It can be really difficult to stick at your quiet time with God. When pressures push in, what's the first thing you're tempted to drop? Satan knows if he can keep you from it he's won the battle because he'll have no opposition from you. Christians who have fallen away from God will tell you, 'It started when I lost my quiet time with God.' 'So how can I overcome this problem?' you ask: a) make a promise with God and be serious about it: 'When you make a vow to God, do not delay in fulfilling it...It is better not to vow than to make a vow and not fulfill it' (Ecclesiastes 5:4-5b) put it on your diary. Block out time to meet with God each day. Can you imagine keeping an appointment that's more important? c) be ready for the devil's attacks. Follow the Boy Scout motto, 'Be prepared' If you wake up in the morning and don't meet the devil face on, it means you're headed in the same direction! Leave your Bible open the night before at the passage you intend to read in the morning. When you wake up it will serve as a reminder to have your quiet time.
'But what if I miss a day?' Don't worry and don't go on a guilt trip. If you miss a meal it doesn't mean you gave up eating! You just eat a bit more at the next meal and go on from there.

A woman driving through Texas saw a tornado approaching so she hid behind her car and watched as it demolished a little house nearby. Running over to what was now just a hole in the ground she saw a man with his eyes closed, 'Are you okay? Is anybody down there with you?' she asked. 'No,' he replied, 'Just me and God...having an urgent conversation!' 'Nothing fuels prayer like real need. In crisis even people who say they don't believe in God will try to pray. No matter how together you are there are some issues we can't resolve on our own. Listen: 'When I am in trouble, I pray, knowing you...listen' (Psalm 86:7 ). Sometimes your prayers, whether sung or shouted, are cries for assistance meant only for God's ears. When you're out of options your faith develops fast and emergencies become opportunities to experience God's power in a greater way.
So, if you're in over your head today here's a prayer just for you: 'Father, it feels like I'm in an impossible situation with no way out. I need to feel Your presence, the guidance of Your Spirit and to be reminded that with You all things are possible. Bring the answers of Heaven to my earthly situation. Touch it with Your grace. On the outside things look hopeless but You're the God who created the earth from nothing and rolled back the Red Sea so Your children could cross over safely. You make the blind see, the lame walk and the deaf hear. Today I thank You that You're my God, and with You nothing is impossible.' What ever the situation today, pray!

NOR WILL I OFFER...THE LORD...THAT WHICH COST ME NOTHING."
2 SAMUEL 24:24 NKJV

Hard work = sweat! A long, long time ago when Adam and Eve were banned from the Garden of Eden they had to 'sweat to earn a living' (Genesis 3:19). Farmers sweat to turn their crops into cash, the same as bricklayers sweat on a building site or an executive sweats over writing a report for an important deadline. You tend to value what you have to work for and God values your efforts as well. That's why when David had the chance to offer God a sacrifice he said, 'Nor will I offer...the Lord...that which cost me nothing.'
So what does your worship to God cost you? Not in terms of money but in terms of energy.  The word worship comes from an old Anglo-Saxon word 'worth-ship,' which is 'the act of giving worth or value to a person or object'. In the New Testament, worship can be understood as serving, singing, showing proper respect, humility, love and generosity. That's right, even the offering plate at church is part of worship where you give back to God a slice of what He's given you. It's another way of honoring Him with the result of your sweat! When you sacrifice sleep to get up early and spend time with God, you're also doing something that costs you and when you go out of your way to help somebody in need, you're offering God something of real worth (see 1 John 3:17). So check your heart today and make sure you're giving God something of value.

A young man rushed into a gas station one day and asked the clerk behind the counter if the shop had a pay phone. She pointed to her right, 'It's just there.' The young man ran over,  inserted his coins, dialed and waited for an answer. Finally someone came on the line. 'Uh, hello,' he said in a deep voice, 'Could you use an honest, hard-working young man?' The shop was quiet and the clerk couldn't help overhearing... After a moment the boy said, 'Oh, you already have an honest, hard-working young man? Well, okay. Thanks all the same.' He hung up the phone and started walking back to his car, a broad smile stretched across his face. 'Hey, just a minute,' the clerk said, 'I couldn't help but hear your conversation. Why are you so happy? I thought the man said he already had someone and didn't need you?' The lad smiled. 'Well, you see, I am that honest, hard-working young man. I was just checking up on myself!'

If you're serious about walking with God, check yourself regularly. Are you praying, reading God's Word and renewing your mind daily? How about your attitudes? Are they slipping? Your attitudes are like traffic lights that send a signal before you've said a word. Sometimes they flash red, which means 'stop, don't get in my way, I'm too busy to care about you.' Sometimes they flash yellow, which means 'I'm touchy and mixed-up, I could go either way.' Sometimes they flash green, which means, 'I'm ready to make time for you, you can count on me.' The Bible says, 'Let us examine our ways...and...return to the Lord.'
What needs to be examined today? 'Our ways!'

Each year, Bishop Campese has the privilege of recognizing several youth from the diocese that have shown outstanding leadership, commitment, service and spiritual growth in their respective churches, schools and communities. Each of this years candidates are shining examples of these qualifications and we should be very proud of their accomplishments.  This years recipients are:  Seth Linn- St. Peter's Anglican Church, Waynesville, NC; Maddie Sutter and Robert Boggs - St. George's Anglican Church, Columbus, GA; and Adam Siegel and Lindsay Keller- Cathedral of the Incarnation, Orlando, FL. 

Pictured below from L to R:  Adam Siegel, Bishop Campese and Lindsay Keller



Pictured below from L to R:  Louis Linn, Seth Linn and Bishop Campese
Pictures of the other recipients will be posted as available.