God is Not Dead!!!

Greetings and Merry Christmas to you all,

I only seem to blog once in a while and I think I may become a little more active in this as since I've graduated I find that I have tons of time to read, and not just Sports Illustrated. I want to share with you some Christmas cheer and what it looks like from a group of High School kids from our community.
Within the last week, a 2011 graduate of DeWitt High School passed away from a heart condition after playing basketball with the Boys Swim Team in a dry land training event. It was truly a rough week for those that knew and even for those who didn't know Tylor Higgins. It's rough to think that a 19 year old could possibly have a heart condition that would take his life. It reminded me of the Wes Leonard death from the young man from Fennville after he hit a big shot in a game earlier this year. It doesn't seem right. To me this shows us all that God is not dead. He's surely alive and allowing for His will to be done. It doesn't always feel real good when He does though. So the question that comes to my mind is what should we do when His will is being done and we don't understand. Well, one thing we can do is realize that God is like a gazzillion times smarter than us and our little human brains can't even fathom what His will is or we can take a cue from Jesus and go to the Lord in prayer. Not that His will will change, but maybe to help us come to grips with what has happened.
Back to my God's not Dead thinking. God is not Dead is a new album (look at me showing my age), by the Newsboys. But it's also a truth that we live with everyday and even more this month as we go downhill toward the celebration day of Jesus' birth. He is alive and well!!!
The youth of this church, and this community are continuing to amaze me this year with their compassion and willingness to be lights for Jesus in this crazy world. This morning in a celebration of Tylor Higgins life, two members of CREW (our High School Ministry) took on a monumental task of organizing a prayer time for students to pray for Tylor's family, to remember Tylor's life, and just come together for a moment to come to grips with losing one of their own. I am so proud to report that through their social invitation on Facebook and through Bible Studies and CREW that over 70 people, including the DeWitt High boys swim coach and a family friend of the Higgins family joined the prayer. They prayed at the pole in front of the High School and moved over to the band field to finish. Tylor was a swimmer and a member of the band. I am so proud of the kids in this community who are coming together and showing the community of DeWitt that God is not dead and He will not sit behind and not show Himself manifested through a group of teenagers who love Him without question! Amazing!!!
God is not Dead my friends, He's living on the inside and roaring like a lion. Let Him out this holiday season and share Him and His love with everyone you can. ***This was taken December 1, 2011 in front of DeWitt High School