refuge.

This weekend I am chaperoning a youth trip. It makes me a feel so adult. I cannot wait. I am in constant prayer for my girls but this week I am directing my prayers specifically towards refuge. It is going to be so amazing for these kids but it also going to be so amazing for me. I just need to feel Christ in and all over me. I haven't felt that in a while. I have just had a surface relationship with Christ lately and I desoerately need to go deeper. It is mostly my fault. I haven't devoted enough time to Jesus. It is so easy to leave my bible on my bedside table and not touch it for a week except when I go to church. I am so busy I have trouble managing my time and instead of giving Christ my first bit of time, I have tried to squeeze him in between the madness. It reminds me of an example my dad did when I was little. He held out a glass. He poured rocks in the the cup and said that they represented school. sports, boyfriends, friends, etc. Then he took a ping pong ball that represented God and tried to push it into the glass with all of the rocks in there. The ball wouldn't fit. He poured the rocks out, put the ball in FIRST and then poured the same amount of rocks in. When you put God first, everything else in your life can fit. But you cannot try to put everything else in first or it won't work. I know that is a little corny but I haven't ever forgotten it. Some days I feel like if i take a little time out of my day to pray and spend time in the word that I will run out of time. It is exactly the opposite. But of course me being the stubborn woman that I am don't realize that I am doing it until it is already done. God is trying to help me get it all done but I am the one in the way. This weekend I pray that God gets me out of the way of myself. And I pray that he uses me in the lives of these girls. They are so precious to me but they are most precious to their heavenly father. I am incredibly blessed to even play a tiny part in their lives. Christ has designed this opportunity for every single person on the trip. I know for me there will be far less distractions and I hope that I don't miss a minute of what God in store for me. I cannot wait to see the impact of this weekend and the ripple effect that it will have when its all over. God is so good. All the time. He alone is our REFUGE.

REFUGE–noun
1. shelter or protection from danger, trouble.
2. a place of shelter, protection, or safety.
3. anything to which one has recourse for aid, relief, or escape

Psalm 18:2
The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge.
He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
Psalm 46:1
God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.