The list precedes the point...

• Preaching last Sunday was hard for me, but challenging in a good way. I think I got my point across, and as so many people reminded me, it's not up to me for that to happen anyway. Thanks for all the encouragement...I'm sure Luke will make me do it again.
• Life has been hectic but good lately. Work is still work, though.
• Praying for big things makes me forget about the small things and to be thankful for them. Dang it.
• I love being there for my husband, especially when he acknowledges it.
• Speaking of my husband, he's preaching this upcoming Sunday. If you can't be there, please pray for him. It's gonna be good.
• We're going to The Club tomorrow night for the Version 3 Celebration Dinner. Will V3 be celebrated? Hmm...probably not. Will free (really good) food and free alcohol be celebrated? Oh so much more.
• I think my laptop is kinda sick...it needs to take a trip to the doctor (aka Best Buy).

I am ridiculously in love with our church and more importantly, the people in it. To those who read this and are included in this group - you had me at hello. You are the passion of my heart and it (my heart) aches when it's not with you. Don't think I'm a weirdo, I'm just in love. I can't help it. I would write you a note asking if you like me too, and to circle yes or no, but this is a blog, and that wouldn't really be feasible. But just know...I'm seriously serious.

This is something I've been thinking about, and with the upcoming holiday, it's appropriate: Walking with God is like Halloween candy. Sometimes, you get the apples - the things in life that suck in comparison to the other stuff out there. Sometimes, you get caramels - the things that are good, but stick to you for far too long, so they eventually become bad. And sometimes, more rarely, you get your favorite (insert favorite candy here - I'm choosing Kit Kat for now) - you love it, you want more of it, you just may burst at the goodness of it.

That's like the parts of Jesus that are revealed to us - they're so good, we just might burst. But those parts are only good because of the other crap we have to wade through. Someone asked me the other day the infamous question of why bad things happen to good people. My answer was basically that faith is hard, and we live in a place that fell away from what God originally wanted. We chose our own way, we thought we could do it better, we allowed the enemy a place in our lives. Anyone who says that the way of faith is problem-free and smooth sailing is full of it. They haven't experienced true depth in God - a depth to which we can only go if it be through struggles. Does this suck? Yes. Is it necessary for growth? Most assuredly. Has God given us the strength to move in, through and past struggles? More than we can know. This is why community is such a strong passion/calling of ours (mine and Paul's). It's one of the few tangible things God has given us to help us work and walk through life. We need to utilize it...be real with it, be open to it, be honest in it, be forgiving of it, be thankful for it, be gracious about it, be what God has called us - THE CHURCH.

Ok, the tangent is over...just remember...LOVE.