I'll be home for Christmas...

As I sat down to type this, Bing Crosby began to croon this song to me :) So I had to take advantage of that "God-incidence" and shout to the rooftops that I'LL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS IN ONLY 21 DAYS, AND BACK "FOR GOOD, FOR NOW" IN 60 DAYS!!! :D WOOHOO!!! :D


Ok...now that I have that out of my system, I can continue on! :)


I want to offer a public apology to all of you for the lack of blogs here lately. But here's the thing, I am soooooooooooooo wrapped up in all of my youth plans, that my mind has gotten quite one tracked! :) There is so much I would love to share with you, but as lots of it is still in the "polishing" stages, I don't want to put it out here yet, and then the HUGE thing I am clinching my hands hard to keep myself from spilling it all out here, I MUST keep off the blogosphere for a bit, because it is intended to be an awe-filled time, and I am afraid if I put it on here, some of my kids might get wind of it and it will take away from what all God has in store for that time - but not to worry, because you will get FULL details after it plays out! :D


***Please just be praying hard that EVERYTHING will come together just as it needs to! There are LOTS of "little things" - and some rather big things - that have to happen, and I am fully trusting that God is going to bring it all together...even if all of it doesn't come together until the day before...and then I'm just going to embrace the lesson He is teaching me in that... :) (Or try to at least...lol)



So...plans for the next 60 days:



I will fly into Atlanta at 10:15p on 12/23 (God-willing)



On 12/30, Heath is being so awesome as to allow me to lead out during our youth group time, and God has told me to simply let them in. Meaning that He just wants me to tell them who I am. Where I've come from; the life I've led; the paths I've walked; the things He's brought me through and the outcomes of them; and give them a glimpse or "overview" into the last 18 months of my life. (I know it sounds like a lot of info, but I promise youth group won't last 12 hours or anything... :D Although, I asked for permission to pull our start time back to 6, and we're going to eat together! :D I am soooooooooooo excited!!!)



My mama could tell you better than anyone, that I am sooooooooooooo excited!!! Our phone calls used to bounce all over the place, but now, I am single minded! There is only one thing on my thought process! I am continually bouncing ideas off of her, telling her of the newest ideas God's given me, and reading my weekly letter to her before emailing it to her to print out! :) She's been AWESOME through all this! She has been my hands in feet! :)



Next... :)



Well...technically, it's not next, as I got this one day while meditating on upcoming youth things... :)




God has laid a series on my heart to share with the youth when I get back. It's in the polishing stages, so I won't share all the details, but you should know me well enough to know my passion by now and this should come as no surprise - it's on the love of God and the relationship He so desires to have with us.



One day as I was at work, we (God and I) were having a running conversation, where I was throwing things at Him, and He was continually saying the same thing over and over and over and over. :) I was trying to figure out the best way to share the love of God with these kids, and help them to understand what it took me so long to figure out: He really does love us! Just because people that walk on this earth can't show us the full love of God, doesn't mean that He can't love us even more than that! As I was explaining to Him that some of these kids come out of situations that are very similar to mine - some much worse, some better - (for some reason, I just have this thing in me that takes over sometimes and forgets who He is, and that He knew all of it WAY before I did... :) I'm sure none of you have ANY idea how that is... ;) ) and how hard it is going to be for them to grasp this without some MAJOR help... And He just kept saying, "I am love. It all begins and ends with Me." And ya know...it's kind of hard to squabble with that logic...


However, me being me, I was exactly content with that simple explanation. So on the way home, as I was listening to Casting Crowns new CD (Until the Whole World Hears), I was listening to track 4: Joyful, Joyful. As I listened, it got to the bridge where the girl sings "God our father, Christ our brother..." And it all dropped into my heart like a ton of bricks! :)


You see, what He showed me that afternoon, was exactly what happened in my life for the first 23 years of my life...



But first...


God IS our father! You are His! And here comes the hardest part for me to grasp - before the creation of the world, you were on His mind! He LOVED you! He WANTED you! He DESIRED you! He CRAVED a relationship with you! And you are the only you He ever did or ever will create! You are COMPLETELY unique!




So, the picture is that God was thinking of you before the creation of the world, and like most new fathers, He has been waiting and waiting and waiting for your arrival in His world! He worked to make things just "so" for you - He opened His mouth and placed a beautiful, bright glowing ball of light to make your days bright! With clouds that He shaped, special for you, into whatever animal or shape you might be desiring at the moment! And then He filled the night sky with one giant moon, and trillions of stars to inspire your dreams!

Then He poured water onto the earth so that you would one day be able to swim in the ocean, walk on the sand and watch the sun set over the water - but that wasn't enough! He went and filled it with all kinds of living creatures that would entertain, amuse, and enrapture you!

Then He turned to the barren ground and put all sorts of things into the soil so that you would be surrounded by beauty all year round! Trees that will stay green all year long! Trees that have leaves that will change with the passing of the seasons - greens, yellows, reds, golds, browns! Then if the fact that they change color isn't enough, He made them so that they would float from the limbs, and fall all around you as you danced in the midst of them! Oh how He loves watching you dance among the falling leaves! :) He made them so they would "crunch" when you walked on them and you would laugh, and stomp them more! And He made them soft enough so that when they were piled up and you jumped in them, you would have a soft place to land!

But He didn't just stop with trees! He gave you bushes! Vines! And flowers! Making sure that there were all sorts of plant life, so you would be able to watch things bud and come to life all year long! He didn't want you to forget for one moment that life is everlasting, and that things are only brought to life when they are exposed to the Son! :) And He made sure that there were millions of colors to excite you! And He didn't just put flowers to look at! He put flowers you could play with! :) He sat in the heavens with a grin that split the clouds as you would search and search to find that perfect dandelion! And He laughed as you went chasing after it as it blew in the wind!

He gave you hours of enjoyment in the evenings of summer! You would wait and wait for the sun to begin to dip beyond the horizon, and would watch with eyes of an eagle, to see that first flash of light! You would beg your mama to get a jar and poke holes in the top of it, and you would run, giggle and fall all over the yard as you rushed to fill your jar! And oh the fun when you would finally capture one! To cup your hands together, and stick your eye ball to the "peephole" you made between your thumb and first finger to see just how awesome your find really was! :)

He gave you snow to play in! You could build things out of it! Make snow angels! Snowmen! Snowballs! Even ice cream made from snow! You would play out in it for HOURS, not even realizing that time was passing! And as He sat in the heavens and watched, He loved seeing your cheeks turn rosy and your eyes light up as you enjoyed every moment of the snow that had fallen! And oh boy! If you got to actually be out in it as it fell! How many snowflakes you would catch on your tongue! Twirling in the midst of the white beauty! :)

And of course there's rain! Rain to cleanse the earth! Rain to quench the thirst of all things living on the land! And how He loved to see you stomping in the puddles! Dancing in the rain! Not caring that your clothes were soaked through clear to your skin! Just loving this enormous gift He'd given you!

Oh...but along the way, something began to happen. A change so subtle that you wouldn't even realize it was happening...

The sun got too hot, the moon and stars didn't get bright enough or sparkle enough...

The beach got too hot, the sandy too messy, and the water too salty...

The leaves become a chore instead of a blessing...

The hedges needed shaping, the bushes needing pruning, and the flowers needed watering...

The lightning bugs lost their luster and instead of being a treasure, they became a nuisance...

The snow became irritating, and it kept you at home instead of on the go...

The rain made your hair frizzy and got spots on your clothes on the way into work...

Life happened.

Please, please, please - don't EVER stop enjoying the gifts He's blessed you with! Enjoy them and see them as precious! Bask in them!

There was a whole other "part" to what He shared with me that afternoon on the drive home... But I feel that tonight, He just wants you to focus on this.

Don't ever take His gifts for granted!

"People were bringing little children to Jesus to have Him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, He was indignant. He said to them, 'Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will not enter it.' And He took the children in His arms, put His hands on them and blessed them."

Mark 10:13-16