What really matters...

There is so much I could say about this past weekend at Emmaus.  But most of it is summed up in this story that was used by one of the speakers... A Tandem Ride With God I used to think of God as my observer, my judge, keeping track of the things I did wrong, so as to know whether I merited heaven or hell when I die. He was out there, sort of like a president. I recognized His picture when I saw it, but I didn't really know Him. But later on, when I met Jesus, it seemed as though life was rather like a bike, but it was a tandem bike, and I noticed that Jesus was in the back helping me pedal. I didn't know just when it was He suggested we change, but life has not been the same since I took the back-seat to Jesus, my Lord. He makes life exciting. When I had control, I thought I knew the way. It was rather boring, but predictable. It was the shortest distance between two points. But when He took the lead, He knew delightful long cuts, up mountains, and through rocky places

Today was one of those days when I love my job.  This morning I met with a family just starting to get involved with our church and got to share about our ministries with them.  This afternoon I took the largest group we've ever taken to pick up trash on the highway and they did a great job. Then this evening, I got to hang out with some awesome teenagers at dinner, and then we played some amazing games - like 3-legged kick ball - that were also part of our Bible study lesson on how we are called to love God.  We played and laughed and learned together.  And to top it all off the weather was gorgeous, so we were able to enjoy that as we hung out.  And I found myself thinking - I am the luckiest person in the world - I get paid for this. And then we went inside to conclude our Bible study.  The focus of tonight's Bible study was on loving God, with a special emphasis on how we need to grow in our relationship to God, and how sometimes we need to simply rest in God.  So I pla

I know this is something I have posted about before, but it is something that I really feel on my heart, and I read this quote yesterday in Immerse: A Journal of Faith, Life, and Youth Minstry. "We must see people as people, not issues...  I do not feel the need to be the Holy Spirit and bring down judgment on those who have a different perspective than I do.  I am committed to conversations and relationships with those I don't agree with.  I want to be open to learn from others.  I seek first to understand.  We can be people who disagree on important issues without demonizing one another." ~ Mike King, executive editor  I love this.  There are a couple of things that stuck out to me.  First - "We must see people as people, not issues."  Jesus did this.  He saw the people behind the leprosy, the blindness, the prostitution, the adultery, the tax collecting.  But how often do we write people off because they disagree with us on politics, (homosexuality and