What I Desire For 2006

As I consider the new year there are two things that I desire for my life.

1. I want to be a better worshipper of God. I want to fully understand what it means to worship in spirit and in truth; to worship with my heart's full affection and my minds complete attention. I want to understand better what it means to offer my body as a living sacrifice. I want my worship to be holy and pleasing to God.

2. I want to remember and never forget all the ways God has blessed my life. I never want to forget that God has blessed me in order to be a blessing to others. To that end I repost a post I made in August after returning from Mexico. I repost it as a reminder to myself. I repost it as a challenge to others.


MAY I NEVER FORGET

We are back from Mexico now. I along with 19 others spent a week in Mexico the first part of August. It truly was a powerful time for me as I know it was for the others on the team. It never ceases to amaze me how we go to give, and come away having received so much. I received much this year, from God.

It seems that going to Mexico every year, like I do, always works to re-calibrate my life. Let me explain. It is so easy to fall into the trap of living for the "American Dream." Our society engrains into us that "More is better." "Bigger is better." "He Who Dies With The Most Toys Wins." No where in Scripture do I read messages like this.

True confession time....I am guilty of living for the American Dream. Living in our culture, it is all too easy to slip into living "the dream" and not even know it. Spending time in Mexico, surrounded by such poverty, and yet such strong love, joy, and hospitality, I find my life re-calibrated to where it should be. This year I came home saying, "May I Never Forget."

May I never forget how most of the world lives. May I never forget how God has blessed me and my family. May I never forget how "easy" life is for me in the U.S.. May I never forget why God has blessed me with what He has blessed me with. May I never forget that the American Dream is a lie.

So feel free to ask me sometime what dream I am living for....the American dream or God's dream (desires) for my life. I want to live a life that honors God. I want to live a life committed to honoring God with the resources that He has given me. I want to live a life committed to ministering to the needs of people around me, both in my community and abroad.

Join me in living the REAL dream life!

Oh...want to see the pictures? Check 'em out here.