got food?

my plate overfloweth.

and it's diet time, but not that kind of diet {not that i don't need one, mind you}.

i have loaded up my plate with all kinds of delicious activities. all of them rich, nutritious morsels. all of them healthy and filling. and i'm not going to lie… there's ample desserts on the side, too.

but enough is enough, and i've come to the conclusion that i'm so gorged on goodness, that i can't taste what's best.

so in the spirit of learning to savor, i've been clearing my plate.

over the weekend i decided that i will leave BSF immediately. right in the middle of a wonderful study on John. no offense, John {or Jesus for that matter}, but you will still be here when i'm better equipped to taste you. i don't much like the idea of stepping away from this bountiful buffet of biblical delicacies in the middle of an 8-course meal, but this buffet ain't goin' anywhere, so i can always go back. as much as i hate pushing myself away from the table, i need to know when i'm about to blow. {did you know that it takes your brain about 15 minutes longer than your stomach to feel full?}

i'm taking a backseat in leadership with our sophomore girls. i'm still going to sunday school with them, attending our sunday nite small group as well as our wed. nite gathering, but am leaving the planning and teaching to the other two leaders. so in essence, i'm still at the table, just abstaining from a plate of my own. occasionally i'll take a bite off of someone's plate, because it's pretty hard to see all that good stuff and not savor a little morsel now and then!

i'm going to take a year hiatus from our global mission group, specifically, the ch*na team. i've been three times and have led the last two trips, and as much as i have a heart for that country and the people there, and for bringing our young adults there to see how they might fit into the great commission there, i am not the only one capable of doing that.

ummmm did i just hear myself say that??

wow. huge step for me.

even though i've been recently lamenting that this particular team at our church is highly lacking in female representation and in participants in general {as opposed to, say, the africa team}, the world will continue to rotate and come to Jesus even though i am not actively involved. even though i am not planning to lead a trip there this summer {as was my hope}, hearts will be changed, students will continue to become aware of the need there, and the mission of Jesus will continue…

so now i feel better. and i'm not sitting at the table wondering how i'm going to eat all this food. i'm not worried about offending the cook by not making a "clean plate."

the whole reason for clearing the plate is to make room for a new ministry called anchors away. it's a Christian worldview study designed for seniors entering into their final semester in high school. i became increasingly aware of this famine among our young people the more i heard the statistics…

only 2% of Christians can actually defend their faith…

only 9% of believing teens believe in moral absolutes…

ony 2-6% of Christian teens are living out their faith…

90% of Christians lose their faith in God by the time they graduate from college…

63% don't believe Jesus is the son of the one true God…

58% believe all faiths teach equally valid truths…

51% don't believe Jesus rose from the dead…

65% don't believe satan is a real enemy…

68% don't believe the Holy Spirit is a real entity…

and the list goes on…

i'm feeling called to feed our youth.

it's like they're hungry and don't even realize it.

the feast begins tonite at seven. would love our first meeting to be bathed in a blessing before our meal… care to join us?