Feed My Sheep.

This morning, I randomly thought of a verse in Matthew. John 21:17. Jesus has just asked Simon for the third time "Do you love me?" and Peter says "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you." Jesus then says, "Feed my sheep." I think that is such a challenge for us not to just get caught up in our spiritual lives, but to serve others around us and to be more concerned about them than ourselves. We are called to serve. End of story. No matter how busy we are... and trust me, I am busy... we are called to serve. "Whatever you do for the least of these, you did for me." I think most of us KNOW we are called to serve and we serve on occasion but we don't do it for the RIGHT reason. I teach second grade girls Sunday school once a month, and I love it! But, do I like it for the right reason?? I love little kids. Playing with them, teaching them, chasing them around, everything about it. But when I teach Sunday school am I doing it for the fun of it and to get service hours or am I really doing it as a way to serve the Lord? My youth group leader, Mark, told us something at church one Sunday night a while ago that is so true.

Freedom is found in surrender.
Greatness is found in smallness.
Satisfaction is found in sacrifice.
Life is found in death.

I think this fits in so well with serving others. Oh, God, its not for us, its all for you. I pray that will be true for all of us. God is insanely amazing! Like, its just incredible and I can't even comprehend how awesome he is. He died for us. He DIED for us; gave his life, so that I could live mine. Is that not an amazing example of sacrifice. I want to be like him. That is my goal in life: to be Christ-like, to be a witness and an example to everyone I come in contact with. I have other goals, of course, but NOTHING compares to my goal to live like my Heavenly Father. Only God can make himself more evident in my life, but I can try my hardest, with HIS help, to be salt and light and to be bold. My ipod is playing Made to Worship, by Chris Tomlin. How true this song is:

You and I were made to worship,
You and I were called to love,
You and I are forgiven and free,
You and I embrace surrender,
You and I choose to believe,
You and I will see,
Who we were met to be.

That is our one purpose in life: WORSHIP. That's it. That's all that matters. We can worship in so many different ways. Service, Singing praises, Prayer, and so many others. But, today I want to focus on worshipping the Lord through service. I have such a busy few weeks coming up, and I'm sure many of you do as well. But throughout the business of Christmas, lets all try to remember that Christmas is about Christ's service to us and our service to others. We watched this video at church a few weeks ago, and I have taken up the challenge of the Advent Conspiracy. I challenge you to watch it and do the same.

***Okay so the link didn't show up for some reason. So... go to YouTube and type in *Advent Conspiracy 2009 Promo Video* or copy and paste this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkTyPzRzuwc into the web address bar.

Thanksgiving!

Well, since I basically said all my Thanksgiving stuff yesterday... this is going to be short! But I am so thankful for each and every one of you and your friendship! I am so blessed to have you in my life! I am also thankful for the Everlasting God and the amazing family he gave me! HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!

Our Amazing Creator

Lake Toxaway, NC

This place is so gorgeous! We were out on the boat today and I was sitting in the front, just staring at the lake and the mountains, thinking about how amazing God is. How the heck do you make mountains and water? And put it together to make it so insanely beautiful? Only the Creator could do something so amazing! I rarely think about how the earth was created. I just take it for granted, which is so stupid. I don't think any of us pause often enough to just thank God. Our family has a tradition, like many others, to go around the table and say something we're thankful for at Thanksgiving dinner. And, when I pray, I'll thank God for all He's given me, but more often than not, my thanks is worth nothing. If it is only words on my lips, then why do I waste the time to say something meaningless? I pray that my thanks would be sincere. "God, so amazing, so divine, demands my life, my all". He has given me SO much! I am so blessed with an amazing family... that drives me insane sometimes but I still love them :)... that encourages me in my faith and teaches me daily. I have such awesome friends! They are so fun and I laugh every time I'm with them!! We are blessed with food to eat, a house, a great school, and a church that teaches us so much about the Lord. Although I often complain that I don't have "food to eat", I have never once gone hungry. And, as much as I hate school, I am blessed with the opportunity to learn. My family sponsors a little girl from Ecuador named Liady and she is so grateful for the little she has. Reading her letters always challenges me to be more grateful for the abundance I have. Over this Thanksgiving holiday, it is my goal to be truly thankful for all the Lord has blessed me with! Happy Thanksgiving!