January 18

Get ready, folks. I usually shield you from my circular thinking by planning out what I'm going to say before I start... Well, not today. So here are my random thoughts. Hope they come out somewhat understandable... :)

Do you play on a team? Work on a team? Have a team in place to help you live life? Well, as for the last one, if you don't have a team in place to help you live life, GET ONE! They may be your family. It may be your friends. It may be your classmates or workmates. Odds are it's a combination of all of these. They are the people who get through daily life with you. They see you at your best and worst...and still love you. They are the encouragement that made everything better. They are the truth that stung but lead to freedom. They teach you, care for you, play with you, pray for you, sharpen you, cheer for you, correct you, and always love you even when they don't necessarily like you at a particular moment. This is the core team. There are always those wonderful people who enter out lives for a season or a particular purpose and move on. They are valuable. God brings them into our lives to accomplish His purpose in our lives. There are always the team members who are the support team or enjoy playing the game with us and we love them. They are valuable. God enriches our lives with them. But it's the core team who shapes us, motivates us, and keeps us going. Who is speaking into your life? Who is helping to knock off the rough edges? Who is there to pick you up when you fall? Who believes in you and helps you believe? Who is it? Who are they? Because that core team doesn't need to be big, but it does need to be more than one person. We are made for community. I am blessed to have a wonderful team. Thank you, God.

Part II:

This past week I went to Danville High School to visit all my former students and friends. It was a wonderful time to see everyone and reconnect. While I was there I got to speak to the Jr. High FCA (a student Christian organization). It is made up of 7th and 8th graders. I issued a call to be available to God like Isaiah was when he said, "Here am I. Send me." I was really encouraged by the response. One student raised their hand to receive salvation for the first time! And all but 2 or 3 raised their hands in response to the call to be available to God for whatever He would ask them to do. So I prayed for them. I was so encouraged by their response and I really could feel the presence of God with us. One of the students has since emailed me and told me how he and his friend had been encouraged and gave me examples of how he had all ready reached out to others to help them! God is so faithful.

In this season I am feeling lead to issue a call, especially to young people, but to all people to understand that God has a plan and a destiny for them. Now the fact that Carl came up with the name "Clarion Call" for me is making even more sense. It is my heart to see people overcome the things that hold them back and be released into freedom. If we can understand how much God loves us and that He chooses to use His people, we will begin to believe He can use us and we will want to make ourselves available to Him for whatever He dreams up.