Jen creeps into blogging text box...cyberly tiptoeing, feeling for familiarity...'have I ever been here before?' She wonders. ;)
Good very late evening. :) It is nearing one in the morning and as I was readying for bed, I had a sudden, strange urge to "clack". So here I am, sitting in this overgrown office in the first spring thunderstorm, to visit with you. Be it brief, or long-winded, I'm so glad I've stolen this moment instead of stolen some sleep! I've definitely missed it, and lately, if I feel the tiniest of a writing hair, I had better take it. They are so rare these days, and writing is such a part of me that I'm feeling less and less like myself. :(
Tonight, my two brothers in crime--haha, ummm--joined me at my kitchen table for some good discussion and fellowship. Daniel and Steven are the two young men the Lord has blessed me with to teach at SWAT, the youth ministry at New Hope Community Church. A week ago, we decided to get together every Thursday evening to discuss the previous night, and plan for the following week. We are so spontaneous, even I (a very spontaneous person) get frusterated with our game-plans. But each week, I am blessed by the lessons and the kids, and we've been humbled to see fruit in the Spirit leading, not us. Though structure is WONDERFUL, I know sometimes that I can put more structure than Spirit in a plan.
Tonight was refreshing (thank you guys!!). We talked, laughed, planned, hoped, and studied together, in hopes the Lord would be in our midst to lead us to what the kids need the most. Since my house is generally a noisy place, we decided to take advantage of the warm weather and pray outside. Praise God, we were all blessed by that time, and afterwards, we lingered while the thunderstorm rolled in and put on a breathtaking lightning show.
After they left, I read 1 & 2 Timothy, as I studied for next week.
"There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God..." 2 Timothy 3:2-5
Sound familiar?
After our conversation tonight, my heart hurt. The things of this world, the traps, the attitudes, the training. And the things that the kids--the ones we're trying to reach--face on a daily basis just makes me sick to my stomach. What we say and instruct, how we live, how we love...I desperately pray it all reflects the power of God. The world and its depravity gets them for every other moment, but He's given us a 2-3 hour time on a Wednesday night that I pray we make the most of Him with!
"For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline."
--2 Timothy 1:6-7
Himself, His Spirit.
The spirit of power--to overcome, to understand His Word, understand others, heal, rebuke and teach. The spirit of love--to sacrifice, to give wholeheartedly, to be patient, not boastful or conceited, but considerate and serving. And the spirit of self-discipline...not self self-discipline! The spirit of self-discipline...the gift of His power (not mine) to keep us focused and steady in the things that are important and imperisable.
Wow...I want to build my house on that Rock, mmm?
Great post Jenn! I couldn't remember who's blog this was, when I saw it had been up dated on my blogroll! :) Its been at the bottom for soooo very long! ;)
ReplyDeleteI was browsing thru recent blog posts and came across this one by a new blogger. I'm glad I found you. I hope you write more often than the girl who used to blog here:) I'm still trying to absorb everything you wrote. But, I like it.
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