Fighting for the cause!

Hi guys...

Well...I went to meet my new (3rd) niece today...Gabrielle...she is SOOO beautiful!! She looks just like her mum (my sister)! Man, I am sooo in awe of her!! She's fantastic!! She's REALLY tiny too!! She's such a GIFT from God!! She was AWESOME!!

My other niece, Olivia, is just SOOOO big now!! She will be 3 this year and I just can't believe how grown up she is!! Hearing her call me Aunty Jodi all day just SOO warmed my heart!! She talks so much now!! It's amazing how fast kids grow up!! Man, I miss being around them!! Thanks for moving me closer Jesus!! YAY!!

My favourite part of the day was when Olivia went and got her 'Jesus Loves Me - First Bible' and asked me to read her a story...she has her favourite story...the one about the sick daughter of Jairus who died and Jesus brought her back to life again!! It was sooo awesome...shes only 2 1/2 and living in a non Christian home, but GOD IS STILL THERE!! Even if at the moment He hasn't been welcomed...He's still there stirring in my 21/2 yr old nieces heart!! YAY FOR JESUS!!

Anyway...moving on from all my gushy stuff...cause I could talk about them FOREVER!! :) I am writing a blog today called FIGHTING FOR THE CAUSE...kinda appropriate considering the name of my blog don't you think?! haha...I will also warn you that my blogs will be long...but I figure anyone who knows me knows I have alot to say...and since the majority of you delete my emails without opening them, I thought a blog spot seemed like a much better idea for those who actually WILL read my stuff :)

So here goes...some thoughts on my mind...well, again today, another long trip to Sydney and back...3 hours each way...lots of thinking time...haha!! Every time I catch the train I always pray and ask God for an opportunity to share with someone! For someone to sit beside me and I can start a conversation with them. But so far I've had no luck! No one sits next to me...maybe I smell or maybe I have a warning sign on me that says "JESUS FREAK!! Sit next to me and I WILL talk to you about Jesus!!" haha...I don't know what the dealio is...but I do know that I am dying to meet unsaved people here. I am new to the Central Coast and I have come into a Youth Pastor position where I work with the people in the church...well, I do Primary and High School Ministry too...but I feel like its just not enough! I want to meet more ppl!!

Ok, just to clear that up...schools ministry is FANTASTIC and I get the BEST opportunities to be in the schools sharing...the regular lunch time program I help with at the High School has only a few ppl in it so far...but hey, DREAM BIG right?! Then I also get involved in Auslife seminars...so far I've done 2 in the last almost 3 months I've been here, which has been FANTASTIC!! Challenging at one school...but SOOO rewarding cause at the end of the day HEAPS of students wanted to know more about Jesus!! YEAH YEAH!! Thats why I do it!! :) And then theres my BEAUTIFUL kindergarten scripture class!! MAN I love em!! They are just SOO precious and SOOO receptive!! THEY ROCK!! :)

But, there are so many more out there that I havent reached!! I wanna meet the random ppl on the bus and train and plant a seed in their life!! I wanna sit next to someone and speak Jesus into their life while I am waiting half an hour at Erina Fair for Fuji to arrive late...haha...love ya Fuj! ;)...I wanna meet the ppl in the community!!! I wanna see ppl won for JESUS!!

So, as I sat on the bus today on the last leg of my trip home from Sydney, I thought about how uneventful my train/bus trips had been (apart from reading over my sermon for Youth Church about a billion times!! I like to be prepared ;) ) I thought about the lack of opportunities and how I didn't meet anyone on the train! But then it dawned on me...well, I wasnt alone on the train! Maybe no one came and sat next to me, but HELLO, there WERE other ppl on the train...why didnt I just get up off my lazy bum and go and sit next to someone...maybe cause theyd think I was a FREAK for sitting next to them when all these other seats were empty...but WHO CARES!! I may never see them again...but thats beside the point...what if I could see them again...what if there was such an open door to share that they even started coming along to church! Hey, wouldnt that be GRAND?! or as Graham would say, it would be EUTOPIA!!! (hehe I love that word!!)

So, as I sat there pondering I thought about my blog spot...I thought, I've just created my own blog spot called fighting for the cause...and thats what I want to do...whats the cause? JESUS my friends!! He's the cause!! I'm fighting for Jesus to build His Kingdom and save lost souls, be able to disciple them, and serve those who are suffering in our community!! Thats the cause!! So, what have I done so far? Not a lot!! I havent really made an effort to move and meet these ppl I wanna meet! I've been sitting there, as I do on the train, waiting for THEM to come to me!! Ok, at this point I have the urge to SLAP MYSELF or kick my butt or something...Im such a BOOF HEAD!! Yes, thats right!! hahaha...but seriously, what am I doing? Good question to ask hey Tiny!! WHAT AM I DOING ABOUT IT?

Well, I feel challenged and inspired (yes Fuji, inspired...I am dreaming and being inspired ;)...thanks!) I feel challenged and inspired by God to go out and serve the community!! Im here to serve God and the ppl Hes put me here for!! I think of the BEST example of ALL time...Jesus Himself!! Look at His example here on earth...He went and spent time with the outcasts of society...the dregs as we would say! He touched the lepors and made them clean when the rest of society had disowned them and cast them out...He had dinner with the tax collectors...the ppl society HATED...one of them even became one of His disciples!! He cared so much for ppl that He cried for them...He raised them from the dead. The woman who thought she wasnt worthy enough to meet Jesus and simply touched His cloak in faith that even just a touch would heal her from her years and years of bleeding...He didnt ignore her like the rest of society would have...He acknowledged her and told her that her faith had made her well! The prostitute...the woman who society would shun...she came and washed Jesus' feet with EXPENSIVE perfume...did He tell her that she was unclean and an utter disgrace? No, He welcomed her and He let her serve Him in her act of worship to Him...everyone else thought they were better than her but they had not served Jesus or worshipped Him in such a beautiful and personal way! He didnt show favouritism...He didnt shun anyone or turn anyone away...He didnt cast anyone out of society...even those who had turned their hearts against Him, He still loved them!!

I want to be like that! I want to be like Jesus! I don't want to judge ppl or turn them away! I don't want to pretend Im better than someone because Im a Christian...God doesnt love me anymore than them! He loves us equally...because thats what we are...all equal in Gods eyes! I want to go out and LOVE ppl! I want to go out and SERVE people! I want to go out and SPEND TIME with people...because they are GODS PEOPLE!! in 1 Peter 2:10 it says, "...once you were not a people, but now you are A PEOPLE OF GOD!..." How cool is that?? We are the PEOPLE OF GOD!! WOW!! We are so unworthy...yet He still loves us and calls us HIS PEOPLE!! Man, I think that we SO dont live up to that! But it just shows how AWESOME God really is!! It shows just how amazing his GRACE is!!

I love that song...Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that SAVED a WRETCH like me...I once was LOST, but now Im FOUND...was BLIND but now I SEE!! Praise God!!

So, I will end it now...but I want to challenge you too! Dont wait for the world to come to you...cause trust me, THEY WONT!!! Go to them...BE JESUS!! FIGHT FOR THE CAUSE!!

Love ya's all...

DREAM BIG!! WITH GOD ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE!! MATT 19:26

Your sister in Christ

Fighting for the cause!!

Jodi