There's something very wrong about a VBS mascot that looks demon-possessed. This is Karl the Koala. I bet he leaves some of the kids scarred for life.
-----------------------------------------------------------
I took only a few pictures at the lock-in because there was just too much going on for me to focus (no pun intended) on taking photos. Oh well, maybe next time.
Speaking of the lock-in, I've been thinking about all the prayer time we've had this weekend, Sunday night included, and I wanted to share one or two things on my heart.
First, I have a problem with people. Not everybody, mind you, but I spent alot of time this weekend wanting God to teach me how to handle a certain kind of person. I've asked Him to show me if my issues are real and true or if it's just me being difficult. That's not outside the realm of possibility, ya know. I don't ever want to assume that I'm right about everything so I really need God's wisdom on this. I may be old, but I'm still learning. Help me pray about this if you don't mind.
And second, there is one word that kept coming up this weekend. Choices.
I'm not sure what this means but I've been thinking alot about that word. Benji's been teaching about choices on Wednesdays and I've tried to focus on how I choose things in my life. My past is riddled with making the wrong choice, I mean over and over and over, but what things are choices in our lives?
One of my favorite authors wrote, "How do we start out one way, and by the time life has finished with us, end up different?"
The answer is choices. Salvation is a choice. Sin is a choice. Commitment and devotion are choices. Our spiritual disciplines like prayer and Bible study are choices. How we treat people is a choice. Humility is a choice. Selfishness, self-righteousness, pride, and self-centeredness are choices. Relationships are choices. Everything is a choice. And those choices are what keep us close to God and in His will or take us away from Him by following the path that suits our desires. Loving God is a choice.
So good grief, Charlie Brown, how do we make the right choice all the time? Well, we don't. We won't. There is no way to make the right decision every single time. But when we make the wrong one, and this is the really cool and awesome Jesus part, we don't have to keep making other wrong ones to cover the first wrong one. We can make it right. All we have to do is recognize it, take it to God in repentance and He'll help us back on to the right road. There is never a situation that is too sticky for God. No matter how bad we screw things up with our choices, God can fix it. But we have to take it to Him and let Him do it His way.
The choices we make can change our lives in an instant. Please allow Captain Experience here to assure you that choices define our lives. That's not something to play around with. We should make all our decisions in prayer and with an attitude that says, "I'm going to make the decision that keeps me close to God and best shows Him through me."
Don't be afraid to choose, but more importantly, don't be afraid to confess it when you choose wrong. I promise you that telling your screw-ups to God and asking Him to lead you through the fix-'er-up process is the most freeing thing you can ever do. Just ask anyone who has nearly ruined their life.
Oh, yay. It's Monday. (Hear the genuine excitement?)
