Me me MEEEEE time!

A couple weeks ago I was walking through the airport I had my ipod blairing into my headphones and a iced tea from starbucks in hand. I was planning on hopping on the plane and getting some serious work done...I had this down to a science. I was feeling sooo cool. Until all of a sudden my ipod just breaks...pretty much sounding like a ticking bomb about to explode. Oops.
All of a sudden I came back to reality and started asking God for ways in where I can truly be humble cause I hated that spirit of pride that can creep up so slowly.
I walked onto the plane to it sooo thankfully being close to empty! YEAH! I could have a whole row to myself! First I had to find my real seat and sit down then I could move to another spot once the doors were closed! As I headed down the aisle I was getting closer and closer to what I feared to be my seat and who I feared to be my seat buddy....
An ollllld old skinny cowboy who smelled like a keg of bear, licked his lips like the joker in Batman and was just pretty much scary!! I sat next to him in the little two seater side of the plane and waited patiently for those doors to close so I could switch seats...when all of a sudden I felt God saying to me..."no you won't! You're going to stay right here and talk to him!" As I had JUST 3 minutes early prayed for just this sort of thing...but of course I thought it was would come in a more glamorous way of course;)
But I had MY agenda! I needed my ME time! This was my last of 3 flights of the day and I was done with any human contact. I just wanted to bury my face in my work and zone everyone out...or just stretch out and sleep! Instead I talked to him the entire hour and a half flight home. At first it was sort of a drudgery...but God started opening my heart to him...and I was able to see him how God did: SOOO loved! By the end of that time I was more refreshed than even a 10 hour nap would supply! I was so energized and excited about what God was going to do in this guys life...I asked him what I could pray for him for and he lit up like a child at a candy store..I don't know if anyone had ever asked him that! He just kept thanking me for asking him that for the rest of the flight!
Sooo here..I could've chosen the ME time and gotten a little work done but probably would've been even more wiped out..but instead pouring into this guys life it beat out any kind of ME time that I could've had!
It is important to get away with God and get refreshed...I do it all the time...but when it is constantly about you...you are actually draining yourself!! It litterally depletes you! Which is sort of crazy but it's true!
Look for people and opportunities to have a little reverse ME time with!! It will refresh you...but even more THEM! Just being available with no agenda..just to listen, serve, speak and pray! Being able to set everything aside that YOU want to accomplish and just being there for them for their ME time! Try it today! You will be blown away! :)
Matt. 20:28- Just as the Son of Man came not to be waited on but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many[the price paid to set them free].

I have TOO many friends!

So my sister Natalie and I were talking the other night about friends...we both somehow seemed to have been blessed with a TON of them...
Growing up I had a solid core group of friends from church that were my best friends...we rarely fought as it was just us...we sort of had cliques but they were pretty inclusive.
Once I was 14 everything changed...We moved to a new church and with it came a new set of friends, then onto my photography business, interns, an even newer church, clients, photographers, moving to Nashville, and finally my church down here! Which now means I have friends all over the globe and hundreds of them! It is REALLY hard to keep track of everyone and to stay in touch AND to make them all feel loved because I truly do want all of that. Thank God Facebook makes that a lot easier!
Something I realized though is that the more friends you have the less the quality of time and emotion you can devote to your core group! It gets spread thin to everyone else!! Don't get me wrong...being able to help alot of people with who God's created you to be is the best...but I'm specifically talking about those you pour your heart out to...
With my sister it was getting harder and harder cause as her friend list grew each one felt like it was supposed to be almost a best friend! And no matter how hard you try you can not have 55 best friends! One of the best piece of advise that I was given a while ago was to sit down for a couple hours and write down your friend list...allll the people in your life that you would consider a friend...and pray over it...see which ones you are really supposed to pursue right now, which ones were seasonal(meaning maybe it was just for a time and now it's time to move on), which ones are best friends, friends, people that you are mentoring or is a ministry opportunity, people who are your mentors and the people that you are on the same level as(iron sharpening iron). Also, if any of those people could be considered acquaintances?? People you've met and will sometimes hang out with and talk to but wouldn't necessarily call on the phone or go out to dinner with. This helps sooo much in knowing where to devote your time!! Realize that you are not put on this earth to be everyone's best friend...but only a few...
Also...if you already are the type with just a few friends do this anyways...it helps so much in evaluating where each friendship is going...if it's uplifting or going nowhere! Also if there are acquaintances that God would like to move to friendship but you just being open!! Take some time to do this!! I KNOW I NEED TOO! :)