The Chase

So I have more exciting news to share with you!
This:
I am so excited about it! But for those of you that have no clue what this is, let me start from the beginning.

Most of you have probably either read or heard of Karen Kingsbury. She is an awesome christian writer that you can't help but love. Seriously. Her books are real life, down-on-our-level scenarios with insight and Christianity woven intricately throughout. In short, she is a talented writer and I love reading her work. :)

If you've read her books, you may know that she has a daughter named Kelsey. You may not know that Kelsey has gotten married to Kyle Kupecky, a christian recording artist, and they are expecting their first child. (Yayy!) Kyle and Kelsey work together to encourage young people to wait for 'THE one' and not rush into things. They help the younger generation to trust God and let Him take care of them. They give advice on how to handle a godly relationship and help you realize that God has a work for you to do, even if you can't quite see it now. And if any of ya'll know me, you know how much I believe that!
Well, Kyle and Kelsey have written a book about trusting God with your future and it will be released on September 1st of this year!

You know what is even cooler? If you pre-order a book, you can get Kyle's brand new song for FREE! But they have an even better deal going on! Pre-order 10 copies (or the e-books!), and you'll receive an autographed copy of The Chase, autographed copies of Kyle's two albums, two "Possibilities" cards designed by Kelsey, and Kyle's brand new song, "And It's You." Email your receipt to thechasekk@gmail.com! Now I know you're thinking 'oh, that would be cool...but what can I do with 10 copies?!'. Let me tell you what you can do!
1) Team up with some of your friends and go in together. Then everyone can get the book, and you can divvy up the extra treats between you!
2) Buy the books and add a few to your church/school library! (Just be sure to get permission from whoever is over the library.)
3) Get them, read them, highlight parts that stand out to you or are important in yellow [for instance], then give them to a young girl or friend along with a pink highlighter. Then you can share what you learned or how you grew with each other.
4) Books make awesome gifts for young readers. Its true. Especially books like this where you can learn and be encouraged in such a great way. Then again, books make awesome gifts period.
TIP: Pre-order and get all the extra goodies, then give the extra books for birthday gifts, graduation presents, Christmas, even Easter. (Because who wants to wait until it is out in stores and try to hunt down a copy...and then not get the awesome bonuses?)

Aaaaaand:
Yours truly was chosen to promote the book and tell everyone the awesome news so that they can go read it! So I'll actually be getting my copy of it next week (eeeeek!!) and I'll read it and then write a review on here with my thoughts. I'm super excited about it and can hardly wait to share with you all! Stay tuned and don't forget to pre-order before September 1st!

The Wars of the Worlds

(Yes, this is different than Orsen Wells' "War of the Worlds". Promise.)

World War 2 was brutal and exhausting. It unofficially began on July 7th of 1937 and officially began on September 1st, 1939.-That is over 3 years of growing tension and controversy, but with no 'official' strikes or attacks. World War 2 raged long and furiously for years, the Allies and Axis Powers constantly in battle, in an effort to end the tyranny and dictatorship that suppressed the voices and lives of millions. Life was hard.
Then on December 7th, 1941, even more tragedy struck. Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Japanese, resulting in horrible collateral damage and the loss of many great lives. The U.S. declared war on Japan and began secretly building the atomic bomb. On August 6th, 1945, the U.S. successfully launched a surprise attack on Japan, dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima (killing 90,000-146,000 people) and Nagasaki (killing 39,000-80,000 people).
As much of a toll had taken place on both Japan and the U.S., neither would surrender. The Japanese culture instilled a loyalty in their people.-They would either win or they would die trying. Literally. They also treated Hirohito as a god, and were afraid that the U.S. would treat him badly if they surrendered. Between fear for their 'god' and their pride, they refused to give up, regardless of how many lives it would cost. The U.S. had simply had enough and insisted on victory.
Then on August 14th, 1945, Hirohito changed history in a mighty way. He, for the first time ever, came before his people with an announcement. 70 years ago, on this very day, Japanese Emperor Hirohito declared an unconditional surrender of Japan to the United States. This signaled the end of the war between Japan and the U.S., even though the two remained hostile toward one another for years.

What does this have to do with anything?

Well, on August 12th, 2015 Pastor Howard declared a war at the Lighthouse Church. Not a war on any country or group of people. No, rather it was a different kind of war.-a spiritual one. On Wednesday, we officially went to war against carnality.
Let's act like the church is the U.S. and carnality is Japan, shall we? (Not mean to imply anything about either of these countries.

Over the years, God has done great things for His people. We have had revival, signs and wonders, and great moves of God. Then, seemingly with no warning, we lose a few young people here, a young family over there. A minister strays here and a a church compromises there. Its our Pearl Harbor attack.-it comes unexpectedly and results in a great loss of life and collateral damage. The fight becomes unbearably hard and we begin to wonder if it will ever end.

Good news. It does.

You see, now that we have officially declared war, some atomic bombs are about to be dropped on the enemy. Sure, the carnal may not surrender.-maybe it is fear of how their 'god' will be treated once they do, or maybe it is just their pride. Whatever it is, we know that we aren't giving up. We aren't backing away. When this war ends, it won't be because we just got tired and decided to stop. It'll end because carnality just can't continue anymore. After all, "If God is for us, who can be against us?" and honestly, we know how the story ends. We win. If we are in God's will and we are in sincere, we win. No question.

So even when the battle gets rough and you can't see that it will ever end, hold onto the hope that we have in glory and know that you will be victorious.

Lauren Bundy

The Crazy Has Begun

As many of you know, this is a very busy week at the Lighthouse Church because of the A.D.M.I.T. conference that is going on. Unfortunately I have to work today, so I don't get to help out, but I got off tomorrow so that is where I'll be.

I know that this conference is going to be even more amazing then ever. I mean, if last night's service was any indication, its going to be quite amazing! Eld. D.C. Moody preached and God moved last night! It actually reminded several of us of heritage.-And not just because there weren't any seats! The Lord spoke to us last night and I can't wait to see the results that come from this conference! God is good to us isn't he?

Anyway, I am MIA for good reason this week. I haven't forgotten you! ;)

अलविदा! (Alvidā)
Lauren Bundy

Exciting News Announcement

So I'm still not feeling too inspired to write but I'm going to try. I gotta say though, that whenever I feel uninspired, I write terribly. This is a public service announcement.

My first bit of exciting news is: *insert incredibly long drum roll here*
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(I said the drum roll was long)
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I am taking over the youth blog. So pretty soon the youth blog will be up and running, with frequent updates and exciting content. I'm excited about it! I have several people writing articles right now so as soon as I get them edited, approved, and posted, I'll let ya'll know! :)

My second bit of exciting news? (ohmyheavensyouguysIamsoexcitedIcanbarelystandtosithereandtype) *resists urge to run around office like chicken with cranial counterpart disengaged* (That was a very diplomatic way to say that. I am proud of myself.)
Let me start from the beginning.
For a very long time, I have been pushing Bro. Rodgers to try to get the youth group to get involved in a certain...area. I've had a burden for it and I've been praying about it and pushing it every chance that I get. To the point where I would ask to talk to Bro. Rodgers and he would automatically think that it was about that.-sometimes it was, but not every time. Then, last Sunday (I believe) Bro. Rodgers gave me good news...Pastor approved and we were waiting to announce it.
I figured that it would be a while before anything was said so I did no prepare myself at all on Wednesday night when Pastor Howard announced that the young people are....GOING TO BELIZE!!! Yes! In the Spring, YFT is taking a mission's trip to Belize! I'm so thrilled, I can't even begin to describe it to you. No lie. I just about shot out of my seat and took a few laps around the church at the speed of light. Okay, yeah, so it wouldn't've been that fast, but my heart was going around the church faster than that. I'm too out of shape to literally do that.
So for the next several months, I will be saving money, getting a passport, planning, saving some more, and getting even more excited about this trip. Prepare yourself for the post(s) that will be coming concerning this trip!

So those are the only two things going on right now that I can share with you all. As soon as I can give more announcements, I will be. ;)

Now that you've had all kinds of cardio as a result of the excitement from this post, I'm done. YOu can thank me later.
May your feet never fall off and grow back as cactuses.
Peace be with you!
Lauren Bundy

And Now: A Word From Melissa

Well hey there, it's Melissa :) Lauren asked me to be a guest speaker... or blogger whatever you wish to call it. lol When I asked her what she wanted me to write about she gave a few suggestions and said it didn't matter soooooooo I am going to tell you how I met this crazy, yet fabulous girl (she's not really crazy guys, you're safe)
Any-hoo, I've actually known Lauren for a while, I stumbled upon her blog and enjoyed reading all the poems she wrote. (She is a fantastic writer if you haven't already noticed) Fast forward to Heritage 2013, I noticed a girl wearing a beautiful lace dress and I realized it was THE Lauren I followed on blogger! I complimented her and that was that, no other contact or conversation, it wasn't until last year that we started talking. We were down in the lobby and I noticed she kept looking at me and she suddenly came up and asked "how am I supposed to know you?" I reminded her about the past year and we just hit it off! We hung out the entire time after that and created an instant bond; we felt comfortable with each other. Several people thought we were childhood best friends and wouldn't believe us when we told them we had just officially met the day before. lol Since that time Lauren has grown very near and dear to my heart. I know I can call or text her when I need her and she'll be there with a kind word, advice, or something to make me laugh. She is vibrant, caring, loving, funny, and the list can go on forever. My parents got to meet her at heritage this year and they claimed her as their new daughter lol Which is a good thing since she really is like a sister to me :)

Lauren, I can honestly say you're one of the best friends God has ever blessed me with and I'm so thankful He let you be a part of my life. I cherish all of our silly conversations that have me laughing until my stomach hurts along with our deep heartfelt ones. You're beautiful both inside and out, I love you to bits and pieces!!!


***Lauren here! ('Awwwww!!' was totally my first response.)  I told Melissa that she could write about whatever, which is why I am going to go ahead and post this but with this disclaimer; Don't believe a word of it! haha
Melissa is an amazing friend and I'm definitely getting the better end of the deal with our relationship! I know that whenever I'm feeling blue or I start complaining (which is ironic because I hate it (and she knows that!)...but I'm definitely guilty of it, much to my shame) she is always there to get my attention and remind me of all the things that I have to be thankful of. And of course we can be goofy together. (Think SH 2015 in the hotel lobby with Genesis) Anyway, Melissa is way awesome-er than me on any given day and I love her more than I love bacon. And that is a lot.


Brought to you by Lauren Bundy and Melissa Garcia
Co-Owners of Lauren's Gazette

Excitement is right around the corner...

And I mean riiiiight around the corner. You'll see it posted in about 5 minutes. That is how right around the corner it is.
Why?
Melissa's post is here and I'm about to post it! I'm excited to read it and I'm sure you are too so I won't dawdle...off to bring you the amazing Melissa Garcia! *said in best announcer's voice*
Cheerio!
Lauren Bundy