{making God famous}

   last week, i had the awesome and incredibly amazing opportunity to take the youth on a trip (Summer of Service at the Vineyard in Cincinnati, Ohio). as it is with every year, it is truly amazing and life changing. so much happens that week, that it takes months to debrief! that week only proves that the goodness of God can be so overwhelmingly peaceful and life changing.the great part was, was that there was no drama! in 8 years of being a youth leader, that was a FIRST! so thats why i may bring this up a few more times :)
   the theme for last week was "making God famous". how brilliant, right? the song that came to my mind all week was I Will Boast! (Jeremiah 9:23-24, 1 Cor. 1:31)
   the phrase in there that says, "i will boast in the Lord my God, i will boast in the one WHO IS WORTHY". it really hit me last week, i am not worthy. not worthy at all. but somehow God wants  us to be worthy!
   what makes me worthy? the cross! purely the blood of Christ has made me worthy.

  

 the cross makes you worthy. the cross makes you justified.

we are worthy because we are LOVED. an act of love beyond understanding.

the action of the cross is the greatest act of fame.

i just need to stop and let Christ love me. i need to recognize that what HE did made me valuable.

{expectations}

   the past year, i have been weighed down by the expectations others have set upon me. after a conversation this morning, i just wanted to yell, "maybe if you didnt expect so much of me, you wouldnt always be disappointed!" does this happen to anyone else?
   i'm expected to do a lot, but i also put expectations on others as well. are you constantly disappointed in someone? angry or hurt by how they treat you? maybe we should start thinking about how we see that person. how do we treat that person, love that person. do we respect them? if someone constantly upsets you, its OK to take a healthy step back.
   we all need the opportunity to step back and grow. grow emotionally and more in love with Jesus. if you think about it...thats ALL we need to do....
BECOME MORE IN LOVE WITH JESUS