Serving

"Let us consider how we may spur one another on towards love and good deeds."

Today the NHS joined with Christmas in Action volunteers around the community. We were split into four teams doing painting, yard work, demolition plus some. I got the opportunity to be in group 4, the demolition team. I should've known just by the people in my group that it was going to be a great day. The energy within my group, with that group of people I've known for a long time, some since Pre-K was a sight to see.
After we got there we started talking stuff out of a house that burned down a few weeks ago. We salvaged what we could, but most of it was put on a dump truck. While we were doing this we happened to find a Bible that had been in the house. It was in perfect condition, it had not been touched in the fire. Someone placed it on a stump to save it, but when the dozer came we realized we had left it sitting there on the porch. Thankfully, one of my favorite mission trip volunteers, Rick-Roll stopped the bulldozer for a second and saved the day.
Now I know NHS isn't a religious organization, but what happened next was pretty cool. As we watched the house being torn down, Dallas and Teryl opened up the Bible to random pages until they found a verse in Deuteronomy that applied to the work we were doing, and how we are charged to help one another.
Because Christ was in the center of our site, we had joy in serving. Because we knew we were working for something bigger than ourselves, getting dirty and smelling like smoke didn't really matter. Because we had our eye on God who keeps us going, getting cuts, bruises and nails in our shoes didn't bother us too much. Coming together at lunch to pray together, not because we were told to but because we wanted to showed me just how much God has blessed me and the lives of my peers.
We had Joseph and Will jumping on top of the dump truck, Kevin and Collin trying to karate-shop walls, Weston laying down a beat for us. We had Brady taking pictures, Jessie and Dallas keeping us all upbeat... and that's not even half the workers at our site! We all grew together throughout the day, the past year and I guess just generally in our lives. When I go off to college next year, these guys have set the standard pretty high. Serving together inspired me, it reminded me to serve with a cheerful heart and to be glad in the Lord. Throughout my high school experience, Christmas in Action was one of my favorites. A great day for the NHS, especially the seniors, to give back to the community and the God that has blessed us so greatly.

CTCYM Assignments

Glen Rose Mission-trippers,
For four years we've been going with Davis Memorial UMC on mission trip, but this year we aren't. The way they assign leadership it just didn't work out.
I know, we've grown up with them.
They're like our own youth group.
We feel comfortable around them.
We like them a lot.
Believe me, I'm sad we won't be going with them this year.

But with that said, let's remember something. The reason we go on mission trip isn't to be with them. We go for a greater purpose, to serve the Lord. The heart-filled moments that we share with them aren't a result of just our friendships, but the presence of the Holy Spirit within them.
And God doesn't go away. In fact, this year we'll have the opportunity to see God in new people, in new places and new ways that we've never seen before. So, as weird as it will be not seeing our old friends when we get to the living center, remember and have faith that God will be there.

Rethinking...

This year my church had a "Kidmas" service on Christmas Eve, and I was lucky enough to get to be a part and help serve communion. All the kids had a bread roll to share and I held the cups of grape juice. There was one little girl who came with her mother, grandmother and brothers. She was probably about 3 and hadn't taken communion too many times before. As the family approached I heard the mother whispering to the daughter instructions on what to do. As she approached me the mother told her to "drink the juice and say "thank you Jesus."" As the little girl received her cup her eyes looked up at me and she was silent for a moment. Then, still with her eyes fixed on me she turned and said to me, "thank you Jesus."

(I'd like to make it clear that I definitely realize I'm not Jesus, but hear my point.)

For those who have not heard the love of God and do not have a church home, where will they see Jesus? How will you bring the Jesus you know out to them in their own language, and who will see Jesus through you?

Isn't that what church is about, and why we need to rethink it?

I'm gonna think and let think.

Please and Thank You

Today Rachel's Challenge came to our school and held an assembly and a workshop for the school. The message was to start a chain reaction of kindness, because you never know how much you can impact somebody. In a world where we are told we are small, today I was inspired to know that God HAS given me the ability and means to make an impact much greater than I can fathom. We were challenged to share with 5 to 7 people how much of an impact they made on our lives. Here I want to touch on just one of those.

Mrs. Schmidt was probably one of the kindest, craziest people I know. She never met a stranger, and I'm pretty sure she was capable of being in two places at once. One of my earlier soccer memories was of when she was coaching our 1st grade team (we were the Vipers.) I came to practice one day just to find myself learning how to kick a soccer ball correctly...the whole time. For what seemed like an eternity our parents held the balls as we kicked the soccer balls in place repeatedly. That was my earliest memory of Mrs. Schmidt, and I'm not sure how it fits in to this post. All I know is that she was at that practice because she cared about us.

She didn't stay our coach forever but she didn't disappear. I can't count the number of times I rode with her to a game or stayed with her and Maria during a tournament. Mrs. Schmidt brought us snacks even when it wasn't her turn on the roster, and she was the one who brought enough for everybody. One of the best parts of soccer season was going to the pool party after the last game, and guess who hosted that?

I remember on the way back from a tournament we stopped at a shop that had authentic Mexican food so Mrs. Schmidt could buy some stuff. Did I mention she was the best cook ever? She was Catholic, and she could make the best meals even on a Friday in Lent. And if you didn't know Mrs. Schmidt, she didn't look Hispanic, and that's probably because she wasn't. However, growing up around the culture she was fluent in Spanish (and she was after all, a Spanish teacher.) So as her and my mom went in there, she put the workers into shock as she all of a sudden began to speak perfect Spanish. It wasn't above her, she was just speaking to people the way they spoke. She was a friend to them, and she considered them her friends.

As I finally got into high school I got the opportunity to have Mrs. Schmidt as a teacher. What she displayed outside the classroom was what she taught inside. She would repeatedly tell us, "I want you to learn a little Spanish, but what I really want you to learn is to be good people." That she strived for everyday as she shook our hands as we entered the classroom, as she arrived at school before dawn to tutor any student that asked, as she stayed until dark to do the same. Anyone who needed Mrs. Schmidt for anything could call on her at anytime. On the tests she gave us, she never failed to put on the end of the directions that started out "Please..." the simply two words of thank you.

A final story of Mrs. Schmidt also happened in her classroom that year. I had been having a bad day, and as I went to Spanish second period she noticed. As we worked on the computers something about conjugating verbs really set me off and I had a meltdown. Now I am one of those that is known for crying, in fact I used to get a prize if I didn't cry the whole day. This wasn't abnormal. However, Mrs. Schmidt took me outside and gave me a hug and said "aren't you glad that this happened when you were with me?" And truth is I was.

No other teacher knew me like Mrs. Schmidt, and no teacher had made it so obvious a point to show the genuine love and compassion that she had. Today as we talked about making kindness happen and setting goals for ourselves, I decided that I want to be someone that people know they can come to and trust, like Mrs. Schmidt was for me. She's not here for me to tell her that, or that I think she looks a little bit like Lucille Ball, but what I do today and how I act tomorrow is what counts. I challenge you as I challenge myself to find who you want to be and to go for it. "You never know when you might start a chain reaction."

The Church vs. God

I'd like to think I'm a cheerful person who is pleasant to be around.

But sometimes I don't like people.

A few weeks ago my friend made the comment to me that I needed "to stop doing so much stuff" with my church. They didn't mean this in a bad way but it could be taken that way. My friend was just trying to say that I spent a lot of my time there, and I take that as a compliment.

Lately I've been kinda busy, and probably not too fun to be around. I'm always talking about SLT or the Methodorks that I don't get to hang out with my other friends.

One of my favorite Sunday School teachers once taught me that the church is not God. It is a great way to God, but it can also serve as a distraction. Sometimes we get so caught up with what we're doing and adding more and more to it that we forget why we do it and just go through the motions.

So am I about to resign from SLT or stop teaching my Intermediate Worship Birds? You've got to be kidding. But maybe I need to refresh myself on why I love doing it so much, and keep the focus.
The church helps me get to God, and I want to keep it that way.

Thanksgiving in a Whale

"But I, with shouts of grateful praise,
will sacrifice to you.
What I have vowed I will make good.
I will say, ‘Salvation comes from the LORD.’” -Jonah 2:9

This verse was the inspiration for a lesson on Jonah and giving thanks.

So I'm under a table that's covered in blankets, the belly of a whale if you will.
4 8ish year-old girls sitting comfortably there, just talking about old Jonah.
So we talk about how gross it would be in a whale.
And how Jonah just kept messing up.
I get to the part about how even though all the yucky stuff was happening to Jonah, he still gave a prayer of thanksgiving. And then I witnessed them get more involved in a lesson then ever before.
"Thanksgiving? How long was he in the whale for?"
"He ate Thanksgiving in the whale?"
"How did Santa get Jonah his presents?"
Great. They always say you're going to get asked questions you don't know the answer to, but I wasn't expecting this.
"Um, this is old Testament, Santa wasn't born yet."
I thought it was a good answer.
"What? No, Santa was ALWAYS born!"
"Yea!"
"Yea, Santa never dies!"
Good to know they'll fight for what they believe in.
The lesson went in a bit different direction then I planned, but that's okay. I can give thanks that I learned many lessons about Jonah, myself, and what not to say in front of little girls that day. There's always something to give thanks for, and probably more than we can even think of.

The Fumes Have Gotten to Me

Preach every sermon as though it someone's salvation depended solely upon it, but with enough grace to know it doesn't.
Put everything you have into your work, knowing that everything you can do will never amount to enough, but that grace will cover it all.
By putting everything you have into your work so that there is nothing left you leave no choice but to have God's grace take over.
It's like using all your gas and depending on the fumes to get you home. Except these fumes last forever.