now onto bigger and better things...

This weekend was amazing! God did some crazy things and I'm so excited about them! On Saturday i got to play and sing my own songs at a coffee shop in Highland. I was so blessed by the family and friends that came to see me! Before i started i was BEYOND nervous... i thought i was going to throw up for sure! But after the first song, i felt great! It was so cool to be able to sing my OWN stuff... I wish i had more than four songs, and a thirty minute slot... i could have played for hours!

After the showcase, a few friends and i went to a worship service. AMAZING things happened here! The majority of people there were teenagers... and they were ready and willing to be rocked by the Lord. During worship these kids were dancing and singing... they were on their knees... on their faces... crying out to God! It was so moving! I want that same passion for worship to spread to my youth group that i work with... And i fully believe that the Lord will bring it in His own time. All in all it was a great night! Here is what the Lord showed me that night...

As you probably read, in my last blog, i had a recent "falling out" of sorts with a close friend. I really wanted to "forgive and forget" but it was SO hard to do! The worldly part of me wanted to say, "No way! He hurt me bad and he needs to make up for that! He needs to be reminded of what he did! He owes me!" But that isn't what we are called to do! Saturday night i looked over at my friend... on his knees in worship, and my heart broke for him. I remembered something i had read a while back about forgiveness: (yes i have posted this in a blog before... it's THAT good!)

"Forgiveness is a CHOICE. It is not a feeling- don't try and feel forgiving. It is an act of the will... We allow God to bring the hurt up from our past... We acknowledge that it hurt, that it mattered, and we chose to extend forgiveness to... those who hurt us. This is NOT saying, "It didn't really matter"; it is NOT saying, "I probably deserved part of it anyway." Forgiveness says, "It was wrong. Very wrong. It mattered, hurt me deeply. And i release you. I give you to God."

So i did just that... i allowed God to bring up that hurt... and then i extended forgiveness to my friend. I had to make a conscious decision to not dwell on what happened... but to simply move forward. I am so thankful that the Lord opened my eyes to this. All though it is hard and still hurts often... i know the Lord is teaching us both and stretching us both... and he has got some bigger and better things planned... i can't wait!