Setting the Pace

Picking up where I left off...

on Monday night we had the opportunity to go see the band Reilly in concert at the Ocean City Baptist Church. I had never heard of them before, but my goodness, they were awesome. They have dueling violins (husband and wife, I might add) and one of the members of the band actually attended Ocean City Summer Project back in 2001! How cool is that?

Something else that is pretty dang cool is the fact that I successfully had my first two shifts at McDonald's. :) My co-workers are very friendly and I'm already starting to form relationships with a few of them. One girl is even going to give me a complementary facial! I am really excited to get to know her and everyone else better. I am looking forward to investing in them and sharing the gospel.

Every week is going to have a theme and this week is "Setting the Pace". Jill Fuhs "set the pace" with a lesson on running confidently toward Jesus because we have nothing to hide and running toward each other because we have nothing to prove. Jill talked about how important it is to be honest with the Lord, tell him where you're at. He already knows and is eager for us to share with him where our heart is. This is something that I have been struggling with for the past six months. I had a really rough spring semester, not in school, but in life in general. When things got tough instead of running to the Lord, all I did was turn away him and rely completely on others. As you can probably imagine, that didn't get me very far at all. Summer project truly came at the best time possible. I am being reminded of the amazing power of God and am coming to the realization of how desperate I am for him. 

Jill also discussed something that again hit home for me. Often times I fail to realize how uniquely made I am. I don't need to compare myself to others, because I am made exactly the way I was intended to be made. It's like that saying, "My mom says I'm special..." well it's true, the Lord says I'm special!! Jill made an analogy that I will never forget. She said that when we look at a piece of art that we don't like and criticize it, we aren't criticizing the artwork but instead the artist. So when we compare ourselves to others, we are saying there is something wrong with us, that we need to change. We aren't criticizing the artwork (us) we're criticizing the artist (God). 

I challenge all of you with something Jill challenge all of us: when you begin to compare yourself to others, stop and pray a blessing into that person's life. They were beautifully and wonderfully made in Jesus' image...just like you were.

I have told you before about our action and impact groups, and last night we got to meet with just our action group. It was so nice to have "girl time" and get to know the ladies better that I will probably be closest to by the end of summer. We had a great study on the beach going through a little devotional called Thirsty. I remember as a little kid thinking I had to ask the Lord into my life everyday, but the truth is, we only have to ask once. In Ephesians 1:14 it says that the Holy Spirit is a "deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession." We defined a few of the words and I hope this verse becomes as meaningful to you as it did for me.

Deposit: assurance that the full amount will come

Inheritance: something given that wasn't earned or even deserved - narrowed down to Christ

Redemption: deliverance from some evil by payment of a price

Read the verse again with these definitions in mind. It'll BLOW your mind!

I think this is perfect place to come to a close.

Quarters students start trickling in this weekend, prayers for safe travel are much appreciated.

Until next time...

Just a little taste of the Reilly band!

Look them up on iTunes.