

The center of Christmas for my family has always been food. Not so much the eating part but the making of too much food, everybody bringing to-go boxes, and the kitchen being the one room that EVERYBODY is. If you want some quiet you go to the living room because every other room is filled with people, food, and stories from the past year. I am so happy I am finally of the age I am able to learn all of my grandma's recipes. Before I would come in to the kitchen and just walk right back out because I didn't have a reason to be in there and I had no idea what anyone was talking about. It is true that Christ is the center of Christmas but the food is a close second in my family. Always has been and always will be. - Jessie Arnold

Christmas is special to me for lots of reasons. I get to give and receive gifts, go to Christmas events, and spend time with my friends and family. But most of all, I get to celebrate Jesus' birthday! - Rafael

SKINNY Jeans and V-NECK shirts: The essence of cool.

COOL.  After 2 years of youth ministry… probably to some. After 5 years… maybe. After 10 years, I don’t know. After 15 years… probably not. After 20 years… definitely not. The essence of cool. It is something that I probably lost grasp on many years ago. I realized this summer at the Motion youth conference that I did not look like a lot of the “youth speakers” that were on the stage. Skinny jeans and v-neck shirts… hmm. Should I really be wearing those?

Separate Faith

by Charis Hope Franklin

When I was in fourth grade, I was faced with a teacher who was an evolutionist. She had us watch videos on evolution, and she put questions on the tests about evolution. I walked up to her desk after class one day, and I explained to her that I understood that she believed in evolution but that was not what I believed as a Christian.

What, When, Where, Why, How

When I was 5 or 6 years old, I was in a tambourine class at the Bible College my dad was attending. I vaguely remember sitting on one of the steps of the room (because it was built for lectures, not for little people) next to my friend and messing with my tambourine. Then, at some point, the teacher presented the gospel and I went forward to pray and be saved. What day was it? I have no idea. I don't even know exactly how old I was.

My mom told me recently that every Sunday school teacher I had would come tell her that I accepted Christ into my heart that day. She would say "Thanks! That makes number 5." 

Got some wart remover?

Ok, prepare yourself. This is a pretty gross analogy (as suggested by the title)

I have discovered over the past few weeks that sin is like a wart. How did I discover that? Well, I have one on my hand. Yeah, I know. It's gross. But hey, I think I finally killed it. And NO you may not see it if it grows back. This is taking vulnerability, people. That and the fact that I'm sitting behind a computer and know you can't see me while I write this.
So the question: How did I come to that conclusion? How did I look at this little patch of nastiness on my hand and think "Hey, it's sin!" Well I'll tell you. (Didn't see that one coming, did you?)

Summer playlist

by: Abi Rivera

Music, man oh man where to begin:

What is music?
-mu·sic/ˈmyoozik/Noun
· The art or science of combining vocal or instrumental sounds (or both) to produce beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion.
· an art of sound in time that expresses ideas and emotions in significant forms through the elements of rhythm, melody, harmony, and color.
-This is how it is defined according to an online dictionary (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/music). But what is music to you, and how would you define it?

That's All, Folks!

You know that moment at the end of a Looney Tunes Cartoon when Porky the Pig sticks his head out of a circle and shouts "That's all, folks!" Or when the lion sticks his head out and roars? That moment when you're sitting there watching the credits at the end of the movie, hoping there's a tag at the end, waiting to see if the story continues? That's exactly how I felt the week after graduation. I felt as if someone should have stood up at the end of commencement, the credits of my college career, and said "Well, that's all she wrote, folks. Let's have a moment of silence as we mourn the ending of 1,500 lives." It took my some time to realize that life is not about who you are in college, what horribly awful

For the Girls:)! An Alabaster Summer

Hey Girls! Classes are over and final exams are finished! Summer is HERE, and I am so excited! Check out the following blog. It's based on a lesson we did with the post-high girls' small groups, but we wanted to invite all of the girls in Alpha to be a part. It's unlike any other summer challenge we've done. I am so thankful for each one of you and pray that this summer is unforgettable because of the presence of the Lord in your life!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Free Hugs!

I like hugs. I mean I really, really like hugs. And I really think that everyone else should like hugs, too. There have been many times when I have been made fun of because I said “She just looks like she needs a hug.” You know that person who needs a hug; it’s the old man eating his breakfast by himself at McDonald’s, it’s the grumpy guitar player who would much rather be sleeping than having a sound check at that moment. Those people who really look like a hug would make their day better are really difficult for me to ignore. Every once in a while, I don’t; there have been occasions where I walk up to a random stranger, strike up a conversation, and eventually hug them. They’re usually incredibly freaked out, but I like to think that when they get over the awkwardness they will feel better for having been hugged.

It’s sort of like that time in college when I was taking a self-defense class and we were having our “final” exam. What we had to do was attack the person in the middle when our number was called and they had to escape. I waited around and I finally heard my number called. I look in the middle and the girl is at least six inches taller than me. I rush to the middle to try and grab her around the back, only she turns and I am giving her the most awkward embrace of my entire life. I’m telling you, my chin only came to her mid-chest. There I am, wrapped around this girl I really don’t know,