The Beautiful Letdown

I knew this day would come. It was just a matter of time before reality set in and things returned to "normal" around here - whatever normal is, or was. My energy level is low. My body is tired. But I am feeling incredibly alive today! I must have just spent four days at Lifest!!

There is a definite letdown upon returning home from such an amazing, uplifting event. There is a large part of me that never wants the time we spent there to end. A LARGE part.

I have said before that Lifest is a taste of what heaven will be like. I think that still rings true. But it's not EXACTLY like heaven. There are still plenty of non-believers there. I witnessed one young man honking his horn at a disabled woman as she tried to cross the street. There's still plenty of "the world" at Lifest, but for the most part it is still an amazing place and an amazing event.

Going into Lifest week I was unsure about returning but now, after some of the conversations we had back at our campsite, as Molly put it Saturday afternoon, "We're going to keep coming back year after year after year until we are dead."

For those who don't believe it is hard to describe so I won't even try. For those who do believe, I don't have to explain at all. You already know what fellowship means. Lifest is THAT for four consecutive days.

Still, I am back in the world now. So are all my brothers and sisters. We are "in the world but not of the world." But today . . . today we are recharged in our faith, lifted up by God's Holy Spirit, and made new once again.

My friend and I sat, praying for 45 minutes Saturday night. There are so many people in need of prayer . . . including ourselves. So many people need God. We lift them up to Him in prayer because that is what we have been called to do. And it is a joy to do so.

When Lifest ended, yes, there was a letdown. But it was a beautiful letdown in that, we KNOW this world is no longer our home. Our home is in heaven - a future home with no pain, no suffering, only love. praise and worship. Jesus is our high priest. We are no longer under The Law. We are under God's grace. May we be grace-filled as while we are in this world so others may see us and praise our Father in heaven. He will NEVER let us down.

^"10 We have an altar from which the priests in the Tabernacle have no right to eat. ¹¹ Under the old system, the high priest brought the blood of animals into the Holy Place as a sacrifice for sin, and the bodies of the animals were burned outside the camp. ¹² So also Jesus suffered and died outside the city gates to make his people holy by means of his own blood. ¹³ So let us go out to him, outside the camp, and bear the disgrace he bore. ¹⁴ For this world is not our permanent home; we are looking forward to a home yet to come.

¹⁵ Therefore, let us offer through Jesus a continual sacrifice of praise to God, proclaiming our allegiance to his name. ¹⁶ And don’t forget to do good and to share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please God." - Hebrews 13:10-16

Beautiful Letdown - Switchfoot

Oops! My Bad

Have you ever felt like you were in the wrong place? Maybe things looked okay at first but then, later on, things just didn't seem right for some reason. Welcome to MY world.

Monday morning at Wal-Mart was one of those times. I went in, did my shopping, and was just about to get into my car when I got one of those feelings. I opened the car door and noticed the coffee in the cup holder. I don't drink coffee. And did I just see a kid's booster seat in the back? I was about to get into the wrong car! Someone with the identical car to mine was parked just two stalls away from me.  Oops! Wrong car!

Then a week ago in Church I was heading into the men's bathroom after the service. I stepped up to the urinal and began to unzip my fly when I heard a woman's voice nearby. Then I saw high-heels under the toilet partition next to me. Umm, I know the times are changing but I'm not ready for this!!

"I'll come back later," I thought to myself and made a hasty exit. Turns out it was a mom helping her son go potty. That's usually done in the lady's restroom . . . but not THAT day! LOL!

If you are one of God's children, do YOU ever feel like you are in the wrong place here on earth? I sure do. And I believe we all should feel that way. It's like we're hybrid humans. We start out as human beings but then those who have been called to faith receive the Holy Spirit and we become changed. Transformed.

"If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you." - John 15:19

We do not belong here!

Do you know what the word "holy" means? We should if we call ourselves Christians. Holy means "set apart." We have been made Holy by the shed blood of Jesus Christ. We are now different. Aliens in a world we used to call home.

What do you think it will be like in heaven? Do you think we will ever feel like strangers or aliens when we get there? I think that we will feel so incredibly at home that we will forget everything we left behind. Just think . . . finally, after spending years and years feeling "different" here on earth, we will feel totally and completely at home, at rest, and at peace, forever. And that will be the most amazing feeling. And it will last . . . forever. :)

^"20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, ²¹ who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body." - Philippians 3:20-21

I Do Not Belong - Kutless
Somewhere I Belong - Linkin Park