Awesome Conversations...

I know it's only been a few hours (if that) since my last post but I just wanted to say that I heart awesome conversations. I was talking with one of my best friends online tonight about the backseat Jesus and God in a box. I just wanted to put it on here.



ME: God's pretty smart, and it's going to be in his time, not ours and most of the time that is really hard for me...[I like to drive my life, I like to have a plan]...and when you're in the drivers seat you have a backseat Jesus and that's not okay

Her: he's opening the car door and trying to sit down in the drivers seat and I'm like no- He's like GET IN THE PASSENGER SEAT

ME: this is so totally what we talked about this week...how we have so often put Jesus in a box and said, okay well if i need you, i'll know where you're at but otherwise you just stay here so that no one knows that you're with me...and we tend to pray harder and more often when things are bad, but when God finally gives us what we want or what we've been praying for, then we forget all about him and he goes back in the box...because we have this image of god in our head and we've shrank our thought of how big he should be in our lives so that he fits in our pocket or in our box

Her: but think of the trouble we would be in if God really did fit in a box...but he doesnt-hes amazing and ever so forgiving



I love the changes I can feel in my life :)

Shelly

Now That's Over...

Ahhh...It feels good to be sitting at home on my couch right now doing nothing. I still kinda wish I was at SIU-Carbondale though for the Christ In Youth (CIY) conference tho. We had such a good time and there was so much growth in our youth group I just don't even have words.

An Overview of CIY: THEME:This Is Me.
Day 1 - Theme:I am Love
Day 2 - Theme:I am Grace
Day 3 - Theme:I am Here
Day 4 - Theme:I am the Way
Day 5 - Theme:I am the Life

I think that the most challenging part of this week was day 3 - I am here. We talked a lot about how when bad things happen, God is always there even if we don't think he is. I think we talked about Scott more this week than I have since December. We had this thing at night called "His Time" that each youth group would go spend time with each other going over the day whatnot. Well about Tuesday, we started a confessional type thing. I got a lot of things off my chest and I don't feel like I need to worry that anyone in that room will ever say anything. It feels good to start to trust people again.

While Alyssa was talking one night she told us that during one song, she could totally see Scott just getting to Heaven. The words were:

So come home running,
His arms are open wide
His name is Jesus
and He understands
He is the answer
You've been looking for
So come home running
Just as you are...

When Alyssa first saw Scott in the morgue, the first words out of her mouth were 'I'm so happy for you'. I think I'm just now seeing how happy I should be for him! He is with our creator!!! On that day, I'm going to be so excited that even though I'm obsessed with why this happened right now, I'll completely forget all about it and fall at the feet of Jesus.

Before we went, we found out that when they went to serve court papers to the girl that hit Scott, they couldn't find her. 20 years old with 2 kids, she is a fugitive and will be prosecuted for aggravated Vehicular Homicide. She has no money, so even if Lys wanted to sue her for pain and suffering, she wouldn't get anything. It made me so angry. But slowly, God is showing me that even though this girl killed my youth minister, I cant be angry about it, because it doesn't please God. And that's hard. Probably harder than anything I'll ever have to do.

That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
-2 Corinthians 12:10

For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.
-Matthew 16:25

However I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me-the task of testifying the gospel of God's grace.
-Acts 20:24

Basically, its been an amazing week. I can't even begin to describe the change that it has had on my life. And the impact of all the people there had on my life. No matter how much my youth group gets on my nerves sometimes, I love those people and will always love them because in a time that could have broken us, we have lifted each other up and kept each other strong. I thank them for that.

Shelly

YAY!

I am on Brad J Ward's blog!!! woohoo!!!

I'm at CIY...It's 12:30 and I have until 1:10 to get some stuff done on this dumb portfolio that is going to take me every free time that we have to get done by thursday! AHH!!

CIY ROCKS! WOOHOO!!! Plus, Betsy's coming to Carbondale on Thursday to hang out with me (that is if I get my homework done)

OK GOTTA GO!
Shelly

Six Flags and Other Random Happenings...

Well, its been a great few weeks! Ok...so the good outweighed the bad anyways. My puppy Roscoe got hit by a car and died :( but we got a new puppy and named him Theodore "Teddy" Kennedy Runyard. He's adorable. I'll post a pic soon...if I ever figure this dang thing out! I might have to move to Xanga or some dumb site like that kuz I'm not smart enough for this one!

I went to six flags with my youth group once...and that was fun sorta...and then I didnt see those guys for like 2 weeks. I think we needed some space, really I think we still need some space. I wanna go back to UIS to see my friends there.

We all went to six flags saturday (the 16th) and had A BLAST! There were 3 new freshmen, so that was cool-one of them saved my life :) now I have to be nice to him...which sucks ;) just kidding!

ok anyways...um...we had a pancake and sausage breakfast for a CIY fundraiser at my church on sunday mornin and we made like $700!!! It was amazing :) There are 25 people going to CIY and I'm really excited about it! This will be my 6TH CIY!!! I was sitting at the informational meeting that i shoulda skipped, and I was like whoa...I've heard this same little lecture 5 other times! I've gone to CIY more times than anyone else in my youth group including my youth ministers!!! really its more sad than anything...i have no life :(

This week should be fun...although I spent this morning driving an hour to springfield, going to a 10 minute meeting with Dr. Moranski and then driving an hour home...WHY COULDNT SHE HAVE JUST MAILED ME THIS DANG PAPERWORK!!!! GOSH!!!!

It's only 8:45 and all I want to do is go to bed. I made some progress on my room today tho...which is good considering I thought it was smart to bring down everything I own out of the attic and sort it out...So my room has been a disaster since last week and I can barely tolerate it anymore!

Well, I think its that time, just thought I'd update real quick!

See Ya!
Shelly