So, last weekend Mountain View had a Youth Forum. The speaker was Kevin Clark and he was absolutely an amazing speaker. Probably one of the best I've heard. I just wanted to share some notes I took from the first session he spoke at on Friday night. I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to go and gain more knowledge about my Father's Word and meet with Brothers and Sisters in HIM! Thanks for all your encouragement. I had a blast. Enough about me... Let's get to the topic of Change! :)

Change IS a part of God's plan; however, there is a plan that does not change and will not ever change. That plan is called God's Plan of Salvation. It is GOD who determines what is sufficient for salvation - not man.

In Romans 3:23 it says "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,"
1 John 3:4 tells us that "Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness." -- SIN IS LAWLESSNESS!!! SIN is OUR problem - it is what separates us from our Father! It can send our souls to Hell. "The wages of sin is DEATH, but the free gift of God is eternal life in CHRIST JESUS OUR LORD." - Romans 6:23
*There is NOTHING that we can do by ourselves that can save us from Hell. There is HOPE and that HOPE is CHRIST Jesus our Lord and Savior! We CAN have the hope of Heaven,
but we have to go to the right place to get it... that right place is our Father! Ephesians 2:5 says that it is "by GRACE you have been saved" God was so concerned for US that He
gave His ONLY Son (John 3:16-17).
Even a gift that God gives has conditions.
-"Then they said to Him, 'What must we do, to be doing the works of God?' Jesus answered them, 'This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.'" John 6:28-29... Belief is a work!

First step in God's Plan of Salvation:
* "hear" -- understanding with the proper heart. "...hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience." (Luke 8:15)
* "Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God." - Romans 10:17
* Hear what God has to say with an open and honest heart! Have the mindset that "whatever God says, I'm going to do it!"
* Hebrews 11:6 tells us that He rewards those who DILIGENTLY seek Him! --WE MUST HAVE AN ACTIVE FAITH!!!

Second step in God's Plan of Salvation:
* "believe" -- "... and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead..." Romans 10:9
* "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever BELIEVES in Him should not perish, but have eternal life." -John 3:16
* "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life..." -John 3:36
* "Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of Him." -1 John 5:1
* We must believe that Jesus is the Son of God and that HE was sent to die for OUR sins.

Third step in God's Plan of Salvation:
* "repent" -- "...'repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.'" Acts 2:38
* There HAS to be a difference - you can't repent and keep on living for yourself and in the world.
* Repentance IS part of God's plan! Jesus says in Luke 13:3 "No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish." --REPENT!!!

Fourth step in God's Plan of Salvation:
* "confess" -- "because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved." - Romans 10:9-10
-- This is a conditional statement... IF you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe that God raised Him, THEN you will be saved.
* "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Our Father is so wonderful and we are SO undeserving of HIS grace!

Fifth step in God's Plan of Salvation:
* "baptism" -- "Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ" - 1 Peter 3:21... BAPTISM SAVES YOU!
* "Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned." - Mark 16:16 says that BOTH are required... You cannot ONLY believe to be saved, you must also be baptized! Defend what the BIBLE says!
* Baptism puts us into that ONE body - "For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body..." - 1 Corinthians 12:13 You may ask what body? Well, flip over to Ephesians 1:22-23. "And He put all things under His feet and gave Him as head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of him who fills all in all." The church is His body! WE are HIS workmanship! (Ephesians 2:10)


**God expects us to live righteously ♥

**We gotta live right folks!

**Live in a way that shows our gratitude for GOD'S PLAN OF SALVATION... the plan that DOES not CHANGE!

**Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. - Jude 3 -- ONE PLAN DELIVERED FOR ALL TIME!!!

**"And Jesus came and said to them, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.'" - Matthew 28:18-20 --The Plan doesn't change for other nations or for other cultures!

**"So Peter opened his mouth and said: 'Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.'" - Acts 10:34-35 -- God shows NO partiality! Every nation is subject to the SAME plan of Salvation!

**It's a Plan that DOES NOT change!


Give God the glory in all that you do! Hope you enjoy these thoughts that Mr. Clark read and talked about from our Father's Word!

Rejoice Always,

Kara

LOVE
JOY
PEACE
PATIENCE
KINDNESS
GOODNESS
FAITHFULNESS
GENTLENESS
SELF-CONTROL

I think the topic for Camp this year was absolutely fantastic! We all need to strive to have these Fruits and to be more like HIM! I rejoice with our Savior as there were 8 baptisms in one week!!! How precious to God are those that obey HIM!!! Praise God for that! The fruit of the spirit brings JOY to my soul! ♥ I only was at camp for a few days, but the few days I was there were absolutely uplifting and I am so grateful I was able to go and help out.

Just a few reminders:
*Tap, tap, tap! (Upward - LOVE THE LORD, Outward - LOVE OTHERS, & Inward - LOVE YOURSELF)
*You will NOT be a success if ALL you care about is yourself.
*How could you be grumpy knowing where you are going!?
*If you have all the Fruits of the Spirit, you WILL succeed!
*If you could just get out of your own way and let God in, you'll have success!
*SERVICE=SUCCESS


REJOICE ALWAYS,
-KD

He is my light, my strength, my song;
This cornerstone, this solid ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My comforter, my all in all—
Here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone, Who took on flesh,
Fullness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness,
Scorned by the ones He came to save.
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied;
For every sin on Him was laid-
Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain;
Then bursting forth in glorious day,
Up from the grave He rose again!
And as He stands in victory,
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me;
For I am His and He is mine—
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death—
This is the power of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home—
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand.


I absolutely love this hymn. It is one of my favorites - it is so powerful! Today is such a beautiful day - praise GOD for that. I have been blessed with so much.

Things on my mind that I am thankful for:
*Kalyn got baptized a few weeks ago! I am so glad to have a new sister in HIM!
*Ms. Keena has her last chemo treatment in a week & my mom will be traveling to Utah to be with her!
*There are several weddings coming up! Caitlin, Fluff, and Britt!
*The beautiful weather outside!
*My cousins Kaleigh and Kaitlyn are coming to visit me this summer and I am going to give them a campus tour of WKU! :) Maybe Nate will want to come as well!
*My Grandaddy does not have cancer! It is a lump of pneumonia they said... Praise God for no cancer!
*Little Sandlyn is finally getting new bone growth in her legs and she is able to stand (only for short periods of time...but better than nothing!)!!! http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/nathanandsandlyn - that's her website if you want to read her story - she and her family are so strong and faithful to the Lord!

Well, I better run - have to get into the ice tank before it closes. Remember to use your strength to serve God and to serve others!

REJOICE ALWAYS

♥ K

Sing His mercy and His grace.
In the mansions bright and blessed
He’ll prepare for us a place.

When we all get to Heaven,
What a day of rejoicing that will be!
When we all see Jesus,
We’ll sing and shout the victory!

While we walk the pilgrim pathway,
Clouds will overspread the sky;
But when traveling days are over,
Not a shadow, not a sigh.

When we all get to Heaven,
What a day of rejoicing that will be!
When we all see Jesus,
We’ll sing and shout the victory!

Let us then be true and faithful,
Trusting, serving every day;
Just one glimpse of Him in glory
Will the toils of life repay.

When we all get to Heaven,
What a day of rejoicing that will be!
When we all see Jesus,
We’ll sing and shout the victory!

Onward to the prize before us!
Soon His beauty we’ll behold;
Soon the pearly gates will open;
We shall tread the streets of gold.

When we all get to Heaven,
What a day of rejoicing that will be!
When we all see Jesus,
We’ll sing and shout the victory!




I hope everyone is doing well! Remember to press ON toward the goal for the prize of the UPWARD call of God in CHRIST JESUS! Phil. 3:14!

REJOICE ALWAYS ♥ KD

So I must say that this semester has absolutely FLOWN by. At first things were going pretty slowly, but then it seems like I just blinked my eyes a couple times and it is already over! I survived my first semester of college, thankfully. My spiritual life has been strengthened immensely since I have moved up here and I have a feeling it will only continue to be strengthened. I have met some awesome friends in the past few months that have helped/are helping me conquer the giants in my life. Satan truly does wait to attack when you are at your weakest point, but it is our job as children of GOD to reach out our hand and help bear each others burdens. I am learning to see God work in my life and it is absolutely amazing. I cannot tell you how thankful and blessed I am to be in Bowling Green. God has a plan for everything! I also have really enjoyed being a part of the track team this semester...okay so not so much at first - the work outs are SO hard, but my dad & katie told me to hang in there and things would get better... and guess what?! things are going pretty fantastic and i love it! We had our first meet on the 6th & it was really cool to compete at a college level...There were so many talented people there! One of my goals is to give HIM the glory in all that I do... sometimes it is SO easy to take all the credit for success, but really NONE of it would be possible without our Lord and Savior. I hope everybody has a very safe and happy holiday season!


REJOICE ALWAYS
kad

Does anybody have any prayer requests?

-Please remember to keep Keena and her family in your prayers. She is a close family friend who was recently diagnosed with cancer.
-Pray for safe traveling during the holidays.
-Keep the soldiers in your thoughts and prayers... & their families also.
-Pray for the spiritually weak
-Don't forget to thank the Lord for all the things that He has blessed you with! Sometimes we get so caught up with the things of life that bring you down and we forget ALL about the blessings He has given us!

To GOD be the glory♥