Y-E-S to V-B-S!

Hey friends!! So it's Friday night of VBS week (aka: the end) and boy am I exhausted.

However, the exhaustion I'm feeling is nothing compared to the JOY I'm feeling. I have just come to absolutely adore VBS, the children's ministry, XA Camp, our youth ministry, our church as a whole this past week. I got to be a part of something bigger than this world for the 4th year in a row, but this year was by far the best. My 4th graders were so wonderful and so many of them have the most innocent, loving hearts full of Jesus I have ever seen. I love VBS because I always get so much out of it. It's going back to the basics, everyone sins, that sin separates us from God, and in order to be in the right place with God and get to Heaven, we accept Jesus as Lord, repent from our sins, and tell other people about Jesus.. it's simple, really. One thing I have always struggled with is being comfortable to share Christ with others, but this week changed that. On Wednesday, I taught on the ABC's of becoming a Christian, and yesterday and today, I got the opportunity to sit down with a 4th grade boy and really see his heart change into a heart for the Lord, praise Jesus for another friend in Heaven! :) and as of Thursday, 20 more children were added to His Kingdom.

There was also XA Camp this week. It's "VBS" for the 6th graders. Kind of like a transition into the youth group. I got to hang out with all the girls I went to GA Camp with last year and it was SO fun reconnecting with them! I've also met a lot of our current youth girls and I'm getting to hang out with them a bunch, talking about college and boyfriends, you know, the works :) I'm so SO beyond thankful that I have the opportunity to be interning at FBC this summer. It's already changing my life SO much. Next up is Missions Camp for grades 1-6 next weekend! I can't wait!

love <3

You put the light in me.

'Cause in Your perfection, I'm just a reflection,

So pull me closer to You,

I catch like a fire, and I'll hold You higher,

You put the light in me.

The spark, the shot to the heart,

You are the hope that leads me out of the dark,

You let Your love shine down, so that the world could see,

You put the light in me."

I heard this song on the radio today, instant favorite. It's called "The Light in Me" by Brandon Heath. I swear I'm going to need to get his CD sometime soon.

Anyways, the song inspired me. It made me think back to before I was saved, before I knew Christ, and where I could've been without Him. It was a time of darkness. A life before it is saved is a live overshadowed by sin. Isn't it an amazing thing knowing that my God, OUR God, the Creator of the universe had (and still has) a plan for everyone of us? He had a plan for the day He would reveal Himself to us, a plan for the day His spirit would consume us and live inside of us.

And now we flash forward to the present, and here I am, saved, forgiven, and washed clean. I'm a sinner, unworthy of His love and grace, but He died for me, taking my sins (ALL of our sins) on the cross, and rose again, so that we could be forgiven and set free. Now it's my turn, our turn, to be something beautiful, to be the light. "The light" is the light that He put in me. I am commanded to be the light to others, especially in dark times, to live a life according to the Word of God, and show the world that Jesus is Lord. So, as I've been challenged by this song's message, I encourage you to listen to it, (click here) and be challenged in the same way.

there's my thought for the day, I'll leave you with this:

"In the same way, let your light shine before men, so that they will see your good deeds and praise your Father in Heaven." -Matthew 5:16

"In Him was life, and that life was the light of mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." -John 1:4-5''

Now, go be the light! :)