Why? Because I'm Happy!

I have not written a blog in a fairly long time, life got crazy and writing/thinking even got put on hold.
After the Festival of Young Preachers, I returned to Hanover with that intense desire to continue preaching the gospel and serving Christ. And then my Great Grandmother passed away and I returned to Louisville, planned her service, prepared and delivered the homily, and then came back to campus to get the semester going.

I share the synopsis of returning to Hanover because after Nanny passed away I was sad and grieving, then last Thursday life came together and I have been overwhelmed with joy and happiness on where I am in life and how I can continue to serve God in my life as I am listening ever so closely to that still small voice.

Monday-Wednesday I had started putting ideas on paper for my sermon on Sunday, and Thursday I went to BASIC (Bible Study) where a friend led a discussion on the storms of life and where we see God in these storms. It was a great discussion and we pulled out a lot of good scriptures. Then I went to Spirit Place (prayer/communion time in the chapel) and I was praying and thinking about life, thinking about preaching that weekend, and then I thought about how crucial it is to wake up each morning and make a choice to serve the God I love, to live my life to the best of my ability imitating my Savior, and to just be happy with where I am and what I am doing.
My sermon was on "God's love in Today's World" and thinking about God's love as being active as opposed to passive (1 Corinthians 13) helped me realize that each day I GET to wake up, I GET to make that decision to take up my cross, I GET to be captured again and again by God's love, I GET to share God's love with the world around me, and I GET to read God's word to me.
My roommate can second that the last 6 days I have been happier than I have been in a long time, I am up before it's time to RUN to class, I am excited about what is going on in my life and ready to complete the tasks ahead because I know Who has prepared them for me.

As I continue to grow in my faith, as my roots sink deeper in the love of the Father, as my love for the fellowship of the Holy Spirit grows, and as I am captured again and again by the self-less life giving love of Christ, my heart swells, my smile grows, and my desire to continue to listen for that still small voice becomes bigger and bigger.
Life is good, and hopefully I will be posting soon!
Until then,
May you be filled with the grace and mercy of Christ, and sustained by the love of God in all that you do!!

Peace,
KP