My new blog

So, I've been thinking about starting a blog of my my own for a while, but I've hesititated on doing so because I wasn't sure if I would have anything to say or much time to write anything. I guess I will see how this goes.

I've been thinking a lot about service in the last week or so. It started with putting together some Christmas shoeboxes for Samaritan's purse with my small group. It was really cool and a lot of fun to be able to get together with some people who I haven't known for all that long and put them together. We might have looked a little strange to some people as we walked through the dollar store gathering items. But it was the first time that my small group has really connected sincce we started meeting. it's amazing how doing something like this together can help with that.

The impact that service can have was also emphasized to me a week ago when I was part of a church-wide service project. As a church we spent a Saturday afternoon in the downtown area of Kelowna helping some of the ministries down there with some fall cleaning and just doing a general clean up of the area. I spent my Saturday afternoon picking up garbage and pulling weeds . . . not the most exciting thing to do . . . but I loved it. It was cool to see families with kids all working together on this project and to see the response of the people who work in this area. I also work in this area of town and see on an almost daily basis the hopelessness and despair in some of the people in this often neglected area of town. But I also saw the light and encouragement we brought to the area by spending sometime cleaning it up.

Both of these opportunities got me thinking about service a lot. It is the kind of life that we are called to live as followers of Christ . . . a life of service. When Christ was on earth He served others all the time . . . and that is the example that we are to follow. Serving doesn't always have to be big things that the two opportunities I had recently. It can be in little things - like helping someone carry their groceries to their car, or taking out the garbage when it's not your turn, or any number of other examples you can think of. As I have begun to look around at the people I come into contact with everyday I have bgun to see the many opportunities we have ot serve others . . . and then I've started to think about the difference it could make if we would take these opportunities. It's an incredible thing to picture!