So the last time i wrote in my blog....people had no clue what the Swine Flu was, and the Kansas City Royals were not below .500! Other things have changed since then too. I am living in Derby, Kansas for the summer for a youth internship at First Christian Church. I'm staying with an awesome family....Dan and Jessi Stang. They have a 11-year-old son named Ryan that cracks me up! He is one smart little dude, and he makes miniature Ferris wheels and picture frames out of duct tape....really cool kid.
I'm going to keep you guys updated throughout the summer about whats going on in my life and in my head. To be perfectly honest with you...I am really nervous about this summer! For those of you that hang out with me, you know I can be outgoing when i hang out with you guys, but it is a different story when it comes to big crowds of people i don't know. The youth group I'm helping out with has around 50 kids in middles school and about 50 in high school. I'm used to an entire youth group being about 30 kids! Its a little overwhelming.
Last night was the first time I was able to meet some of the kids. They had a middle school swim party at someone's house, and there were about 40 kids there. I found myself kind of shying away from some of the kids, and I didn't know why. As I thought about it some more, I came to the conclusion that i wasn't confident in myself and my ability to get to know them. Confidence is something i never had a problem with when I was younger, but now it seems like confidence is hard to come by nowadays. I hate that about myself and I want to change!
What was really weird about this whole situation was that I just read Matthew 3 where it talks about John the Baptist and how Jesus wanted to get baptized by him, but it says that John tried to "deter" Jesus from that happening. The Baptist thought he wasn't worthy enough to tie Jesus' sandals, let alone baptize him! However, he humbly accepts Jesus' request to baptize Him. Sometimes we make excuses to why we don't fulfill what God has planned for us. For instance, I know without a doubt that God wants me to work with youth and bring them into a saving relationship with Him, but I make excuses like, "I'm not cool enough," or "I'm not outgoing enough for kids to like me." I need to quit making excuses and humbly accept Jesus request like John the Baptist.
I guess my question to you is, "What excuses are you making that are stopping you from humbly accepting Jesus' request in your life?"
