BigStuf...is big stuff.

First of all, it has been almost four months since I have last blogged...sad.

Anyway, I just returned from BigStuf at Panama City Beach! I went there along with 57 other people (adults and students) from the high school ministry at Connection Pointe Christian Church. It was awesome! Everything from the music, to the speaking, to the videos, to the group time, to games, was top notch. I saw God in many different ways and was able to see God work in the hearts of the students. That in itself would have been enough to make the trip worth while, but there was so much more! I was able to build friendships, create new friendships, play on the beach, and just have a great time! I have to say, my favorite part of each day was the quiet time. There was a schedule time each day where everyone was to take thirty minutes or so and just spend time with God. In the camp booklets that they gave us, there were a couple devotionals that we were to read during that time. I absolutely loved them. They were insightful and provoking. I really felt connected to God in those times. Just for you, I am going to put one of those quiet times here:

I love watching you. The way you move. The way you smile. The times you are so excited about life. Even the times when you are lonely and sad, and wonder what life is about. You might think it's a bit weird that I would like watching you during those times, but frankly, those are the times when you are most open to catching a glimpse of me. Th e times I want most to grab hold of your heart and open up your mind and warm your soul. You see, I made your heart and your soul and your smile. I formed your eyes and the way they glimmer sometimes, and the tear ducts that seem to work more often than I would have preferred. Everything about you is partly a reflection of me. I would still like to cut off some of the rough edges and take away some of the barnacles that have collected on you soul. In many ways you are like a block of stone that a sculptor works with, he always sees the beauty in the piece before he starts whittling away the parts that don't belong. Whether you know it or not, I am always working on you. Working in you. I have in mind a final sculpted piece that you will be amazed at someday as you look at your reflection. And it's because of that, you will see me. I understand why you sometimes are not excited about me, and why you ignore me and leave me out of your life. Why you aren't interested in my word or my place in your life. It's because you haven't really seem me yet. You've heard stories, you've read books, you've been to church and you heard sermon after sermon...but you haven't seen me. If you had lived only under a gray cloud all your life, you couldn't understand a sunset or a sunrise. But once the clouds moved away and you see for the first time, the beauty starts shining with all its glory on the earth as your part of the planet spins to meet the bright horizon, all your thoughts about what a day can be life begin to change. My desire for you...is to really see me. You might glimpse part pf my reflection in the ocean, the sky, the mountains, or the trees. You can see it in some of the people around you and feel my shadow shine its light on you through the love of my kids that are close by. I am all around you. I am inside of you. And yes...I love watching you because I made you. I can't wait for you to look really closely and see me. Because then I get to watch your eyes glimmer and your smile erupt.
Me...watching you... watching me. That makes me smile too.