Where will you move?

"I once thought that these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him." Philippians 3:7-8 NLT

We pulled back into the church parking lot not quite a week ago, returning from MOVE 09. Stepping off the bus is the hardest part of the week, at least for me it is. It's the time to make good on your goals, resolutions and promises. It's back to real life. I've never liked returning from trips - the let-down is a killer, but with MOVE it's different. Yes, there's some sadness because you'll miss those you grew close to, and there's no live band to make us "feel closer to God." Our return home from MOVE, though, presents us with, not only the challenge, but the opportunity to fulfill whatever it was that we felt God calling us to do for Him. Oh yeah, it's hard to keep true to committments when you don't have the constant accountability of your youth group, but with God, all things are possible, right?

Personally, I had multiple things that I knew I had been struggling with and needed to change. On the fourth night of MOVE, God revealed to me that I truly am a shopaholic. There's nothing wrong with shopping, but I shop when I'm upset or bored, like buying things is therapy to fix my broken heart. Not only does that break the bank because hearts are easily broken, but I replace something God loves to do - comfort us with his love - with a shirt I just I had to have. That's no good, because clothes and shoes can't fill me up, they only fill up my closet with too much junk. So my play-doh idol was a dress. I chucked it in the bucket with everyone else's idols, said a prayer, washed my hands and walked over a play-doh carpet and back into the auditorium to worship my God alone. So no more play-doh, cool. But at home, I have a lot more than play-doh to distract me. The real thing. On the way home we stopped at the Columbia mall to eat. That was hard. But I'm clean still haha, and I'm planning on cleaning out my closet today, which will be hard. I know someone else needs my cute clothes that I'll never wear again, though, and God wants me to find fulfillment in him rather than in material junk.

Another thing God hit me with hard was all the little stuff. We know intelectually that all sin is equal in God's eyes: lust is the same as theft, murder the same as lying. That's hard to grasp. It's a weird concept to people who live in a world that revolves around one's status. Things like lying. Not even big lies, but stupid, little lies that are unnecessary. They might make me look better, but they are never the less, wrong. Also, my language. I'm no sailor, but I let words slip that I know aren't pleasing to God. Why? My attitude is more a why not? Well, that's no good. What do people who know I'm a christian think when my mouth doesn't sound so lovely? An extra adjective for emphasis is not necessary in most cases, and if it is, the least I can do is substitue it for dang or flippin. You get the idea, and I start on the way to a cleaner mouth and a tamed tongue. Another thing I've slipped up on, or rather, cut God short on, is my time with him. This is a hard one for me, because I make myself so busy, and I'm the queen of procrastinators. I've got a crown, sceptor, the whole deal. I stay up late and sleep in, because that's the easy, fun and comfortable way to live. I'm sad to say I haven't done very good on this goal. Even though I want to spend time with God, it's so hard for me to stop everything, shut down my brain's "you need to do this, this and this" nature, and spend time with my Creator. I don't cut time with my friends for stupid stuff, so why do I let myself cut time with my Savior? I don't know, it's a mystery, one I hope to solve and conquer. It's gonna be a tough one, but as I said, this is God we're talking about, he'll help me.

The last thing I was faced with at MOVE was one I've known about for a while. I'm not always the nicest person, and I know that. That's hard to say, but there it is. I need to love people like Christ loves. I realized this as I was considering what I want to do with my future. Journalism has been it for a while, but I've come to realize that the only thing I really want to do is to love people. I want to love those kids who's parents don't give a rat's behind, or that teen who hasn't heard a word of praise for years. Al, my youth pastor, helped me see this. Some say Al is harsh, or that he doesn't care about whose feelings he hurts. He's a very black and white person, and some take him calling them out as being mean. They think he is rude and doesn't care. But if people would take a chance to get to know him, they would see that he is a guy who just loves kids. He might not have the greatest work ethic or diplomacy, but Al is in the business of loving kids. He cares, so he tells it to you straight. I hope people don't trade love for numbers. Because we could have the biggest youth group ever, but if we have not love, we are nothing.

So, I decided that I needed to love people more now. It can't just be a goal for a career if it's not a goal for life. It's easy to love the cute little kids, or my peers that I deem cool. But what I knew I needed to take a look at was how I treated the untouchables and those that annoy me most. I apologized to someone I've not been very nice to upon my return, and that was a step. I plan on following it with many more. Steps of an open heart and a controlled tongue.

So, overall, MOVE is incredible. Go. It will change your life if you let it, or should I say God will, if you let him. He showed me some pretty cool stuff this summer. I wouldn't trade it for anything. I hope you'll let him work in your life, whether you go to MOVE or not. He loves you for always, and all he wants is for you to love him back. God bless.