Welcome to the Upper Columbia Academy Church student team blog. This blog is written by students from nearby Upper Columbia Academy, as well as an occasional UCA Church member or UCAES student. Please read it thoughtfully and let these students' comments and experiences encourage you and enrich your spiritual life. Our bloggers aren't perfect people, but they serve a perfect and loving God who makes it possible for them to share and minister to us through these blog entries.
Thanks for checking it out. Note that the actual blog entries are arranged with the most recent entry at the top. To read older entries, click the appropriate link below.
Blog Entry: February, Week 4
It's February! And of course, when we think of February, one word that comes to our mind is "Love". Everyone in the world wants to be loved - it's in our nature to want this... But what kind of love?
At the beginning of time God made us to have a relationship with Him - He wanted to love. But His love tops ours because His, His is perfect. All our growing-up years we look and look for that special someone that will fill us with joy, when really, the only one that can fill that void is staring us in the face - all we have to do is open our eyes. 1 Corinthians 13 is known as the love chapter - and for good reason... It shows us a definition of what Perfect Love is. This chapter is always applied to human love and what our relationships should look like; but what about God's love? - He gave us those rules for love... How much more do you think He's gonna follow those rules for what Perfect Love is - He created it!
So many times we think God's mad at us or that He is getting tired of us messing up, but we need to all stop and remember - love is patient, kind, humble, and it doesn't get angry! Or maybe you know that God's love is perfect, but have you seriously accepted it? This last summer, I realized just how much my God loved me and I accepted that fact, and I couldn't stand still. See, when God's love truly touches you and you realize it - you'll never be the same. --By Janine
Blog Entry: February, Week 3
It's just great to see God working here at UCA this past month. Student Week of Prayer was amazing and to see God transform lives is really neat.
I had the privilege of being a SWOP speaker. Man was I nervous, but the cool thing was that when I set foot on that stage, I was calm! God had completely calmed my nerves. That was such an amazing experience for me. It reminded me of Moses and how he was telling God he couldn't do it on his own but God still used him! It's really true that God can use anyone in a powerful way. I hope students will continually strive for a relationship with Christ. --By Don
Blog Entry: February, Week 2
(We're so excited that a UCAES student has agreed to participate in this blog project! It will be a blessing.)
The elementary school is doing really good. We are watching the Matthew video and are learning more about Jesus and what he did during his life. Since I have been watching the news there has been a lot of things that are related with the second coming so I think that the second coming is near. Please pray for the Haiti victims because they are in need of your help. -- By Kendall
Blog Entry: February, Week 1
Recently I have been reading through the book of John. As I was reading today, I came to the story about the blind man who Jesus healed by putting mud on his eyes (John 9:1-12). When the disciples saw him, they asked Jesus if it was the blind man or his parents that had sinned and caused him to be blind since birth. When Jesus answered them, He told them that it was neither his parents nor the blind man that had caused it. His blindness was so that the work of God would be displayed in his life.
That made me think about how even though the things we may go through in life are not always what we want, they may not be fun, practical, or even painless, but if we have faith in Jesus, he will let his light shine through us and impact others in a way that would never have been done otherwise. -- By Janine
Blog Entry: January, Week 4
I enjoy being a member of an academy church. The benefits include friendships with great young people I'd never normally get to spend time with, youthful energy to get things done (sometimes we adult members are better at planning than at physical execution of our plans!), a diversity of perspectives, and a line right into the church's upcoming leadership generation.
If I want to know what our youth think about something, I can just walk up to a student and ask. I don't rely on surveys and articles - I have the privilege of knowing the students right here.
I personally have deeply appreciated their mission spirit and their initiative. Our students have conceived and run a benefit concert and an evangelistic series in just the past several years, as well as many other programs. They amaze me and challenge me with their get-involved approach.
I flatter myself (I haven't asked) that our students appreciate being in a church full of adults in case they need support, counsel, some perspective on a plan that's on the wild side, a little help with tuition, or cookies. We try to give them all these and more. With such a diversity of ages and perspectives, our church enjoys a really unusual vibrancy. What a blessing. -- By Leta
Blog Entry: January, Week 3
"Oh taste and see that the Lord is good..." I was preparing for a talk a few months back, when a song poked into my head and I couldn't get it out. So I sang through it and kept looking through my Bible. God really had things worked out for me that day and He knew just what I needed to hear for myself and to say to others. I opened my Bible to Psalms 34 and my eye caught on verse 8 just as I was singing those lines; I thought it was cool and kept flipping pages.
The next part freaked my out; I saw Psalm 30: 11-12 -- "You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed my with joy, that I might sing praises to you and not be silent. O Lord, my God, I will give You thanks forever!" The very next text in the song. I stopped -- was this what God wanted me to say? I enjoy definite answers and I still wasn't too sure about this one...
The next place I turned was Psalm 66 - I love this psalm and it means even more to me now. The whole way through this psalm it's talking about how amazing and awesome our God is and what He's done for us. Then you come to verse 16 and it tells how they cried out for God and how He heard their cry for mercy. Then it hit me; praise God through your problems. It was so simple - why hadn't I realized it before?! So many times when we get into a problem area in our life, we simply say "why me?" But we don't realize that the very thing Satan doesn't want us to do is praise God - but it's the very thing that we need to do. Praising God when we don't have the willpower to gives us the strength we need to conquer the obstacles put in our way.
This last week, my sister left as an SM for 5 months. This all happened in about a week and I found out pretty late in the whole process. This shook me for all I'm worth; I love my sister, she's the steady friend that is always there to answer questions and give advice. It was so hard to see God's hand in my side of this whole thing. But then I remembered when I had given the talk above and God simply guided me to Isaiah 41:10-14. I needed to praise God and to know that He held my sister in His right hand and would never let her go. So I'm praising and praying a lot! I know that through everything that goes through our lives, we can become stronger if we trust in God and know that He holds our world; crushing the devil's hopes of ever getting to us, and restoring our faith in God, at the same time. --By Nyla
Blog Entry: January, Week 2
Upper Columbia Academy has an education program of the highest standards in that they encourage a relationship with Jesus Christ. That has motivated and strengthened me in so many ways! My grades are keeping up, my relationships with my friends and teachers are great and I love being considerate to others. UCA has inspired me to start a movement in affecting teens for Christ. This is my prayer that all who pass through UCA will have a chance to be changed by our Lord Jesus Christ. --By Don
Blog Entry: January, Week 1
I thought today that I would write about one of my favorite subjects - Heaven. Everybody has their dreams for when they get to Heaven. Some people want to have a pet dolphin that they can ride, or a giraffe that they can slide down its really long neck. Others have their dream houses, with elaborate floor plans and vibrant colors. I personally want walls made of grapefruit and kiwi trees and pineapple plants.
But today someone mentioned a song that I have had running through my head ever since. The song was "I Want To Go To Heaven." As I was humming it, I started thinking about the words. It starts out,
I want to go to Heaven,
Pick a never fading flower,
From the mountain overlooking,
The temple of my God.
The second line got me to thinking. To pick a never fading flower is impossible on earth; it will eventually wilt and fade. It will be amazing to have a flower that, a year after being picked, will still look the same, smell the same, and feel the same. And even though a flower is so much more simple than the dreams of our houses and pets, it gives me such an awe of God and what he is preparing for us in Heaven. And what's better is that we haven't even imagined what we will be in heaven, because it would be to wonderful for our minds to comprehend. That is awesome! What an amazing God we have! --By Janine