Sunday Morning Scramble School - The Latest Summer Review Ever

Hey y'all!

I know, I'm the worst blogger in the world (I'm sorry), and this post is from the summer which has definitely passed (from the early mornings and darker evenings that I see everyday now), :( but it doesn't mean that you can't read it and enjoy it! Hopefully, haha. Like Josh said, tennis, academics, and life in general are getting to me. It's getting busy, which will only increase to my demise. WILL IT EVER STOP SO I CAN ACTUALLY WRITE A POST AND SCRIPTS ON TIME (yeahh... I have a verse though to share with you!)

"28 'Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.' " -Matthew 11:28-30 

This world is full of stress, non-stop work, and just overall busyness, but in the midst of it all, we can find comfort and rest in our Lord and Savior! Don't forget that as you go through your new week! :) 

Below in black is my summer post, and in this color will be extra comments of mine. Summer here we come! 

{HELLO MY LOVELY READERS. HOW I'VE MISSED THE INTERNET (NOT REALLY...)

I'm in trouble. And I haven't blogged since. Forever. I'm so sorry T_T. To make it up, I'm doing an extra long post. Telling you all about the summer (yay Odyssey Related to Reality). (This will be long. I promise. I should draw you some pictures so you can smile and think "Odyssey"! Or happy thoughts...ANYWAYS) 

Josh came back from Yale yesterday (Yay!) Hope you caught up with his adventures and work and stress on his ILC blog (the work and adventures and stress have not ended - college apps and seniorlyfe)!

I went to a camp called CBM (Chinese Bible Ministries) and it's totally awesome-a week away from the world in the great outdoors with a bunch of well... (majority wise) Asian kids from Chinese Christian churches! You get to meet new friends, have workshops and learn way more about God, and interact with everyone through a whole bunch of games and free time! (Kinda like Camp What-A-Nut - a lot of activities, competitions, the great outdoor experience.) This was my first time at the high school camp. The year before was my very first year at a CBM camp, but I had gone to the junior high camp!

My parents drove us on a lovely Monday afternoon with four of my friends two hours up to the camp! Many became homesick (even when they arrived at my house!) but I was excited. This was my second time at a CBM camp and my first time was totally awesome! I couldn't wait for another week of learning what God was trying to tell me and meeting a whole bunch of kids and seeing some old faces! Things were going to get interesting and God taught me so much - even in six days.

Confession time:
In the beginning and even now...
I admit that I felt like I couldn't hear God speaking to me. Sometimes I'd lie in bed waiting and trying to erase everything from my mind (impossible for me...) and hear Him trying to verbally say something. And I wouldn't be able to hear anything. It'd frustrate me because I thought God wasn't speaking to me. I felt lost, confused, and unsure about what God was calling me to do. I guess that's kinda like Camilla in Your Servant is Listening.

Going off topic a little...
HEY GUYS DID YOU HEAR THE NEW EPISODES HUH HUH HUH HUH :D YAY. I WAS EXCITED. AND I LIKED THE EPISODES. WE'LL TALK ABOUT IT LATER, BUT BACK TO CBM...

We arrived at camp. And like last year, many of the churches had and were arriving. Compared to us, THEY'RE HUGE. Like forty kids in buses or even more. In total I think CBM High School Camp had about...guessing over 200? Lots of Asian people. We only brought five kids from our church o.o in a van. Thankfully my two girl friends (both sisters) and I were in the same cabin so we'd be together and the other two guys (both brothers) would be together. The camp grounds were HUGE compared to the original site where CBM used to be! There was so much walking, but it was good, :D 'cuz we all need exercise right? The bad part about it being so big was that it was harder to make new friends since mostly everyone stuck with their church groups and were more spread out.

I was feeling good as I stepped out of the van, but I got kinda scared. I wondered if I'd fit in with these kids. I wondered if I'd be able to make friends and continue to be friends. I was getting anxious (AND IF YOU GUYS GET ANXIOUS, TELL YOURSELF PHILIPPIANS 4:6-7. :) It's a great verse). And as I tried, I felt it was harder to reach out to make friends because it seemed as if everyone already knew each other and had their own groups. Was I going to meet tons of new kids or just stick with my childhood friends? Man, it was only the first day of camp, and I was already stressing and doubting God's power.

My workshops were "Sexuality in the Bible" and "The Problem of Evil". Total wise, there were six workshops, three on Tuesday and Wednesday, and the other three on Thursday and Friday. Each workshop was lead by a pastor from a different church, and each held a number of kids and counselors who wanted to take them.

In the "Sexuality in the Bible" taught about what God's purpose was for marital sex, and the corruption of sexuality (lusts...) It sounds like an awkward subject right? It totally is, but now I know whenever the lusts or things are shown around me, I shall pursue Christ! That's what we're supposed to do! We're surrounded by a world who makes immorality seem normal- in the internet, dramas, TV, movies, songs, all entertainment. It's like "Soaplessly Devoted" where Erica's favorite show was trashy and immoral (wording from AIO Wikipedia page). 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 tells us to flee this, and we should pursue sanctification instead (1 Thessalonians 4 and 1 Timothy 5:1-2). God gives us to strength to get rid of these thoughts and feelings. He gives you and me the strength to say no to temptation and lusts.

"No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it"-1 Corinthians 10:13

Ever want a great book to read about the idols of our lives, check out Gods At War by Kyle Idleman.

"The Problem of Evil" workshop was very good. The question asked was "If God is good, then why does He let bad things happen?" I had always wondered how to respond to people who asked that.
We learned about four elements:
1. God is all good
2. God is all powerful
3. God exists
4. Evil exists
We proved that they existed from a biblical standpoint.
The fifth element that makes the first four work together is that God has a GLORIOUS purpose for evil. What is that purpose? Romans 3:3-5, Romans 5:8, and Romans 9:17, 20-21, 22 tells us that it's because it's to glorify God. We always think our lives is about us right? To our surprise, it's not. It's all about God. We all suffer, in different ways, in some ways more than others. But we have our Father to call upon.

SPOILER DON'T READ THIS IF YOU HAVEN'T LISTENED TO THE RECENT ALBUM 57 EPISODES I REPEAT IF YOU DON'T WANT TO BE SPOILED DON'T READ THE BLUE BELOW

Like Connie, when her mother passed, she wondered why did God take her mother home now, at this time. At the time, Connie didn't know why this would even happen, but despite the tragedy, Connie learned the lessons of comfort in God, and is going to help out Jeff Lewis in his missionary work. The only way she found out about his work was because of her mother's funeral. I'm not saying that it was a good thing June died, I'm saying God has a purpose for everything that happens in your life, good or bad, whether you know it or not. It's a matter of if you trust Him in the midst of the situation you're in, or you go flying in solo. Uncertainty needs trust, so if you're ever concerned about what God has in store for you, learn to lean on His sovereignty. 

This reminds me of the bible story about Job, and the Odyssey episode of "Bernard and Job". Lisa learned that when life treats you unfairly, the blame should not go to God and that God is in control of all things.
So, in a world of evil in the dark, what are your responses to evil, things that are unfair to you, or suffering? How can you give it all to God when everything seems to be caving in?

One of my highlights of CBM was campfire, where everyone in the whole camp all gather in the amphitheater and we all sing and some people share about their highlights. It's a blessing and an encouragement to hear how the camp has impacted them or helped them in their walk with God, and how excited they are to share about Christ! The sharing definitely involves tears, hearing tragic events that have occurred, but it always ends with God coming through (what can we learn from that? :) He'll come through!) It was definitely cold, but the body heat and testimonies warmed me up.

As the week went by, I met so many people, but I only became close friends with a few. I learned that it doesn't matter how many friends you make, but who you're friends with. These people that I befriended have absolutely been God's blessings to me by checking in on me, praying for me, and being always there to talk about Him. It's awesome to see how God places people in our lives during different stages, and how they affect you during that time. I miss them all so much: my friends, the counselors, the camp environment. But with a week of knowledge, encouragement, and our bibles, we're ready to be God's messengers, to go bold, go strong and go FISH!}

In the summer, my family and I had an awesome trip to Canada! Puppy really wants to post about that trip (and show off his "model" pictures of the house), so I'll let him take care of that :) 

 THIS IS ME. HELLO WORLD. Do you subscribe to Clubhouse? Does your little siblings or cousins or neighbors? Well then you can see my art that I submitted and all the other cool creative games and ideas in the Clubhouse Members Magazine 2013! Second year in a row! (I was in the 2012 version as well!) Both Odyssey related :) I did the theme of the Fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22) and tried to incorporate all of them into something the Odyssians could all do together-hence the theater and a Fruits of the Spirit play, which totally go together! Penny and her talent are at work making a poster for Connie who's trying to direct everyone, but of course everyone is going crazy and not paying attention to a surprisingly calm Ms. Kendall. If you see the girl in the background with the black hair and orange tee, I based it off myself hahaha. I know, so original, but it felt so empty there. The whole Odyssey gang is there (except Whit :( maybe he was taking a picture of this chaotic scene). Jay, Priscilla, the Jones, Nelson, Ryan Cummings, the Jones, and the Parkers are all in it to help out! Check it out! It was a lot of fun to draw! :)

So for most of the Internet people I know, I make pictures for their birthdays (and they're always late haha). This one is for Kevin McCreary, The Ceiling Fan Podcast creator, writer, and actor! As you can see, Josh and I are in there, with Garrett Vandenberg and his guitar playing a HBD tune. Kevin's character, Ethan, is with Connie, who he really likes haha. And what do you know-Jimmy Barclay is there too! All old and grown up... with a soul patch! The markers that I used for this picture were COPICS, alcoholic markers that you can find at specialty art stores (super worth it :3)!

Now my life is just: school. School consists of music, homework, and tennis (which is ending soon!), as well as other stuff, like art, letters, and blogging, now and then. It's getting busy, but God has been helping me get through it and He'll continue to help! I just wish I had more sleep... Yay, a long satisfying post :3 (well, I'm satisfied! I hope the same goes for all of you :P) I hope you all have awesome weeks, I shall be back soon! 

CHALLENGE:
HEY - GO COMPLIMENT SOMEONE RANDOMLY AND MAKE THEIR DAY. :) It's so fun to do that, just randomly messaging someone and checking up on them. It's fun for me because I LIKE FELLOWSHIP. IT'S NOT THAT HARD SO IT SHOULDN'T BE A CHALLENGE... JUST GO DO IT!!!! 


  

Sunday Morning Scramble School - God is our Father

NOTE: Elements of today's SMSS are taken from Pastor Peter Wang's sermon at CBM Camp on Wednesday, August 1, 2012, entitled "Born of the Spirit," and covering Luke 15:11-32 and John 3:16-17.

Hey everyone; if you've read our Camp What-a-Nut Experience post, you'll know that we learned a lot at CBM Camp, and we intend to share it all with you! So today we'll be talking about fathers, which is conveniently a topic that Odyssey has talked about in many an episode.

Our fathers are not perfect. They're flawed human beings who have just been around a lot longer than the younger generation, and although they're not perfect, they can be very wise and instructive in teaching their kids about the Bible. Adventures in Odyssey has done a great job at showing fathers at both ends of the spectrum. There's always been a strong family figure in all of Odyssey's history, most notably George Barclay, Mike Mulligan, Ed Washington, and David Parker, although there have been many more. We also see examples of fathers struggling to be a "good father" or not trying, like Carson McKay. Album 46: A Date With Dad (and Other Calamities) has a central theme of fatherhood. Eugene, with Mr. Whittaker's help, searches for his long-lost father; Tamika and Ed learn about respect for parents and acknowledging the stages of kids' lives; the Washingtons learn about the difficulties of adulthood; Mandy learns that parents don't always do what their children want them to do; and Grady learns about our heavenly Father.

God is "our Father in heaven." What does that even mean? Ephesians 1 has a lot to say about the blessings we have in Christ. "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.  In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will- to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will." (Ephesians 1: 3-6, 11 [NIV]) God chose us, before the world even began, to be His children! Whit tells Grady in Three O'Clock Call (Album 46: A Date with Dad and Other Calamities) that "Like a father, God loves us, protects us, and teaches us. He's the perfect Father, better than any father on earth. God will never disappoint you."

Ephesians 1:5 says that we have been adopted as his children through Jesus Christ. Jesus bridged the gap between us and God - he gave us the WAY to God, the TRUTH of the Gospel, and a new LIFE in Him! In The Prodigal Jimmy, Jimmy disobeys his dad and squanders all of his money on video games. When he acknowledged that he sinned, and humbled himself, he was greeted with a great big hug from his dad. The parallel to the parable of the Prodigal Son doesn't include the older son, who asks why the younger son gets a party when he doesn't. This attitude is religion-based (see the previous SMSS post on right and wrong beliefs about Christianity) and the wrong attitude that Christians should have for the lost. We should join the party and rejoice when someone commits their life to Christ because they are receiving new life!

Romans 8:23 (NIV) says that "Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies." As we grow in Him, we should get ready for when Jesus comes back; the "redemption of our bodies." This is exciting news! As Kelly learns through her adventures in Odyssey, she is chosen, not only by her temporary stepparents, but by God himself (The Chosen One (Album 47: Into the Light) and The Imagination Station, Revisited (Album 50: The Best Small Town)). If you haven't accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, talk to someone you trust who's a Christian to find out how you can adopted into God's family and be one of His children. He loves you very much, and he's willing to adopt you, but it's up to you to "sign the adoption papers," to borrow the colloquialism, or lack of one. 

Hope you enjoyed today's SMSS! It's been a busy week with not much time to post (EVIDENCE: I slept for an average of three hours this past week.). We'll see if things slow down this week...but I'm trying to finish our entry for the GITS Music Video Contest, working on a logo for another video, and doing research for new clubs that I joined (the Model U.N. Club, Philosophy Club, Literary Magazine, Interact, Key Club, PBinJ [People Believing in Jesus], and the Naptime Club), so hopefully we'll get some stuff up! The fall season of Odyssey will kick off October 6, and you'll be able to read our reviews of Album 56 as they air! I'm also starting to write the review for Whit's Flop and updating the Phone Book to line up with where we are in reviews. Thanks for reading!

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Purchase Album 46: A Date with Dad (and Other Calamities) on CBD
Read past Sunday Morning Scramble Schools

Sunday Morning Scramble School - Christianity Fact or Fiction

NOTE: Elements of today's SMSS are taken from Pastor Peter Wang's sermon at CBM Camp on Tuesday, July 31, entitled "In the Flesh," and covering Philippians 3:2-11.

Well, if you've read our Camp What-a-nut Experience post, you'll know that we have a lot of SMSS to cover. So today, we'll be talking about...wrong beliefs about Christianity! Don't worry, there's nothing controversial...I think. xD

WB#1: Legalism - the belief that you can earn your way to heaven by doing good deeds; or that the better you obey the rules, the better Christian you are!

ODYSSEY APPLICATIONS: Lucy in Have You No Selpurcs? (Album 9: Just in Time), Saul in the Saint Paul series (Album 23: Twists and Turns, Album 26: Back on the Air) 

• Lucy is the goodie two-shoes in Odyssey Generation One. Whether it's complaining about missing the church clean-up day (Return to the Bible Room, Album 2: The Wildest Summer Ever) or being a good campaign manager to Curt's very true-to-life campaign thinking (By Any Other Name, Album 8: Beyond Expectations), Lucy always tries to do what's right. But occasionally, she'll congratulate herself...in Have You No Selpurcs?, Lucy felt proud of herself for always making the right decision in the game and looking down at Curt for making the wrong choice.

WB#2: Intellectualism - the belief that you're a great Christian if you know a lot about the Bible

ODYSSEY APPLICATION: Olivia in Wooton Knows Best (Album 54: Clanging Cymbals)

• Olivia tried to gain Wooton's approval by memorizing 1 Corinthians 13...and when he didn't choose her to be his assistant, she went all unbrotherly love on Matthew. Mr. Parker gently reminds her that "as proud as your mother and I are of you memorizing Scripture, it means more to us that you apply it." Man...that should totally have won Best Scene at the Averys.
• SIDENOTE: There are tons of professors who know the Bible in ten different languages and memorized multiple chapters, yet aren't Christians. Memorizing Scripture doesn't mean anything unless you use it. You use or you lose.

WB#3: Cultural Christian - the belief that you're a great Christian if you do Christian things like going to church

ODYSSEY APPLICATION: Mandy in Only By His Grace (Album 48: Moment of Truth)

• Mandy is the goodie two-shoes in Odyssey Generation Two. But when her parents seperate, Mandy thinks that if she does all these good things, like feeding the hungry and helping Whit teach Sunday School, God will make her parents get back together...but it's by grace that God blesses and tests us!

Now, let's look at some right beliefs from Philippians 3:8-10 (HCSB)!

Philippians 3: 8 More than that, I also consider everything to be a loss of all things and consider them filth, so that I may gain Christ

In The Toy Man (Album 39: Friends, Family, and Countrymen) and The Chosen One (Album 47: Into the Light), the Washingtons give up a life of "comfort and ease" to gain Christ by operating Whit's End Connellsville and bringing Kelly into their home to share God's love.

3:9 and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own from the law, but one that is through faith in Christ-the righteousness from God based on faith.

This verse compares the self-righteous attitudes that Lucy, Saul, Mandy, Olivia, and Joshua Meanie have all had to the righteousness we can have from God if we have faith in Him!

3:10 My goal is to know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to his death

Here are the signs of knowing Christ: knowing the power of HIs resurrection, sharing in suffering with Christ, and becoming like him (not trying to be him, like Connie did in Let This Mind Be in You, Album 4: FUNdamentals). A Christian is a person who is grateful because they are transformed by the grace of God (A Christian is much more, I'm just sharing one aspect of it)! As we look after the conversions of Whit (Thank You, God, Album 3: Heroes), Connie, Eugene, Katrina, the Sellars, June, Aubrey, Leonard, Grady, and Kelly; we see how God's love takes over and transforms them. And hopefully, like our friends in Odyssey, we can continue to grow in knowing and loving Christ. 

NOTE: I think we have a pattern here! We'll alternate on reviewing and SMSSing and throw  in Odyssey in the real world articles every once in a while. Please comment and let us know what you liked and what you want changed! And enjoy the new logo, created by the wonderful Wooton Bassett over at the Unofficial AIO Blog (see the links on the right). You can also become a follower of the blog by joining on the right column; it'd be great if you did to get a better idea of who's reading and adjusting for the right demographic and other technological mumbo jumbo. School begins Monday; so pray for me and Ally - for rest and to have time to post! 

ANOTHER NOTE: We're working hard to bring you two new features to the blog...and they'll hopefully be out by the end of the year! Get excited!

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Albums 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 23, 26, 39, 47, 48, and 54 are all available for purchase at CBD by clicking here. Simply type in the name of the album in the search box.

For more information on these albums, visit AIO Wiki by clicking here and typing in the name of the album in the search box.

Read our first Sunday Morning Scramble School on Idolatry, featuring more Odyssey and McKalister Park references.

Sunday Morning Scramble School - Idolatry

So in Sunday School for the past two weeks, we've been talking about idolatry. Now, I know that when most of us hear the world "idol," we're either thinking about statues (like Baal in the Israelites' time) or American Idol. But one quote we read from Martin Luther was very interesting:

"As [the First] Commandment is the very first, highest, and best, from which all the others proceed...so also its work, that is, faith or confidence in God's favor at all times, is the very first, highest and best, f rom which all other [works] must proceed, exist, remain, be directed and measured."

Whenever we sin, the root cause is a heart idol, something that replaces God as the most important thing in our lives. As usual, Sunday School reminded me of a couple Odyssey episodes (and an Odyssey song) that deal with idols in our lives.

• Between You and Me, Album 39: Friends, Family, and Countrymen
• In My Image, The Truth Chronicles
• Good Things, Performed by M'kalister Park, Written by Garrett Vandenburg

In Between You and Me, Connie and Mitch begin to spend a lot of time with each other after Mitch's return from the Witness Protection Program, which cuts into Bible study. In this case, Connie and Mitch's idol is their relationship. I love it when Connie gets distressed over Mitch's possible decision and tries to find Whit, but he seems to be trying to avoid her. When she finally gets to talk to him, she tells him that she feels like everyone has abandoned her, even God. Whit looks at her with that sad smile (in my head) and says (in that warm, grandfatherly way), "But who abandoned whom?" This has grown to be one of my favorite Whit scenes, but the emphasis here is putting God preeminently in our lives, not just prominently or remembering him at mealtimes.

In My Image uses the story of William, Affirmus, and Otto to illustrate the idol of ourselves. We don't like God telling us what to do, so we ignore him and rebel by doing what we want to do, which is sin. Thing is, if we're our own god, and we try to get them to follow our ways, it only makes us unhappy. It's only by following God and his paths to find true joy. 

Good Things by Garrett Vandenburg even illustrates how good things, like Adventures in Odyssey, can be idols if they are a higher priority and prominence than God.

It's my addiction

I can't resist the attraction

It's so easy

To lose myself in a place called Odyssey

Is it a sin

If I can't control my reaction?

I can't help but see

That it's starting to take over me

'Cause when good things

Become bad things

You can't exactly trust your gut

And when good things

Become bad things

You can tell because it's never enough

It's never enough

Am I the only one

Who can't control this monster?

Such a simple thing

And it's become such a disaster

'Cause when good things 

Become bad things

When you let them take over your life

And when good things

Become bad things

It gets so hard to see what's right

Thanks for reading, everybody! Hopefully, as you go through life, you can draw parallels from Odyssey to the Bible to your life. 'Cause while there's good things, there's even better: the Lord of Lords and King of Kings.

For more information:

Good Things from M'kalister Park, an Odyssey tribute band

Album 39: Friends, Family, and Countrymen

The Truth Chronicles

Hey guys, if you have time, it'd be great if you commented and let us know what you think! And hopefully we'll post about our Live Show experience pretty soon (because it was wonderful, exciting, and discoverable).