What They See

I've come to realize how unappreciated my work at school is. Whether in classes or with student council, it seems that people don't see what I do. Not only that, but they see me doing little even when I'm doing a lot. I don't get it. There's probably something on that in the Bible, something to do with long-suffering and such, but still, it's a really disappointing thing. When you put most of your effort into something, and people are literally blind to it and only see your mistakes, it tends to take a toll on your opinion of the place. One example is the work I did in student council. No one remembered me being at any of the meetings, and yet it was my ideas that ended up being the highlights of the night.

God isn't like that though, and neither is Paradigm, Lakeshore, or my small group. All I get from those is encouragement. Lesson: Hang around godly people at godly places, and people will see the worth in you when others don't.

Payback: And This Time, It's Personal.

God pays back. When you give someone most of your Christmas money 'cause God told you to, you aren't getting gipped. Pastor Nick texted me last tuesday that he had something for me. When I went into his office today, he gave me an envelope, and asked me to open it, 'cause he suspected that there was money in it. Lo and behold, there was! In fact, it was the exact amount of money that God had me give away two months ago.

Also, the junior high small group was kick-rear. Awesome new location and people. We did a second intro to the gifts of the Spirit, since only three out of the twelve-ish there were at our last small group.

I still need more ideas on how to brighten this senior year for the other seniors (if you don't know what I'm talking about, read the last blog).

The Incredibles

To recap yesterday's events, I stayed at home and worked on my thesis for most of the day, then my computer remembered it's viruses, which frustrates me enough to distract me. Only 4 pages into it.

Today, I talked to Shayna about the plan for small groups, and she agreed that spiritual gifts was the way to go. Of course, an hour before small groups started, she suggested that we make it a movie night tonight, since we wouldn't have many people, and I agreed. We watched The Incredibles, and, although no one else may have been thinking this, I thought it tied in well with the lesson plan.

Superpowers? God dishes 'em out. Loads of 'em are mentioned all through the Bible. Teleportation, super-strength, flying, etc. It's all there.

I just wanna share this stuff that gets me so excited, so that maybe some of these junior highers will be crazy enough to believe that God's Word really can and just might be reality today, in all aspects, including the fun parts.

On The Horizon

I felt like God said that I'd be able to live in that awesome way that I've been yearning to. He said this coming semester was the time for it. The difference now will be that I'll keep in mind the value of balance. During my time in Canton, I had lots of time to sit around praying, texting and selling (didn't sell much). Things came together. Here are a few things on the horizon for me/us:

1. Generally speaking, I'm stepping it up in leadership. I stepped back this past semester to let other people step up. To be specific, Rush and Perez didn't. Rush would be the main problem there. He's the one with the friggin' huge anointing for leadership. So yeah, when the ones that God wants don't step up, those less-abled among us have to do so. This is how Jordan and I end up leading. Not to downplay my or Jordan's abilities, of course. I just felt like God is having us take the place of someone who decided not to step up when God wanted them to.

2. New Paradigm. I'll be talking to Pastor Nick about videos for the New Paradigm tomorrow. One such new video may be a new, improved version of the I Am Paradigms. Pastor Nick originally intended for them to be a fresh word caught on video. I've got an idea for the first fresh word (it's based on the blog about Solla Sollew by Dr. Seuss).

3. Revolt, the school retreat coming up at the end of January. Jordan said he needed someone organized to help out with it. Guess who was waiting for someone else to step up to the plate? Yep, so now that it's a month away, I'm taking over much of the planning. I texted Cameron, and he confirmed that Mike Bond will most likely want to be a part of this, so there's our speaker. Awesome? I think so.

4. I get to give most of my/God's Christmas money away (the money I was gonna be living on for awhile or, if I saved it, gambling with on the cruise). I love having to rely on God financially. Don't worry; His orders, not mine.

5. God revealed something to me through my Dr. Seuss research. Dr. Seuss wrote his books for adults, but written in language simple enough for children to understand (in many of his first drafts, he cussed and swore a lot). When asked if he would ever write adult books instead of childrens, he replied that he didn't know of a difference between the two. This plus a sermon I was listening to clued me in on something. I've been uncertain of whether to approach the subject of awesome supernatural stuff with my small group, 'cause I wasn't sure if it'd be the appropriate group. But it's a subject I ALWAYS wanna talk about, like something rising up in me. So maybe, just maybe, if it's done simply, we can start talking about my favorite parts of Christianity.

I'm excited.