Do we need to go on the South Beach Diet? ;)

This is going to be another looooooong post, but then mine always end up that way! Its just too hard to write everything out in one little short post. Endure it with brotherly love! ;) The study in Colossians today was thought-provoking. It made me see some verses in a new light. When Rand was talking about the seed falling on the stony ground and he had us read Luke 8:13, the part that said "Which for a while believed and then in a time of temptation fell away" kind of scared me! My older sister Renee had been telling me that the same "revival" experience that has happened to our youth group, happened to hers and she said that after a month everyone started losing their zeal and went back to their old routines. And now as I looked at a lot of the different people who were once in her youth group and I see them living lives completely for themselves it really made me feel depressed! I was thinking about our youth group and how we all have been making decisions for the Lord. Right now it has been really easy to do since thats what everyone else is doing, but what are we going to do when we leave the youth group? Or what about when we aren't hanging out with our church friends? How do we act? Do we honestly take a stand? Are we going to forget the things the Lord has taught us? After I read those verses I was really praying that the same thing that happened to my sisters youth group would not happen to ours. Rand said in the book that the only people that are going to be able to continue in the things which they have learned are the ones that are completely grounded and firm. Those who have their roots dug deep into what they believe and are getting to know God better everyday are the ones who will remain strong for the Lord and will be able to accomplish the most for Him. Anyways, after I was reading that I kind of felt like finding everything I could get my hands on that would help me grow and understand my God more! Then I thought of the times I have fallen recently, times where the devil has gotten victory in my life and I felt like I had failed. I felt like my roots weren't very deep in the ground and that they were having too much exposure to the sun! Or like Becca once put it..."If our spiritual lives were compared to how in shape we are, we'd all be one big blob of fat!" (I know! We all are going on a diet after that last comment! lol.. ;) And then I remembered these verses that Rand had pointed out earlier in the book. Isiaiah 40:29-31 "He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." How cool it that?!?!? Even tho we feel weak, inadequate, way too selfish at times, and lets just face it, sometimes (utterly) fall flat on our faces because we're trying our own way, and feel we can't do anything for Him because of it, if we continue to wait on the Lord and trust in Him for forgiveness and strength to move on, He will renew us and give us the courage to continue on for Him. Ok, those are my thoughts as of late. Looking forward to the sharing/learning time this Sunday.
In Awe of Him,
Chrystal