This is awesome!

I was just now checking some blog stats to see what kind and how much traffic my website has been attracting.  There’s a section where it shows you what search engine terms people have used to get to your site.  Well today I saw this:

That is awesome to me.  It said “i aint scared to go i believe in jesus.”  That rocked me.  Seriously.  

If that was you who typed that in the search engine, and are for some reason on this page….your faith is amazing to me.  

Big things are meant for you kid (or adult, either one.)  Don’t be scared to “go,” there is too much at stake for us to be scared…you’ve got one life to live, don’t miss your opportunity to play your part in the story of God redeeming his people.  Believe in Jesus dude, that’s all you need.  Thanks for stopping by.  Let me know if there’s anything I can do for you.

Oh, and you’re obviously from the south, which is evident by your elegant use of the word “aint,” which makes you that much more awesome to me.

The week 4 crew:

Here’s our week 4 crew, not to mention the final group of kids for the summer. They are from Lyman, SC.  They rule.  I’ll be honest, I sure do wish that I was only a fraction as cool as they are when I was going to high school.  Yep, they are that cool. Their coolness is that colossal.

Oh, and in other news.  This is my newest addition to my coffee mug collection:

Welcome to the family!  I see a lifetime of happiness ahead of us.

The Plow.

I had a little downtime today during some On-Campus activities…no one wanted to play with me for some reason today.  I was alone out on the flag football field for a good hour with no intentions of wasting that time.  Good thing I had my Bible with me.  I’ve learned never to leave home without it, because there’s no limit to when and where God can speak to you. 

Anyways.  I ran across this verse:

“Jesus replied, ‘No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.’”  - Luke 9:62

I think I’ve had my hand on the plow a lot of times before with some crazy ideas and crazy visions of Gods plan for my life as apart of the movement to see his kingdom advanced here on earth.  As I read that verse today, it took me back to times where I dreamed like a kid in respect to what I was going to do with my life and ministry.  

No, I haven’t taken my hands off the plow, but I do believe that I’ve drifted away from dreaming of things bigger than myself, things that only God could make happen, for the sake of my own comfort.  I’ve “looked back,” if you will.

I do confess though, of underestimating God’s ability to do “immeasurably more.”  

The plow is there for a reason, and we should be sure to keep our hands on it and not look back to second guess ourselves….because the moment we take our hands off the plow is when we constipate the wheels of a mighty move of God.

As my good friend Clayton has put so elegantly, “If you’re passionate about something, you do it regardless, without considering the consequences.”

The amount of influence…

It’s been a good few days.  God’s been moving like crazy.  Clayton laid it down thick tonight, my favorite part of the message was when he got in the kids faces about honoring their mother and father.  He preached unapologetically about the honor and respect that is deserved by parents.  It was great.  I think it should be a goal and considered a privilege to get to pour ourselves out in such a manner of honor towards our ‘folks’ who so rightfully deserve it.

Ok, soap box.

The real reason I’m here.  I had the chance to eat lunch today with the grand-nephew of Bobby Richardson.  For those who don’t know, Bobby played for the Yankees from 1955 until 1966.  Bobby’s “claim to fame” is pretty remarkable.  He was, and is a devout follower of Christ until this day.  He’s the man responsible for leading Mickey Mantle to Christ while he was on his death bed.  His grand-nephew told me the testimony of Bobby’s life up to this point, it was awesome to hear about the different stories of how he shared the gospel with different famous baseball players.  Very encouraging.

I also had the chance to talk with a kid who is going to be studying abroad next year.  The kid is going to be studying in Hungary.  His host family is a pretty famous family.  Actually, he staying with the Prime Minister of Hungary.  Which is pretty big I guess.  Pretty big place of influence.  It was cool to hear the kids story, he just became a follower of Christ on Monday night.  It’s crazy to think of the possibility of influence one kid can have on someone in such a high position of influence and powerful.  

Talk about a step towards changing the world.  I think Drake’s got his foot in the door with a whole lot of work ahead of him.  But, dang.

Honor and Hospitality.

“Love must be sincere.  Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.  Be devoted to one another in love.  Honor one another above yourselves.  Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.  Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.  Share with the Lord’s people who are in need.  Practice hospitality.”  - Romans 12:9-13

This is a bit of Scripture that CR has been ingraining in our heads since we got here.  I let it resonate in my head today and tried digest what it was really saying. 

What stuck out to me was the concept of honor and hospitality.  So, I guess the questions I’m asking myself right now are these:

How do you truly honor one another in everyday life?  

And…

How do you truly show hospitality to everyone in everything you do?

I like wrestling with questions like these….they stretch me.  I want to learn how to not just love someone, but actually show honor to them.  I want to learn how to not just welcome someone, but show them true hospitality.

What are your thoughts?

For when I’m weak….

Here’s what I’m trying to grasp right now.  Here.

“But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

God revealed this verse to me today, in perfect timing.

When I’m weak, I’m weak for a purpose.  It’s for Christ to come through.  My biggest goal is for Christ to be evident in my life, at all times.  All the time, in every situation…that Christ would get glory out of every circumstance, no matter what. 

To think that I am at my strongest, when I’m at my weakest point is hard to grasp…but if you grasp it, it really does make your weaknesses wean away in light of the strength that Christ gives.  

I live a good life, but there when certain things don’t necessarily go my way in certain areas, praise Christ that he knows better, and that he’s bigger than myself, and he finds away to make the gospel in my life speak for itself.

Man, that’s good stuff.  

In other news…..it’s gonna be a good week here @ CR.  I can tell that God’s going to do big things.  He saved around 50ish of his children tonight.  Thank you Jesus.  

Oh, and I just got beat in cards.

Today:

Spending the day in Anderson….

The Folks:

Some other random girl….I mean, my sister:

This Never Gets Old To Me!

Today I continued my journey through the gospels accounts.  Picked up in Mark today.  This will be short and sweet.

There is one story in the Bible that has been fascinating to me for a while now.  It never gets old.  It’s in more than in just the account that Mark gives, but since I’m in Mark right now, here it is.

The invitation Jesus gives is so simple, it’s simply this:

“Come follow me.”

You see it in the Scriptures where right after he says to “follow him,” people left their ordinary lives and followed him….”at once.”  I praise God that the invitation is that simple, because if there were a long application process, I probably wouldn’t make it.  

Praise the Lord for always interrupting our everyday lives with his divine plan.

Psalm 22:3 says this:  

“Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel.”

This verse has been marinatin’ in my head quite a bit lately.  It’s been especially real to me lately.  

Tonight was night one with our second wave of campers at Crossroads.  The energy here has been out of the roof, and I’m constantly amazed by the spirits of everyone here.  Tonight, without a doubt, Christ was lifted up in worship, it was incredible.  The staff got to stand at the back of the auditorium tonight after Clayton gave a call to salvation, and I was overwhelmed by what God was doing at that point in time at the room.  God saved some of his children tonight, I’d say around 50 students made decisions to make Jesus their Lord.  The worship powerful, and like I said, God was there tonight.

Bring it on.

Week 2.

 

Week #2 of camp starts today.  So pumped.  Praying for God to not pass us by with out doing miracles.