Thursday, July 07, 2005

Xtremely Full


Well, it’s been a busy month! At the end of June, we went with the COTR high-schoolers to XMA (Xtreme Mission Adventure) camp in Brownsville, TX. As you can imagine, the week was filled with long, crowded van rides, great praise and worship, challenging speakers, mission opportunities, little sleep, and LOTS of fun!

















Seriously, take me to your real leaders!

When we returned, a little more sunburned, and a lot more passionate about what God’s doing in our youth group, I found my Proverb of The Day summed up the event.

Honey seems tasteless to a person who is full, but even bitter food tastes sweet to the hungry.
~ Proverbs 27:7

Our trip to Brownsville brought a fresh experience with God. It left us feeling more passionate about the things of God. When I returned home, I found that the things that were such distractions a week before – T.V., Surfing the Internet, complaining about little things… - seemed dull and unimportant.

If I am filled up with the Spirit by spending time in prayer and praise and the Word, then even the most alluring distraction will not pull me away from my focus. But if I let myself run empty - if my soul is hungry - then even something mediocre will seem satisfying. And I’ll likely settle for it.

As I thought about it, the same principle can apply to our physical bodies as well. After a week of “camp food”, (which was surprisingly tastey!) and the usual road trip food (M&M’s, Flamin’ Hot Munchies, Bottled Frappuccinos, and don’t forget the Icees!) Jeff and I decided to go through somewhat of a “detox” diet.

Once we’re filled up with some fresh fruits and veggies, we almost forget how good that Papa John’s pizza tastes…… almost!!

1 comment:

Hollie Carson said...

Shannon,
I love the pic!! I want to save it so that we can have our own copy. better yet, email it to me. You look beautiful, as always!
Thanks again for the great reminder,and you hit the nail on the head. You're exactly right on what you said with filling up with the good that we forget about the distractions.....I say this AFTER I just had a piece of Papa Johns Pizza TODAY for lunch and for dinner last night! YIKES! Hugh had cold pizza for all three meals today! Can you believe it? How can guys do that and hardly not change their physique at all? It's crazy how different we are than them! Gotta love 'em! Thanks again and have a great week. Keep these blogs a roll'n!