we're off to see the wizard.

If you know anything about my family you know hands down we fly places. Everywhere. Hell I fly back and forth from San Antonio sometimes because that is how much we hate driving. So today will surely be an experience. We are driving to Memphis to see my dad's side of the family. Side note: [Partial good news is that my dad is already there and Ty is coming with my mom and I; so, keep your fingers crossed that there won't be any knock down drag outs.] The reason for the change of heart when it comes to driving you ask ... well, I am a big baby. I mean huge. And the weather is supposed to be pretty severe here and in Tennessee. That being said to get to Memphis on a nonstop flight you fly on a plane that holds roughly 40 to 50 people. Anxiety through the roof. I do not, I repeat do not, do well with turbulence on airplanes. And I am talking about regular sized airplanes, ones that cross the Atlantic Ocean, hold 200 people, and stay in the air for 11 hours - so on this minute aircraft with severe weather headed our way I panicked. So alas here we are. Packing up the car to head  make the 9.5 hour drive. I think it will be a new experience and am honestly sort of excited about it. But we will see how it turns out; I just hope we all make it back in one piece ... and that is not a reference to a fiery car crash of some sort but rather us killing one another out of frustration and cabin fever. That is all. 

Also here is what I took away from Breakaway's podcast from 09/13/2011 titled Engage the World!

We are living in a time with record levels of self-esteem and record levels of depression. How is that possible exactly? How can we be at both ends of the spectrum? We have been taught as a generation that we can do anything if we try. We can be if anything if we work at it hard enough. So our self-esteem sky rockets. And then when we fail because our dreams or goals are realistic we fall deep into a depression that shakes us to our core. But all of that is worldly. In those moments when our hopes are so high or so low we are placing our value in what the world says we can and can not do. But we as people exist to pursue Him - and He is our rewarder when we do. 


Seeking Him doesn't just mean adding God to our program. When we continue to seek the ways of the world and just partially rely on the Lord not much changes. We do not get to see His rewards or reap the full benefits of His grace, mercy and love. We need to let go of the world's program for us and get on board with God's. 

When we journey with Jesus and let Him take control of our path, it won't take long till we are changed. Realistically it isn't easy to be broken of our selfishness, only the Lord can do that. But the more we walk with Him and recognize how blessed we are He will very easily begin to direct our eyes towards others who are suffering more. 

Jesus doesn't motivate us with guilt and shame contrary to what we may think. In Matthew 9:35-38 it talks about the Lord's travels. It says in v. 36 that Jesus looked up and saw the crowds and had compassion even though they weren't following Him. He was not judgmental but there was a movement in Him that wanted to help these lost people. 

In order for us to get with the program and get on board with what the Lord is doing, in order for us to have that same compassion that Jesus had, in order to engage the world with our walks with Christ we must talk to God about men before you ever think about talking to men about God.