U-G-L-Y I ain't got no alibi

Good morning there lovely teammates!

These two chapters are kind of long so I'm gonna blog for each of them.

As I read through Chapter 5 I found myself wanting to keep writing in the margins "Summer 2012! Summer 2012! Summer 2012!" It felt like this chapter explained so perfectly why my first summer with Sonshine was so incredibly life changing for me. It was my first big dose of self-awareness. I think through the trainee material, community of Christ followers, a wonderful person floating me, and most importantly the Holy Spirit's perfect timing and guidance, I, for the first time maybe ever, got a clear look deep below the tip of the iceberg.

I loved on page 83 when he says:
"Once we begin looking beneath the surface of our lives, we encounter an abyss of ugliness that can be frightening." and "The gospel says you are more sinful and flawed than you ever dared believe, yet you are more accepted and loved than you ever dared to hope because Jesus lived and died in your place."

Pg. 86 "A revelation of God's grace gives us the courage to face the painful truth about ourselves."

 Man, I just remember being fixated on that word- UGLY- when my eyes were opened to what I saw in myself. And after some time of coming to terms with that ugliness, God's grace enlivened me (and continues to) more than ever before. That summer, like I said, was life changing and I've seen over the months since how that has enabled me to mature in my relationship with Jesus. That being said, I know there is much exploring and discovering yet to be done.  I'm nervous for the ways that God is going to provide opportunities to delve a little deeper in the next few days, weeks, months, during summer, heck! The rest of my life! but..... In the past it had brought so much freedom and hope and such worship in my heart of our God. SO, because of that, I look forward to it.