Hey all! Hoping that your summer is going great. I had the incredible
opportunity to interview Jeremy & Ryan last month. It was amazing
and they are so funny!
I'd like to thank Lucas who
recorded the whole interview. Thank you so much Lucas! Please go and
look at his website LH Photography http://lucas-hamilton.smugmug.com He takes the best photos and is super talented.
I would also like to thank Mary Arkfeld who photographed the interview. Capturing awesome pictures and who is always so sweet!
Last
but not least it's my pleasure to thank Jeremy & Ryan who are such
talented guys. God has blessed them with many gifts! It was such a major
blessing to interview you guys and thank you for being so genuine and
kind.
Jeremy & Ryan's website: http://www.jeremyandryan.com
Tell your youth ministers about them and get them for your church,
festivals, and retreats! You won't regret it they put on an amazing show
Enjoy the interview :)
Thursday, July 23, 2015
Wednesday, July 22, 2015
Stand Up And Follow Me
Oh don't you dare look back just keep your eyes on me, I said I'm holding back he said, 'stand up and follow me,' my savior is my destiny he said, 'ooo stand up and follow me.'
Hey everyone! it's already July and if you're like me you can't believe it Summer is flying bye. I hope your summer has started off well with plenty of blessings and adventures. I'll start by saying the start of my official summer at the end of June was incredible and I wouldn't think of starting it off any other way.
Every year in Costa Mesa, California our Catholic Homeschooling group puts on a conference with talks, vendors, and you can also buy books for your upcoming semester of school. It's always been something I look forward too since we've had Teen Track which is simply what my parents have put together to keep us teens busy all day while the parents are listening to awesome speakers.
For the past two years we have had the Christian rock band Jeremy & Ryan who you have heard me talk about many times before. God has abundantly blessed us with them for the last two years because every year it's obvious that us teens have taken something from the day.
This year Jeremy and Ryan made a parody of the famous pop song Shut Up And Dance With Me by Walk The Moon. There version is called Stand Up and Follow Me and if you haven't heard it, you need too.
There have been a lot of things going on in our country lately. As Catholics we have to try and fight back on some of the things that have become legal. Gay Marriage has become one of the things our country has legalized and on my facebook I've seen so many mixed feelings. I wanted to post something on it the day it was legalized but then I realized that someone may not agree with my views on it and would start an argument over our different beliefs so I didn't post. A few days passed and our country was put to the test again by voting on Assisted Suicide which made me so mad and so sad so I decided to take action on it and the power of the Holy Spirit burned inside of me.
I was thinking of things I could do to help this country from legalizing Assisted Suicide and nothing came to mind. It was by the Grace Of God that I was listening to my Ipod when Stand Up And Follow Me came on. I then knew what I needed to do. That night I sat on my bed with my rosary and prayed. I prayed so hard on that rosary and told God to use me to help this country and to tell other people who may have different views on this subject about my opinion and may it enlighten them.
I knew that the only person who could stop Assisted Suicide from becoming legal was God. I also knew I could put my trust in God that he would use me. I prayed one of the most strongest prayers The Hail Mary over and over again. I ended up saying the rosary.
I woke up the next morning and I was filled with so much joy finding out Assisted Suicide had been taken down from the agenda was was not legalized in California. God was working so hard in congress that day. St. Michael I felt was fighting for us.
As Catholics in this time and era our faith is being attacked in the worst way possible. What are we doing about it? We can't just say prayers and hope for the best. Prayers are amazing, don't think prayer isn't helping because it is but what else can we do to save the weak ones and fight with our brothers and sisters?
The Devil is not dead in today's world he is so very active and it's such a scary thing to think about but what's even scarier is we aren't doing anything to fight him back. We need to put our God armor on, grab our swords, do the sign of the cross and fight.
I'm not implying that you should physically/verbally fight people who have different views and who don't understand but we need to start acting and not just saying we are going to take action because usually when we say we will, we don't.
Take one step at a time because we weren't put here to do nothing. We were put here to spread the good news of God and to teach the lost people about Him. In Matthew 5:14-15 it says, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."
Do not be afraid of going out though. Psalm 91:11 says, "For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways." God wants you to fight, he wants you to put on your armor. Your guardian angel is equipped with everything they will need to protect you either while you are preaching God's word or helping the homeless.
It takes time and it takes effort and strength so tonight before you fall asleep instead of thinking about the next day ahead of you, school, or work, unwind by asking God to give you strength to do his will tomorrow, the next day, and this year. You'll not be disappointed in how God uses you.
People very close to me are out doing God's will. One of my great youth ministers is out in Georgia helping kids find their calling in the Catholic church. A very close family friend of our family is in Thailand right now helping kids. It doesn't matter if you are in Georgia, Thailand, or your hometown. There are people who need to hear about God everywhere in this world.
Be the salt and light of the world! Take a deep breath, do the sign of the cross, ask God to use you today because I asked God to use me one day and he did but I was too afraid to share about God's glory to this person who wanted to talk about church. It did happen though that God used me and of all places at the mall with one of the sales clerks. I didn't even expect it to happen. It just goes to show you the power of God is nothing to overlook.
A couple words from me about the choices our country is making right now: I don't hate gay people, I don't hate people who are homosexual, I don't hate those who try and fight my beliefs. I simply pray for them because they don't know how gracious our God is. People get confused. They think God will not judge them any less then God will judge us on judgment day. They don't think they are any different. God still loves them, yes. After all they are his children but what they fail to understand is God made marriage for men and women. I saw a post on Facebook that said God made marriage for Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve. God made a person for you, and they are coming but it may take time. Men and men should be kept as being friends (Same with women and women) because God did not make gay marriage, people did and that should scream louder than anything I can write. I know tons of people will find some way to fight this because I've seen so many but hear me out before you state your opinion just because you put a rainbow filter on your profile picture of facebook think for a second. The rainbow was made by God. It was the sign of his promise not a statement to represent equality. Catholics needs to understand we don't need to hate these people who are gay we just need to stand by our Faith because a lot of people think, 'oh yes lets get married because we are so happy.' Happiness doesn't mean to get married. God's plan will make you much more happier than any marriage. Gay marriage is such an argument right now and please hear me out just because Catholics aren't screaming doesn't mean your argument is any more right just because your louder.
May the peace of God be with you and may you have strength to stand up for these things as I need strength too. Pray for people who are getting married to the same sex. It's not marriage, it is not even a celebration it is pleasure of the evil of the world.
Fearlessly,
Sammy
Hey everyone! it's already July and if you're like me you can't believe it Summer is flying bye. I hope your summer has started off well with plenty of blessings and adventures. I'll start by saying the start of my official summer at the end of June was incredible and I wouldn't think of starting it off any other way.
Every year in Costa Mesa, California our Catholic Homeschooling group puts on a conference with talks, vendors, and you can also buy books for your upcoming semester of school. It's always been something I look forward too since we've had Teen Track which is simply what my parents have put together to keep us teens busy all day while the parents are listening to awesome speakers.
For the past two years we have had the Christian rock band Jeremy & Ryan who you have heard me talk about many times before. God has abundantly blessed us with them for the last two years because every year it's obvious that us teens have taken something from the day.
This year Jeremy and Ryan made a parody of the famous pop song Shut Up And Dance With Me by Walk The Moon. There version is called Stand Up and Follow Me and if you haven't heard it, you need too.
There have been a lot of things going on in our country lately. As Catholics we have to try and fight back on some of the things that have become legal. Gay Marriage has become one of the things our country has legalized and on my facebook I've seen so many mixed feelings. I wanted to post something on it the day it was legalized but then I realized that someone may not agree with my views on it and would start an argument over our different beliefs so I didn't post. A few days passed and our country was put to the test again by voting on Assisted Suicide which made me so mad and so sad so I decided to take action on it and the power of the Holy Spirit burned inside of me.
I was thinking of things I could do to help this country from legalizing Assisted Suicide and nothing came to mind. It was by the Grace Of God that I was listening to my Ipod when Stand Up And Follow Me came on. I then knew what I needed to do. That night I sat on my bed with my rosary and prayed. I prayed so hard on that rosary and told God to use me to help this country and to tell other people who may have different views on this subject about my opinion and may it enlighten them.
I knew that the only person who could stop Assisted Suicide from becoming legal was God. I also knew I could put my trust in God that he would use me. I prayed one of the most strongest prayers The Hail Mary over and over again. I ended up saying the rosary.
I woke up the next morning and I was filled with so much joy finding out Assisted Suicide had been taken down from the agenda was was not legalized in California. God was working so hard in congress that day. St. Michael I felt was fighting for us.
As Catholics in this time and era our faith is being attacked in the worst way possible. What are we doing about it? We can't just say prayers and hope for the best. Prayers are amazing, don't think prayer isn't helping because it is but what else can we do to save the weak ones and fight with our brothers and sisters?
The Devil is not dead in today's world he is so very active and it's such a scary thing to think about but what's even scarier is we aren't doing anything to fight him back. We need to put our God armor on, grab our swords, do the sign of the cross and fight.
I'm not implying that you should physically/verbally fight people who have different views and who don't understand but we need to start acting and not just saying we are going to take action because usually when we say we will, we don't.
Take one step at a time because we weren't put here to do nothing. We were put here to spread the good news of God and to teach the lost people about Him. In Matthew 5:14-15 it says, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven."
Do not be afraid of going out though. Psalm 91:11 says, "For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways." God wants you to fight, he wants you to put on your armor. Your guardian angel is equipped with everything they will need to protect you either while you are preaching God's word or helping the homeless.
It takes time and it takes effort and strength so tonight before you fall asleep instead of thinking about the next day ahead of you, school, or work, unwind by asking God to give you strength to do his will tomorrow, the next day, and this year. You'll not be disappointed in how God uses you.
People very close to me are out doing God's will. One of my great youth ministers is out in Georgia helping kids find their calling in the Catholic church. A very close family friend of our family is in Thailand right now helping kids. It doesn't matter if you are in Georgia, Thailand, or your hometown. There are people who need to hear about God everywhere in this world.
Be the salt and light of the world! Take a deep breath, do the sign of the cross, ask God to use you today because I asked God to use me one day and he did but I was too afraid to share about God's glory to this person who wanted to talk about church. It did happen though that God used me and of all places at the mall with one of the sales clerks. I didn't even expect it to happen. It just goes to show you the power of God is nothing to overlook.
A couple words from me about the choices our country is making right now: I don't hate gay people, I don't hate people who are homosexual, I don't hate those who try and fight my beliefs. I simply pray for them because they don't know how gracious our God is. People get confused. They think God will not judge them any less then God will judge us on judgment day. They don't think they are any different. God still loves them, yes. After all they are his children but what they fail to understand is God made marriage for men and women. I saw a post on Facebook that said God made marriage for Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve. God made a person for you, and they are coming but it may take time. Men and men should be kept as being friends (Same with women and women) because God did not make gay marriage, people did and that should scream louder than anything I can write. I know tons of people will find some way to fight this because I've seen so many but hear me out before you state your opinion just because you put a rainbow filter on your profile picture of facebook think for a second. The rainbow was made by God. It was the sign of his promise not a statement to represent equality. Catholics needs to understand we don't need to hate these people who are gay we just need to stand by our Faith because a lot of people think, 'oh yes lets get married because we are so happy.' Happiness doesn't mean to get married. God's plan will make you much more happier than any marriage. Gay marriage is such an argument right now and please hear me out just because Catholics aren't screaming doesn't mean your argument is any more right just because your louder.
May the peace of God be with you and may you have strength to stand up for these things as I need strength too. Pray for people who are getting married to the same sex. It's not marriage, it is not even a celebration it is pleasure of the evil of the world.
Fearlessly,
Sammy
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