Meekness please

Week 22
We made it through Winter Meltdown 3!
This week the interns had the opportunity to go to a CCCA conference (Christian Camp and Conference Association). I seriously learned so much. About God, myself, ministry, community... man it was a good week. You can ask me about all of that another time if you want, but there is a little tid bit that has stuck with me.
Ephesians 4.
 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
The rest of the passage is really good too, I suggest you look it up.
Walk in a manner worthy of the calling. What is the calling? To live a life glorifying to God, know Him, walk with Him, love Him, praise Him, be as Christ like as possible, spread the gospel, spend eternity with Him. Do we walk in a manner worthy of all that? Do my everyday actions deem me worthy of spending eternity with the creator of life?
Lets work on that.
Humility/lowliness, gentleness/meekness, patience, bearing with one another...
Lets look at the word meek. I have always thought of meekness as a bad thing. As weakness. In fact, the dictionary uses "easily imposed on" as part of the definition.
But in Greek, this word was used to describe a wild animal that was brought under control/discipline of its master. Discipline to bring all of our power and energy under God's dominion. To control our wild tendancies. The speaker described someone holding a cup filled with water. That person gets bumped around in life and water spills out. Now imagine a person holding a cup filled with Jesus. When that person gets pushed around in life, what spills out? Jesus. Discipline our actions and words to show nothing but Jesus. That sort of control takes strength. THAT is meekness.
And that is what I want.

Love God: Love Others

Week 21
This week has been awesome for a number of reasons: I was alive and well to live it! We had a lot of time off, went on a field trip to Baltimore, prepared for Winter Meltdown, and successfully made it through Winter Meltdown #2!
The speaker at Winter Meltdown this week spoke a lot of truth. It is always good to hear the message of the gospel... it never ever gets old. He spoke about how we are to live our lives: loving God and loving others. This is something we have all heard before. Matthew 22:35-39:
...“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
Sounds great! But how do we truly love our neighbor? And how do we do that well?
The best way to love someone is to help them love the Lord and know Christ.
Man that made me think.
I foolishly thought that I was good at loving, but is that love bringing God glory?
Is it worth anything if it doesn't point to Christ? No. Not worth anything lasting.
I see that loving one another is not about laughter, kind words, and hugs.
It is about so much more than that.
And it's not always easy.
But it is worth it. That is the type of love that I desire to give and receive because my desire for you and I is to love God more. So let us all learn to truly love our neighbors.

Baltimore Art Museum... which is free!

Oh how He loves us

Week 20
Here at El Rancho we are in Winter Meltdown mode.
We just finished week 1 of 6.
Each weekend, about 200 kids come here with their youth groups to have fun, ride the zipline, stay up late, and most importantly learn about God.
I love it.
I love the dedication that the RVR staff has to this program and to these kids.
I love the energy and excitement that carries through the entire weekend.
I love working together, staying up late, and pushing through the tiredness.
But it is easy to get caught up in all of this, and I admit that I definitely did.
It wasn't until Saturday night when I was standing backstage waiting to perform a drama that it truly hit me... how much God loves us that is. The band was playing "How He Loves" and I began to see our lives and the things we do from His perspective. I saw all the little details we stress about just vanish. I saw the activities, the games, the zipline, the dramas, the videos all just disappear. What was left was a room full of high schoolers, their youth leaders, and us... crammed backstage singing praises to our God who saves us and keeps us every day. Man. Isn't that why we do what we do? I hope someone else felt that unimaginable love that I felt. I pray that the hurting, lonely, and broken hearts out there see what I saw. The Father who LOVES. And I hope they never forget it.
That is why we do everything we do. At least it should be.

We are His portion and He is our prize,
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes,
If grace is an ocean, we're all sinking.
So Heaven meets earth like an unforseen kiss,
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest,
I don't have time to maintain these regrets,
When I think about, the way...

He loves us
Whoa! how He loves us

Be fully pleasing to Him

Week 19
On new year's day, my boss gave a talk. He discussed goals for the new year. He read this prayer that Paul wrote to the church of Colosse. This is my prayer for the new year... and for the rest of my life: 
"...we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light."
-Colossians 1:9-12 ESV


Be filled with the knowledge of his will 
Walk in a manner worthy of the Lord
Be fully pleasing to Him
Bear fruit in good work
Increase in knowledge of God
Be strengthened with all power according to His might
Endurance with joy
Patience with joy
Joy
Give thanks
I desire this for myself and for you. So much.
That list seems impossible. And without Jesus it is. I am thankful that we are qualified to share in the inheritance of the saints through him. and that we have a God who strengthens us, gives joy, teaches us, and shapes us. I can feel him working in my life and on my heart. Making me into a true woman of God. I can't wait.

Happy New Year!