"Busy as Bee"

Where do I even begin?!?! The students arrived back to Ole Miss two weeks ago, and life has been in full swing for the Coles. It has been a very exciting time for our ministry, and we have so reasons to praise the Lord! Let me just share a few:

• Over 1,000 students attended our first weekly meeting, and around 600 attended the second one. We are extremely grateful that each student had an opportunity to respond to the gospel.
• Around 40 freshman attended the Freshman Cookout...YEA! This gives us lots of new contacts!
• 20 students are leading bible studies for Crusade around campus (this does not include all the bible studies in the sorority and fraternity houses)
• 45 girls came to Dessert Night...this is one of my favorite events! Last Tuesday after Crusade I hosted Girls Dessert Night at our home. We had five students share about their summer, what the Lord had been teaching them, and advice for the younger girls. We had no clue what each girl would share, but there ended up being a theme of "don't waste your college years", and make the most of every opportunity! It was a great night and the last student left at 11:30! 
• We already have 70 students going to Fall Retreat!

These are just a few of the many things that have been taking place in our ministry. As you can see, I have been "busy as a bee"! I love it though! The summer is so long, and I really miss having the students in Oxford and in our home! It has been so fun to have them back and coming in and out of our house! I truly feel like I have the best job in the whole world! Sometimes I ask myself, "do I really get paid to do this?" It is AMAZING! 

Amidst the busyness though, I have been doing some reading. I mentioned about a week ago that I have been reading Crazy Love by Francis Chan. I am slightly obsessed with this book. It is incredibly thought provoking and has lead me to do some self-evaluation. Today I read a chapter titled "Serving Leftovers to a Holy God." Basically, his point was that we often give God "a mumbled three-minute prayer at the end of the day" or "two crumpled-up dollars bills thrown as an after-thought into the church's fund for the poor" when "God wants our best, deserves our best, and demand our best." Chan said, "Following Christ isn't something that can be done halfheartedly or on the side. It is not a label we can display when it is useful. It must be central to everything we do and are." "Many of us believe we have as much of God as we want right now, a reasonable portion of God among all other things in our lives. Most of our thoughts are centered on the money we want to make, the school we want to attend, the body we aspire to have, the spouse we want to marry, the kind of person that we want to become...But the fact is that nothing should concern us more than our relationship with God; it's about eternity, and nothing compares with that. God is not someone who can be tacked on to our lives. " 

Here are the questions Chan asked at the end of the chapter:

1. Are you willing to say to God that He can have whatever He wants?
2. Do you believe that wholehearted commitment to Him is more important than any other thing or person in your life?
3. Do you know that nothing you do in this life will ever matter, unless it is about loving God and loving the people He has made?

I think each of these questions are ones that we really need to address. Chan said,  "If the answer is Yes, then let your bet match your talk." The only reason I write all of this is because it hit me pretty hard, and I believe the truths that Chan is sharing are ones we really need to reflect upon. Maybe these are some questions you can think about during your personal time with the Lord this week. If you have an extra $14, pick up a copy of Crazy Love! You will not regret it! Happy Labor Day!