LTC and Spring Advancing!

The past 2 weekends have been such a blessing-having the chance to be involved in youth ministry twice in a row has just been awesome! I went to LTC last weekend where usually I am a sponsor/coach/judge or a combination of the three...but this year I went purely to socialize and watch many of the kids from the churches I have previously attended perform. It was so wonderful to connect, re-connect, and hang out with so many people that I love dearly! It was also great to watch and cheer on many of my kids from Lubbock and Abilene-so wonderful to watch them blossom and grow in our Father-using their gifts for His Kingdom and having fun!
Yep, my crazy Broadway kids!

This past weekend I was blessed to sponsor the Garden Ridge youth ministry's Spring Advance, and it was a blast!! I did not know many of the kids before going, but fell in love with many of them before the weekend was over and was so thankful for the opportunity to spend time with and get to know them! It is a great group of kids, and Scott really challenged and encouraged us by showing us how to better evangelize and share Jesus with others in a less intimidating and more intimate way. He showed us how Genesis 1 is more than just a creation story-how God had us in mind & that we were part of THE story from the very beginning. So awesome-Scott just continues to challenge and encourage me in my walk as God speaks through him!

It also reminded how much I miss youth ministry, that my passion for it has not waned, and how thankful I am for every opportunity I get to spend time with teenagers! There is a special energy and confidence I get when I am a part of it. I really have missed being a part of it, and was afraid that the opportunities would not come again and I would not have a chance to pour my passion into it for awhile-so I was truly thankful. I honestly wondered for awhile if it was a thing of the past and if I still had it in me-and I realize how God really has given me that passion and He will not take it away, but use me when I embrace the opportunity and allow Him to.

God is really working on me-teaching me a lot, and I hope I am paying attention enough-sometimes I feel like I am not. I have felt uneasy about things more often lately-which I think is in part because God is doing, & is about to do and show me some incredible things, and that is both scary and exciting! I have long said "Here am I, send me" asking Him to use me wherever He sees fit, but now that we are knocking on the door of some incredible opportunities-there are some fears settling in, which I am praying His perfect love will drive out those fears!

I do have more on China that I have written and want to write about...so stay tuned and I will share some more about that incredible experience that I am still processing through over 3 weeks later! :)

Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young; but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity. ~1 Timothy 4:12