Full day. Exhausting Schedule. Triumphant King.

• Church 9:30 till 11am
• leadership meeting at 11:30-12
• Band practice at 1-2pm
• Skate Lesson with 2 new students at 2pm in Cherry Creek
• Pick up homey & drive to Bday party
• Host my very first Bday skate-themed party for ten+ 9yr-olds. Complete with skate lesson, skate session, pizza, cake, trampoline, and lots of filming.
• Take homey downtown, then halfway back.
• Drive to Highlands Ranch (35 minutes from downtown) for Smallgroup.

-First off, I’m totally one to complain.

Second, if you factor in a 1/2 hour for drivetime between each of these events… there’s no possible way i could’ve made it to every engagement on time if my life depended on it.

I’ve learned through Life Hurts God Heals that i should shed this dangerous need to please everyone. So today i had my tantrum in the car and prayed:

“Damn… Ahhhhh! Lord, how can i possibly accomplish everything that needs to be done today unless you show up? Will you take care of me in this?”

I just decided to not freak out and wait for God to do his thing and take care of his kid…AKA Me.

I will just give away the surprise and let you know that today i got home after every battle, adventure, party, trek, and meeting exhausted, yet utterly at peace and in awe. God heard my earnestly frustrated prayer and he showed up today.

HOW?

1. I’ve felt ignored, but today Mark played a song that i referred, in church- so it was encouraging to say the least that I could see that I’m not totally invisible.
2. I hate leadership meetings where Travis Says, “I’ll keep this short…” because what’s the point of showing up if it’s not worth more than 10 minutes of our time? However, P.A. and Trav encouraged us about small groups and the meeting was a stoking gathering for our team(s).
3. Since God is abundant, he also reaffirmed my validity by allowing me to lead a song in Catalyst that I’ve asked about for months. We rehearsed it at band practice after church and i was stoked!
4. I then booked it to my lesson and met some siblings, Sydney and Jack, who got stoked on skating and hired me for next week to do another lesson. Praise God!
5. Picked up my longtime friend Casey, who assisted me with my Birthday party by filming it so we could make a memorable DVD for the family. Casey and I had lots of fun with all those little guys and he told me that he felt really welcomed and loved by the parents and kids. He mentioned, “I forgot what it’s like to be a little kid. To be so stoked and no nothing about skating. It’s like we’re giving back to the next generation of skaters and I would have loved this birthday party when i was nine.”
6. I took Casey home and then BOOKED It to smallgroup an hour late… only to find a welcoming family when i really expected to be resented because of my tardiness. Isn’t the body of Christ fabulous sometimes? Extending God’s unending love to me when i feel so undeserving of it.
7. Arriving home after chilling with Nate and Marlon and the girls from Aegis, our group my mommy and I got to recap my last few days and it’s always wonderful when she lovingly listens to every loose thought in my head. She’s a great listener and an encouraging source of strength and direction in my life. I’m taken aback by God’s plan. He put me in her womb, and He’ll take me to my tomb.

I NEVER journal, even though I live a life so highly blessed with FAVOR and purpose. It’s lame how I take God’s gifts for granted, so I’m just thankful that the LORD inspired me to recap this stupendous day, despite my regular habit of avoiding such a glorious activity. Now i can look back and say to myself or others,

“God has not walked away. In fact, He’s stepped into my world and stirred things up with his great love.”