Embracing the Here and Now

the main reason I started this blog was to a) have an outlet to let out some creativity b) keep people updated on what is going on in my world and c) to share this journey of the Christian walk I am currently on and motivate others to follow the same. Just thought I would throw that one out there in case anyone had any reason to wonder... I know I would :)

In a few short hours I am going to embark on a new journey and I am not yet sure how I feel about it. I am going across the country for a summer internship where I will be serving in a church working with the Children's ministry and the Youth ministry. I am very excited about what the Lord is going to do this summer...however, nervousness is setting in. I am going to a strange land with people I am familiar with yet still do not know very well, I am doing the work of the Lord, and that is the only familiar territory.
As I sit and ponder this great adventure I am reminded of how Esther must have felt when she was about to leave her Uncle's house and live at the Palace. Her she was, still a young girl who had known nothing different than here day to day living as a commoner and just like that she is sent to live in the palace to compete with thousands of women in a huge beauty contest to be the next Queen! Talk about culture shock!!! The amazing part of this story to me is her willingness to go...she knew all that was at stake and yet still went with a willing heart to serve her people and her God.
Now I am not being thrown into this situation without my concent, and this journey I am going on will by no means make or break a people group, however, this journey I am headed on has the capacity to either influence a great many or be wasted because of human pride and selfishness. Esther had that same choice. She could have been satisfied with just making it alive day in and day out, not really making an impact but not doing anything wrong. But rather than live in such a self-centered manor she chose to make every day count no matter what the cost! And isn't this the kind of life Christ challenges us to live day by day? Shouldn't we live in such a way that we are constantly influencing those arround us for the good? As one who claims to be walking with the Lord my challenge and my desire is to draw people to the cross on a daily basis whether it be through my words, my actions, or simply by the way I carry myself throughout the day.
My prayer for this summer is to become an individual of such faith and obedience that I influence the life of another each day that I have breath in my body. I was placed on this planet for such a time as this and I would hate to get to the end of my life and wonder what I did with these precious hours I was given to glorify the Lord.
The here and now is a precious place....rather than waste it on thinking about how you can make it better for yourself....lets try making it better for those around us...

"....for even the son of man came not to be served but to serve."