Nacho Usual Teen Party

My aunt was the ultimate youth leader.  Funny, cool, relatable, and extremely creative, she made learning about the Bible fun.  Aunt Becky was gifted with making you want to hang with Jesus.

Even though I wasn't officially a "teen," Becky invited me to be a part of the youth group a few years early.  Like Noah, I looked older than my age, and being a typical first-born female, was mature beyond my years.  Of course, it also helped that I had a family connection.  I didn't care how I got in, it was just great to be a part of the group.

Among my favorite youth group memories are the recreation of the Lord's supper, Luau's in the backyard, and rapping the Sunday school lessons.  I remember thinking then how much fun it would be when I was a grown-up and could host teen parties for my own church.

Fast forward many, many years later to present day. 

Last night, we were blessed to host the monthly Bible study for our kid's youth group.  Mix together a couple dozen teens and youth leaders, 2 ginormous bags of tortilla chips, a vat of nacho cheese and all the toppings, a heavy assortment of sugary sweets, a study video that asks tough spiritual questions, and you have all the ingredients for one great night.

We've come to love so many of these teens the past year and last night was a wonderful opportunity to get to know others better.  Prayers, lots of laughter, and smart conversations were shared.  Tim and I loved watching Noah and Tina interact with their friends and responding to the challenges given.  Coming off Revival, the timing was perfect to remind the teens (and us adults) to be brave and bold in continuing to share the gospel. 

"What if each of us reached just 1 person this year for Jesus?"

rang through the walls of our home and stirred our hearts.

Cleaning up a littering of plastic cups and chip crumbs, I found myself smiling as the last kid trotted out the door.  Amazed, even still, at the work God has done with our family through this church.  Grateful and blessed that Noah and Tina have solid role models, strong youth leaders, and faithful Christian friends.  Of all the gatherings we've hosted in our home over the years, this Bible study is by far at the top of our favorite's list.

And I can't help but chuckle that someone in the neighborhood called in a complaint about the crowd.  If they only knew the great things that were happening under this roof.  ...Maybe next time we'll invite them to join us!

Faithful Friday: I wanna be fruity!

What a revival! 

While our bodies are exhausted from the long (short) week of late nights, our souls are REVIVED!  Over 10 lives were eternally changed over the course of five days, with decisions of salvation.  An innumerable amount of lives were refreshed and hopefully forever changed from the contagious passion of our guest pastor, Steve Ayers.

There were so many nuggets that I could share with you, but one especially impacted me and it'll be my focus for this Faithful Friday.  (I encourage you to check out our podcast to listen to each of the sermons though.)

It was interesting that my exact reading that morning was the scripture of focus for Pastor Steve's sermon. 

The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. 

Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then he said to the tree,

“May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard him say it.  - Mark 11:12-14

I've never eaten a fig, that I remember, and I didn't really know anything about a fig tree until that morning.  When I'd read the scripture earlier, for a moment I thought, "Gee, that was harsh."  It wasn't until later when I learned that Jesus cursed the tree due to the fact that it had all the outward signs of bearing fruit, from the fullness of leaves, but was a hypocrite because it had none.  And truly, if we aren't serving a purpose, what good are we?
 
Fig trees aren't the prettiest, they're knotty and don't play well with others.  The roots are greedy, spreading beyond the tree, often choking out other vegetation.  But those that mature and bear fruit, provide one of the most sustainable sources of food.  Figs are low in calories but high in fiber, anti-oxidants and minerals.  Even an ugly tree can fulfill its purpose when it does what God planned it to do.

I couldn't help but sit there during the sermon and compare my life to that of a fig tree.  Yes, I've had lots of ugly.  And I've had my share of looking like everything was together when it was anything but.  While I'm blessed to say I'm in the stage of life that is bearing fruit, I know that daily I need some pruning. 

I want my tree to be used up at the end of my life, to have born all the fruit I could possibly bear.  And to know that my tree was always used for God's glory, never my own.

Less leaves, more fruit. 

That's my earnest prayer...