Kansas and Grace

Now obviously I could write about 200 pages on grace...it's a VERY important subject...BUT my devotional today was 2 Corinthians 12:8-10, so I'll focus on that!

"Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

There are many different dissections that can be done with this popular verse. Grace - how awesome is it that we can boast about our weaknesses! THIS is where God wants us to be...in our weaknesses. Why? Because this is where we will rely on him the most...where it is easy to rely on him. It is when this grace lifts that we must be aware. This is God's way of getting us to recognize that things are changing. I'm not talking about having a bad day where we're impatient...we all have those days. This means when we reach a point where our attitudes and actions begin to actually hurt others - we become "ungracious" towards others...in a habitual way. It becomes a patter. We can't let this happen. We must turn to God and consult him for our next move - change is a scary thing, and we can't succesfully transition on our own. This is what I get from the verse.

Ask...

"Lord, what do You have in mind for me now?"

As I've said a hundred times, I ask this all the time. I always ask to do His will...for God to place me where He wants me to be, to prepare me for what he has in store for me. I am going to keep asking, even if I don't get an answer. Why? Because God is teaching me patience. He doesnt answer all prayer right away, because he wants us to rely on him...to wait on His timing. Otherwise, why would we ever rely on him for everything if he gave us everything we wanted? THIS is Grace as well. He is a teacher...and gives us wisdom beyond our understanding. We don't deserve it, but He gives it. How amazing. AMAZING BUT TRUE(okay, bad joke).





OKAY! Now to what's been going on in my life. YES! I am going to Kansas tomorrow. I can't wait. I fly into KC, a tall monkey-looking man who is 6'7" will pick me up from the airport in Kansas City...and we will have some fun and go to Lawrence where University of Kansas is. Actually, my roommate Aaron emailed this to me yesterday...check it out if you have time...it lists the most desirable and undesirable cities to live in for dating.

http://www.bestplaces.net/docs/studies/DatingCities.aspx

IF you happen to check out the WORST places to live for 18-24 year old singles, you will see KANSAS CITY and WICHITA(my home town) as numbers 1 and 2! how hilarious is that. You'll also notice Pittsburgh as #7. THAT'S why I'm single...GEEZ!! hahaha. I love it. And I still love these towns, especially Wichita. This is the skyline of Wichita...which is about the size of Heinz Field. actually...my parents lived about 4 houses from the river bend in the picture above actually...

We went to Charlottesville, VA this past weekend...it was a blast. We met some people, worshipped together, and I even met a guy who was in wichita on business LAST WEEK! Dr. Amy Sherman was our speaker, and she did a great job. In 2 weeks we go to Jumonville with our youth at St. Stephens.

I'd like to thank Becca Chapman for all of the hard work she did for last weekend's conference, and actually right now she is in DC doing more work for the Fellows initiative, the program im affiliated with, and she is a blessing to everything as she works her tail off for this program...because she believes in it. We really all do appreciate her... Thanks Becca!

AND lastly...Timmy Mac (Tim McGraw) and Faith Hill will be coming to Pittsburgh on May 13th! Am I going? Uh, Am I an arab Terrorist?? OF COURSE! In fact I bought lots of tickets with money I don't have...It's free, don't worry(credit card - if its not cash, its free)...so if you want to go let me know! I can't wait. I'll be on the floor a less than 10 rows from the stage, should be a great show. The real fun is in Tailgating - cooking out and chilling in the Parking lot all day. Should be a great time. I love faith Hill - I'm going to propose to her when I see her.





Anyways - GOD bless you all, and have a blessed day.