Building Hope Together 2013

Hey Everyone! I hope you all had a great week! This blog update is going to be about my church Lutheran Church of Hope-Ankeny. Let me just say Lutheran Church of Hope started in West Des Moines and Hope Ankeny was one of the first campuses to be launched in 2006. Lutheran Church of Hope is One church in multiple locations. 
First off, will you join me in praying for Lutheran Church of Hope-Ankeny! 
Father, God we come before you and we want to lift up Hope Ankeny to you and take a moment and praise you for all you have done through Lutheran Church of Hope and all its campuses. 
With One Spirit we ask you to nourish us in your Spirit so that we may be faithful stewards of your gifts.
With One Hope we ask you to humble our hearts and center our lives on your soveriegn purpose.
With One Love may the sacrifice of our joyful giving be an outward sign of the true treasure we hold in you. 
With One Faith we commit ourselves to your service and rely on being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. 
In your Mighty name we pray, Amen!!

Thank you for praying with me. That prayer I got from a prayer guide through our Building Hope together packet.
So now I am going to share a little bit about the history of Hope Ankeny and how and when it got started and so forth. I got the answers from Scott Rains Hope Ankenys Campus pastor. I also did  a little reading up on Hope Ankeny myself as well. So I hope you enjoy reading this and learning and seeing what God is doing through Lutheran Church of Hope in Ankeny. 
Lets start from the very beginning...
In the Spring of 2006, after years of visioning, and months of prayer and planning, Lutheran Church of Hope Ankeny (originally called Hope NorthBranch until July of 2011) was launched on April 22, 2006 under the leadership of Kingdom Expansion Pastor Molly Juntunen and Student Ministry Director Mark Brandt and the volunteer support of a committed Launch Team. Hope Ankeny is the first Satellite congregation of Lutheran Church of Hope – Hope Ankeny is a worshipping community of Lutheran Church of Hope in West Des Moines and is under Hope’s mission, vision, values, and structure. Hope launched Hope Ankeny to reach out specifically to the Ankeny community by discerning God’s vision for His church there. But once again we are ONE CHURCH in multiple locations. Then in the Fall of 2006 through a partnership with Resurrection Lutheran Church in Ankeny, Hope Ankeny began worshiping on Saturday evenings. A focused effort was made to provide Children’s Ministry and to also offer Alpha. Then later in 2006 in the month of November, Hope Ankeny called its first Campus Pastor, Scott Rains. Who has just a great heart for Christ and shows great leadership in the church and to his congregation. Worship attendance through the fall of 2006 was approximately 100 and 15 children came to Roots. The Hope Ankeny Christmas Eve service saw 200 people celebrate the birth of Jesus. Praise the Lord! 
Then in the Spring of 2007 Hope Ankeny began worshiping at Northview Middle School in Ankeny on March 11. Almost instantly, worship jumped to over 200 people every Sunday. In July, God’s Champions Vacation Bible School saw over 100 children come to a park in Ankeny for a week of Bible stories, activities and diving into the word of God. Than in September of 2007 Hope Ankeny started a second worship service on Sunday mornings.   
Attendance at Hope Ankenys worship services has jumped to nearly 400 each Sunday with over 100 children participating in it's Children's Ministry programming. Ministry for middle and high school students is added to what is happening for children and adults. No later than two years, Hope Ankeny has shown itself to be a church that is growing wider and deeper. What God is doing in the hearts of the people of Hope is changing them from the inside out. Secure in our identity as beloved children of God, Hope Ankeny is reaching out to Ankeny and the world with the everlasting love of Jesus Christ. Which is following through in our mission statement for all of Hopes Campuses. Some of the mission work we do at Hope are:
Adopting Villages in Ghana, West Africa by sponsoring pastors, building churches and digging wells. Begin the process of funding and staffing a no-fee adoption agency called Bringing Hope Home Serving at the Iowa Homeless Youth Shelter and participating in various other local mission opportunities.
Than in the Fall of 2008 Hope Ankeny moved into The Station.  The Station is a seven day a week ministry space and has offices for the Hope Ankeny Staff. 

In 2010 Hope Ankeny  A Future Site Task force is looking for land for a possible permanent location in Ankeny for Hope Ankeny. Hope Ankeny is dreaming BIG and waiting on God to see what Hope Ankenys future holds. In the Fall of 2010, $700,000 in pledges and gifts were received during our DreamLand campaign for the purchase of land for Hope’s permanent home in Ankeny. In August of 2011 Hope Ankeny finalized the purchase of 20 acres of land that would soon be the future home of Hope Ankeny.
So Everyone that is the history of Hope Ankeny. I really hope y'all enjoyed reading that and it gave you a glimpse of what God is doing through his church and his people.
Now I am going to introduce the Hope Ankeny Staff:  

Ankenys campus pastor: Scott Rains and his Wife Wendy.

Worship leader: Dustin Antoine

Childrens ministry Coordinator: Angie Rathbun and her husband Troy!

Production Coordinator: Jared Wells and his wife and kids Britni, Grayson and Sloane

Childrens Coordinater 1st-5th grade, Jackie Keuker

Nursery Coordinator: Kathy Pilch, and her Husband and daughter

Adult ministry Coordinator, Jen Segar and her husband Travis

Childrens ministry leader: Brent Rauch

That is the Hope Ankeny Staff, I have enjoyed getting to know everyone at Hope Ankeny very much! Now I asked some of the people on staff what they look forward to about worship on the weekends and what they like most about their job at Hope Ankeny.

Dustin Antoine (worship leader) He said "I enjoy being the worship leader and looking out and seeing familiar faces but than also being able to meet new people in the process. Then I look forward to gathering in one place worshipping God together!"

Brent Rauch: (Childrens Ministry leader) "I love joining together in community with others and celebrating what God is up to! Time of worship is always something to look forward too!
Scott Rains (Hope Ankenys pastor) "I love seeing so many people taking a step of faith and trying something new in terms of serving God through the church."  John 10:10
That is what some of the staff answered. Now I had a chance to ask some people that attend Hope Ankeny and heres what they said:
Sherri Stych said "The energy/the Holy Spirit in the room, I most enjoy the opportunity to serve and be a part of a growing church centered on the love of Jesus Christ!

Geneva Ross "I enjoy everything. Worship music,the fellowship with brothers and sisters in Christ, the sermons, and an opportunity to focus on God. I always leave church refreshed,connected to God and ready for the week"
So that is feedback from a couple people that attend Hope Ankeny! Hope Ankeny offers classes to let people be a part of and to start getting connected and diving into the Word at Hope Ankeny!  KQ (Kingdom Quest) KQ is Hope's version of Sunday School involving Bible-based teaching, music, activities and more. Hope also offers "Powerlife" (for middle school students) PowerLife is an innovative approach to confirmation ministry that gives youth in the community an opportunity to experience the abundant power of Jesus Christ in their lives.

Ignition (Gathering for High school students) Ignition is a ministry geared toward high school students. The goal is to build community, deepen faith and have some fun! 

So Hope Ankeny is just one out of four locations and just because Lutheran Church of Hope has many churches in many different locations just means that we are "Reaching out to the world around us and sharing the everlasting love of Jesus Christ! I enjoyed writing this writing this blog and I LOVE HOPE ANKENY! It feels like home! In this house of worship we will serve the Lord! Amen? 

I want to wrap with a song called "while I am waiting" Hope Ankeny has been waiting and praying for Gods timing on when we should get our own building! That time has come for this church! Have a blessed week everyone! While I'm waiting- John Waller

Future home of Hope Ankeny!

Blessings to all!

Mighty Mariah

The 6th Commandment

Hey Everyone! I hope you all are havig a wonderful week so far! So let me tell you where I hope I can take this blog today. I hope by the end of this blog update that we find some bodies that have been murdered. Hows that for a weird way to start a blog update?
Exodus 20:13 says: ¹³ “You must not murder." What does the 6th command require?
That e should not revial, hate, injure or kill our neighbor Either by thought,word or look must less by action. So I have a question for you "Is there anyone besides me who has committed murder?
So lets back up and lets take a look at what is at the root of murder.
MURDER - envy,hatred, anger and the desire for revenge.
And God inplies all those as murder. So murder isn't just something we do with our guns and our knives and bodies but its also something that comes from within, it comes from what we do to people and what we say and what we think and even what we write. The American culture does not stop killing. Our attitude towards murder is deturned by what our fundemental belief about what life means. And so as our culture believes in God has declined, murder of attitude and action has been epidemic. We will not stop killing or loving until we get commandment number 1 right. There is a spirit of death and murder that is being released in the nation. The spirit of death and murder is now so persuasive that how many video games can we play that do not include killing? How many movies can we watch that do include a horrific amount of killing? How many activities involve violence. Now I am going to say something that is very contreversial and I do not intend to be hurtful in anyway so I say this very carefully,very respectfully. But it is my opinion that we have affirmed abortion as the law that we have released in our country a spirit of murder. Because if  violence can occur here violence will occur everywhere. So now the spirit of murder is out there. So I sometimes wonder why are the emails so loud and angry? Why is our discourse so violent and vial its because there is a spirit of murder that has been released. Jesus says to LOVE.  Lets look at Matthew 5:21  “You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ ²² But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell. What this means is that, the measure that you sow so you will reap. So lets stop for a second..If murder includes what we think, say and do Jesus never murdered with His tongue, He never murdered with His mind and He never murdered with a knife. Bottomline Jesus never murdered anyone. Jesus is holy and we will be terrified because He is SO HOLY. So can we talk about love for a little bit? I know this is a long blog update but I think this is a great topic to write about and for you to read. So bare with me. 1 John 3: 11-16  For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous.  Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters,^[b] if the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in DEATH.  Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him. 
So this is not the love that is all kissy and lovey dovey. This is the kind of love that hangs on a cross bleeding bloody murder poured out butt naked as people laugh and mock THATS LOVE. This is waht John is talking about. So hear this God loves life! And when you see someone with a disability physically, mentally or emotionally let me remind you that God loves life! And wether we are tall,small or skinny or fat, young or old, black or white God loves life. I say this carefully. Life is not sacred the issue is not the sacred of life the thing is we have lost the sense that God is creator. When God is not our creator when God does not create and give life then something horrible happens. So 10 commandments if you get the first one wrong then you get the second one wrong and so on  and therefore we release a spirit of murder. That is why we can send out emails that are mean. We align ourselves with the evil and the evil one. When I choose to murder by what I say, think or do I just joined the devils team. When I choose to send an email that is mean I just joined the devils team, when I say something in a joking fashion about someone I am making fun of I just joined the devils team. Why? Because I am choosing not to stay in step with the spirit. Out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. There is an old Proverb that says " The blood of the dead one is heavy it makes the journey hard. Amen? 
Will you pray with me right now?
Merciful God our Father there are many things we casually express hatred and angry for. We confess that we readily say angry words or we think hateful thoughts towards those people who displease us. Yet your word reminds us that anyone who hates a brother or a sister is a murder and no murderer as eternal life. So your holy and annointed words put all our angry and hatred in perspective. So Holy Spirit we ask that you examine our hearts and quicken our responses. Lord bring to our minds those whom we have murdered. Some of us have been painfully violated and seriously  abused by those whom we were trained to trust. Help us to see the ways that we are becoming and that we hate. Bring us back to gospel sanity, bring us back to freedom, return to us the joy of your salvation sooner rather than later. We pray this in your mighty name Amen!
Thank you for praying with me. 
Now to end my blog I want to end with a song. Its called Speak Life- TobyMac! Enjoy.
Do you speak life to those around you? Or do you speak destruction?
Blessings to all
If you have a prayer request feel free to leave a comment  or "Like"  Mighty Mariahs Facebook page!

Keep calm and fight on!

Hey Everyone! I hope you all are have a blessed week! Tomorrow is Friday so the last day of the week before the weekend! So this month is Breast Cancer Awarness month. I was thinking about what my blog update would be about and when I heard that it was breast cancer awareness month I knew exactly what my blog update was going to be about. So on March 25 one of the teaching pastors at my church (Lutheran Church of Hope we are one church multiple locations) Nicole Woodley was diagnosed with breast cancer. And with her permission she said I could write a little bit about how she got through the tough times that came her way with having to get through treatments and doctor visits and some hospital stays. 

So let me first start of by sharing one of the bible verses that Nicole had on her caring bridge site.

Psalm 91:1-4

Those who live in the shelter of the Most High
    will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
This I declare about the Lord:
He alone is my refuge, my place of safety;
    he is my God, and I trust him.
For he will rescue you from every trap
    and protect you from deadly disease.
He will cover you with his feathers.
    He will shelter you with his wings.

    His faithful promises are your armor and protection.

That is one of the verses Nicole shared on her caring bridge page. I think this verse speaks a lot of  wisdom and truth the whole bible does this passage to me is saying that the Lord is my refuge and a place of safety. How comforting is it to know that the mighty Lord will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease? That just gives us a sense of peace you don't have to have a disease to be moved by this passage it can be for whatever your going through. So I want you all to picture this. He will cover you with his feathers and He will shelter you with his wings. Can you imagine what that looks like? So if you look at a bird soaring in the air you look at its feathers and you see his wings spread out just imagine your Heavenly Father sheltering you and covering you. What power that passage brings. I had a chance to email Nicole and get some information from her about her ups and downs of journey that God brought her on and I was inspired by one of the things that she said and here is what she told me "There is no doubt cancer has changed my life, but no matter what stage of cancer my body may be dealing with, clinging to faith in Jesus through cancer allows you to thrive no matter the circumstance. With cancer, and with life, there are no guarantees. As I see it, the only guarantee is that Jesus is there to meet us in whatever circumstance life may throw at us. As for my cancer journey, who knows what tomorrow may bring, but remaining in Jesus, the vine, allows you to live life fully and gratefully no matter what ~Nicole Woodley. Shes right Jesus is there to meet us where ever we are in life. He will never leave us or say "your too far away I won't come get you" Instead He comes and meets us right where we are in life.
Nicole also had on her page lyrics to a song and I will post the lyric video at the end but the song is called "The Hurt and the Healer" by MercyMe I listened to this song and I was moved by this song what a beautiful song and such a great message behind it.
So I could write a long blog update on Nicole because she is just an amazing teaching pastor at Lutheran Church of Hope,she is a great mother to adorable kids and shes an outstanding friend and a great wife but most of all she is A FIGHTER,SHE IS A CONQUEROR and last but not least she is AN OVERCOMER. Nicole did recently finish up her Chemo treatments but she is still getting some treatment but she is making outstanding process PRAISE THE LORD! So now I am going to post some pics so enjoy!

The Woodley Family

Nicole

Grant and Nicole.

So to wrap up this blog update I want to just give a shout out to Nicole and her family for just showing courage,strength and hope through this journey that God has brought you too. You have truly inspired me along with others. My prayers going out to the Woodley family tonight!

Now here is the lyric video to the song The Hurt and The Healer By MercyMe

Now for my final music video I would like to dedicate this song to not only Nicole but to all women out there that are battling Cancer! 

This song has touched my heart and it moves me so much everytime I hear it. 

Its called Overcomer By Mandisa (One of my favorite Christian Artists).

This song is the music video because some people in this video are getting treatment for cancer and you will see that in the video. 

I hope y'all enjoyed this update and reading about my friend Nicole! 

Blessings to all 

Mighty Mariah

What's the point of life on earth?

Hey Everyone! I hope all of you are doing well! I hope you all are having a blessed week! Well as I was trying to figure out what my blog update was going to be about I thought that I would use one of the messages I heard about at church. And all summer my church has gone through a series called "Since you asked" and this series is basically going through questions that we ask about faith and questions we just want to know the answer too. So I hope that this update gives you hope and inspiration.
So lets start off by asking the question "What is the point of life here on earth" Well I believe with all my heart that God put us here for a purpose, He created us for a purpose, He made us to have meaning in this chaotic world.  We don't always see it! Its not always painted for us. Life is a journey, I believe heaven is real, That once we leave our earthly bodies we will experience joy and peace and emotions we cant imagine. Now your probable asking yourself "why didn't we just go straight there, if heaven is so great why do we have death? suffering? pain? Why do we have to go through that if we could be living with great emotions and not have to worry about anything else? I mean whats the point of what I am doing here on earth, is it going to matter once I leave this earth? Well lets just stop there for a minute and I want to share with all of you a scripture passage that comes from John 17:4 its a prayer Jesus says before He was arrested, It reads"I brought glory to you here on earth by completing the work you gave me to do." That was my purpose is what Jesus said, is that I completed the work that was set before me by my Father in Heaven and when I did that, when I fulfilled that, when I followed that, when I leaned into everything that it was I brought glory to God and  I brought light to those who encountered me. Every single one of you Your probable asking another question "How do I know what God wants me to do in this world? What is my calling? How do I find that? 
Well let me just step a little back and I want to ask you all a question when you were growing up as a child and your teachers and your parents asked you "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Now probable when you were little you said things like astronaut, president or princess, Then when we all got a little bit older they asked us again and then of course we change our mind and our answers were rockstar,cowboy, or a gold medalist. Now those are dreams of kids minds but when you grow up and you go through school and you graduate high school and then they ask you, you don't have to guess what you want to be when you grow up because you will know. The school your enrolled in or the learning you got from that school helped you learn different things that will help in your future as a young adult and prepare you for the real world thats out there. I know this sounds like a school speech. We have so many oppurtunities in life at jobs and some jobs you think you can see yourself doing it for a long time but then later you realize I am not having the motivation anymore or you come to find out it just isn't a good fit. That actually happened to me. Quick story here I had a job bathing dogs and when I first started out I thought it was great seeing dogs and getting dog kisses everytime I pulled out a dog to start bathing it...but then later on I felt it wasn't really fitting me. So then I ended up not working there anymore and then the day after Fathers day I get a job at Culvers. And I LOVE it there. I interact with people and start conversations with different people and its just great. My point is through not being able to bathe dogs anymore that was an experience learning how to bathe a dog and clean kennels...Everyone jobs come and jobs go some stay some leave but you learn something, that's what life is...its learning. Jobs help you not only in the work force but it helps you discover new things about yourself.... A career is a huge goal... getting many jobs can help you figure out what you want your career to be.. Now back to the question What's the point of life on earth? Bare with this post I am asking you all a lot of questions here but let me ask you another question whats the first thing that pops into your head when you hear the word "vocation" I looked up the definition of this word and this is what it says "a strong feeling of suitability for a particular career or occupation." Now the root word for the word vocation is "Calling" What is you're calling? I want to share with you something, my nickname "Mighty Mariah" its just a name but I feel a calling did you catch that I feel a CALLING to be an evangelist one day! Its something I never thought of before but when I see all you guys who are reading this it just amazes me. People from my church have said the blog is great the facebook page is great. Yes I also have a facebook page click here if you want to check it out! But I have gotten an email from someone I didn't know who it was and he told me. That what he reads from my blog is amazing! That right there started getting me excited and every Sunday or Monday morning I always try and shoot out a message to everyone my friends and family and I tell them" I hope you have a blessed week" they don't have to respond to the message and if they do great but it just gives me great joy in knowing that I make them smile when I send them a text or a message saying I hope you have a great week! I want to be able to share hope an inspiration with people in different towns and cities. I would just LOVE to do that! I think the page I run and the blog I write has helped get me started with doing that. But life is a journey can I just say that again life is a journey its here one day and gone the next its gone in the blink of an eye. Everything you do should be glory and honor to your Father in Heaven. And in doing that people in this world will see that and be blessed! You don't have to know that your blessing someones life just honor God with your life! He delights in you! Your His child! In Ephesians 2:10 it reads this "For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago. God has a plan for you! He knows what the rest of your day is going to look like, He knows what your going to do tomorrow when you probable don't know what you will be doing tomorrow. He knows. Trust in His plan for your life. So to wrap up I want to challenge every single person reading this to go to God in prayer and ask him to reveal to you what God wants to do in your life! God will help you become the person you were meant to be if you only ask him and keep your eyes focused on the one who gave you life,who gave you hope when you had none and gave you faith when you doubted. Amen? I know this blog update was very long. But if you have read this far pat yourself on the back. I want to end with a song that is fairly new to my list of songs It talks about life and I think it goes well with this update! So enjoy and I hope and pray every single one of you have a blessed week!
Blink the song
Blessings
~Mariah

Behind the scenes of Mighty Mariah

Hey Everyone! Wow! I can't believe its September already, just reminds us that every moment is precious and we need to cherish life and live it to the fullest! 
So this blog update is going to be telling you just how "Mighty Mariah" got started and the meaning behind the nickname! 
So when I joined  the youth group at my church we played this game it was a little ice breaker game to get to know each other in the group. What we had to do is we had to go around the room and find an adjective that best describes us that starts with the first letter of our name. So my name starts with M for Mariah and I couldn't think of anything and then someone said "Mighty" and I said sure that works and then a couple of weeks later I wanted to start blogging. When I first started off with my blog it was "Short Stuff" I didn't really think that was a positive side to me and it was my nickname in the town I grew up in but I can see that Mighty Mariah fits me better and its got a nice ring to it! But as this blog started getting more and more views, I felt the calling to make this not about me and telling you in this blog what I do on a daily basis but instead use this blog to share the mightiness of our Savior Jesus Christ! I believe with all my heart He is mighty to save! When I look at how many views this blog has gotten it just overwhelms me because just knowing that I have shared the mightiness of Savior with thousands of people in the United States and many more people from different countries. When I look at the name Mighty Mariah I don't think of me! I think of how mighty our Savior is and how He had enough mightiness in Him to take the burden of the worlds sin and go to the cross to save us! Getting flogged,beaten and killed for all us sinners! Now that is a MIGHTY Savior! I was looking through the bible a couple weeks ago trying to find a verse to connect to the name of this blog and I ran across Zephaniah 3:17 it says "For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior.
He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs" That verse kinda sums up the nickname that our Savior Jesus Christ is Mighty to save! It don't matter where you been or how far you have run! He is waiting with open arms to embrace you into His Kingdom that will give you EVERLASTING life! Jesus Christ is ABBA, He is the Alpha and Omega, He is the beginning and the end. But Our savior Is Mighty to save

I want to wrap up with this song called "Mighty to Save by Laura Story!

Mighty To Save Video

Enjoy!

Blessings to all

Mighty <3 Mariah

Zephaniah 3:17

Another school year is approaching!

Hey Everyone! Summer is almost over and most of you parents are looking over the list of things you need to get for your child to have a successful school year. Students you are probable looking into what    activities and groups you can get involved with this next year! This blog update is going to be for the students who are heading into this next year of school! My hope and my prayer for all the students is that you work hard and you strive to reach the goals you want to reach.
Let me first start off by saying school is a learning process. Every morning you get up and you never know what that day of school is going to bring. Some days of school are exciting and you can't wait to go to school! But..some kids just dread this next year...for some walking through those school doors is just flat out scary! Maybe there is a brand new kid who just needs a friend. Will you be bold and ask the new kid to join your group of friends or not? What will happen if you decline the chance to take someone new into the group of friends you have made this new school year? It doesn't matter what grade you are going into..making friends and allowing new people into your circle of friends isn't easy. But think about it...you don't know what has been going on in that new kids life. He maybe moved because he lost his house to a fire or his father lost his job and they had to move to another town and get enrolled into a different school or something else. For some kids school learning is also a challenge and then also fitting in is also a difficult thing. So take a chance and get to know someone new this school year! Or be bold and go out of your comfort zone and eat lunch with the kid who is sitting all by himself. If your in high school talk to the new kids who are in your high school! My challenge to all you students is be bold. Don't just stay hidden in your own little groups go out and meet new people and share the love of Christ just like He did for you! I want this to be a memorable school year for all you students. I pray you all have another blessed school year! I pray Gods blessing over all the students who will be going into elementary school, Junior high, High school and even college! God has great plans for you! He knows the plans He has for you this school year! He knows whats going to happen everyday throughout this school year before it even happens! Trust Him and He will guide you! I know all you students and teachers as well will have another great year! You can do all things through Christ who gives you strength! I am going to wrap up this blog with a bible verse...this verse comes from Philippians 4:6-7 Starting a new school year is nerve racking and anxiety producing but one of the bible verses that I held onto throughout the school year is this one and it says Do not be anxious about anything; instead,pray about EVERYTHING. Tell God what you need and thank Him for all he has done. Then you will experience Gods peace,which surpasses all understanding His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus!
Let me just write a quick prayer right now for all you students and teachers who are preparing for this year!
Will you pray with me?
Dear Almighty Father, I come before you and ask that all the students who are going into this next school year have a great and fun year! Father some kids out there are just anxious for this school year and I ask that you wrap your loving arms around them and give them the peace that surpasses understanding! Father I also ask that you guide the teachers so that they may help these children learn what they need to know to be a great success in this world!  Father you don't make failures you only create succeeders. Father I ask that you guide this next school year as you know what is going to happen everyday throughout this year before it even happens! God blesses the schools,bless the teachers and the faculty. We know we can do ALL things through Christ who gives us strength! Help all students to trust you and seek after you! Help them to be a light and show love to those around them in there schools,in their classrooms and in their homes. Father I pray this in your Mighty name, Amen!
Blessings to all
Mighty Mariah

Experience the Thrill of Jesus!!

Hey Everyone I know it has been a while since I have written a blog update! A lot has been happening!  So today I want to talk to you about Experiencing the thrill of Jesus! This past week my church (Lutheran Church of Hope which is one church multiple locations) we do Vacation Bible School every year! This years theme was called "Experience the Thrill of Jesus" It was so much fun! I attend Lutheran church of Hope in Ankeny, this year we had a ton of kids come to the morning session. At Hope Ankeny we have a morning session and a night session! Overall this past week was GREAT! Let me go a little in depth about what VBS was about. The theme of VBS was a theme park and it was a lot of fun. We had some pretty good skits played by Pastor Scott Rains and our worship leader Dustin Antoine! Scott Rains played a guy named Adventure Lance (get it? adventure land - adventure Lance)
Then Dustin our played the part of Dare Devil dood! He was a dare devil. Then Brent Rauch our Children's ministry leader played the part of Jesus! Then also this week we learned some actions to some cool songs! Thanks to Geneva, Amanda, Tina, Krissy who helped the kids learn the dance moves to the cool songs! The songs that were played at VBS are:
1. Jesus Style (parody to Gangnam style)
2. God time (Its always a God time)
3 Rock the boat (talks about God calming the storm)
4. Its time to party (This is an upbeat song that I love and it talks about Christ is risen and its a party!!)
5. My all time favorite...THE INTERLUDE! (I love how they put in the middle Jesus loves me that was awesome made the interlude even better)
Those were some of the songs that I really enjoyed!
Then at the end of the week we ended with a celebration at Lutheran Church of Hope in West Des Moines called "Taste of Hope" We had inflatables, worship,talent show, and food and more. It was just a lot of fun and then we ended the "Taste of Hope" party with awesome fireworks! Overall there were many kids who attended VBS this year and it was AWESOME!
Everyday is a new day to "Experience the Thrill of Jesus" You don't have to just experience it in a week...you can experience it wherever your at! God gives us moments in life where we think to ourselves "Wow" that was amazing my creator did that? or Wow Jesus blessed me with so much! Gods love is for EVERYONE! So open up your heart,your mind,your soul to Him and through Him and Him alone will you experience the THRILL OF A LIFETIME!
Here are some pictures from this past week of VBS 2013:

Adventure Lance leading us in prayer

Daredevil dood

Adventure lance eating Twinkie's

Eat those Twinkies Daredevil dood

Competitors for the Twinkie eating Contest

Brent dancing the Interlude!

Many kids praising Jesus

Britni teaching the kids about Jesus!

Praying to Jesus!

Praising Jesus with glow sticks!

Production Coordinator

Hope Ankeny Staff

I hope you enjoyed reading about our fun week of " Experiencing the Thrill of Jesus" I want you all to know that it doesn't just have to be something that happens in only a week! It can happen everyday! Everyday God blesses us with different things in our lives! Each day is a new day to experience it with Him our Mighty Savior...whos that? JESUS! He came so that we may have abundant life through him! 

I hope and pray each and everyone reading this gets a little taste of "experiencing life with Jesus! Once Jesus is in your heart and you believe He died for your sins "Man let me tell you it will be the most thrilling ride of your life!" Having Jesus in my heart its a thrilling experience! Life is as merely as long as a roller coaster ride at a fair! Life brings ups and downs,twists and turns and some of those downs and twists and turns may seem like its impossible to get through but Christ carries you through it. We need to enjoy the ride! We need to always keep our eyes open to what is ahead next...we don't know what will happen next but we can look around and see Gods beauty in what He has made and done in our own lives! For example if I went on a roller coaster ride (which won't happen cause I don't like roller coasters) and going up the big hill and that suspense you get in your stomach when your making your way to the top is scary for me my eyes would be completely shut! But in life things come at us that our scary for example death of a loved one, someone in your family gets sick keep your eyes open even before the scary drop just like a roller coaster..heck you can even put your hands in the air...and then before you know it the ride is over...Its like life...life is gone in the blink of an eye and then we will FOREVER be experiencing the THRILL OF OUR SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST!!

Amen? 

I hope you followed all of that! 

Blessings to all who read this 

Mighty <3 Mariah

 

In honor of Megan Hoogeveen 6/29/2011

In loving memory of Megan Hoogeveen
December 30 1992-June 29,2011

Hey Everyone! How is everyone doing on this beautiful morning that the Lord has made? This blog update is going to be about one of my friends who died of a rare disease called HLH. If you don't know what that is you will find out in this update. I am going to be honest I did not know Megan Hoogeveen very well! She did inspire me very much though! Megan inspired me to live life to the fullest and to enjoy the moments that come to me! Megan inspired me with her smile and when I saw her she always had a smile! That smile is so beautiful just like she was! Now the disease she had was called HLH that is short for (Hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis). This is a rare disease that I do not know much about. Today is the 2 year anniversary of her passing and what her family is doing is such a blessing to help fight against HLH and to raise money to find a cure for HLH. Megan's parents and brother started a website called Megan's Legacy and I will post the link to her page. I encourage you to check it out! I know when I did I learned some things about HLH I didn't know before! The only thing I knew about HLH is that it is a rare disease! Also on this page also known as Megan's page you will see poems,videos and pictures of Megan Hoogeveen and you will read about her story as well! I hope after you check it out that it touches your heart just like it has mine! 

I want to give a personal shout out to the hoogeveen family as this is a difficult time for you! Someone once told me that once you love someone they stay in your heart FOREVER! Megan is watching over you everyday and is with you even if you can't see her or be wiith her! 

I have a couple of songs that I think describe the long fight that Megan fought. There is one man who fought for Megan always throughout her life and throughout the lowest times and even when she was fighting the HLH. That man is God. A bible verse that now means so much to me is Jeremiah 29:11 It says For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord! Plans to prosper you and not to harm you! Plans to give you hope and a future!

The Lord will watch over our coming and going both now and forever more! that is from Psalm 121

So the songs I want to dedicate are:

1. - Open up our eyes-Elevation Worship

2. White Flag-Chris Tomlin

3. Skin-Rascal Flatts

I hope you find this blog update inspiring! 

I hope Megans story touches your heart just like it has mine check out Megans Legacy page! 

Blessings to all 

Mighty <3 Mariah

Gods reality is BIGGER then your reality

 Hello everyone! I hope you are all having a great day! Today is Father's day so I want to give a special shout out to all the dads out there, for all you do for your families and the love and joy and care you bring to this world!
So this blog post is going to be about one of the messages I heard  this past week at a youth conference I went to with my church family in Florida at Panama City Beach!
So we have a morning session and we have a night session then in the afternoon its just hang out on the beach. You have a choice of playing volleyball or basketball or swimming or hanging out in the sand! So it was fun to have that opportunity to hang out with friends as well! I want to talk a little bit about what one of the sessions were about. We talked about friendships and he described this as we are sitting in the middle and we have people on either side of us. Who's sitting next to you? Who are the friends that impact your life the most? The way the speaker laid the message across he used a thermometer and a thermostat! Let me explain. A thermometer takes the temperature you could set it outside in hot weather it would go up no question asked and it has no control whats so ever whether it goes up or down no matter what it will change by whats surrounding it! We do that don't we? We have friends that we hang out with and then we end up following into there ways. Where they go we will go! Maybe they smoke or do drugs and we think in our minds I won't ever do that until we become the thermometer. We change because of the people we hang out with and say we need to be a certain person we need to act a certain way to be accepted...NO not true!! God loves us He loves us for who we are WE DON'T HAVE TO CHANGE! Maybe we just need to be a thermostat and start something in our schools or at our work or in our homes! Cause I can guarantee you people will notice and some will be inspired but some will be the attack and will say to you "What you are  doing is the impossible! Well let me tell you this...anything....ANYTHING is possible when God is on your side! Are you hearing me? Be a thermostat not the thermometer
So to sum up quickly the rest of the week here's what we talked about
Day 1: was about walls in our life
Day 2: Friendships in our life
Day 3: fear we hold in our life
Day 4: Approval we think we need in life
So for me personally I could connect and I think I speak for many people this was AMAZING! God was on the move! I gotta wrap up my message other wise you will be reading a 5 page blog! but One thing that stuck out to me is what God sees is more then what we see. He sees his children doing great things, things we can't even imagine doing yet. So my prayer that week and continues to be for others as well is that God would open up our eyes to see what He sees. If you are reading this and you forget everything I have typed DON'T FORGET THIS...GODS REALITY IS BIGGER THEN YOUR REALITY! He sees his children doing great works to advance his kingdom! So GO be the light and shine through the world! If you have a passion for traveling the world, pray ask God to guide you and He will lead you! Or maybe you want to go to college...ask God to lead you to the right school that He has planned for you. Or maybe you want to look for a job...ask him to open your eyes to see what He wants you to do. Answer the calling God has called you to do! Now what was one word that was repeated in those last sentences? ASK! Ask what God wants to do with your life and I guarantee you He will show you! It doesn't always happen right away no that's not it sometimes you just have to be patient and wait on the Lord!
Amen?
So I have two songs that I want to share with you.
The first song is called I can't stop singing and literally when you are listening you can't be sitting when you hear this song it just makes you want to get up and dance so here it is I can't stop singing!
I can't stop singing-Seth Condrey
The next song is called Cornerstone! This song just makes my heart skip a beat its just an amazing song! Enjoy
Cornerstone-Hillsong
Heres some pictures from Bigstuf 2013!!!!

Lutheran church of Hope in the front row!

Jamie Dickens preaching on how Gods reality is bigger then ours!

Davis Patton on stage at Bigstuf

My friend Ashley enjoying the beautiful creation God made!

I am ready for some beach worship time!

Our awesome youth leader Brent Rauch

I forget this guys name but he did some pretty sweet magic tricks!

I hope you have enjoyed these photos and I hope the songs are very uplifting to you as they were to me this past week and how they continue to be!

Blessings to all!

Mighty <3 Mariah

Remember Gods reality is BIGGER then your reality!