Everyday, Ordinary Life

Back to life...back to reality. I have always somewhat lived from event to event. Countdowns, to do lists and planning is a natural part of my personality which I could blame on the OCD, but have learned to accept as just a part of me. Since being home from our Mission Trip last week and seeing The Kingdom I have really struggled with getting back to "normal" life. I can't get the images, peoples faces and the fun we had serving beside our C3 teens out of my mind. 

To be honest, I would rather be back in Flint right about now. I definitly love sleeping in my own bed, but feel like i'm suffering from Post Trip Depression. Ok maybe I made that diagnosis up, but i'm feeling a little down since we have been back in Nashville. After a week of working hard and serving others I feel like I haven't accomplished much here at home. Each night of the trip I would lay down on my slightly deflated air mattress and reflect on all that we accmplished that day. Working besides our teens was a refreshing break from the mundane ordinary life here at home. Sure, I have done loads of laundry, grocery shopping and even picked out a new preschool for Addyson since we returned, but I don't have that I made a difference feeling like I had all last week. I guess it's just the return to everyday ordinary life that has me feeling a little down. Or the fact that I not only served along side my teens last week but with my family as well and it's hard not waking up knowing I will see them today that has me feeling sad. 

I remember this feeling after graduating from Grad school, our wedding, having Addyson, after family holidays together and other mission trips. It's just that let down of something you have looked forward to and planned for and then it's just over. Why is it that the time it takes before a big trip, event or vacation takes forever to get here and then the event or trip itself flies by?

 I think another reason that this week was different is due to my intentional choice of being fully present in the moment all throughout our week in Flint. Last night we let our teens share their most memorable moment and their Kingdom or God moment from the trip. It was refreshing to hear teens share where they saw God. I am humbled by the response to my last blog post about seeing the Kingdom. I hope it serves as a challenge to have Kingdom eyes. I guess I wonder how that will all play out in my daily life and community. With the upcoming changes in our family like Addyson starting preschool and my new job I pray that I have my eyes open for opportunities to share God's love. 

While we were with our C3 teens this week anohter team from our church was serving in Africa. I can't wait to hear how their lives were changed this past week. but reality is that you don't have to drive 10 hours to Flint or fly across the world to Africa to see the Kingdom and serve others. I want more than anything for my church, our teens and people around me to have a passion for worship and serving God through loving others. How do I get others excited about this? 

Before our trip to Flint the Lord gave me a verse from Romans 12: 1 in the Message and since being home I can't get it out of my head: "So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you."

How do I live an intentional life loving God and loving others? The only answer I have is to continue to place my life before God by being fully present in the moment.