Prideful Servant

Today we went on another hike up past rock creek, and spent some time by this beautiful lake tucked away in the mountains. We each wrote a letter to God and put it in the "sacred tube," where they will remain hidden until May. I'm looking forward to reading my letter again, and being able to look back on answered prayer. It was such an enjoyable experience for me as I sat on the grass alone by the water to compose my letter. I let my hair down to just blow in the breeze, and soaked up the warmth of the sunshine. The view was amazing - snowcaped mountains, glittering lake, the day warm and sunny. The times I've had with the Lord lately have been bliss. I feel like He has pulled me in somehow to a deeper place of intimacy.
This will be my third night in the lodge, and it has been fun being here. Not the hard transition I thought it was going to be. No, but it has been a blessing. Each day has been unique and enjoyable. We did some cleaning at the church yesterday - cleaned out a shed, and cleaned up the path out back by Eric's office. I love getting to work with my hands. There is something so rewarding about working hard. Though sometimes I feel at a loss as to what to do, because I may not have the necessary knowledge about the needed task, and I find it frustrating because I do not want to watch others "do," I want to be right in the middle, working hard. I find this to be a work of humility in me also. Raphael and Jennifer each have such an authentic love for the Lord, and a heart to serve. It gets my pride when I find them doing more than me, or serving me. I guess we can be prideful even in trying to be "least." What a way though for me to grow as a leader, to be challenged even by those who are supposed to be "following." I guess I am finding it difficult to be served. But I just remind myself that I shouldn't shun them practicing service, just because it stirs my pride. They are God's blessing in my life to challenge me to take something like service to a new level. Where would the challenge be in setting an example, of lets say service (since we're on the topic), for someone who didn't serve at all? That's not much of a challenge. How much more will it stretch me to set an example for two who are already such servants? Isn't it exciting to be pushed and stretched? Yeah. Ok. Easier said than done!
Each day is a living mystery - we're never quite sure what we're gonna do next, but things keep unfolding with blessing. Tomorrow is our first meeting up in Mammoth with a group, and we will be having a time to just minister to the Lord in intercession and the word for a couple of hours. I'm totally stoked. Oh, and we started our classes yesterday. We are doing a class kind of like New Testament survey, starting in Matthew, and it is great. I'm totally loving getting into all the little details. You know me, I was the weird one in ENLI who actually loved the church history, OT and NT survey, and all those crazy fun little details. I love getting down to the nitty-gritty of the word, and studying all its facets. This is totally up my alley. Man, life is good!