Bless the Lord,
with all that’s in me bless the Lord
may kingdoms fall
and rulers crawl before Your Throne!

I turned twenty-one on Thursday (January 19). Does that mean I immediately rushed to the bar to “use” my age? Not at all. I still stand on the same Rock that I’ve always stood on.

But it was really awesome to be surrounded by friends who used martini glasses not for alcohol, but for salsa and cheese dip. I am so blessed by my friends.

I am so blessed.

Thank You, Lord, for twenty-one years of love.

How You bless me.

I love You, Jesus.

It was quarter after six and usually I would find myself surrounded by little ones in the nursery, but tonight there were none. I had hung around for a while just to make sure that no one was running late because, afterall, families with small children often find themselves at the mercy of their children’s schedules as oppose to their own. I gathered my things to leave and ventured down the hallway when something made me stop.

I was coming closer and closer to the cafe doors and I heard a familiar voice; “Alright, everyone, let’s get started here. Take your seats.” instantaneously I knew that the High School Youth Group was beginning in the theatre. A wave swept over me and I felt compelled to stop. With backpack on and guitar placed against the hallway wall, I stood in the doorway of the cafe and watched through the theatre windows on the other side of the cafe as rows of youth settled into their seats. Slowly talking died down and Jason’s voice rose above the crowd once more; “So I have some ski trip stories to share with you,” He announced with a voice that proved his years of experience at capturing the attention of wallflowers and social butterflies alike. The story of a devoted youth worker choosing to sit in a van’s trunk so that the van’s passenger seat could be occupied by a youth emerged among other funny stories of daredevil stunts and skiing wipe-outs.

And then out of nowhere a curly, red-head popped into the side door of the church and started down the hallway toward me. “Hey Kelly!” I spoke with surprise to see my best friend at the church this lat.
“Hey! Have you seen Phil Depp?”
“Nope, he’s not here.”
“Oh,” she poked her head into the office and then continued down the hallway toward me. “What are you doing?”
At that second I heard a voice say inside my head, “Can’t you see my heart? I want to be in there. I love being in there. I belong in there.”
“Just watching.” I responded and pondered where that voice had come from.
Kelly looked back toward the office, “Oh.” Silence. “Well I’m going to have to come back tomorrow morning to talk to Phil, then. So, I’m going to take off. See ya.” She paused, inviting a hug.
After Kelly left I watched for a few more minutes and then headed out to my car.


Thing is, I don’t know if I can work with the youth and with Crosswalk (my campus ministry) at the same time. I don’t know if that’s overload or not. But it’s true, my heart longs for youth ministry. I absolutely adore youth, especially that “tricky, high school rebellion” age. They are my favorite. It’s so amazing to watch a wild/rebellious teen give their life to Christ and then become wild and rebellious for the Lord’s glory alone. And teens wear their lives on their sleeves, so it’s so cool to watch their boldness for the Lord. It’s so fun to challenge them as they challenge you to live a life of integrity and passionate obedience to the Lord.

But I know that God has laid Crosswalk on my heart as a place to serve Him. And my passion for youth must wait until the Lord opens that door in my life. I must obey where He wants me to be, especially when it means sacrificing my own desires for His.

But in the back of my mind as I serve Crosswalk with all that the Lord gives me, I will file away my passion to serve youth. Who knows, God may bring out that file through an opportunity sometime soon. I just have to keep my heart open and keep running after my God. He knows what’s best for me. He knows when and where He wants me to serve. It’s my job to listen and obey.



I love you, God. How You bless me!

I went out to breakfast with Angela again this morning. This is our second meeting and it’s really neat to get to know her. It’s so amazing to hang out with another woman of God. It’s indescribable how a woman of God’s heart pours out in love and adoration of her Savior. It’s so refreshing and revitalizing to be around someone who is truly Real and Alive in the Lord.

So, Angela and I found ourselves at First Watch (a breakfast and lunch joint). We both questioned whether the place was even open when we first arrived, prooving how many others were eating there at eight in the morning. My eyes scanned over the menu pondering what my stomach, whom had not woken up yet, most desired to devour. The menu prooved to be entertaining with a category for a “lighter” breakfast start, though not nearly as entertaining as Crackle Barrel’s “weight watchers” section. I mean seriously… you’re at Crackle Barrel! Hehe.
I had made up my mind quickly to find breakfast on the “real” menu when something caught my eye.

“What’s a lowfat egg?” I asked Angela, puting down my menu.
“Oh, it’s an artificial egg.” She smiled as she poked her head around her menu.
“How in the world do you get an artificial egg?” I questioned and giggled.
“It’s like an egg substitute. You pour it out of a container. It’s gross. I mean, I think God did a better job then that. You might as well just have the real thing. It’s only an egg.” She laughed as she continued to scan her menu.
“Mmmmm, sounds appetizing! Like seriously, who comes in here like,’I’ll have my egg poured from a carton, please.’ ” I laughed. No, fear… I found something stocked full of cholesterol and fatty goodness on the breakfast menu this morning. =)

Maybe some day I’ll get up the guts to try a “lowfat” egg. No… now that I think about it, I had a bad experience with camp eggs in the past… yeah… ditch the whole fake-egg-tryin’ for me. I’ll stick to God’s cholesterol creation.