Thoughts from the Woods

Monday I spent some time listening to God as I explored some local woods. I literally came face-to-face with a red-tailed hawk and a white-tailed deer and had no camera to take pictures. I found some beaver tracks and tried to track down the creature but had no luck. It was awesome! Nature helps me reconnect with God. It reminds me of his creativity, majesty and love for his people.

While I was sinking ankle deep in mud and getting twigs stuck in my hair from climbing trees, God was teaching me about myself. I learned that no matter how much I love the idea of putting "safety first," he continually calls me to live dangerously. I was laying in a tree when I realized how many huge steps of faith God has called me to take in the last ten years. Every step of faith has had these characteristics.

• These steps were all outside of my comfort zone.
  
• There were plenty of other people telling me how dangerous or irresponsible the decision was.
• God ALWAYS exceeded my expectations as I stepped forward.

To be honest, I frequently haven't recognized how great the risk was in each situation. I just knew it was the right thing to do. The desire to live in obedience seems to have blocked out most of the risk involved. I think God does that because he knows me so well. Otherwise, I may not have been so willing to leap.

I guess I am a little bit of an adventurer. God shared with me a little bit more about the adventure I'm on right now. I'm excited for it and know the next few months may not be easy but they will be fun. Maybe I'll even get another chance to catch that beaver!

Lessons from a Relationship Status

Jessica, Rachel, Susanna and Me

I had the privilege of spending my day with these lovely ladies and the rest of the Ditto family. During our lunch conversation, we started talking about relationship statuses on Facebook. We wondered who would cause the most buzz by changing their status. Of course there was only one way to find out so we all changed our single status to in a relationship.

Being the competitive people that we are, we made it a contest, but it didn't stay that way for long. Shortly after the texts, phone calls, comments and messages started showing up, we noticed some interesting trends. Forget the friendly competition! We had a little social experiment on our hands. There were some interesting and disappointing observations.

• People who we haven't spoken with in YEARS want to know every thing about your life.
• People who we've tried to connect with but never have the time suddenly seem to have an abundance of it.
• It was interesting to note the people who took the time to call or text instead of just leaving a comment. A majority of those people are ones who have been intentional about staying connected not matter what.
• The people closests to us, flat out ignored it or called us out because they know there was no way it was true. This was my favorite response!
• We have a handful of smart friends who actually noticed all of our statuses changed at the same time and we were spending the day together. Well they're either smart or spend way to much time on Facebook.

Probably the biggest thing we learned for these shenanigans was just how much attention a change in your relationship status can draw. I scrolled back on my wall for months looking for a status update the caused more individuals to respond than a relationship update. I couldn't find one!!! We all found that more people responded to this than almost every other subject we've ever posted about.

More people were interested in who the guy was we were dating than updates about family members, school, work, ministry or even things God was teaching us. And that last one was the thing that bothered me the most. More people called and text in one day to find out details about a relationship with a boy than have ever asked about how THE most important relationship I will ever have. That made me ask myself some tough questions today.

Am I doing what I can to encourage those in my life to pursue Christ?
Do I know how to pray for my friends and am I doing it?
Am I creating space in my life to listen to what is going on in the lives of those around me?



Okay, you can all start whining and complaining about being tricked and how unfair it is. And may be this does sound a bit harsh. Say what you want. It's my blog and my Facebook account. Deal with it!

Reflections on Blogging

During a conversation with a group of GSM students after Journey Class tonight, I referenced an old blog post. When I got home tonight I decided to find it. In the process I read several old posts, many about teaching. I laughed. I cried. Teaching was such an adventure.

Now I'm sitting here wondering what my excuse is for not blogging. I have NONE! I enjoyed blogging. I'm glad I was able to capture the stories and emotions of the last few years. I THINK about blogging often. Obviously it rarely happens.

Maybe I'll get back to blogging on a regular basis. Maybe I won't. I guess time will tell.