Ten months ago...

The past eight months has been the best of my life, I've gone through hard stuff, but as long as I keep my eyes focused on Jesus, I make it through. This morning on the bus I was thinking about the amazing transformation I have gone through, and all I can say is praise God! He's the only one who can change us like that.

Ten months ago if you would have told me, "Hey, in two months you're gonna go to youth group and discover the love of your life and you're never gonna drink, do drugs, steal, or any of that other stuff ever again." I would have laughed at you and told you there was no way I'd go a day without being drunk or high unless I was broke.

Ten months ago if you would have said to me, "Guess what, in three months you're gonna have the most supportive group of friends who are gonna love you, help you up when you fall, tell on your butt when it needs to be told on, and they aren't gonna talk about you behind your back, best of all, they are gonna be your friends for life!" I would most likely have told you that you were delusional.

Ten months ago you could've come up to me and said, "Devyn, I know you're never gonna believe this but in four months you're gonna be completely clean, the love of your life that i mentioned before, you're still gonna be radically in love with Him and you always will be. Devyn, in four months you are gonna be the most broken you have ever been, you'll be on your knees, focusing on a cross, bawling your eyes out and wondering how you could have possibly made it this far." If you would have told me that ten months ago, I would have made it a point to avoid you at all costs.

Ten months ago if you would have said, "Dude, in six months you're going to be traveling to Louisiana to learn how to be a better person, you're gonna learn how to turn your school upside down. You won't believe all the stuff you'll learn but I'm tellin ya by July, you're gonna be so different. You wont even be listening to the music you're listening to now, it'll all be Christian." I would have told you were crazy and that I would never be such an extreme Christian.

Ten months ago if you would have had the guts to approach me and said, "In eight months you're gonna be going back to school and you will have been clean for a whole six months, you're gonna go into your school ready to win the lost and reap the harvest. You're gonna talk to people that you said you'd never be friends with, and you will have gone through things that will have forced you to be more mature." I would have told you the only way I'd be clean for six months was if my mom had sent me to rehab, and I would have told you to quit telling about Jesus.

Ten months ago If you would have told me that in ten months I would be on fire for God, telling anyone and everyone I can about Jesus, working hard at things in school, putting a ton of effort in to a youth group, and being committed to Christ, I wouldn't have believed a single word of it.

Less then ten months ago I was ready to be done with life, I felt I had nothing to live for. In March of 2007, something happened to me that changed my whole life. For the first time, i TRUELY accepted Jesus and committed my life fully to Him.

I don't know who you are or where your from, but if you don't have Jesus I can promise you that if you put your trust in Him, he'll help you through anything. Please feel free to leave a comment or email me if you want to know more about Jesus.

-Devyn

Clouds

Praise God, He's so wonderful! This morning when I stepped outside it was such a nice surprise to feel the warm air! I was expecting the morning to follow the suite of the past few days and be bone chilling cold. The air was a little breezy but it was so warm for being 6:40 am that it was comforting and relaxing. It was familiar though, the warm air, it happens sometimes in fall, and it happened alot last year. Some how it triggered memories from last year and I was sucked into the feeling that I had been in that exact moment of time once before. The devil was trying to make me miss my past so that I'd stumble. I keep telling him it's not going to work, but he keeps trying, what a dummy he is. The exact thikng I was doing in that moment of time was completely erased from my mind, (I have a few ideas) but the strong emotions remained, reminding me of my past and how God brought me out of all of it.
When I turned on my samsung to listen to some music, the song was "Gravity" by Shawn McDonald, which was my favorite song for the first month or so after I got saved. As I was listening to it and looking at the sky that was just starting to get light, I was overcome with emotion and started praising God for everything He has done in my life. God really opened my eyes and reminded me more and more of what He brought me out of, and I felt that same feeling as I did the night I got saved. Just like that night in March, everything looked different, but I appreciated it more, it was like seeing the world for the first time and I suddenly felt so small, but safe because I am the servant of Mighty God. The bus came and we started to drive away from the soft pink, but ordinary clouds of dawn. It was dark on the bus, and God laid on my heart to turn to Psalms 108. Of course, I dug out my bible on the spot, excited to see what God had in store for me.
I used the light from my samsung to read the Psalm and the first five verses say: "My heart is confident in you, O God; no wonder I can sing your praises with all my heart! Wake up, lyre and harp! I will wake the dawn with my song. I will thank you, Lord, among all the people. I will sing your praises among the nations. For your unfailing love is higher than the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. Be exalted, O God, above the highest heavens. May your glory shine over all the earth." God was speaking to me so specifically through His Word, I felt the words of the song so true in that moment. Praise Him that even though David wrote the Psalms so long ago, they are still made alive by the Holy Spirit!
I was absorbing all of what God was telling me and as we rounded the corner, the soft pink clouds we had left behind us had turned into one of the most vivid and beautiful sunrises I had ever seen! The reds, oranges, and pinks cast such a warm cheerful glow on the earth, I was lost in its beauty. We traveled along through town and on the old highway, Mount Si stood so boldly, the colorful sky behind it making the mountain a solid black. Still taking in the awe- inspiring view I remebered that old saying, "Red sky at night, a sailor's delight. Red sky in morning, sailors take warning." I realized that the brilliant sunrise would only last so long before there was a storm. I felt tricked and betrayed by the warm air and beautiful sky. God reminded me to enjoy the sunrise while it was here and worry about the storm when it happens.
How true this is for everyday life! God wants to enjoy and live in the joy He gives us and not let worry about the trouble that may come cloud what is happening right now. By the time I got to school the sunrise was fading into light pink, and then the sky was bright blue with some puffy yellow clouds. The air was so warm, and it still tried to lure me into the past, but I smiled because I knew that my faith in God had become even stronger than before.

Praise God! He is soooo good!

Do you ever just have one of those days where it feels just like any other day and then something comes along and surprises you? Well, today was one of those days, it totally seemed like it was just gonna be a regular thursday but God really surprised me! So, every first Thursday of the month we have this thing at school where everyone reads for thirty minutes. Well, there was a girl who didn't have a book so I told her I had a couple extras and she chose to read my extra Bible. All I could think was, "Praise God that there is a hunger for His Word!" Mount Si is so dry, I've been praying for God to pour out His fire on the school, and I'm so excited that the hunger is appearing. Well, i gotta go but i just wanted to share the news! Praise God!!!

T-Rex the Mouse

Out of all the days of the week, Saturdays are probably the most interesting. Why? Because they always change, Monday through Friday you're at school and Sundays are church. I'm not saying Saturdays are my favorite, but they're always unpredictable, you never know what you're gonna do, and almost every Saturday ends up with a story to tell. Which brings me to the anecdote of the day.
I woke up thinking it would be a day of catching up, but little did I know it would soon end up an adventure of its own. At about 1:30 I was talking to David on the phone and we were making plans of what to do today, eventually we decided to go to Target with Josh and Tommy. So at about 4pm we headed to Issaquah. Once we were at Target we were doing weird stuff like shopping cart jousting. Tommy was in a cart pushed by David and I was pushing Josh, we got swords from the halloween aisle and then found an empty aisle and began to joust. After Josh nailed Tommy in the arm we decided to stop.
We did a few other things at Target then we headed over to the Party for Less store and played with masks and wigs, then we went to Petco, and that is where I found T-Rex Dobromiwa the Mouse. To make a long story short (I have to go to bed 'cause i have church tomorrow.) I bought one of those small white mice. She is soooo cute! I don't know what I was thinking though, because I did get in trouble when I got home. I reassured my parents that I would find her a home, but the more I watch her, the more I want to keep her. Anyways, sorry for the unresolved story but my parents are making me go to bed. I will possibly write more later.

Goodnight :)
Devyn

Things Keep Goin Up :)

It seems like no matter where I go, I keep hearing about health. I mean, I guess I could be picking up on it more because I'm in a health class but regardless, I'm hearing it and the more you hear it the more you believe it. Not that I'm gonna do some crazy hollywood starve yourself diet (haha, me? starving myself? pigs would fly before i could do that.) Anyways, I've just decided to try and eat a more balanced diet and so far, it's working really well, i don't know if I've lost weight or not, I refuse to weigh myself because a number on a scale means nothing. I measure my progress on how my clothes fit and right now, my clothes are getting bigger and bigger on me. SUH-WEET! So what sparked this sudden concern with health?

Well, it started last spring before school got out. I went shopping with my friend Maria (aka:Marla, Martha, etc.) at American Eagle and none of their clothes fit me. Man, that bummed me out. But anyways, I decided that by the beginning of the school year I would fit into their clothes. So that's what started and what continued it was the ten components of maturity sermon from Pastor Joel Stockstill (the same one I mentioned in my previous blog) and under wisdom it said that we need to take care of our bodies and we need to be in shape. Man, I felt like Pastor Joel was talking to me, and boy did that push me even further to start trying to be healthier! So, for the rest of the summer I tried to eat healthier and I guess it worked because all the clothes I tried on at American Eagle and Aeropostale fit! WOOT!

Since schools started I've been in health class and we've been learning about nutrition. Man, oh man is america unhealthy! Let me give you some quick facts about mcdonalds, and health in general:

• Since 1980 the obesity rate has doubled.
• America is the fattest nation.
• Mississippi is the fattest state.
• Houston is the fattest city in the US.
• Five of the fattest cities are in Texas.
• Obesity is the 2nd most common death reason, smoking is first.
• Small fries at mcdonalds are 200 calories, a supersize has 600 calories.
• 1 gallon of soda has 84 tsps of sugar. That means one can has 12 tsps of sugar.
• It's estimated that one in three kids born after the year 2000 will have diabetes.

Ew, ew, ew. We had to watch supersize me in class, it was so nasty. I honestly never want to eat fast food ever! the saddest fact would definitely be that more kids know who Ronald McDonald is than Jesus. That is so messed up! I'm not even gonna get started on that topic because it is a whole 'nother blog!

Other than the whole new found helathy thing I'm happy to say that being girly is now total second nature (haha, for those of you who know about my "be girly" campaign i started back at the conference lol.) Urgh, I can't believe I used to dress so boyish bleh.) Hmm... what else is new? Oh, ok, an update on my family- my immediate family is getting so close, its amazing. Like tonight, we sat down and watched a movie together after dinner. Last time we did that... I have nooooo idea. It wasn't exactly the most family oriented movie but it was one that totally made fast food seem even nastier to me.

Please keep praying for unity in my mom's side of the family, and please pray for my family's salvation, they're so close i can tell and God is really doing a lot in them so please keep praying. Hopefully tomorrow my dad and I are gonna go to the DOL and I'm gonna renew my permit, then I'm gonna go out to the mall and try to find a job. Thank you so much again for your prayers :)

-Devyn

FIRST BLOG!

Whooohooo! First blog, where to start? For starters, my name's Devyn, but as you can see, I also go by Devo, Devo Burrito, among other variations. I'm gonna try and keep this updated but I just started the new school year and I'm gonna try to get a job pretty soon so I'll have alot to balance. Let's see, what else is there about me? I'm sixteen, I'll be seventeen on October 23rd, I'm a junior in highschool, I'm the youngest of two in my family, I have an older brother, Scott, who is 26. The most important thing about me is that I am a Christian.

In everything I do I want to serve God and make Him more known. At school I'm in leadership and hopefully ASB my senior year. I want to make an impact at my highschool and right now my best friend, David, and I are planning on starting a group at school. Once that is more planned out I'll be keeping info about that updated on here. I have a project for myself that I'm working the bugs out of but what I'm trying to do is have a list of four to five things to do each day for my school and for God. These things include (but aren't limited to) finding people who are by themselves at lunch and befriend them, helping teachers, picking up garbage whenever I see it on the ground, basically trying to serve others like God says we are to do, to show them love, and to have a servants heart so they see God's love.

Last week in leadership class I got really excited because we were learning the qualities of a good leader and they all matched up biblically and they happened to be the same things I have been praying about since the beginning of summer. My teacher explained that in order to be a good leader we need to have character, that we need to be the same person all the time and not one person with some people and another with other people. He emphasized integrity and servanthood. Later I was talking to him and told him that we should try to find a way for the whole school to learn this, so now my brain is searching for a way to get this information into the hands of teachers so it can be passed along to the students. Why? Because these qualities (plus a few others) are the same qualities that God says we need to have.

At the conference I went to in Baton Rouge last summer Pastor Joel Stockstill preached on these qualities in a sermon he called "Ten Components of Maturity." Since I go to a public school, a couple of them I wouldn't be allowed to share like Pastor Joel did because we aren't allowed to talk about Jesus at school but I'm sure that I could find a way to get the message across to people in a public school approved way. Just think, if students chose to respect and live out these things, we would be helping to raise up a generation of people living Godly lives. If we could get people to choose to live by some high standards we could make a huge impact on society.

So what are these components of maturity? I won't go into alot of detail but here are the things Pastor Joel talked about:

• Integrity
• Right relationships
• Sanctification
• Wisdom
• Humility
• Discipline
• Sensitivity
• Character
• Discrection
• Tested Faith

I very strongly encourage you to listen to his sermon. You can find it on 220's podcast under the titles of Components of Maturity parts one and two. If you have trouble finding it you can find it on 220power it's under June.

Sorry for going off on a tangent, I just feel really passionate about raising up this generation to live holy lives because, let's face it, right now most teens are living focused on "some day having the perfect life." And what they don't realize is that they aren't going to go straight from living with their parents to making millions right out of highschool. We, being the adults of the future really need to be more mature and learn what it is to work hard, myself included! I have the idea of it but I still need to put it into action. It's like the parable of the two sons in
Matthew 21:28-31.

Well, I should probably start wrapping this first post up, but stay tuned for more information. If you would, please pray for unity in my family, not so much my immediate family but please just pray that God will soften hearts and help bring unity. Also please pray for my parents because I really feel like they are breaking through and I feel like they are going to get saved soon. Please just pray that they continue to grow and pray for protection from the devil's attacks against them. I feel that God has been restoring unity in our immediate family since last summer which is great because we are starting to be accountable to eachother and we are starting to rely more on eachother but outside our home our family (on my mom's side) really needs unification. Thank you so much, I couldn't tell you how much I would appreciate your prayers and if you have any prayer requests please leave a comment and I will pray for you. Or if it's something you don't wanna leave in a comment then you can email me at SnowDevyn@aol.com

God bless all of you, keep serving Him.

In His service,

Devyn

PS: Even since I wrote the part about my immediate family being united, I've seen strong evidence of it. And now we might be taking a trip over to cle-elum to try to help my aunt who is really sick, please pray for a complete healing in her body and her mind. Thank you.