So I promised aaron that I would blog tonight and I realized that it's been a long time since I shared my thoughts. That's probably not a good thing but I've been realizing lately that I am not as gifted a writer as my friend Nick is. Every time I read something he writes I am in awe at his abilities to mold the english language into something coherent, thought provoking and insightful. That's ok though, I'm not him, and I'm comfortable with that. I dunno if I could have said that a while ago. I've changed a lot since being here in Thunder Bay. It's kind of neat being comfortable in my own skin and not worrying about how I look to others or comparing myself to others.
I spoke at church this sunday, with nick and nathan. I had a great time but I'm a little bit scared. I've been thinking a lot lately about whether God still wants to use me as a mouthpiece. Several years ago I had ideas and conversations from Him coming out the ying-yang and lately I haven't felt that same tug. It's scary because of the role I'm supposed to be in, its easy when I have a curriculum to follow or a thought to steal but that original content hasn't been coming quite as easily. It's caused me to really start paying attention to God a lot more. To spend some time listening to Him and searching Him out. I trust Him and that will always work so I'll leave it at that.
I listened to a message by mike erre of RockHarbor church in Orange County (shout out to aaron) and he was talking about being a good steward. He talked about how being a christ-follower is not dependent on works but that there's this whole life after getting our 'ticket to heaven' that we sometimes neglect. Our whole lives are preparation for ruling when God establishes His kingdom here on earth again (WARNING: This is deeper-than-basic level theology). This is God's training ground. It was kind of a neat message (available on iTunes as a podcast) but I liked his thoughts on being a good steward with every aspect of our lives whether we're students, mothers or in mortgage sales. It was also neat to hear his take on what the Bible means when it talks about how we will be rewarded in heaven for how we act here on earth. He related it to the parable of the talents and how our lives, our Christ-following lives are not meant to be buried in the sand while we wait for Christ to come back. No God expects us to use the gifts and abilities and circumstances we're in to worship Him and glorify Him. I thought that was a cool thought. It got me thinking about my time here in TBay. How I work, where I work and the quality of my work. I want to give God my best but it's easy to get lost in the hum-drum of everyday living forgetting that I have a purpose in everything I do. It was a good reminder that even in ministry I can choose to bury my talent in the sand or invest it and watch it grow.
good
