So just to give a little play by play of the last six days:
Friday: Operation leave for SBP
- expectation: leave at 7am to avoid atlanta traffic+memorial day traffic
- reality: leave at 7:45am, go to starbucks (to start the day off right), not too much traffic
- expectation: arrive at Fort Walton Beach, Florida at approximately 1pm Central time
- reality: get lost and go two hours out of the way to arrive at 3:15pm Central time
lesson: don't have expectations
So we finally arrive at the lovel sandman hotel on Santa Rosa blvd! It's no hilton, but I am happy to call it home for the next two months. After our arrival we had till 5 to just chill and meet the other D-group leaders and they were all awesome! After that we were thrown into 5 wonderfully intense sessions discussing being a leader. The coolest part of all that was being reminded that being a leader in Gods kingdom means being a servant to those you are leading. But how applicable is that to all aspects of life? Serving everyone you interact with to the best of your ability is probably one of the strongest expressions of love...because servanthood takes sacrifice. Sacrifice of time, money, emotions, sleep, materials...and when someone sees your willingness to sacrifice your stuff for them, how much more loved could they feel? The heart of this servanthood and loving others boils down to the gospel of Jesus. We are learning so much about the simplicity of being a disciple of Christ and I love it. Ministering to others is about loving them and not judging them. Learning that actions are driven by the heart, you conclude that when someone's behavior is questionable, the problem lies within the heart. Thus, preaching the gospel of Jesus into their lives will reveal change in actions over time as they change within their hearts. These two ideas are what I'm going to try to adopt this summer and ultimately for the rest of my life.
So Friday-Sunday revolved around these sessions learning about servant leadership and it was awesome. Sunday we had a pool party at the Sites' house and kinda chilled for a bit. Monday was a huge work day as we worked non stop from about 8am till 2am. talk about tired. Then FINALLY everyone arrived Tuesday. I met my girls and we all bonded so well. Some great times driving down the road getting lost and just being CRAZY together, we couldn't help but see how evident it was that God ordained and orchestrated the 5 of us to share this 9 week journey together in The Word, accountability, worship and prayer.
So Last night kind of started our first real orientation session. Dilbeck talked about being fulfilled and finding satisfaction solely in God. His discussion revolved around the constant battle between our kingdom and God's kingdom. The most I took away from that was this equation he talked about that is at the heart of our kingdom:
Jesus + __________ = satisfaction
But in God's kingdom the equation looks like this:
Jesus=Satisfaction
The second equation is so much more appealing but my flesh is weak and today Satan knew how much I was trying to discover about what I try and fill in the blank. All of those things continuously attacked me today. If only I had this and Jesus I would be happy. If only this relationship were restored and I am growing in Jesus I will be fulfilled. O how much I want to surrender this mentality. GOOOOOD stuff.
Then last night we had some D-Group time, our first d-group meeting of SBP. We weren't really supposed to do testimonies till Sunday but the spirit was moving and we all ended up sharing our entire life stories and bonded so much. The girls in my group love eachother so much and last night overwhelmed me with Joy from the LORD as the evidence of His orchestration for us to be together was undeniable.
As you can see God is doing so much already. We are only on day 3 of 70. I have high expectations and I know the LORD exceeds even my highest expectation so I can't WAIT to see what He does.
We are all looking for jobs so continue to pray and thank you for your support!
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