What happens if I don't feel God?

Many people ask this question at many different times in life. They believe in God, but they don't understand why they don't feel God or why they don't hear God or see God like so many people say they do. I have felt this many times in my life. I thought more about it this morning when I dug this old CD out that I really like and was struck by the words to this one song. It's by a band called "Everybodyduck" and the song is called, "Because You Are."

"I can't feel you like others around. I don't feel like kneeling or closing my eyes. Is there something wrong with my heart that I can't see or do you feel love still when nobody cries. So I'll praise you if I never feel you. And I'll love you because I know you're there. And if you should choose I'm sure one day I'll feel it, but feeling good is never the reason I cared"

We don't love and serve God because of a feeling, although it does feel good much of the time. We should praise Him even if we don't feel him, because we trust that he is there and that His promises are true. I hope that is true in your life!

A Journey of a Thousand Miles Still Begins with One Step

Well hello there! As some of you may already know, this handsome fellow to my left here is Me, Sherif Mansour. I have the privilege of being the newest Intern here at Hudson Community Chapel. With this in mind, they have asked me to tell you a little about myself and how I ended up here at HCC, so that hopefully when you see the image to the left out and about, you are not frightened. I'm actually quite harmless!

I was born and raised in Cairo, Egypt. I was raised by my Mother and Grandmother because my Father had immigrated to the US before I was born. I lived in Egypt till I was almost 9, at which point my Mother and I moved to Akron, Ohio to be with my Dad.

The move was a hard one for me, being in a new country where I knew no one and didn't really speak the language, but God was very gracious to me and I quickly made some great friends. I went to Chapel Hill Christian School (North) through 6th grade, then went to Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy for the remainder of my Junior High and High School years. In CVCA I was a proud member of the Football, Tennis and Chess teams. Yeah, I'm pretty much a huge nerd.

After CVCA, I went to Taylor University, a small Christian college in Indiana, where I majored in History. I lived out in Indiana for almost 6 years, before coming back to civilization (Ohio) in January of '07. Since then, I have been working at Aladdin's in downtown Hudson.

Throughout my time in Ohio, I had attended HCC, having gone through the Edge and Porch respectively when I was in school (though I think they were both called 'Edge' back then). I am really excited to be back at Edge as a leader. The students who are here now are WAY cooler than the ones who were there when I was a student. Except for me of course. No one is cooler than me.

I look forward to being able to hang out more with you guys, as well as blog on here to share my coolness and wisdom with everyone :).

AGOW!

Here's your addicting game for this week!

Enjoy Cannon Blaster!

COW

The comment of the week this week goes to...drum roll please....rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr (you have to roll these "r's" to make the drum roll sound) rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...... HAYLEY GREEN!

Nice work, HAYLEY! Thanks for choosing Edge over the dance. I know we have had a lot of Edge's on dance nights, but it is just the way it has happened unfortunately. I hope that you all make the right decision like Hayley and choose Edge.

Here it is...

hayley said... mann, the last dance and the last edge are on the same day! but i'm coming to edge as far as i know

Sat May 03, 05:20:00 PM

Hollywood and Jesus

What is the last movie you saw? Did you notice any spiritual themes? Today, at Edge, we finished watching the movie Martian Child and we talked about how the movie has a great theme of a father's unconditional love of his adopted child. The theme helps us see a glimpse of the unconditional love of our heavenly Father. My favorite part is when the father has him and his adopted son smashing dishes on the ground to prove the point that there is nothing he can do to lose his love. That is exactly how God is with us. Jesus Christ took the punishment for our sins so that by the grace of God, we are saved. There are all kinds of movies out there that have these themes in them and I encourage all of you to look for them. We love movies that have themes of forgiveness, redemption, and sacrifice...that is why Hollywood makes them. If we just look, we will find that even the movies give us a glimpse of our God. What movies have you seen that have those themes? Watch for it...

...the old man is snoring.

Good afternoon! How are you this fine and rainy day? I hope you've enjoyed some time cozied up inside. I have!

Lately I've been thinking about the Bible story of Jesus and Lazarus' death. Do you remember it? Lazarus is really sick and his sisters send word to their friend, Jesus, to come quickly and heal him. But Jesus takes his time getting there and by the time he arrives, Lazarus is dead and buried. The sisters take Jesus to the tomb and everyone is standing there, sobbing and mourning. And then there comes that famous verse: "Jesus wept." Not cried or had some tears, but he was weeping. Then, Jesus goes to the tomb and calls Lazarus out. And Lazarus obeys...he is raised from the dead.

What really strikes me about Jesus weeping in front of the tomb is that he knew that in just minutes Lazarus we would be alive! It was His plan all along...to show His glory by bringing Lazarus back to life. So even though he knew the sadness of all those people was temporary and that they'd be throwing a party later that day, Jesus still wept. He still cared for them. Their pain mattered to Him.

I believe it's the same now. God knows that our pain and hardships on earth are short-lived. He knows that there is a plan that's way better than we could ever imagine! He sees everything and He knows that one day He will make it more than okay! But, even so, God still cares about your pain. I think that if Jesus were back on earth right now, He would still weep with us when our friends die. The Bible says He is close to the brokenhearted. What a wonderful and gracious God we have!

The God of the Universe, who put the stars in place and has power over death, cares about your pain and loves you. Think on that today, friends!

NO EDGE TOMORROW

Sorry everyone, no edge tomorrow. I am going to miss you all, but I hope you have a great time hanging out with your small groups. Tomorrow night is official small group hangout night. I hope you guys have a great time with your groups and those of you who usually come to edge and are not in a small group, I hope that you can join one next fall. The next and final Edge is coming on May 16th. Don't forget 2 things:

1. It's 8th grade appreciation night so if you are in 8th grade, you are not going to want to miss this night.

2. If you have all the KEY CARDS for the whole year, you will receive a prize for your commitment to edge and keeping all the KEY CARDS!

Can't wait to see everyone then!