for i am convinced.

Romans 8:35-37
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?
As it is written:
"For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered."
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.


"We're to be lambs. We're to be salt that's sprinkled to add flavor, create thirst, and bring healing. We're to be light that illuminates, not dominates. And know this: From the world's perspective, we'll never win. If you don't understand this, you'll be frustrated, disillusioned, embittered. We're not conquerors. We're more than conquerors." -Courson-

i love that quote.

today i was riding in a car with a friend and we were listening to switchfoot. i commented on how i saw the song live, and he was envious. i also commented on how i saw phil wickham live. envious. he later showed me a beautiful scenic picture where he had climbed and asked "how would you like to have been naked here?" i responded with, "i've been to a cooler place. naked and pushing boulders down a 1000 ft rock face." his response was, "you have all the experiences kevin." that got me thinking. i have a crap load of things in my life that i have done and completely overlook most of the time.

i can think, off the top of my head, two times in my life where i will never overlook the feeling, emotion, and experiences that occurred. one being the beyond trip last summer..actually, last summer in general. and the other would be this past week.

here's how it went down.
rich-hey, judy just payed for our plane tickets to the cali student staff conference. which means your in now.
me-sweet.
two days before-hey mom, is it cool if i go to cali?
mom-what? payed for? ok.
last friday i ended up in san diego with rich, drew and ross for a young life student staff conference at a camp called oakbridge. we get there, the father in law picks us up and we go sight seeing. stopping by Point Loma, and it was to coolest campus i've ever been too. went down to ocean beach. had a fantastic burger then booked it to oakbridge. it's always interesting finding out what a speaker is going to talk about, and this time it was a very strange coincidence. backing up a bit, earlier that week i had found out that i didn't get the internship that i was basically set on. i was convinced that i would get it, and that it was exactly where God wanted me to be, my calling so to speak. well turns out the whole weekend was devoted to God's calling in our lives. weird. just like every other yl camp, there was an all camp quiet. during this time i stood in the middle of a field and tried to pray. but nothing was coming out. i didn't know what to do. that's never happened to me before, i had no idea what to say to God. for the first time in a while i truly cared about what was going on in my life. you see, i tend to overlook things and just take them as they are, which i tend to feel like its a good quality. not that i have no sympathy, empathy, or passion, but i honestly look at things, good or bad, and have a trust in God. but this time i was almost upset. life has just not been going to well. not talking about the abundant life that God gives us, but the one that we fall subject to. this worldly life that showers us, consumes us. causes us to worry, to fear, that life has been under the weather so to speak. and i had ran out of things to say to God, there was literally nothing in me that had inspiration. all hopes felt as if they had ran away. almost felt like i did laying in my bed 3 years ago. a contentment that was not so pleasant. so i opened my bible to the only place i knew i would find peace. Romans 8. my eyes fell upon verses 20-28--
For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope
that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.
We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.
Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.
For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has?
But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.
And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

i, as well as many others im sure, find myself in prayers demanding things of God. asking Him to do things for me. for the first time, i sat back and just asked Him into my everyday thoughts, opened the door for Him to come in and do what ever he wants in my house. instead of just limiting Him to the family room couch. it felt good. and of course following this passage is the one at the top. and following that one is my favorite verse. "For i am convinced that neither death nor life, nor angels or demons, nor the present or things to come, nor other powers, neither height nor depth, or anything in all of creation will separate me from the love of God that is in Jesus Christ". and that's the first account.

leaving oakbridge refreshed and feeling a new calling from God, we headed to LA to go to Mosaic. Erwin McManus' church. it was flippin sweet. before worship a man got up and talked about working together as a body, and knowing that as that body there is no condemnation. if He is with us the who is against us. he quoted those 3 passages above. and that's the second account.

After the church service we hit up some huntington beach, the sand was heavenly. monday morning started with some pool action and some fantastic conversation about life and the conference and what God is doing. it was sweet. padre's game? for free? seventh row? alright sweet.

facebook status sunday night-death is the period at the end of a sentence that needs to be rewritten. my dad commented on that status with a verse. can you guess which one? yup, romans 8:38-39. and folks, that's the third account, in three days of this verse, in completely random situations. this verse had already been near to me with a very special and powerful influence. after this past week, it will always be with me, at my side. so looking back at where i've been, proves that where i'm going in life is gonna be sweet. cause where i've been is in the valleys and at the mountain tops with God. He's been there in the past, he'll be there in the future. i'm truly blessed with what's happened in my life and the experiences i've had. for i am convinced.