Hi Fathful Blog-Checkers!

I apologize that I haven’t updated, or if I have, it’s been few and far between.  And I can’t promise any better, because my life is so insanely busy that I feel like I don’t have time for anything.

So, here’s what’s been up.  :)

Last Saturday was the Rebelution conference in Indianapolis.   I cannot even begin to convey in this blog post how incredibly blessed, inspired, encouraged, and strengthened I am.  This conference was one of the highlights of my year.  Alex and Brett Harris (the founders of the Rebelution), along with their dad, spoke about rising up and doing hard things for the glory of God.  Alex talked about the myth of adolescence.  He talked abut the shackles our society puts on teenagers today, and the importace of stepping out and breaking those shackes. Brett talked about the necessity of doing hard things, and how we can do hard things.  Their dad talked about character and competence.  I’m telling you, it was absolutely incredible.  The message was right on; it just hit me like a ton of bricks.  Like I said before, I can’t even begin to convey to you all that I learned.

I bought a Rebelution shirt, which is really neat.  I love it, and it’s quite comfy.  I even got Alex and Brett to sign the back, and I chatted with Brett for awhile about what the Rebelution is and some comments I had made on the forums.  It was really neat.  :)  I’ll get a picture of my shirt sometime so you can see what it looks like.  The design is intriguing.

And besides that, I got to meet Nella Sound-Out, who is on the Rebelution’s Forums.  We had PMed just a bit, and had read each other’s blogs some.  Making a new friend, who is a dedicated Christian, is an awesome experience.  Nella got pictures of us with Brett and Alex, but she can’t find her camera cable, so it might be awhile before I get those.  I’m really dying to see them, and as soon as she sends them to me I’ll put them up here.  Don’t worry, I’ll keep bugging her to look for the cable; otherwise she’d probably forget.  ;)  She has the pictures of us with Alex and Brett, but here’s one my mom took of Merrill and I talking to Brett.

If any of you don’t know about the Rebelution, or don’t really spend much time there, I really encourage you to check it out!  Alex and Brett have tons of encouraging articles on their website, and keep their blog updated with interesting topics.  The forums are absolutely amazing.  I have been incredibly blessed and challenged by what other Rebelutionaries have written through the forums.  I’ve also made a couple of new friends.  :)

 Overall, I can’t write near as well as Jennifer, who wrote:

“There’s just something about standing with 2,000 Christian young adults, singing praise songs and talking about hard things. It’s quite a struggle to stand against the tide; to differ in a large crowd, especially when that crowd is impassioned and filled with such a real desire as to make a difference and lead a rebellion for an awesome, worthy King. When roused and excited by the actions of so many determined people around us, it is so very hard not to conform. When filled with the Holy Spirit and led by God’s grace, it is impossible.”

Right on, Jennifer!  If you really want to hear about the conference, read Jennifer’s latest blog post, as she can write much better than I, and did a very good job of conveying what I am so failingly trying to convey here.  Check out Jennifer’s Musings!

Well, that’s it for now.  I have to get back to Algebra and Biology.  Next time I’ll write a bit about seeing brethren on our way to and from the conference, because that was a lot of fun too.