Jesus is My Pilot

Have you seen the bumper sticker saying, "Jesus is my co-pilot?"  I think it's not the right phrase to slap on the back of your car and live by.  I think it should say, "Jesus is my pilot."  You see we are invited to let him fly our life, our plane, on the path he has for us, to see amazing things, to fly through dark clouds, to find joy and his presence in all things.  We are invited to let go of the controls and let Jesus pilot us.  To let him lead us as we follow him.

Yesterday on of our leaders, Curtis, shared an incredible metaphor with students of following Jesus is like flying a plane.  It was amazing and Jesus used Curtis to meet students where they are at and speak truth.  Curtis wrote a poem and shared it last night.  Take a moment to hear these beautifully written words of truth and life.  I'm so grateful to be a part of this ministry and to have a team of volunteers like Curtis love Jesus and students.

Recently, a pilot was practicing high-speed maneuvers in a jet fighter.
She turned the controls for what she thought was a steep ascent-
And flew straight into the ground.
See she was unaware that she was flying upside down,
And instead of pulling back up, into the sky,
She actually cut down, so hard she couldn’t eject,
And died.
Now what actually happened here?
She thought she was going up without any fear,
She was still confident, even with the ground so near,
Confident in her pattern of flight, 
That the way she was flying was up right,
And for a mindless mistake, something many would think simple, she paid the 
ultimate price. 
And just like this pilot- how many of us fly,
Full speed through our lives,
Not knowing which way is up?
It’s a difficult question,
Really this issue of direction,
How to fly your life so you can make a correction,
And be confident in your selection,
So you know without a doubt, which way is up.
You’d be surprised by the answer: It’s a simple connection.
It’s a connection. 
You see it fits together,
One made for another,
Like points that make a line,
Like the vertebrae of your spine,
Like when you’re cryin,
The predictable answer: I’m fine.  
But you’re not fine,
Don’t give me just another line. 
Because under further inspection,
I can see that lack of direction.
Your life spiraling begins, 
Caught in an upside down tail spin.
You’ve hit that wall
And call as you fall,
Faster and faster
Deeper your voice gets small,
Beating on your minds wall
But it’s too tall, and it’s fighting back.
So your engines stall. 
And now you can’t get it to restart.
That’s right, you can’t get it to restart
Because you need a new battery,
But wait, the verdict from the jury
“Wires crossed during
High-speed flight”
As the gavel comes down with a bang 
Your life, out like a light.
And as the judge turns to your attorney,
You scream at him, “Why can’t you help me?”
But the ruling is in. Done let the next case begin.
Another victim,
To internal assault and battery.
And then you realize,
Your attorney was you, and the jury too. 
Materialized by your desperate tries, and desperate lies.
Why can’t you help me?
Because me is yourself, all you did was take another book off the shelf,
Of your own mind.
Searching internally to find the answer,
You dodge questions like a dancer,
Spinning around,
But the trend is down if you keep your hand down,
To shy to ask a simple question. 
No this connection
You need to jump-start your engine, 
To stop your spin
Can’t be found by searchin
a library within. 
No this connection isn’t between metal and flesh,
Dragging one across the other so you may gain a little rest,
Externalizing the internal pain in your chest. 
No this connection isn’t about the way you dress,
Looking your best to try and impress,
The rest of us.
Or if not that just to fit in
Like a chameleon changing its skin
Just camouflaging 
To keep people dodging,
That question: What’s on the inside?
Guys this connection isn’t between you and a girl,
Girls this connection isn’t between you and a guy.
It’s not an expression visible
In anything you do physical. 
Understand what our culture feeds you is criminal.
But they don’t put nutrition facts on media,
So you could look up- Google or Wikipedia-
What they pour in your cup.
It’s nicotine and it will give you leukemia.
They tell you physical is typical
And neglect one syllable
About the atypical miracle you view as minimal.
But I can’t bring this to a close
Without telling you about the connection I chose. 
You see it’s the best present I could ever give you. 
The connection with His presence in your present,
A connection that gives your lost life a direction,
Up.
So no this connection can’t be found in money, clothes, or hoes,
You’re offered this connection because one man-
Jesus Christ, the Living Son of God- rose.
He rose to close your eyes to those
Unsatisfiable knives.
He rose to show you
You’ll never find fulfillment in material to clothe you.
But most importantly
He rose to know you.
To show you and to grow you
Into something you’ve never been
Seen or done.
He’ll give you a light from within,
As bright as the sun.
And he wants his connection to shine
To give other’s fruit from your vine,
And He’ll stand in line
Of the next bullet of your mind
That trigger- you want to pull it
To silence the voices in your head,
No, you aren’t better off dead.
Because he has plans for you,
Plans for good and not for disaster
To give you a future and a hope,
No, don’t just fly faster.
No, don’t for one second
Think it’d be better to plaster
Your mind on the wall, put down your weapon. 
Because the one that created you,
Has a bigger plan than
That dark cloud your mind flew through
Saying if you just ended it tonight,
It’d be alright if you were dead, 
Another fighter fallen victim to the flight in your head.
 
But He’s screaming at you
I NEED YOU.
I’ll show you a light,
That shines through that cloud,
So you can set your life up right,
So you can set your controls right,
I rose so I could pull you up
I rose to pull you up to my Son,
And save your flight, your life. 
So please, loosen the noose around the throat,
Of your mind, He knew you’d write that note
He knew you’d turn to that knife,
Even before you allowed him into your life. 
You see because even I didn’t know,
He’d pick me, 
A worthless man you see
To show you that you’re still needed.
That you’re still needed regardless of how impeded or depleted your flight 
path is.
I’ll live as a testimony, to show you, He can still grow you,
Up to that light, you can still pull up to His light, no matter how dark the night,
Like the rings around your eyes, as the enemies fist flies, despite your 
desperate tries, to dodge his words like knives, as he lists fault after fault.
BUT when you begin to faulter, as his blows halter, your advance to the light.
When you’ve hit that wall, when your engines stall, and your hope is growing 
small 
Know this
Jesus Christ, the living son of God, is chanting from your chest.
I’ll still fight
I’ll still fight
I’ll still fight
For you

(Curtis Edwards)

Rad Dog and Camp Trip

We are excited to offer a Road Trip!  That's right YL is headed to Tan-Tara Resort for a YL RAD DOG ROAD TRIP.  You won't wanna miss this mini version of camp.  There will be 3 clubs, cabin times, a water park, fun, truth, and depth.  We are hoping to make this a yearly tradition.  Think about joining us... (click link for info) RAD DOG ROAD TRIP   Something magical happens at camp.  Friendships that last forever are formed, adventure happens, real life happens, kids find out they are not alone that God is for them, that their friends and leaders are beside them, it's incredible.  But camp happens once a year.  It is epic, but unfortunately most students can only go to camp once in their life and if they're lucky twice.  So that is why we are created RAD DOG... we all need more times in our life where we grow closer to God and each other.

YL CAMP TRIP- Crooked Creek Ranch (all info here on this link)   http://lsylcamp.weebly.com/ 

Sign ups will be open on Dec. 1st at 12:01am for 1st timers.  If you have already attended camp and would like to join us as a 2nd timer we have very limited spots.  Sign ups for 2nd timers will open Feb. 1st at 12:01am and be a first come first serve basis as well as meeting the cabin quota.  If you have more questions about that please contact:
traceecobb@gmail.com