Happy Holidays! Young Life has been hectic the past month! We are planning our leader Christmas party and our Christmas club for the kids on the 13th along with starting a Jr Leader campaign. Our club is pretty much ran by word of mouth. Kids want to come to club because other people they know are going. I am so excited to start this Jr Leader group so they can really understand the heart of Young Life and really make an impact on their lower classman. It has been overwhelming but I know that this is going to be such a huge aspect in our club! Good news is we have new leaders! It is so crazy how the Lord provides at just the perfect time!
My friend Kayla and I had our first jewelry party! It was a huge success and so much fun! We sold half of our product and it was great to see and catch up with people! Our Young Life girls came!
I always feel like the holidays are crazy but one thing that I need to continually remember is this is a time to celebrate the Lord's birth. I am so excited to share with you what the Lord has been teaching me the past couple of weeks!
" But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’"- Matthew 9:13
I was thinking about the word mercy and what that really means in my life and how can I show mercy/compassion for others. I was thinking how serving others is a huge part of this. The next day, I was reading in Isaiah 58 and how it talks about how the Lord says we are fasting wrong, that He wants us to free the oppressed, feed the hungry... pretty much serving others. God doesn't want my sacrifices and fasting but He wants us to serve. The verse goes more on the Sabbath day to keep it Holy. Then it says,
"Then the Lord will be your delight." -Isaiah 58:14.
The word THEN was just so adamant on my heart. When we serve God THEN the Lord will be my delight. A friend once told me that "Happiness comes from happenings but Joy can only come from Christ alone." If we look at Psalm 37, it says,
"Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you your heart’s desires."This was so encouraging to me because I feel like the Lord assured me that I am in the right place where He wants me. There are so many times I feel overwhelmed and stressed out BUT knowing this was just so encouraging.
Thank you so much for all of your prayers and support! Please keep praying for my continual encouragement as well as a balance during this crazy time of the year! Love you all!
Lauren
