[living a good story]

I wish nothing more than to bring all of my family and friends here to Hatteras because I feel like no matter what I write or say to describe my experiences here, it still does not give it justice. I wish you could feel the sand between your toes even when you're not on the beach, hear my friends Brandi and John sing worship, smell the salty air..and then taste the salt in your hair, or ride a bike with us to Frisco Tackle for an Arnold Palmer and a bag of Cheetos. I wish you could see our high school friends skate and how hard core they are, watch Brooke and I learn how to surf, hear the laughter at our family dinners Sunday nights, and watch us play soccer as a community every Monday..with my friends acting like fools as Nathan trips over the ball and Kurt wears two jerseys for no reason. All of these random pieces of memories create a larger picture of what my life has looked liked for the past month, and I couldn't be more grateful.
Last week the Young Life group from Virginia Beach (also known as: "VaBa's") came for a short but sweet visit and we had the privilege of living life with them for a few days. One of the talks our friend Josh Shaw gave really hit me hard with inspiration. He talked about how living life is Jesus anything but boring, but it is a constant adventure. A common misconception I feel like people have is that following Jesus means you have to be boring and safe. This could not be further from the truth. We worship a God who has an entire book full of incredible stories that are the craziest of adventures. Stories like feeding 5,000 people with a boy's simple lunch (let that sink in, that's a whole lot of people), Jesus and his friend Peter walking on water (pretty sure I have never been crazy enough to try that), or like a man who couldn't move, picking up the mat he has lived his whole life on, and walking. Or the time God called a Shepard boy (picture my little brother) to kill a giant, win battles, and become a king. I bet David was not expecting God to change his life like that, but he did. Those stories sound pretty incredible to me, and the best part is that they are real and there are so many more. What a life Jesus lived, and what a life God calls us to live.
We are digging deeper into Jesus' life together here as "three 1 six" volunteers, and it has been so eye-opening for me. Between Josh's talk and the stories we read about and discuss, I definitely know God calls us to more than we settle for. He calls us to take risks. I feel like I always write about this, but I think it's a good thing to be reminded of. I want people to look at my life and see Jesus in every crazy story, every place he took me, and every risk I took.
So my life with God may not include walking on water, ruling a nation, controlling the weather, or saving a country...I mean I won't say that wouldn't be sweet if I did...but he has taken me on my own adventures. There has been plenty of traveling to beautiful places, hiking great heights, allowing me to conquer fears, try new things, and some pretty incredible stories from all of them. I know he has more grand adventures planned, and I'm thankful for that. I'm also thankful that he wants the same for you, God has plenty of crazy plans for you to take on, all you have to do is listen and go.