Back in Boise

Ah....so I'm kinda freaked out. I am back in a town that I like a lot, surrounded by awesome people...so I don't know why I am so nervous.

Maybe it's because I am remembering last school year...and how hard it was physically, mentally emotionally, and spiritually. Then again, I am realizing that being drained in all four areas is nothing new; it's part of Gods plan I guess.

Being at Trout Creek all summer long, I constantly sung about God emptying and filling up my cup, then I realized what that meant by actually living it out with my campers every week.

...then I almost cried when my dad told me that his prayer for me was that my cup would be completely emptied every day, then filled back up with God's love everyday. Constantly, over and over. I mostly wanted to cry because I was like "why would you pray such a thing?!"...then I wanted to cry when I realized that that was how life with God is. And it's AWEsome because every time our cup is completely emptied of everything we know how to give, God is there to fill it back up so it's overflowing with love from Him.

Oh wow...and so, that is why I am nervous for this year. Last year was hard enough, and now I am wondering what God has planned to empty my cup, and it freaks me out a lot.

Max Lucado Quote

It’s quiet. It’s early. My coffee is hot. The sky is still black. The world is still asleep. The day is coming.
In a few moments, the day will arrive. It will roar down the track with the rising of the sun. The stillness of the dawn will be exchanged for the noise of the day. The calm of solitude will be replaced by the pounding of the human race. The refuge of the early morning will be invaded by decisions to be made and deadlines to be met.

For the next twelve hours I will be exposed to the day’s demands. It is now I must make a choice. Because of Calvary, I’m free to choose. And so I choose.

I CHOOSE LOVE…
No occasion justifies hatred;
No injustice warrants bitterness. I choose love.
Today I will love God and what God loves.

I CHOOSE JOY…
I will invite my God to be the God of circumstance.
I will refuse the temptation to be cynical…

The tool of the lazy thinker. I will refuse to see people as anything less than human beings, created by God. I will refuse to see any problem as anything less than an opportunity to see God.

I CHOOSE PEACE…
I will live forgiven. I will forgive so that I may live.

I CHOOSE PATIENCE…
I will overlook the inconveniences of the world. Instead of cursing the one who takes my place, I’ll invite him to do so. Rather than complain that the wait is too long, I will thank God for a moment to pray. Instead of clenching my fist at new assignments, I will face them with joy and courage.

I CHOOSE KINDNESS…
I will be kind to the poor, for they are alone.
I will be kind to the rich, for they are afraid. And kind to the unkind, for such is how God has treated me.

I CHOOSE GOODNESS…
I will go without a dollar before I take a dishonest one. I will be overlooked before I will boast. I will confess before I will accuse. I choose goodness.

I CHOOSE FAITHFULNESS…
Today I will keep my promises. My debtors will not regret their trust. My associates will not question my word. My wife will not question my love. And my children will never fear that their father will not come home.

I CHOOSE GENTLENESS…
Nothing is won by force. I choose to be gentle. If I raise my voice, may it be only in praise. If I clench my fist, may it only be in prayer. If I make a demand, may it only be of myself.
I am a spiritual being…

After this body is dead, my spirit will soar. I refuse to let what will rot rule the eternal. I choose self-control. I will be drunk only by joy. I will be impassioned only by my faith. I will be influenced only by God. I will be taught only by Christ. I choose self-control.

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. To these I commit my day. If I succeed, I will give thanks. If I fail, I will seek His grace. And then, when this day is done, I will place my head on my pillow and rest.

-Max Lucado quote is from his book When God Whispers Your Name.

Trout Creek Bible Camp!

Trout Creek Bible Camp...

If I learned anything from camp, it is that God constantly loves us more that we can understand, and that He calls us to constantly love others. He fills up our cup past the brim to where it overflows, but He does that so that it can be completely emptied again. Then He fills it over and over again.

And that process is what I learned more about at Trout Creek. Every week a new group of kids who had different stories to share came because God brought them there. I learned not to judge those kids who were jerks and cheated during team comp, because I don't know their stories. I learned not to quench the Holy Spirit's work in the lives of people everywhere; just because we don't know what's going on, doesn't mean the Holy Spirit can't work.

Mostly I learned that loving people is a full time commitment, not just when you feel like it...love is a choice we make every day. And God chooses to have love for us every day, even though we are jerk kids and cheat during team comp...even though we treat loving people like it's a random "whenever we feel like it" act.

I think our idea of love, and God's idea of love are completely different. God touched lepers and died for everyone, even though He knew that many He died for would never choose to love Him back.

I learned that even if no one ever chose to love Jesus, He would still have come down and died on the cross, just so that He could at least give us the choice to choose Him.

Mmm the more I learn about Jesus, the more I figure out that there is so much I don't know.

God is so good.

Power!

HA! So I feel important now...like all of a sudden, what I say matters. YES! Finally. haha =)