Times are a changing

So much has happened in the last two weeks, never mind the last time I blogged.  Let's go back, for starters, ten years.  Ten  years ago yesterday I graduated from high school.  Wow, just wow! To think of how different I am now than ten years ago is almost shocking yet awesome.  I'm not talking physically different though I certainly have filled out some since good old "Cooley High."

June 1, 2001

That seems like a lifetime ago.  I guess you could say it was since I've transformed greatly since 2001. I have traded in my summer camp counseling jobs for full-time desk jobs, experienced real heartache, done some real growing-up and living, and in 2006 found a real, amazing love for Jesus.  Life is pretty stinking good.

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Almost two weeks ago, on May 22, 2011, devastation struck as a tornado whipped through Joplin, Missouri destroying well over 30% of the city.  People lost their cars, homes, jobs, and some their lives.  In the midst of this horrific disaster people came together and grew strong.  It is a truly remarkable thing to see such hope in the middle of so much rubble.  It will take months and years for Joplin to physically rebuild again but the hearts of so many are stronger than ever and more thankful than ever.  I am so blessed to not have been affected much by the tornado.  I am so grateful my family, friends, home, and workplace were untouched.  I see now with fresh eyes and realize how important people, not things, are to me.  

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This weekend I am going to Omaha, Nebraska for the Interchange Conference where I am expecting great things from God.  I am so eager to hear from Him and spend the weekend in His presence.  I will be surrounded by great friends and inspiration.  I will continue to pray for a changed self who loves Him and wants to walk with Him even more.  I will also keep Joplin in my prayers and those volunteers who are sacrificing so much of themselves for this grateful city.  My heart is heavy but also hopeful.