Glory. Beauty. Party.... The New SMA Youth Room.

It is officially done. The walls are painted beautifully with orange, green, and blue paint... Three flat screen TVs hang on the walls, perfected with a ridiculous sound system and sweet hook-ups to the internet... The couches match the walls, and are angled just right in the corner of the room... The microwave, refridgerator and bar area, open dance floor, comfy seats and loud speakers are screaming, "Flock party! Super Bowl party! Dance party! Any kind of party! Pleaseeeeee."

And party is exactly what we will do. Party of Praise. Thank you, Jesus, for this beautiful room that you have blessed us with, the future amazing experiences we will have in this room, and for all the awesome people who made this room possible. Amen.

Well, speaking of awesome experiences in the new room.... Last night definitely made the list. The first AP FLOCK took place on the new couches with the TV in the corner. Awww yeah. And the TV was first officially used to watch a behind the scenes look at Matt Maher's new song "Turn Around" (from his new album The Love In Between, which comes out on September 20th). How perfect.

In Matt's video, he talks about repentance. About how when one guitar string breaks, it affects the whole guitar. About how one decision can affect your whole life, and the lives of those around you. Probably my favorite quote from the whole movie was "Repentance isn't just saying your sorry. It means finding a new direction." I mean, how true is that? I know I do it all the time... "Lord, I know I haven't spent enough time in prayer with you this week. I'm sorry." No! I should be saying, "God, I need your help. I need to turn this around and make time to talk with you and build my relationship with you." It takes that extra effort to use a few minutes that I would be on Facebook to tell God about my day. It takes that extra effort to go sit with the kid who's sitting all alone at lunch. It takes that extra effort to say no to something even though you know it's better for you in the long run. It's all about those extra efforts.

For new shnazzy youth rooms, for great conversations, and for Matt Maher... GOD IS GREAT.