All In A Day's Work

Work and Apartment
Great Week! Actually, extremely stressful week, but it's ending amazingly.
Saturday my friend Liz(aka Ginger Snaps), got here from Michigan for an 8 day visit. If you're good at math, you'll realize she's leaving tomorrow. I know, that part is sad. But with everything else that has happened this week, having her here has made it ALOT easier to get through. She's my silver lining:-)
I applied for a bank loan on Wednesday for a car that would have been an amazing deal. But when all was said and done, I decided it would be better to stay away from a loan. If you know me at all, you'll know how much I completely despise owing money to anyone, in any amount.
So, also to simplify my life, I am no longer working at UPS. I talked to my manager at Starbucks and she said I could get 40 hours/week there. So I called my boss at UPS and gave him my two weeks notice. He said it would be ok, and today could be my last day if I wanted it. (HECK yes). He drives me crazy most of the time, and within minutes of getting off the phone I felt like the world had been lifted off my shoulders.

Christiann completely surprised me with a visit this week, and I loved it! It made my weekend even better than it was already becoming. I don't think I've ever been so shocked though, Everyone knew about it, and no one let on anything!

Word and Church
I've been reflecting abit this past week on youth ministries that I have been a part of.
Having entered adulthood not that long ago, I think that alot of youth leaders freshly remember how our faith wasn't necessarily popular, or that sometimes we felt that our leaders were not relevant to our world. As a result, we strive to be relevant to our students. We strive to let them see that we're 'cool' or that you can be a christian and understand the world. Which is true, it is possible.
However, sometimes I think that we so strive to build a culturally current relationship with our kids that we forget what it's all about.
It's about making Christ relevant. Christianity is not meant to be sub-cultural, it's meant to be counter-cultural. I heard Ed Young(pastor of Fellowship church) say at Hillsong conference that this rut the church has been in, trying to stay current and up-to-date with the style of the world and make the church look in, cool, and with it, is completely off.
Should we be aware? '
yes.
What we should be doing is building on that though. As God is the one who inspires creativity and gives the gifts that make progress and developement possible, is it not true that His people should be on the cutting edge, that we should be making what is becoming cutting edge?
The newest design, the newest technology, the newest techniques should be coming out of the church.
And we should be using our gifts and talents to further the gospel, to be a witness, to bring the message of Christ, and to relate him to the world: who is searching for Him constantly.
Within all of our own fields of expertese, our giftings and callings, we should be asking how can we bring Christ to others with our gift? How are we being a vessel?