May 13, 2008

May 08 Newsletter

OVERWHELMED

This was a busy month. The months of April and May are always the craziest because camp is right around the corner and there is a whole lot that needs to be done. I’m beginning to feel that pressure but it has been a bit more amplified this year. On top of fulfilling my responsibilities at Youthfront, I am also moving out of the house I’m currently living in while getting ready to leave for Amsterdam.



Yikes!

Because of all of these moving parts it has been increasingly hard to remain in the present. I often find myself looking toward what’s ahead in the summer and beyond. This is not a healthy practice whatsoever. It is good to plan things out but it is also good to hold lightly to such things as our plans have the tendency to change seemingly out of nowhere. I really need to focus on camp and not just breeze by it because my tendency is to think about Amsterdam and the ministry I will get to partner with when I’m there.

Jesus was incredible at living in the present. There were many times when Jesus was on a journey but was quick to make time for anybody who needed him. He got sidetracked, detoured and held up. If wasn’t for Jesus’ awareness of people in need and his willingness to be interrupted, we wouldn’t have half of the miracles that are now recorded in the gospels.

Jesus couldn’t do this without being wholly devoted to his Father. It was through this intimate bond that Jesus was able to truly see people as God sees them—as beautiful children who were fearfully and wonderfully made. This reality caused Jesus to weep over Jerusalem and to work towards restoring all of creation back to a right relationship with its Father. Jesus’ heart was on display for the 33 years He walked on the earth, and it is on display even now! My desire for all of us is to begin to live in the present moment no matter the distraction or hardship.

“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?”
-Mat. 6:26-27

“Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.”
-Mat. 25:34-36

Know that I am praying for you. Please pray for me as I try to be present to the Summer Staff and campers while I am with them in the coming weeks.

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