Post for March 25

So, our organization, Alternative Missions, has an intranet. Each staff member has a database there and we are supposed to post on the intranet each week so as to keep a sense of community as an organization and not just in our specific locations. I decided that I would share with you my post for this week. So here it is:

So, I have two things to share this week, one ministry-related and one personal.

1. Ministry-related. So, we've been doing things slightly different in our weekly youth group meetings. A couple of months ago, Steve started pairing the kids off--some with other youth and some with leaders--usually in groups of 2 or 3 (if the numbers weren't even) for the final prayer time of the evening. We've noticed that this is a much more effective strategy than a large group prayer with one person praying because this way everyone is participating and sharing with others. Well, this past week as I was driving one of the girls home to Santa Fe, and couple of others accompanied us. During the ride they shared with me how "way cool" their prayer time was with the girls they got partnered with. Both were partnered with girls who are younger, and with whom they have both begun to develop a mutual trust. The greatest thing was that they were both SO EXCITED about how the prayer time had gone that they were about to jump out of their seats. I mentioned to one of them about how awesome it is to get to see God use us in the moment, and she said, "YAH! That's it...HE USED ME!" And we were able to talk about how that's the essence of discipleship and how she can continue to encourage those girls with whom she prayed. It's just so neat to see how God is moving and growing our youth!

2. Personal note: So, I too am doing this Bible study on the fruit of the Spirit with the other ladies on staff here [Living Beyond Yourself, by Beth Moore]. It's a great study, and I'm actually doing it in English [with the staff ladies of course] and in Spanish [with Sandy] simultaneously and having to adapt the videos for the Spanish study. So, I'm getting to know the material pretty well. But something that Beth Moore presents in the study is that living in the Spirit won't just change our lives but it will change our day--that it's a long-term process but that the changes are accessible right here right now too. This week the Lord has been making me acutely aware of how NOT in the habit I am of calling on him in my NOW needs: moments when frustration rolls in unexpectedly, interactions that I wasn't planning on, when things aren't going the way I'd like them to either in me or in others, etc. Short of posting notes all over my appartment to remind me to call on Him NOW, I'm not entirely sure how to go about fixing that bad habit, but I know that God is faithful to accomplish His will in me. And calling on Him is definitely in His will. So I'm looking forward to seeing how God changes things in me over the next several months and what He has in store for putting those changes into practice in the world around me. One thing's for sure: it will definitely be a ride to remember.

I highly recommend this study. Some of it is so basic, but at the same time it is NOT! The entire study is available online at www.lifeway.com--videos, homework, and even study helps and an online community for those participating in the study online! You can do it on your own, or you can do it in a group using the online study as the video source. That's what we are doing here. Her other study, Believing God, is also available there and is also highly recommended by me!

Praise the Lord that keeps plugging away at me! And how amazing that even though I'm still not anywhere close to "arriving" he lets me witness His plugging away in others as well! OOOHHHHH, He's GOOD!