2016 Key Verse Testimony

“And He was saying to them all, ‘if anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.’”
-Luke 9:23-24
     Hebrews 12:1-2 reads “therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” That was my key verse for the year 2015. I chose it because I knew that there were sins in my life that I needed to address. I also chose Hebrews 12:1-2 because I wanted to focus on Jesus, who is the pioneer and perfecter of faith. This verse has encouraged me in the past year to look at Jesus, who endured the cross for me. Overcoming temptation is much easier when I remembered that Jesus overcame all temptation, and even suffered and died on the cross. While this verse has been helpful to me, I am sad to say that I didn’t really grow in my relationship with God as much as I had wanted to.
     Last year went by extremely quickly. So much has happened so fast that I never really took time to appreciate what has happened in 2015. One of the things that I am grateful for is the vocal team, as we have grown together in serving the church through our music. I tend to be very demanding of people, especially when I am working together with someone on a project. The members of the vocal team were very willing to work at making the music sound good. We all pushed each other to learn our parts quickly, and to take care of the finer details that are often left untouched. Singing with the vocal team has been so much fun, and a very rewarding experience. Last year I also received an internship position at the United States Army Research Laboratory. I applied to many positions in the spring for a summer internship, but no one offered me a position. I felt that I was doomed to not have an internship, until my professor sent me and my class an email about an internship position. At the time, I had no idea what position it was, but I told him that I was a interested. By the grace of God I was able to get an interview with the people at the Army Research Lab, also known as ARL, and was offered a position as a researcher/intern. My mentor is hardworking but kind, and I learned (quite quickly I might add) that he was also a Christian. He offered to extend my internship throughout the fall semester, and now through the 2016 spring semester. I quickly accepted this extension, and I hope that I can be a blessing to those that I work with. At the end of the spring semester in 2015, I received an Honors college citation, stating that I had met all the requirements of the Honors college. The funny thing is that I didn’t realize that I had gotten this citation until my advisor mentioned it to me during my fall advising meeting. The requirements for this citation are that you take a certain number of Honors classes, and that you maintain a 3.2 GPA. I knew about the class requirements, but only discovered the GPA requirement late in the spring semester of 2015. As I looked back at my past college semesters, I noticed that my GPA was only just above a 3.2. In fact, there were a couple of semesters in which my GPA was well below a 3.2. Despite this, I managed to survive with barely a 3.2 GPA and to receive my Honors college citation. I thank God for His infinite mercy for a sinner like me. In the fall of 2015 semester, I received a new interest in learning. Often times in the past, people would ask me why I chose electrical engineering as my major in college. I always gave an answer like “it’s because I was good at physics/math in high school”, or that “I wanted to learn how computers work”. Now these are definitely true to some extent, but the honest answer to the question of why I chose electrical engineering is “I don’t know”. I honestly don’t know why I decided to chose electrical engineering as my major. Even during past semesters in college, I struggled to take interest in the material, since I was doing so much math without much application. I never reached a point where I wanted to quit electrical engineering, but I did sometimes question if this was the right major for me. Somehow, in the fall semester of last year, I took an interest in my classes. Perhaps this was in part due to the fact that at the senior level I got to choose my courses, or that I had an internship where I applied my knowledge in a practical way. Whatever the case was, I became more interested in my classes. This doesn’t mean I suddenly enjoyed every single thing that I was learning, but I did appreciate more of the material. Thanks to this renewed vigor, I got the highest GPA since my freshmen year. Praise be to God. Lastly, I must mention the good things that God has done in my church’s young adult group. As I have mentioned in the past, our previous leader left the country due to his job. He was in charge of much of the planning of the group, so we knew that he would be greatly missed. I found that a lot more responsibility of he group was placed on me and the other leaders, and at first we struggled to plan for the upcoming semesters. However, we learned to work together as the year went on, and we settled into our roles quite nicely. I took on leading praise every week, which I really enjoyed doing. I also was able to lead some praise nights, which was difficult to prepare but a joy to lead and serve. I can’t speak for everyone, but I felt that God was teaching us a lot in the past year in the young adult group. We studied the book of Ephesians in the spring, and we studied a series titled “Shadows” in the fall, both of which I have recapped on my blog. I was blessed to learn about the love of Jesus, and the person of Jesus through these semesters. I thank God for the great leaders He has placed with me to work for His glory.
     Of course, I cannot talk about my year without talking about praise. I have been serving on a praise team for a very long time. It has been at least 6 years that I have been serving on a praise team, whether it be on youth group or Sunday service. I have grown a lot in my musical ability, and my understanding of worship. At the same time however, I’ve grown a bit complacent in my worship to God. Inevitably when you do something for a long time, you begin to lose the importance of what that thing is. For me, that thing was serving praise. This past year, I’ve tried to maintain a heart of worship, but serving every week makes it hard for me to keep my eyes fixed on Jesus. There were many times where I focused too much on the music, even when the music was pretty good. I strived for perfection, when God calls us in our brokenness. Of course, as I’ve mentioned in the past, it is good to give God our best, but the whole point of Jesus coming to earth was to mend our brokenness. If we constantly strive to be perfect, we will never get there, and we will never have a need for Jesus. I’ve been trying to learn to be patient, and to accept that I can never be perfect, and the praise team can never be perfect. All we can do is to give God our best, and to let Him work in our weakness. One of my prayers for 2016 is to give my best to God, and not to stress on my imperfections or the worship team’s imperfections.
     While many good things did happen last year, it was not all good. I still struggled with many things that I had struggled with for a long time, including anger and laziness. In the past, I have had some serious anger issues, something which I have mentioned time and time again. I thank God that He has given me a better temper, but in 2015 I saw my anger start to flash. Every week, our church plays soccer after Sunday service. This is supposed to be a time for fun and fellowship, but I have taken it a bit too seriously at times. I am naturally a competitive person, which started to show a lot during soccer. When things happened in soccer that I didn’t like, sometimes I would become angry at others. This happened a couple times last year, which I am not proud of. Thankfully, this has only happened during soccer, and not during a time where I could seriously hurt someone. As I look back on these times, I realize that my anger is a result of a deeper issue- my constant need for perfection, which also showed itself during praise. I demand so much of other people, even though I know that we all fall short in some way or another, myself included. I want to rest in Jesus’ fullness and perfection in 2016, and to stop demanding perfection of myself and others. I will be graduating from college in May of 2016, so I have to look for a job. My laziness is not helping me in my job search, since I should have started already in 2015. I also struggled to maintain personal devotion with God on a daily basis, only reading the Bible on an irregular basis, without giving it much effort. I know this is not the life God wants for me, which is why I decided to choose Luke 9:23-24 as my key verse for 2016. It reads, “And He was saying to them all, ‘if anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.’” This verse is repeated in both Matthew and Mark’s gospel, but I decided to chose Luke’s version because he includes the phrase “take up your cross daily”. Denying myself, taking up my cross daily, and following Jesus are not easy. I know this. However, this is Jesus’ will for my life, and I know that He only wants what is best for me. To know Jesus better and to become more like Him, I must deny the desires of my flesh. My sinful nature desires many things, but I must deny these things in order to come after Jesus. I can’t succumb to my laziness and unwillingness to read the Word daily. To take up my cross means to chose suffering over my own comfort. When Jesus took up His cross, He chose to suffer rather than to be comfortable. A life with Jesus will inevitably have suffering, but Jesus has already led the way through His cross. Luke’s gospel reminds me that I have to take up my cross daily, meaning I have to choose the cross before myself everyday. To follow Jesus requires that I leave everything else behind. I can choose to follow the world or to follow Jesus, but not both. Verse 24 is both a warning and an encouragement. It is a warning in the sense that we should not try to save our own life, by preserving what little we have on this earth. Compared to the riches that are in heaven, what we have on earth is so insignificant. Verse 24 is an encouragement because it promises that if we lose our life for Jesus and His gospel, we will truly be saved. I have many things that I want to preserve on this earth. I want to secure a good job after I graduate. I want to get good grades in school. I want to fit in with the world, so I am not ridiculed or mocked. However, Jesus is telling me that the gospel is greater than all these things, and I should freely lose them for the sake of Christ. My runner-up key verse for 2016 and honorable mention was chosen through the casting of lots, and reads “be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7). Letting go of the things of this world and losing them sounds a bit worrisome to me at times, but I know that living as a disciple of Jesus will bring me true peace. Nothing I do can ever compare to being a disciple of Jesus, even though I will have to deny myself, take up my cross, and follow Jesus. I know that I do not have to worry, because if I am true to Jesus, He will be true to me. I pray that in 2016 I can become a true disciple of Jesus.

Play Skillfully (Part 2)

     In my last post, I wrote some reasons as to why I believe it is important to lead worship skillfully. I stressed that the most important thing is that worship leaders are worshiping God, but playing well should also be something they strive for. Today I want to continue talking about playing skillfully, but give some practical ways to improve your abilities. I have found that these things have helped me become a much better musician, and I still use these techniques today. I hope you are blessed through this list, and I hope you learn something.
1. Practice. This is so obvious, but it has to be said. Don’t limit the time you practice to worship team rehearsals. Practicing songs outside of team rehearsals is the best way to improve your skill as a musician, and the team will appreciate it.
2. Learn theory. I know, theory isn’t fun. No one really likes learning music theory, but I can honestly say that it has made me a much better musician. I was privileged to have a piano teacher who taught me theory, but you don’t need a teacher to learn theory. There are so many resources online that teach music theory, so I encourage you to learn from them. Music theory is not difficult, it just requires that you put some effort into learning it. I promise that you will be a better musician if you learn some theory.
3. Use a metronome. This is especially important for drummers and leaders, since these two people control the tempo (for the most part). No matter what you play though, I believe you should practice with a metronome. When you practice without a metronome, you may think that you are playing with a steady tempo, but often times, you are not. I understand that a metronome is annoying because it just makes a clicking sound, but you will develop a better sense of time by using one. There isn’t really an excuse for not using one, since there are free apps that let you have a metronome on your phone. Using a metronome will also teach you to follow a beat, which will make you better at following the rest of the worship team.
4. Practice with recorded songs. The reason for this is similar to the reason you use a metronome. By playing along to songs, you learn how to sound better in a group. Also, you are forced to follow the tempo of the song, so your sense of timing gets better. The reason I think you should practice both with songs and with a metronome is that just playing with songs can give you a false sense of security. However, it is still good to play along to recorded songs, so you can find out how to fit into a song.
5. Listen to music. This is a super easy way to improve your ear for music. Simply listen to the songs that you tend to play often as a team. When you are in the car, on the bus, waiting in line, or anywhere at all, you can listen to music. By listening to how songs are supposed to sound, you will have a much easier time playing those songs. Be an avid listener of music.
6. Ask for feedback. After a worship service, I sometimes ask people what they thought of the praise. Some people will just try to be nice, so try to find people that will be honest with you. Also, talk to people who are more experienced with music than you, and ask how you can improve. The best place to find these people is within the praise team itself. I believe that the worship team should foster an environment where the members constantly push each other to greatness.
7. Record yourself. This can be scary, especially if you are vocalist. However, this is also the only way you can evaluate yourself. Record one of your praise sessions, or even your solo practice sessions, and critically evaluate yourself. Find out where you are rushing, dragging, out of tune, or other problems that can be fixed. A word of caution: don’t get too upset if you don’t sound perfect, since a recording is very unforgiving. The smallest mistakes will be caught on a recording, but not by the congregation. Use a recording to fix larger problems, and don’t stress too much about every small detail.
8. Learn. Ask someone to teach you, or learn from people on the internet. There are a million resources that can help you learn to be better at your instrument (or vocals). Always be willing to learn.
9. Teach. By teaching others, you actually become better musician. You have to be confident in your ability in order to teach another person. While teaching, you can find out where you can improve.
10. Have fun. If you don’t have fun playing music, why are you doing it? Being part of a worship team should never feel like an obligation, and definitely not like a chore. Enjoy music, don’t make it a burden. Have jam sessions with other people, and don’t take it too seriously. Of course, there are times where you do have to be serious about your abilities, but ultimately worship shouldn’t be stressful. You are there to worship a God who loves you so much He died for you. Why would worship be depressing?
     I hope that you can put some of these tips into practice (assuming you are a musician). If you have any techniques that you use to improve your musical abilities, I would love to hear them.
-Smart

Play Skillfully (Part 1)

"Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy."
Psalm 33:3

Note: The ideas expressed in this post are simply the author’s opinions, and do not claim to have any bearing on truth.

     As promised, I will write about some of my thoughts in regards to leading worship. In particular, I want to talk about why I believe it is important to play and/or sing well, or as the Bible says, skillfully. Now, before I say anything else, I cannot stress enough that nothing I write in this post takes precedence above worshiping God from our heart. Truly worshiping God is the most important thing that a worship leader is responsible for. That being said, let me explain some reasons why I believe playing skillfully is important as a worship leader.

     First, I think a worship team should strive to play well because it benefits the worship service and the congregation. What do I mean by this? I like to think of it like this. Imagine that you went to a church service, and the pastor was giving a message, but he looked unprepared. He constantly stumbles over his words, his sermon doesn’t make sense, and he is unfocused. How are you going to feel? Of course, you can still be blessed through the service, as God can work even in the most broken times, but I believe most people will struggle to learn from the sermon. In the same way, if the worship team plays poorly, constantly making mistakes, it can detract from the congregation’s ability to worship. The worship team is there in order to make a worshipful environment for the congregation and the worship service, so they should be prepared.

     Second, worship team members should strive to play well because it benefits the worship team. I don’t want to pick on any one instrument, so I will just use myself as an example. Imagine if I come to a praise practice, and I cannot keep a steady tempo on the drums. The other musicians will be frustrated at me, since I am making practice very difficult. In fact, there was a time early in my worship experience where I was absolutely horrible at keeping tempo. This made practices much harder for the other members, so I kept practicing in order to get better. A worship leader should always try to play their best in order to support the rest of the worship team. As I alluded to in my Thanksgiving post, the less you have to worry about the music, the easier it will be to worship God from your heart. If everyone plays well together, the worship band can put more emphasis on worshiping God rather than fixing the music.

     Third and lastly, a desire to play better should naturally arise in worship leaders. I find that the better I get at playing instruments, the more I can worship God. Also, the more I worship God, the better I want to get at playing my instruments. If you found out that the President was coming over to your house for dinner, you wouldn’t treat it in the same way you treat any other dinner. You would clean your house, and prepare the best meal you can (or if you are like me, buy the best food you can). A worship team is worshiping someone greater than even the President, so we should treat it that way. We should strive to play better because we want to worship God with our best. If we really believe that God is all that we say He is, shouldn’t our worship reflect that? A worship team does exist to serve the congregation, but ultimately they are there to worship God. Why would we ever want to give God less than our best?

     As I stated at the beginning, nothing is more important than worshiping God from our heart. I think it bears repeating because it is so important to remember that. I also think that playing skillfully should be a natural desire for worship leaders. Worship leaders should always strive to play better, because of the reasons I mentioned above. Now, a natural question is, “how can I play more skillfully?” To answer this, I will write another post with some very practical things that I have found really helped me improve musically. I’m curious to know if you agree with these points, so let me know if you feel so inclined to comment.

-Smart

Esther: An Everlasting Intercessor (Shadows)

“Go, gather together all the Jews who are in Susa, and fast for me. Do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my attendants will fast as you do. When this is done, I will go to the king, even though it is against the law. And if I perish, I perish.”
‭‭-Esther‬ ‭4:16‬ ‬‬‬‬‬‬
     As you are probably tired of reading by now, I have been writing my reflections on the “Shadows” series that my church’s young adult group has been studying. Last Friday we discussed Esther as a shadow of Jesus. Esther is the last person that we will study this semester, as school comes to a close. Esther is a very interesting shadow of Jesus, since she is the only woman that we have studied. In addition, there is no mention of God, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit in the book of Esther. However, Esther has a compelling story, and there are definitely elements of Jesus in her life.
     As always, I will briefly review the story of Esther. Before Esther is mentioned though, a King named Xerxes is introduced. He is a king over many provinces, and was very powerful. He holds a banquet for his nobles and officials, displaying his massive wealth. During this feast, he orders that his wife, Queen Vashti, be brought out to display her beauty. She refuses his request, which angers the king greatly. He consults with the experts on law and justice, and they propose that she be exiled from the palace, and a new queen chosen to take her place. The king agrees, and Queen Vashti is banished.
     The next part of the story is a bit reminiscent of the show “The Bachelor”. Many virgins from across the land are presented before the king, going through a very long preparation process. This is where Esther is introduced. Her cousin, Mordecai, brings her up since her parents died when she was young. Esther is chosen to be one of the candidates for queen, and Mordecai instructs her not to reveal her identity; a Jew. The king is greatly pleased with Esther, as she is beautiful, so she is chosen to replace Queen Vashti.
     Another person enters the story named Haman. The king makes Haman higher than all other nobles. As everyone pays respect to Haman by kneeling before him, Haman notices that Mordecai does not follow suit. Haman becomes angry, and plots not only to kill Mordecai, but all of the Jews with him. Haman convinces King Xerxes to make a decree to kill the Jews, and it is put into law. Mordecai and all of the Jews are greatly distressed, and they mourned and fasted at this new decree.
     Meanwhile, Esther is unaware what is happening, until she notices that Mordecai is in mourning. She sends a servant to find out what is wrong, and the servant tells Esther of Mordecai’s condition. Mordecai tells Esther to intercede on behalf of the Jews, so that they will not perish. Esther is reluctant, because anyone who approached the king could easily be killed. Mordecai sends this powerful reply in Esther 4:14, “For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?”
     Esther approaches the king, and the king is pleased with her presence. He asks her what she wants, to which she replies that she wants to have dinner with him. He agrees, and again asks her what she wants. She again deflects the question by inviting the king and Haman to dinner the next day. Haman is greatly pleased at this request, since only he and the king were invited to this banquet. Haman then sees Mordecai again, and Mordecai does not pay respect to Haman. Haman is again greatly angered, and plots to kill Mordecai by impaling him on a pole.
     Finally, at the second banquet, Esther presents her request to King Xerxes, pleading for the life of her people, the Jews. King Xerxes becomes enraged at Haman, because it was his idea to destroy the Jewish people. Haman is then impaled on the pole that was meant for Mordecai. Esther continues to plead for the Jews, but the king cannot go against his decree. The king makes a compromise by allowing the Jews to defend themselves when they are attacked, and thus the Jews are able to save themselves. There is great celebration among the Jews, as they are delivered from their destruction.
     Esther’s life points to Jesus in a couple ways. First of all, although she is put in a position of power and authority, she chooses to identify with the Jews. She hears of their coming destruction, and instead of hiding behind her identity as queen, she associates with the Jews. Jesus also chose to associate with us, even though His identity was equal with God. He humbled Himself, and became a man, who shared in our suffering and temptation.
     Esther puts her life at risk by interceding for the Jews. She boldly proclaims “if I perish, I perish”. Esther was willing to die, even if it was just to give the Jews a chance of deliverance. She put the needs of her people above her own. In the same way, Jesus was not only willing to die for our deliverance, He did die. He put the will of the Father over His own, saying “not what I will, but what You will (Mark 14:36)”. He put our desperate need for salvation above His own life. His death delivers us from the power of sin and death.
     Esther interceded on the behalf of her people. As a result, their lives were spared. However, Esther is now dead. She can no longer intercede for anyone anymore. Jesus’s intercession did not end at the cross. He rose back to life, and intercedes for us eternally. Hebrews 7:25 assures us of this by saying “Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.” Thank God that we have an everlasting intercessor.
     As always, I will end with some questions for us to consider (taken from the presentation).

1. Am I living a compromised life? In what ways do I look too much like the world?
2. In what ways am I so comfortable in my life that I am clueless to the heartache and struggles of those around me?
3. When was the last time I was moved to fast over the sin my own life and my dependence on God?
4. What edict am I truly living under- death or life?
5. Is the Lord working in my life in ways that I may not be aware of? 
6. When was the last time I thanked Jesus for being my mediator?
7. Do I fully believe that Jesus is interceding for me right now?

-Smart

Thanksgiving 2015

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.”
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭100:4-5‬ ‬‬‬‬‬‬
     This year, as with most years, I like to spend time and give thanks for the things God has blessed me with. Of course, it’s easy to just name off things we are thankful for, so I decided to give a reason I am thankful for every thing I list here. Without further delay, here are twenty things that I am thankful for in 2015 (in no particular order).

1. New restaurants in my area: I know this sounds a bit weird to have on a list like this, especially since it is the first thing, but I really am thankful. I love eating food, but eating the same things over and over can be monotonous. Having new restaurants in town changes things up, and the food is quite good.
2. New headphones: I bought a new pair of headphones a while ago, and they have totally embarrassed my old Apple earpods. I listen to a lot of music, especially while at work, so having a nice pair of headphones makes the experience more enjoyable.
3. The Gaither Vocal Band: The GVB is a gospel singing group who have been around for a very long time. Their leader, Bill Gaither, has written a lot of famous songs, including “Because He Lives” and “He Touched Me”. I have really gotten into their music this year, even though they are kind of an “old person” group. However, I really enjoy their style, and I always like listening to hymns because they have such a strong message.
4. Smartphone: At the beginning of this year, I finally got a smartphone. While it often can be a distraction, it is also a very useful thing to have. I have used my phone to record vocal team practices, tune my guitar, take photos, check the weather, and so much more. I am thankful that I have upgraded from my old flip phone.
5. New clothing: This year I bought some new clothes, and got rid of a lot of my old stuff. I recently started taking an interest in wearing good clothing, which I never really had before. Granted, my sense of style is still fairly bad, this year I think I have made better purchases in regards to my clothing. In any case, I am thankful.
6. New watch: A watch is something that I think is so important for me to have. I hate having to pull out my phone in order to check the time. It can be seen as disrespectful, and pulling out your phone to check the time is too cumbersome. This year I bought a new watch that I really like, and I hope to keep for many years.
7. Car mechanics: Unfortunately my car has experienced a lot of issues in the past year. In fact, the car is at the mechanic at the time of writing this post. However, I am thankful that there are people who are able to fix these problems.
8. School: This may come as a surprise to you, because it sure is a surprise to me that school made this list. This year, I found a new interest in learning, which I believe comes from the fact that I am a senior and my classes are more focused. I’m learning more about how knowledge can be applied to the real world, which makes school so much more bearable. Of course, school will always feel like a chore, but I thank God that I am enjoying it more.
9. Mechanical keyboard: For those that don’t know, a mechanical keyboard is a keyboard for your computer that implements a different type of mechanism than most keyboards these days. In layman terms, a mechanical keyboard is easier to type with. This keyboard has made my life just a little bit easier.
10. Eyesight: This may sound weird at first, but let me explain. I have worn glasses for a large portion of my life, and every year since I have started, my eyesight has gotten worse. However, this is the first year that my eyesight has not gotten worse than before. I am thankful that I don’t have to purchase new glasses, and that my poor eyesight hasn’t gotten any worse.
11. New job: I got an internship over the summer, which continued through the fall semester. The work I do is more related to my field than my last job, and the pay is better as well. I am thankful for the experience that I am getting, and of course, the money.
12. Friends: Many friends that I have had sort of faded away when I entered college. It was just due to people going to different colleges, and the fact that my college is huge. I don’t get to see some friends as often as I’d like, but I am thankful that there are still people that I get to see on a regular basis.
13. Church: Springing off of number 12, I am thankful for the people at my church. The church is not just the building, but the people. I am so grateful for all the people that God has placed in my church, who continually support each other and believe in God.
14. YDJ: YDJ is the name of my church’s young adult group, for those that don’t know. I am thankful for all the people in this group, who have come together during the semester to study God’s word together. I am also thankful for the other YDJ leaders that I work with, who have been faithful to serve even when we lost a key member last year.
15. The vocal team: This year, my church’s vocal team has sung a lot of songs. Being a part of this team has been so much fun, because everyone is willing to spend time to make sure we sound good. Every person on the team is so talented, and singing with them was a great way to worship God through music.
16. My Bible teacher: He has been a friend of mine for a couple years now, and we have learned a lot about each other over the years. He also happens to be the leader of the praise team, and we often bump heads when it comes to that. However, I am thankful that God has used him to bless me and our church in so many ways, and I hope God continually blesses him.
17. Praise team: I have been a part of the “adult” praise team for around 3 years, after being in the youth praise team for a long time. We have grown a lot in terms of music, which I am incredibly grateful for. While we still make many mistakes (myself guilty), I think that we have come to a point where we can place the focus off of music and onto God. I’ll probably write a post explaining this point in more detail, but for now, suffice to say I am thankful for the worship team.
18. Opportunity to give a message: I was privileged to give a message during my church's summer Bible conference. While I struggled a lot writing and rewriting the message, I thank God that I had great people around me to support me and guide me. I learned a lot about what it means to meditate on God's Word, and also how to effectively communicate His Word.
19. Reading the Apostle’s Creed: I forget when exactly, but our church started reading the Apostle’s Creed at the start of every Sunday worship service. I think this is a great way to declare what we believe as a church. The Apostle’s Creed has really made me think about the core of what I believe, and I am thankful that every week I am reminded of who it is that I have come to worship.
20. Family: Any thanksgiving list would be incomplete without some mention of family. My family has shaped the person that I am today, so if you don’t like me, it’s their fault. In all seriousness though, I am so grateful for my parents and brothers, who support me and help me grow.
21. God: Nothing on this list would be possible without God. God is the provider of all things, and I would be nothing without Him. Through Jesus Christ, He has given my life everlasting. What else can compete with that? I confess that I don’t always give thanks to God for what He has done. It should be so easy to be grateful to God, since He has blessed me so much, but I am weak and sinful and forget His goodness. I pray that in the future, I will follow the wisdom in Psalm 100:4-5, “Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the Lord is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.”

-Smart