Reminders of True Joy

The week of rest is now over half gone, and the summer is about to begin.
I was out on our front porch a couple nights ago.  Summer nights are one of my favorite things - when the sun goes down, and the air finally cools.  Nothing can beat curling up with a blanket and a book.  Unfortunately, there's a motion sensitive light on our porch so the relaxation has to be interrupted every  5 minutes or so with frantic movement to get the light to turn back on - but even this can be overlooked:)  
I was sitting outside that night when God showed me a few things I needed to remember.
The first was a reminder that even though it's incredibly hard for me to say good-bye - He has wonderful things in store for my future.  I graduated from AFLBS this past Saturday, and it was one of the saddest days of my life, but God's been showing me the blessings of friendship He's given me throughout every step of life.  Even though saying good-bye to this chapter of life is sad, He truly has blessed me with lifelong friends.  My pastor mentioned the sadness some of us experienced at graduation and followed it with this line, "you can't become the person you were made to be unless you leave." 
True. Hard. But True.
I'm excited to see what God has in store next!
Which leads me to the next revelation of the night.
I had been reading from Acts 3 and was just getting into the story of the lame man who sat outside the gate each day.  This man was waiting for something to happen - but had resigned himself to hoping only for money each day.  Peter and John walked by with no money to offer, but they had something so much greater.  Through the power of Jesus Christ they gave this man his legs back!  Something the man probably did not even bother to hope for!  I just read the verse, "He jumped to his feet and began to walk.  Then he went into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God!" ...and then the motion sensitive light went out.  I didn't feel like wiggling around to get it to come back on, so I just sat still in the darkness and thought about the man's joy.  Then it was as if God said, "Get up, Steph, get up and rejoice!"  I'm about to head into a summer of teaching little kids about the love of Jesus, and I can't wait to be with them, to laugh with them, and to love them.  The only reason I can do any of this is because of Jesus Christ, and what He has done on my life.  I'm so grateful for the love He has shown!


...And now as I continue my week of rest I sit and watch the movie I was obsessed with as a child.  The Chronicles of Narnia: the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.  I've been quoting random lines and shocking my mom with my vast knowledge of the movie.  It's been a good day!