Planting Seeds

Recently, God has convicted me that I need to spend much more time in His word.  The challenge is that I am not following someone else’s study. There is nothing wrong with studies led by others, and in the future I have no problem doing them.  But I have been convicted that God wants to speak to our hearts sometimes without being colored by another person’s opinion.  So I am praying and letting Him lead me in understanding.

Why Ephesians?  I’m not really sure.  It may stem way back to youth camp.  The focus one summer was Ephesians.  It must have been powerful because I remember it, and there are actually very few things I remember vividly: 

·         Dawson (Noswad) McAllister and the snot jokes

·         Bright yellow t-shirts

·         Some cute guy at Devil’s Bathtub (It was a rock basin type thing…hey, I didn’t name it!)

·         The gum tree (kinda gross actually)

·         The wasps that were EVERYWHERE

·         COOKIE DOUGH (eaten while feigning a headache to avoid sports I wasn’t into at all)

·         A few pranks in the dorms (of course I was completely innocent...hang on while I adjust my halo)

·         An embarrassing moment at the pool where I lifted my t shirt to show a counselor my swimsuit and flashed more than intended…the only moment of my life I was thankful that the boys and girls didn’t swim together

·         Being down one evening and receiving a “smile, Jesus loves you and so do I” note from a girl I didn’t know very well (yes, it impacted me that much)

·         Rededicating my life to Jesus and being shaken to the core

·         Quiet time with God every morning

…and the book of Ephesians

Youth leaders, keep it up.  They may seem like they don’t hear.  They may drive you crazy.  They may put Vaseline on the toilet seat or weave dental floss throughout the bunks at church camp.  They may be horrible to one another at times.

They may also have a tiny seed planted in their heart that will grow into something beautiful years later.

Now it is my turn.  Hopefully I can plant a seed in someone's heart that will bless them almost thirty years later.  How great is that?