Blogaversary

I missed it.  I knew my 2 year blogaversary was this month but I thought it was later.  It was August 3.  So happy belated blogaversary to me!  Thank you for reading my words, my bumbling attempts at untangling my ball of yarn thoughts.  You guys are the best.  I know I say it a lot but I mean it every time:  I really do know the best people.

So.

It's been two months since I've blogged.  My longest hiatus to date.  And oddly enough, I've been ok with it.  My brain (shockingly) doesn't feel tangled with unexpressed thoughts.  But today I had the honor of teaching the Junior High girl's Sunday school class for the last time.  I want to share with you what I shared with them.  

But, first, some photos of what my summer has been like so far.

We celebrated these two.  Ten and five.  Athlete and musician.

I broke in new running shoes.  Ow.

I bought a dress even though I said I wasn't going to buy myself any clothes this year.  Nobody is surprised.

We played kickball during a rainy cabin weekend.

We've eaten truckloads of ice cream.

We've made funny faces.  Don't tell Jessie this is on here.  She'll probably kill me.

I've worked.  A lot.

They haven't all been good days.  Sometimes we eat our feelings.

Sometimes we make tadpole pickles.  Sorry, Gina.

Some of us have created with clay.

Some of us are getting used to our football gear.

We've made messes in the kitchen and turned perfectly healthy vegetables into fried deliciousness.

We've played with puppies, gone to the beach, and watched the construction happening at the end of our driveway.  The construction crew knows Jake by name.

Back to today.  Teaching Sunday school.  I love it.  But I am terrible at planning ahead.  So 6:30 am found me trying to figure out what I was going to talk about.  Nothing was really coming to mind until I realized that this was the last time I would get to teach these girls.  And I knew right away that I wanted to talk about the things that I want them to remember always.

1.  The most elementary of all things:  Jesus loves you.

It's easy to go "Yeah, yeah.  I've heard this from the beginning of time."  But think about it.  Really hard.  Jeremiah 31 says "I have loved you with an everlasting love.  I have drawn you with my loving kindness."  

Everlasting.  

It always was, it is right now, it will always be.  

Everlasting.

2.  NOTHING can separate you from the love of Jesus.

I love Romans 8:38-39.  

Neither death nor life.

Neither angels nor demons.

Neither the present nor the future.

Neither height nor depth.

Nor anything else in all creation.

NOTHING.  

NO THING.

No thing that you have done.  No thing that you are doing.  No thing that you will do.

Jesus is always there, full of love for you.

3.  Your worth is astronomical.

I cried when I said this to the girls.  I believe this to the very depths of my soul and I want you all to feel the same.  I want you to know your worth.  

The world batters and shames and taunts.  We can be left feeling like we are not enough and at the same time like we are too much. 

But Jesus.

He says "Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not much more valuable than they?"

This Jesus, he created my inmost being.  He knit me together in my mother's womb.  I praise him because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.  All of my days were written in his book before one of them came to be.

And he's redeemed me.  Not with perishable things like silver and gold.  But with his precious blood.

If someone is willing to die for you, you better believe that person thinks you are worth something.

4.  Choose your friends wisely.

My dad said this to me approximately one million times while I was growing up.  Turns out it was sound biblical advice.  

"He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm." Prov 13:20

5.  Be kind.

I found photos to go with this one.

And then this one.  It gave us all pause.

It's important to be kind to everyone.  And that includes the way we speak to ourselves.

6.  Never get so old that you can't be silly.

This was a fun one.  Because these girls told on their parents.  I heard about moms dancing in the kitchen, making up silly songs, wearing wacky hairdos.  I won't give you away, but, well done ladies!

Proverbs 17:22 says "A joyful heart is good medicine..."  The internet kinda agreed.

So there you have it.  That is what I want you to know.  

You are loved.

You cannot be separated from the love of Jesus.

You are worth dying for.

Choose your friends wisely.

Be kind.

Be silly.

Live life well.