in this world we will shine

Note: the part in itallics is what I found exciting and moving about yesterday. If you don't like posts about what happened during my day or personal things, go ahead and skip down to the plain text.

First, let me say this weekend was amazing, and it's as clear as it's ever been that God is moving in such a huge way, especially in the lives of people at Elevation. I keep receiving e-mails and letters of people's experiences at Elevation and with God because of the work being done in this church. I'm so blessed that people have chosen to share these with me, and I'm really excited to be a part of all this. And the amount of high schoolers that stood up last night and answered the call of God on their hearts was mind-blowing. I love crying and laughing at the same time because God is just that big.

That wasn't my point; that was just exciting. Yesterday morning in Motion, Jackie called while we were practicing and told me she would be showing up late...if she would even show up at all. This somehow left me in charge of running worship and acting. I felt bad that she was sick, but I have to be honest and say that it was really exciting for me that I got to step up and make sure everyone was on top of everything. And I have to agree with Jackie when she says that the actors and worship leaders really make her job easy. Everyone knows what they're supposed to know and does exactly what they need to in order to make everything come together. I really didn't have to do much at all. I'm really proud of the people I get to work with every week. And I apologize again because that wasn't my point either.

My point IS that as I was leading worship yesterday (after screwing up and missing the first song and crying a lot and then being assured that it was okay and remembering that the people I serve with are beyond amazing and if there's any environment in which it's alright to make a human mistake, it's at this church), I noticed something. During the bridge of "Always with You" there aren't any set movements; it's basically just everyone worshiping God as they want. Well I move around a lot worshiping, and I noticed that during this part, all of the kids continued to follow exactly what I did. Even though they didn't have to at that point, they had been following me up until that point, and they decided that they would continue to follow me the entire way.

Elevation's vision is so that people far from God will be filled with life in Christ. We were built so that people who don't know God can find Him. Because that's what we're made for, we're surrounded by a lot of people who are new in their faith and still finding their way through it. As the volunteers and leaders of the church, the ones who have been around for a while and who are assumed to be pretty far along in our walks with God, we are the ones who those people turn to and look at. Even if we don't feel like we are worthy of being followed, we will be. The things we do are constantly watched. I don't notice that I'm noticed until someone takes the time to tell me, and that's kind of scary beecause I don't always keep track of what I'm doing or how I'm acting. What we need to remember is that we are constantly being watched and followed, even when we don't expect it. We are always meant to be an example of Christ and His love. I didn't tell the kids to follow me through that part of the song, but they chose to because I had led them in everything else. I'm not asking anyone to follow my example, but I'm aware that what I do can leave a big impression.