Neil - Changes and Growth

Growing and Discerning...After the Heart of God

Monday, October 30, 2006

An Arab Sailing?? Yep!

August 24, 2006

"I'm sailing away..." - Styx

They say there's a 1st time for everything, and today was my 1st day of sailing! In fact, I was on a boat on the ocean for the 1st time ever. Being on the East coast, on a boat of about 50 people, I was the only person to have never been sailing before let alone on a boat. In fact, most of the kids said their parents actually had sailboats of their own(FOCUS, the org. i was working for, is a private school ministry).

This is the thing that occured to me today. I had SO much fun - relaxing on the deck, reading a book, talking to the kids. Getting a good tan(which I like to call 'enhancing' my already dark skin). Then I started talking to the deckhands(the work crew). There were 5 of them, all between the ages of 20 and 25, which is right where I am. The captain/owner of the ship told me the story of the ship - he was 24 - and his fatehr had owned the ship and now he and his brothers were running the business. The had literally been doing this their entire lives. That blew my mind away...and if you know me you know exactly why that would get to me. I thought about it later and just couldn't grasp the idea of doing the same thing, of loving something that way, my whole life. I don't think I could do it. But the more I thought about it, it met me. This guy has it figured out. He is leaving HIS dream. He LOVES doing what he does every day of his life, and knows what he wants to do with the rest of hit. Why shouldn't he do this? Good for him! He's sailed to the carribean from MA. He's windsurfed in Maui. And he's good at it. i would LOVE to say i'm good at surfing...what little surfing I've done, it is one of my favorite things to do - but I'm not blessed at being good enough at it for a living, so God has other plans for me. I don't have the slightest clue right now how to sail. Before today, I thought "starboard" meant the little starcruch snacks(Yes I was a fat kid, still kind of am at heart).

But seriously, he KNEW he had a calling. And he's living it, and loving it. But that's okay...it's not for me. I love being able to do different things - Where as the captain of the ship didn't want to do different things. I may not be great at anything (that I know of) right now, but I'm good at a bunch of things, and I'm thankful for that. I'll take the gifts God has given me, and keep striving toward my goals and figuring out God's will in my Life.

Okay, now it's time to go listen to boys talk about masturbation and "joysticks"...Um....I wish I was kidding. It's what you get when you room with middle school boys!

Remember this my friends...

"God's will is exactly what we would chose for our lives.. ifwe knew what God knows!"

My verse I prayed today...

Isaiah 26:3 "You willkeep in PERFECT PEACE those who trust in you, whose thoughtsare fixed on you"