Monday, July 18, 2016
WOW! What a day. I’ll say it again, what a day! After a long trip down here and a great start to our week with Proverbs 22, we began this morning renewed and ready to spend time in God’s word and in fellowship. We started our morning with an awesome time or praise and worship. We then jumped right into God’s word and started with Psalm 51 and learned how David came before God and begged of him to renew his spirit. We learned how he begged God to break him down and renew him to be walking in the way of the Lord. We aligned this to our own lives and talked about how we can pile sin on top or sin just as David did and that when our sin is finally exposed, we often crack and break under the pressure to hold up a certain image. God was definitely moving this morning and continued to work on our hearts during our small groups. The girls hung out with me, Wanda and Cindy and the boys spent some time with Lee and Richard. I got to share my full testimony and story with my girls and if felt so good to let the weight of many years of guilt and shame come pouring out in my story and finishing it up with showing them how like David, I too asked God to break me down to nothing and rebuild me into the woman he has called me to be. I must say as I told my kids this morning, I like who I am now so much more than who I was.
After a great morning of worship and study, we headed down to the beach to enjoy God’s creation. I will report that NO ONE got burnt to a crisp, hermit crabs were caught, and we got to visit some friends from Cherryville. We jumped waves, sat in the water and talked, and I even caught a short nap before they giggle at my snoring.
Hamburgers were on the menu for dinner and they were delicious. The kids are taking turns working in the kitchen with Cindy. When she left to go get more drinks. (These kids can down some bottled water!) Some of our youth jumped in and helped on the grill, preparing the trimmings and did not miss a beat. They are hard workers and love serving each other. It is really amazing to sit back and watch it all unfold, flawlessly.
Evening worship and our bible study was more than I ever could imagined. Before we began, I stepped out onto the deck and looked over the scripture one more time and prayed that God would be the center of this service and that he would stir their hearts. We sang our praises and then opened up the word to begin our deep and raw discussion of purity. What seemed like an uncomfortable task before, became so easy as I began to speak God’s word and break it down piece by piece. We jumped from 1 Corinthians 6:18-20, where we talked about our bodies being a temple and using them for God, to Romans 12: 1-2, where we discussed renewing our mind and our thoughts. The we discussed Matthew 6:22-23, where we are told that our eye is a lamp and if we are viewing things that are healthy, then we will be filled with light. We finished up with Proverbs 4:20-27 and how we are to guard our hearts and to be vigilant with them. Little did I know, but God took me on a tangent after we broke these scriptures down and I began to pour every word he gave me out onto these kids. They often do not realize how worthy they are of God and how much Jesus loves them. As I looked at their faces, their innocent faces, my heart began to break thinking of how the world will grab onto them so quickly and abuse them, manipulate them and tell them they are no good. God wants them to know that they are worth so much more and that his Son died to save them from a life of sin and shame. As the service came to a close and they had some quiet time while Hunter played the sweetest of melodies, I watched as some of them broke. They broke just like David did. Their hearts were so raw and ready to accept what God has in store for them. Youth that I only met three months ago, sat and sobbed as we prayer over them as a youth group. You could feel the presence of our Savior tonight and he was everywhere. Words cannot describe what happened here tonight and I can only give you just a glimpse, but to say that I stand in awe, is an understatement and just scratches the surface. As I stepped out onto the balcony one of our boys ran and grabbed me in the biggest hug that I have had in a long time and just wept. This young man and I only met a short while ago and he wasn’t sure if he was even going to come, but hesitantly he did. As he wept, I couldn’t help but think of our sweet Jesus and how we run into his arms and we can pour all of ourselves out to him and he ready to love us, build us back up and use us for his glory and to further his kingdom.
We are all still awake and I can’t sit still from excitement. We walked about half a mile to get ice cream and then walked back home on the beach and laughed together and just spent time in sweet fellowship. As I walked alone for a bit, I couldn’t help but look up and thank my Savior. If you would have told me four years ago or even two years ago that I would be doing this today, I would call you crazy, but I am so glad I serve a God whose plan was bigger than I ever could have imagined for myself.
We feel your prayers and I ask that you keep them coming. We are only just beginning. I can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings for us.
Love you all. Nite.
WOW! What a day. I’ll say it again, what a day! After a long trip down here and a great start to our week with Proverbs 22, we began this morning renewed and ready to spend time in God’s word and in fellowship. We started our morning with an awesome time or praise and worship. We then jumped right into God’s word and started with Psalm 51 and learned how David came before God and begged of him to renew his spirit. We learned how he begged God to break him down and renew him to be walking in the way of the Lord. We aligned this to our own lives and talked about how we can pile sin on top or sin just as David did and that when our sin is finally exposed, we often crack and break under the pressure to hold up a certain image. God was definitely moving this morning and continued to work on our hearts during our small groups. The girls hung out with me, Wanda and Cindy and the boys spent some time with Lee and Richard. I got to share my full testimony and story with my girls and if felt so good to let the weight of many years of guilt and shame come pouring out in my story and finishing it up with showing them how like David, I too asked God to break me down to nothing and rebuild me into the woman he has called me to be. I must say as I told my kids this morning, I like who I am now so much more than who I was.
After a great morning of worship and study, we headed down to the beach to enjoy God’s creation. I will report that NO ONE got burnt to a crisp, hermit crabs were caught, and we got to visit some friends from Cherryville. We jumped waves, sat in the water and talked, and I even caught a short nap before they giggle at my snoring.
Hamburgers were on the menu for dinner and they were delicious. The kids are taking turns working in the kitchen with Cindy. When she left to go get more drinks. (These kids can down some bottled water!) Some of our youth jumped in and helped on the grill, preparing the trimmings and did not miss a beat. They are hard workers and love serving each other. It is really amazing to sit back and watch it all unfold, flawlessly.
Evening worship and our bible study was more than I ever could imagined. Before we began, I stepped out onto the deck and looked over the scripture one more time and prayed that God would be the center of this service and that he would stir their hearts. We sang our praises and then opened up the word to begin our deep and raw discussion of purity. What seemed like an uncomfortable task before, became so easy as I began to speak God’s word and break it down piece by piece. We jumped from 1 Corinthians 6:18-20, where we talked about our bodies being a temple and using them for God, to Romans 12: 1-2, where we discussed renewing our mind and our thoughts. The we discussed Matthew 6:22-23, where we are told that our eye is a lamp and if we are viewing things that are healthy, then we will be filled with light. We finished up with Proverbs 4:20-27 and how we are to guard our hearts and to be vigilant with them. Little did I know, but God took me on a tangent after we broke these scriptures down and I began to pour every word he gave me out onto these kids. They often do not realize how worthy they are of God and how much Jesus loves them. As I looked at their faces, their innocent faces, my heart began to break thinking of how the world will grab onto them so quickly and abuse them, manipulate them and tell them they are no good. God wants them to know that they are worth so much more and that his Son died to save them from a life of sin and shame. As the service came to a close and they had some quiet time while Hunter played the sweetest of melodies, I watched as some of them broke. They broke just like David did. Their hearts were so raw and ready to accept what God has in store for them. Youth that I only met three months ago, sat and sobbed as we prayer over them as a youth group. You could feel the presence of our Savior tonight and he was everywhere. Words cannot describe what happened here tonight and I can only give you just a glimpse, but to say that I stand in awe, is an understatement and just scratches the surface. As I stepped out onto the balcony one of our boys ran and grabbed me in the biggest hug that I have had in a long time and just wept. This young man and I only met a short while ago and he wasn’t sure if he was even going to come, but hesitantly he did. As he wept, I couldn’t help but think of our sweet Jesus and how we run into his arms and we can pour all of ourselves out to him and he ready to love us, build us back up and use us for his glory and to further his kingdom.
We are all still awake and I can’t sit still from excitement. We walked about half a mile to get ice cream and then walked back home on the beach and laughed together and just spent time in sweet fellowship. As I walked alone for a bit, I couldn’t help but look up and thank my Savior. If you would have told me four years ago or even two years ago that I would be doing this today, I would call you crazy, but I am so glad I serve a God whose plan was bigger than I ever could have imagined for myself.
We feel your prayers and I ask that you keep them coming. We are only just beginning. I can’t wait to see what tomorrow brings for us.
Love you all. Nite.