Appreciation

Well, as you have probably heard, I am on bed rest until the baby comes in a couple of weeks. That means I am not allowed to leave the couch for anything except to take a shower and go to the bathroom. Not exactly fun.

I have had a lot of time to sit and think during these past few days. There are so many things in life that we take for granted on a daily basis. We don't realize it until it is taken away from us or we are put in a new situation.

For example - I am really coming to appreciate this beautiful spring weather! Normally, I would just enjoy it as I walked to and from work. But yesterday, I spent a couple of hours out in our hammock, reading and taking a nap. Even Smudge joined me for a snooze!

Another new appreciation I have? Being able to do housework! Now, I know what you are saying "why would you ever want to do housework?!" Well, it may not always be the most fun, but the ability to be able to move around the house and get stuff done is quite the blessing! It's been driving me crazy that I can't get up and help around the house. I have definitely become appreciative of the times in my life when I am well...even if it means I have to do housework.

Well, I just wanted to write a quick post and let you all know what was on my mind. I hope that you will take some time today and appreciate all that you have going for you. Take time to thank God for all the blessings in your life - even the seemingly insignificant ones. And yes, that means thanking him for the ability to do housework!

Now - go help your mom's by dusting something and praise God while you do it! ;o)

From Christmas Straight to Easter

It's crazy how fast the last four months have gone!! It seems like just yesterday we were in Advent and waiting for Christmas and now suddenly we're almost finished with Lent. With Easter just a few short days away, I find myself getting excited about summer and making plans for vacations and Encounter tour. Bible study is still in full swing and the renovations on the youth room are moving right along. Lots to look forward to in the coming months!

It's very important though to slow down and reflect on this time before Easter and how amazing it really is. Think about it, God came down from Heaven and all it's glory to Earth and all it's imperfection, only to die a horrible death on a cross. The thought of it makes me all misty and to be honest, a little nauseous. He died so that we could cast off all our burdens and all our sins and know that we can be forgiven just by asking. He died so that everyone can be free in him. Not "everyone" like a blanket statement, but "every one". He did it for each of us individually.

Why would he do something crazy that? Simply because he loves us. Our love for him may grow and change over time as we pursue our relationship with him, but it can never be as big as the love he had for us all along.

So, especially in this last week of Lent, don't forget to set aside some time and just say thanks to Jesus for being such an amazing, crazy awesome Savior.

It's Christmas Time!

Advent is here! Can you believe it? Can you believe that it's December already? Can you believe that Christmas is 21 days away?

If you are like me, I feel like I don't have very much time to get my heart ready for the greatest Christmas gift of all time. And yet, we don’t have much of a choice…Christmas is definitely coming – and FAST!

With all the stuff we have to do this season, how will we ever get ready in time? With all the parties, lock-ins, shopping lists, wrapping, cookie baking, and decorating, how will we ever find the time?

I’ve been thinking about this a lot this year. How can I make sure that my heart is focused on what really matters this season? How can I be sure that I am really preparing my heart for the coming of Christ?

Well, I’ve decided to do a few things. First, I found a great Advent devotional that I have and will continue to read every day. This is a way that I can center myself on what really matters.

Another thing I’ve been really called to do this year is spent less on gifts and more on missions. If you were at church Sunday, you saw that cool video about the Advent Conspiracy (if you missed it, check it out at http://www.adventconspiracy.org/). This video talks about how much we spend on Christmas, but how little we spent on missions.

So, this Christmas, I’m going to be giving to missions. Did you know that $1 can provide water for 1 year for an African? ONE BUCK saves a life for a year! Can you imagine what we could do if we gave several dollars? Well, I hope you will consider giving to the Advent Conspiracy this year that our church is supporting. We could really make a difference.

So, what will YOU do this season? How will you prepare your heart for the coming of Christ? What will you do to make sure that you focus is on the real reason for Christmas? I hope you will seriously consider these questions and choose something that will be meaningful to you.

Let’s all work to make this a season to really celebrate!

Fall Retreat!

Well, it's that time of year again! Can you even believe it? Fall Retreat is upon us!

I wanted to take a minute and tell you all about how amazing our retreat is going to be this year.

We will be headed to Lake Williamson in Carlinville Friday Nov. 7 - Sunday Nov. 9.

For those of you who remember our retreat last year, this post will hopefully remind you of the great time we had. Or, if you didn't go, maybe it'll convince you to go.

On retreat, we do tons of fun stuff. Like what, you might ask? Well, here's a run down:

• Hayride
• Bonfire (with s'mores, of course!)
• Open Gym time
• Lots of laughter
• An AWESOME t-shirt
• Time with friends
• Enjoying Cool Weather
• Football (and this year, perhaps, a rousing game of toilet paper football!)
• And most importantly - Time with God!

And let me just say one quick thing about the last item listed. Fall Retreat is a time for us to connect with God. Time to step outside our normal day to day lives and really get a glimpse of God and what God has planned for us. It's a time of great worship and learning about the Bible. You definitely don't want to miss it!

So, I hope you will join us on the trip this year. It's going to be great, I promise!

Interested in coming? Only $50! Sign up on the youth bulletin board (scholarships are available!).

When it rains, it pours!

Tuesday the youth were asked to go around the neighborhood and hand out door hangers about VBS which is next week. So, we head out to begin our jobs. We get about two blocks away from the church and what happens? We find ourselves in the middle of a downpour! We were all soaked. I mean SOAKED! We laughed the entire way back to the church, knowing that we had at least made a good memory!

This sudden summer storm was a reminder to me about how things unexpectedly come up in our lives. Sometimes it’s a good thing. Sometimes it’s not. But one thing I know for sure – life is always unpredictable!

This got me thinking about a passage of Scripture that I read this week. The passage was John 5:1-9, which is the story of paralyzed man who waited at a healing pool in order to be healed. We are told that every time the water is stirred, the man would try to get into the pool to be healed. This never happened for him.

One day, Jesus walks by and asks the man if he wants to be healed. What the paralyzed man didn’t know was that something, SOMEONE, unexpected had just walked into his life. Needless to say – Jesus heals the man, who gets up and walks for the first time in 38 years. How unexpected is that?

It’s true that Jesus isn’t walking around on earth these days, but he can still unexpectedly move into our lives. When was the last time you unexpectedly felt God move? When was the last time you had an unexpected blessing from God? I bet if you really think about it, you could think of several times God has moved in your life as of late. Isn’t it good to know that God is still working amongst us?

Yes, God can be quite unpredictable. But, you know, I can’t imagine serving a predictable God. How boring would it be to always know what was going to happen in our spiritual lives or how exactly God was going to use us during our lifetimes. I am so glad that my God is unpredictable, because it means that He can do things that I cannot even imagine! I love those moments when God blows my mind by doing something totally unexpected!

Let us all take time this week to thank God for the unexpected moments he works in our lives. And the next time you get caught in a rainstorm, remember how awesome it is to have a God that is full of the unexpected!

Apology

Camp!

This past week I was away for a week of camp. I went down to Little Grassy Camp - which is near Carbondale. I was the preacher for the week and got to speak to jr. and sr. high kids about God.

It was an amazing week. We had wonderful weather, the camp site was awesome, and the kids totally rocked.

I was pretty excited to go back to camp because Little Grassy held some significance for my life. See, I went to Little Grassy as a kid. I started going there when I was 9 and continued until I was in jr. high. I remember so many things from camp - meeting new people, having cool counselors to hang out with, buying fun things at the concession stand, swimming in the lake...the list goes on and on.

My best memory of camp, though, was from when I was 9 years old. We were sitting in the dining hall for worship because it was raining outside. And the guy preaching was an army chaplain by the name of John. He spoke a message and at the end invited anyone to come up who wanted to pray to accept Jesus into their heart.

My friend Melissa, who I had come to camp with, and I looked at each other and we both said "will you go forward with me?" It was at the moment, praying with Chaplain John, that I invited Jesus into my heart for the first time.

Every time I step foot onto Little Grassy's camp grounds, something comes over me. I was told once that God lived there in the summer. I think that must be true. It is obviously holy ground. Who knows how many people have come to know Christ there throughout the years. This year 3 people invited Christ into their hearts for the first time. I guess it's just something about that place.

Hopefully you can join me next year. God will still be moving there.