My God's Not Dead

This past week we had revival services at my church. I was only able to attend two of the five services, which made me really sad, but God provided me with so many opportunities this week to experience revival outside of the four walls of our church building. 

On Tuesday night I was out with my Impact Team assisting with Trailblazers. Trailblazers is an after school program for kids at Pendleton Street Baptist Church. We have kids of all ages, and most of the time it seems like they are actually the ones ministering to us. Yes, it does get stressful but there is nothing better than walking into a room and getting bombarded with hugs from a bunch of adorable children. Seeing those kids is definitely one of the best parts of my week and I am so blessed to be given the opportunity to hang out with these kids. 

I was ecstatic to be able to attend the revival service at my church on Wednesday night. We had a "youth night" of sorts and I experienced worship in a way that I haven't in a really long while. One of the sings we sang was "Like a Lion" by the David Crowder Band. I first fell in love with this song when I heard at Look Up Lodge this summer. It speaks of the majesty of our Lord, which is something that we often overlook. The lyrics of this song have been stuck in my head all week, and I thought I should post them so that they could be stuck in your head too.   :)

"Let Heaven roar and fire fall. Come shake the ground with the sound of revival."

That is my prayer this week. I do not want revival to end at my church. I want it to continue and to spread throughout our community. I could turn this into a parody of a political speech, but I won't for the sake of time. So, just trust me that if we let revival sweep across our hearts, it could eventually affect our entire generation for Christ. 

Fully Known

"For now we see indistinctly, as in a mirror, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, as I am fully known."

1 Corinthians 13:12

This verse comes from the quintessential "love" chapter in the Bible. I used to feel that it was a bit out of place, but now I am coming to understand exactly why this verse fits so perfectly in this chapter. I talk a lot about what it means to love something or someone, and this verse goes right along with that concept. When you love someone you want to know everything about them and see them for who they truly are.

Jesus loves me. I am fully known by Him, and that is an incredible thing. The God of the universe knows me fully! That's kind of crazy. He knows my fears, my favorites, and my failings. He knows my favorite color and he knows that I am OCD about most food. He knows that I am afraid of birds, and he knows why as well. He knows my greatest weaknesses and temptations. He knows what makes me feel close to Him and he knows what romances me. He knows those things that I can't tell anyone else. And He knows not because He has to, but because He wants to.

The Bible verse that I mentioned really excites me, because after realizing that Jesus wants to know me and loves me so much, I started to fall in love with Him. Therefore, that means that I want to know Him fully. I want to know everything about Him. The verse refers to a mirror. I believe that this is speaking of the fact that right now we can't see Jesus face-to-face. We are only seeing a slightly skewed reflection of Him through the Bible and other people. But one day, because I am a child of God, I will get to see the real thing!

A couple of years ago when I was going through a rough time, I remember being frustrated because Jesus was the only one that could truly hold me and comfort me, but I couldn't see Him face-to-face. He couldn't physically swoop me up in His arms and tell me that everything would be okay. When I read this verse, it reminds me that one day He will truly be able to do that. I will really be there with Him and I will know Him fully, as I am fully known. The thought of that is what makes life worth living.

Keep Your Chin Up

Yesterday I saw something quite perplexing. A student was walking through the parking lot with his head down. I do not mean that he was glancing down to see where he was going. He was literally staring down at the ground. Now, in all fairness, he was probably just really focused, or in deep thought about something. He was probably just in a hurry. That's not what it looked like though. It looked as though he were embarrassed, possibly even ashamed.

Well, of course a simile automatically popped in my head and a lightbulb went off. We, as Christians, tend to be "that guy" a lot. We are keeping our heads down just trying to get from one place to another without being particularly noticed. We don't flat out deny that Jesus Christ is our Lord and Savior, we just conveniently forget to talk about Him. We may have every intention of ministering, witnessing, and making a difference, but that's not what it looks like. When we conveniently forget to take a stand for our Lord, we can come across as embarassed, possibly even ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

So, don't get so caught up in your goals that you forget why you were created. Don't metaphorically keep your head down, just trying to get by and be good enough. I don't want to miss an opportunity to serve, and if I continue to keep my head down I am going to get to Heaven with a seriously lame amount of crowns to lay at my King's feet. And that's just not okay with me.

So, for the sake of our glorious Savior, please keep your chin up.

A Means to An End

You have all heard the saying, "This is just a means to an end."

For example, all of the classes that I attend are just a means to an end. I am only attending so that I can learn the information that I need to become a music teacher. The classes are the means to an end, not the end in and of itself. However, I will still try to do my very best in these classes because they are what will lead me to my degree in the best, most efficient way.

How does this apply to Christianity?

Well, most people view salvation as the means to an end, and Heaven as the end. While salvation is the only way to go to Heaven, it is important that we do not focus so much on our rewards, but rather on our Savior.

Jesus is the reward. He is what we should seek rather than a treasure of silver and gold. He is the treasure.
Jesus is not a means to an end. He is the end point that we should all be striving for. When you love someone, you don't just want their gifts. You want them. One of our chapel speakers spoke on this very topic a few days ago, and it was also reiterated in a study that I'm doing with our college Sunday school class at church.
We are going through the book Crazy Love and I am finding that I don't know much about loving Christ at all. But, I am striving for Him and I am so excited about what He is going to show me through the rest of this study.

The challenge is to think about what you love most about God. Do all of the things that come to mind have to do with what He does for you, or do they have to do with His character?

I am learning that just to be known by the Creator of the universe is far better than any other gift that I could ever receive.

For Better or Worse

Last night I watched a show on TLC called Four Weddings. The point of the show is to compare four different weddings from the viewpoint of the brides. They go to each other's weddings and then score each other based on several different categories. The best wedding wins a dream honeymoon. It's actually a pretty good show. 


While I was watching the ceremonies I was struck by a specific saying that occurred in the vows. We have all heard a bride and groom vow to love each other for better or worse, indicating that through the good times and the bad they will be there for each other. 
All four of these women pledged that no matter what happened they would stand by their man and their love for him would not change. 


This got me thinking about the love of my life, also known as Jesus. This could sound corny to some, but it's true so that is how I am going to refer to Him. Could I make that same wedding vow to my Savior? Could I look Him in the eyes and say that for better or worse I will love Him just the same? How about you? Could you tell Jesus that even when you don't understand His plan or His purpose, your commitment would not be shaken?


Most of the time I have no clue what God is up to in my life. There are questions marks in my life right now, and sometimes God answers my prayers in a way that I do not particularly like. So, how is my love for Christ displayed in times like that? Do I let Him lead the way and understand that He is all-knowing, or do I question His sovereignty?


How I respond to God in these times of difficulty truly displays my level of commitment and love to Him. It helps to reveal to the world whether I truly love my Lord or whether He is just a habit in my life. 


So the next time that you go to a wedding, try to imagine that you are the bride and Jesus is your groom. Would the vows be true in your life, or would they just be meaningless words to a Savior that you don't even really love?

My Favorite Things

I generally write about some pretty heavy topics, so for this post I thought that I would lighten things up a bit and just let you all get to know me a little better. 


These are some of my favorite things on this planet.

• Freshly-baked cookies with a giant glass of milk
• Clothes that are fresh out of the dryer
• Toms
• Flannel shirts--particularly flannel shirts that are much too big for me, and therefore, the most comfortable thing EVER. :)
• Driving down the ride with the windows down and my music blaring
• Monterrey's Mexican restaurant...but only if I'm with my very best friends
• Opening presents
• Star-gazing on a really clear night
• Surprises
• Japanese food
• Israel (I've been once, and I intend to go back again soon.)
• Audrey Hepburn movies
• Libraries
• A really great pair of worn-in blue jeans

Well, that's me in a nut shell. 

He is the Only Constant

This week has just been one of those weeks. You know what I mean. The amount of school work that I am doing has dramatically increased, and with it my stress level. I have had more tests this week than I care to count and I am overwhelmed with the thought of keeping my grades up. 


I was driving down the road yesterday pondering all of these things, and I realized that I had let stress and worry win that day. I had let the devil consume my mind with things that will one day fade away. In the mean time, I had not spent much time reading Scripture and giving my cares over to the Lord.


I may have a stressful life at times, but I am so glad that Jesus is the one constant thing in my life.


God is still good even when there aren't enough hours in the day. He still reigns over the earth even when I bomb a test and just want to crawl in bed and go to sleep. God doesn't change through any of that.


Therefore, my attitude about Him shouldn't change. I should still spend just as much time worshipping Him. I should still spend just as much time reading about Him. Most importantly, I should still spend as much time talking to Him.


So, today I am going to let Jesus fight my battles for me. And even when it seems like I'm losing, I'm going to try my very best to honor Him just the same. He makes everything work together for the good of those that love Him.  

Fairy Tales

I am about to share with you all a secret about me that not many people know.


I still watch Disney movies. 


I am not talking about the ones that come on the Disney channel that have absolutely no plot line. I am talking about the old school Disney princess fairy tales.


Right now I am sitting in my room watching Beauty and the Beast, and I am fairly sure that Belle and I are kindred spirits. Belle is a book worm that is just looking for some adventure in life, and is not content with the mundane. Also, the scene where she walks into the library in the castle makes me wants to squeal with delight. I want to have that library someday, and I am confident that I will. 


I love fairy tales, but not for the reason that you think. I do not at all think that I am going to meet some prince charming that will rescue me at a moment's notice. I already have my prince charming, and no boy is  going to change that. Fairy tales aren't at all a good representation of earthly relationships. But they are a marvelous representation of our relationship with Christ. 


You see, people are always going to let me down, and I am always going to let other people down. None of us are perfect. Boys will never fully fill the void in my life. I do hope that one day I will find someone to share my earthly life with, but if I don't I am so glad that I have already found my true prince. Therefore, I am not going to spend away my youth just wishing for an earthly relationship when I already have the ultimate eternity-long love. 


Jesus is the hero of my story and my first love. He has rescued me from the ultimate danger.

 He is my prince charming and I am going to live happily ever after with Him.

Technology Overload

Have you ever thought about how much we use the internet?

Well, the internet has been out on my side of the room for several days now, and I have learned quite a few things about myself while the internet has been down.

1. I spend way too much of my time on the internet.

Obviously, this is a huge problem in our culture today. Many people walk straight into their room after class and get on facebook. I have been guilty of this as well. I wouldn't say that I am addicted to the social networking phenomenon, but it is definitely taking up too much of my time lately. Since my internet has not been working properly I have realized just how much time that I spend on the internet. Whew. It is a lot.

2. Much of my homework is done using the internet.

The internet has become a primary source for most research, rather than the traditional encyclopedia. I'm not sure that this is a good thing, but it is true. Also, I have found that a lot of my homework cannot be done without the use of an internet connection. This blog is a perfect example. I complete this blog not only for my own pleasure, but primarily because I get a grade for it in English class. However, I can't complete this blog without an internet connection. Therefore, it is really frustrating when the internet does not work.

3. I really miss having time to read books for pleasure.

Reading used to be one of my favorite activities, and as of late I have not had much time at all to read for pleasure. One really great thing about not having an internet connection is that I have had a huge amount of time to read. In fact, my sister recently let me take her copy of Pride and Prejudice to school with me, and I have been reading it almost every day. I read it a couple of years ago, but it is still one of the most interesting books that I have ever read. The movie is one of my favorites, but the book is definitely better than the movie.

Getting to Know my Savior

This past week has been a week of intense spiritual growth for me. I do not mean that I had some seriously emotional, spiritual moment, but I am being honest with my fellow believers in saying that God has really been smacking me upside the head with some truths about who He is. I have been meditating on one question for several days now.

How can I share God's Word if I don't know God's Word?

Well, we all know that I actually can't, but if I am being completely honest I would have to say that I have been trying to share passionately about something that I don't even read every day. This obviously needs to change.

Therefore, I am going to do something about it, and I am asking for some serious accountability. I have decided to begin memorizing specific passages and verses of Scripture each week. This may sound really easy, but the truth is that most of us only know a few verses of Scripture by heart. How can I defend the Word if I don't know it? 

I can't. So, I am going to start learning, memorizing, and meditating on the Scripture every single day.

So, if you randomly see me at school or church and you happen to think of it, why don't you just go ahead and ask me if I have already had my quiet time today. Also, you can go ahead and ask me what verses I have memorized this week. I am going to get real with my fellow Christians because we are called to hold each other accountable. Thanks to everyone who is already helping me in this journey. 

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is God's power for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, and also to the Greek. For in it God's righteousness is revealed from faith to faith, just as it is written: The righteous will live by faith."

Romans 1:16-17

My First English 1310 Essay

I have recently written my first essay for English 1310, and it was actually a wonderful experience. When I finally decided on my topic, I realized that there were so many avenues that could be explored. I decided to do a descriptive paper based on the old Easley library. There are so many things about that library that are still vivid in my mind today. I began to jot down every single memory and sensory detail that I could imagine about that library. The only problem was how to narrow those topics down into something that would resemble a well-organized essay. It is so much more challenging than I thought it would be. After writing I realized that I had gone more than one hundred words over our five hundred word limit. This made me really mad. I had just poured my heart into this essay and now I was going to have to cut it apart and rip out some of its content. 
However, I did accomplish this goal and finally got under the maximum word count. I actually feel really proud of this essay. I know that there is still much to be edited and revised within it, but I am very excited that my first college essay has been written. A huge weight just lifted from my shoulders. 

needtobreathe concert :)

Last night I went to the NeedToBreathe concert at The Orange Peel in Asheville. It was completely amazing and definitely the best concert that I have ever been to. If you have never been to The Orange Peel, you should know that it is basically one big room with no air conditioning, and just a giant ceiling fan. I went ahead and uploaded a picture of the ceiling fan just because it was quite possibly the most hilariously large ceiling fan that I have EVER seen.





The room was absolutely full of NTB fans that were just trying to get closer to the front. We were all packed in like sardines and let me tell you, it was HOT. However, I would have stood there for probably two more hours if they had wanted to continue the concert. Some of the highlights of the evening included "Stones Under Rushing Water" (my new favorite song), "Girl Named Tennessee", "The Outsiders", and "Lay 'Em Down".

It was the first time that NeedToBreathe had ever performed in Asheville, but I am hoping that they come back very soon. It was their first headlining show since the beginning of summer, and you could tell that they were glad to be back in a crowd of people that actually appreciates their music.


By the way, they are coming to Greenville in November and I will probably go to that show as well. It was just that good.

Something Beautiful

Well, I am going to a NEEDTOBREATHE concert tonight so I thought that I would elaborate a little bit on one of their songs, which I absolutely love.

"Hey now, this is my desire. Consume me like a fire. 'Cause I just want something beautiful to touch me. I know that I'm in reach because I am down on my knees, waiting for something beautiful."

This song is so true-to-life for me right now. I just want the beautiful One to touch my life again. I want to be used up for Him. I am not going to rely on my religion or what I know about God to fulfill me. God did not mean for our religion to fill our lives. HE wants to fill our lives and actually walk with us each day. So, that's where I'm at right now. I want to be consumed by my Lord and be used for something beautiful.

I am standing before God today asking Him to use me. The incredible thing is that I KNOW he will, not because I am faithful, but because He is.

In Loving Memory of Aileen Riddle

Aileen Riddle was my great grandmother. I just called her grandmother. She passed away a little over two weeks ago, and I really want to share with you some of my best memories of her and my Pa.

My Pa and Granmother were some of the most hardworking people that I have ever met. They ran a small convenience store for a good majority of their adulthood and lived in a beautiful, yet small, brick house that was right beside the store. By the time that I was born they had sold the store, but they still lived beside it.

Every Thanksgiving or Christmas Eve when I would go to their house, I would also walk over to the store with the other great-grandchildren and we would all pick out some candy that we wanted. I will never forget how cool it was to hear all of grandmother's stories about the store. Another wonderful memory of grandmother occurred every single time that we went to visit her. She ALWAYS had Breyer's ice cream in the freezer of her refrigerator. Every single time we came, she would offer us that vanilla bean breyer's ice cream. It was no doubt the best ice cream that I have ever tasted. The other awesome thing about Pa and Grandmother's house was their laundry shoot. They had an old wooden door that you could dump the clothes into and they would go straight down the shoot into a bin in the basement. I thought that was the coolest thing that I had ever seen. Any time I was there my sister, my cousin, and I would yell down the shoot to each other and toss things down to each other through the shoot. 

I loved that house, but I loved my great-grandparents so much more than that. 

I am truly going to miss Grandmother, but I am completely at peace with the fact that she is in Heaven right now with my Pa. She missed him so much, and she can finally be with him again. 

So, as cliche as this sounds, go live life with the people that you love. Seriously. I would give anything to be sitting across from my grandmother right now at her kitchen counter, eating ice-cream with her while Pa watches baseball. 

Taking a Walk with my Savior

"Wherever He leads I'll go. Wherever He leads I'll go. I'll follow my Christ who loves me so. Wherever He leads I'll go."

These very familiar words are part of a beautiful hymn that we sing in my church all of the time. The trouble is that these words are a little, rather a lot, more difficult than they sound. Everytime I go to sing the chorus, I get a little nervous, because I am not totally sure that I would have the strength to follow Christ wherever He leads me. 

However, just because I don't know if I would follow Him wherever He led me, it doesn't mean that I am not trying to follow Him. Choosing to follow Christ is a day by day, hour by hour decision. My life verse further explains this concept.

 "I'm not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don't get me wrong: By no means do I count my self an expert in all of this, but I've got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward-- to Jesus. I'm off and running, and I'M NOT TURNING BACK."

Phillipians 3:12-14 The Message Bible

I cannot even pretend that I have my faith all together, and I certainly cannot claim to know where God is leading me. But, I think that's the point. If I knew where God was leading me, I wouldn't feel the need to trust Him. I recently was talking with my mom about this topic and an extremely relevent metaphor came to mind, so I think I will share it with you all.

In the spring of my senior year, I went to Disney World with my high school marching band. We went to the Fantasmic show on a Sunday night, and it just so happened that nearly two thousand people saw this show at the same time as us. Now, if you know me at all you should know that I don't exactly stand out in a crowd, at least physically speaking. I am five foot one inch tall, and even that is stretching it a little bit. Well, at some point while we were making our way out of the arena after the show, one of my band directors, Mr. Mumford, and I got separated from the rest of our group. Keep in mind that we were in a crowd of two thousand people who were trying to get out of the same exit gate. Chaos ensued. Praise the Lord, Mr. Mumford is over six feet tall and could see where we were heading. At one point,I was standing in front of him in the massive crowd of people, and I turned around to him and said, "I have absolutely no clue where I'm going. I can't see above the people's heads." He then placed his hands on my shoulders and said, "Just start walking, and I will point you in the direction that we need to go."

I was lost and confused. I was nervous and a little chlostrophobic. You see, there was no way that I could realize the big picture. But Mr. Mumford could see where we were going. All he needed me to do was to start walking, so that he could point me in the direction that we needed to go.

Do you see where I am going with this?
God does not need me to see the picture yet. He just needs me to start walking. He needs me to stop being a bench warmer and actually get in the game. I am called to serve. While I am sitting here panicking about not seeing the big picture, I am missing out on all of the little opportunities to just be led by my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. God is the only one who can see the big picture of this universe, and that is exactly the way that it is supposed to be. So, right now even though I have absolutely no clue where I am going, I am just going to start walking.

I am quite confident that taking this walk with my Savior will end up being the adventure of an eternity.

What is this life all about?

What does it mean to be alive?

I have begun to feel that my definition of fully living is very different from the rest of the world. The funny thing is that I am totally alright with this discovery.

The world would say that to be alive is to be breathing, to enjoy yourself, to do some good for the world, to live it up in college, to further your own conditions, and to answer to no one but yourself.

I would say that to be alive is to be breathing, to find joy in Jesus Christ, to do everything that I can to further His kingdom, to serve in college, and to glory in my relationship with Him.

Do I always succeed at this? Absolutely not. In fact, I don't succeed at being fully alive most of the time. But that's not the point. Thanks be to God, I don't have to be perfect. Yes, I will have to answer to my Holy Father one day. I will go before Him and proclaim that I was not perfect and that I do not deserve eternal life with Him. But then, my Savior Jesus Christ is going to stand up and say to His Father that it's okay, because I belong to Him. I don't have to be perfect, because He was. He died just so that I, Jessica Culbertson, could live eternally with Him. How amazing is that?

Therefore, since I know that my true future lies in Heaven with my Savior, I am not going to worry too much about the fact that the world would disagree with me about what it means to truly live. I refuse to let my college years be about me and what I want. I pray every day that my college years, as well as the rest of my life on this Earth, would be about loving God and loving people.  

What do you want your life to be about?

New Beginnings

New beginnings are :

• Fun
• Scary
• Exciting
• Scary
• Opportunities
• Chances worth taking
• Scary

Do you get my drift?
I have never been a proponent of change, but I am learning to readjust my perspective a bit. I have recently become a student at North Greenville University, which is officially the biggest change that my short life has ever seen. North Greenville was a new beginning that was risky and challenging, but most definitely worth the risk. I have already made friends that will impact my life for years to come. I have experienced worship services that have changed the lives of students all over campus. Most importantly, on the first day of school, a total of fifty students accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior! Oh my gracious!
Where else does that happen?

Basically, my point is that new beginnings are most definitely scary, especially to me. But I am learning to trust God in the valleys as well as on the mountain tops. I must give my fear of change over to Him and let Him transform me so that I can follow WHEREVER He leads in the future.

Yes, new beginnings are scary, risky, and challenging. But most of all new beginnings are BEAUTIFUL experiences that will guide us towards a life that is...

FULLY ALIVE.