Dancing in the Rain

Today... I am split on what I want to post about, and since I don't have a lot of time, I guess I better figure it out quickly. I know today that I am mixture of frustration and thankfulness. My body is finally back to normal.. meaning I got my wonderful curse back. I guess in my heart of hearts I wanted to believe that I had gotten pregnant again. You know what though... life moves on.

Today I am thankful that

31: I am drinking tea from Tawain given to us by our amazing family in Tawain spreading God's love.

32: I got to talk to Katie Opris this morning on Skype who is busy planting an orphanage in Romania.

33: A girl who is working in Korea to spread the love of Christ reminded me that I have a pomengrant in my fridge.

34: Nightlight international is excited about seeing us down in Atlanta.

35: We are going to get to help with a Christmas party for Nightlight's prevention program when we are in Atlanta.

36: My husband is good at taking care of his responsibilities at home.

37: My husband dances with me in the rain.

38: Everyone's Operation shoebox pictures on facebook.

39: After unpacking my Christmas stuff, I found Camp Skyline's old Christmas cards.

40: Maddie is heading for South Africa soon, and though I don't get to speak with her often, I know that God is already preparing a journey for her.

Be amazed at what God's church is doing!

We are reading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe in my English classes, and yesterday we discussed what the world would be like if it was always winter and never Christmas. C.S. Lewis was honestly setting up the perfect picture of what a world without Christ looked like. Narnia was cold, sick, and without any hope or love. When the Pevensie children entered Narnia, hope came back to Narnia. It is like Christ coming into a world of darkness, hope came. The birth of love, joy, hope, and peace came when that little baby was born into a manger. I am learning more and more each day how important Christmas really is to the world. I was explaining this to my class the other day, and a few of them understood.

Imagine for a moment.... living without hope. What would my life be, if I lived without any hope of a bigger purpose? There would be no reason for life. Anyways... everything I am thankful for today really does have a common theme. They all deal with the church, not the building but the body of Christ. The church who is filled with the knowledge of hope, love, peace, and joy. I am thankful for the people who are today, this moment, pursuing Christ and living out His word... in big ways like Katie in Romania and in small things like my husband taking me in his arms and spinning me around outside barefoot in the rain because he knows where his responsiblities lie.

I have been reading and praying about the Church a lot lately because sometimes I feel like we miss what Christ was trying to say when He discussed the Church. I was frustrated with some things occuring the other day, and I fell upon chapter 2 and 3 in Revelations which really opened my eyes. God addresses the different types of churches, and tears filled my eyes as I pondered what Church was I lifting up the most... again not an actual building or name, but what type of life I was pursuing.

I decided that I don't wanna be...

The Loveless Church (2:1-7): Where I forget to love the Lord who placed my very breath inside of me, and I forget to love His people.

The Compromising Church (2:12-17) Where I tolerate anyone limiting what Christ did on the cross.

The Lukewarm Church (3:14-22) Where I take on an attitude of indifferance where people cannot tell if I am a Christian or not.

The Corrupt Church (2:18- 29) Where I tolerate sin and truth mixed into one.

The Dead Church (3:1-6) Where my works, though great, are for the simple act of work and being busy. Where there is no hope or love or joy or peace. I am dead.

Instead I want to be the faithful church and during times of persecution, I want to be the enduring church. I am no longer a child. My thoughts, therefore, should no longer be those of a child.

Today, I make a choice to quit hiding behind fear... to be alive... to accept the fact that I have grown up, and tomorrow.... I'll probably have to remind myself again.