Pondering?

For the past few weeks I have been pondering upon life and the vision that God has for me. For many years it was so based off of my works and the things I did. I can't really tell you why, but that came an end. This summer I have had some great victories that most people don't know because they have been with inside of me. I think it really never hit me until we were at camp when I had the chance to sit in a corner and see our students worship. The greatest fear of mine was that this would come to an end. Then out of no where God started speaking to me that he was enough and that he had a new vision for Paradox and that he wanted it to live up it's name.

Paradox-a statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth.

In the past year we took a whole new vision change that was 100% directed by God and we had no control over it at all. It's funny how when we would try to take control God would just take it over and go over our heads with it. Our group of students started making some changes that I was just sitting back and was amazed with. I found myself a bit upset, because many times our kids would be misunderstood. Then out of nowhere our students started taking a stand. For whatever reason God knew it was time to make a move and show all of us what it means to be loved by God.

The new vision is simple, Love God and Love people. I really believe that we see the most change when we simply follow that. The last year I have seen that this is simply the calling of all Christians. To understand that Greater things are to come and that God is the light in the darkness. Simply allowing people to struggle with identity issues and not to be the person that try to change it, but pointing them to the person who can change it.

In June I had the chance to baptize three students in South Padre Island, another student was baptize on a family vacation by his dad, the week before a student was baptize in our baptism service. This next week I will have the privilege to baptize four more. Two who have been active in our group for three years who felt the calling. Another one who has been with us for a year and said he felt this was a step he needed to take. Today a young lady came to me and talked to me about being baptize.

What is amazing about this is the fact that God is moving, but in a way we are not use to. It has simply been through us learning to simply listen to the Holy Spirit and to follow his direction. Why has this been important, because it has not been important to me. I use to be so about numbers and wanting people to see that I am serving God. It had more to do with me and less about taking a stand. I felt that I had to be like everyone else and would be the way I would make it.

I look back and I think about where I was and where I am at. Today everyone of our students had an adult keeping up with them in some way. That is what was most important to me, I wanted them to know that people care and that God loves them. I found that grabbing a coke with a group of students and simply sitting in McDonald's might be the best spiritual thing we could offer. Showing them God love through listening to them.

The last thing I have been thinking about it the student who put his hand up and felt God come in his life. The reason I say this is because he wasn't going to go. The Wednesday before camp he came to me. I didn't really want to let him to go because I had just sent in all of my numbers and had a check ready to send. God had other plans, he went. I broke my rule that I made that I was only going to take those who had been attending church regularly. I knew he needed to God, so God made it happen.

It is simply amazing how if we really set aside the politics and our desires and focus on the desires of God, we really start to see a change. That's my prayer is that we would simply love all of God's creation and that we would follow his way.