Huddle Follow Up

We did it.  We got ourselves introduced to our Huddle kids - kind of.  Geoff was so cute.  He talked about what high school was like back in 1969-1973, which was scary.  His high school was very affluent and drugs abounded.  Add in the fact that the draft was in force and they all thought they'd be shipped out to Viet Nam when they graduated and you have a mixture of fear/young men/escape mechanism.  It was interesting to hear him talk about how athletes were not the heroes or even the cool guys.  And Jesus Freaks were really nerds.  But the one thing he said that stuck out was that these people were the brave ones - those who chose to be different and that today he has more respect for them.  I think they really heard that.  I'm not sure they know him any better yet but they will.  He is a remarkable man and I am so blessed to share life with him.

Then it was my turn.  I kind of picked up with "I was a Jesus Freak." I told them my dad had been a preacher so I knew all about God - knew all the stories.  I talked about the lies that were spoken into my life and how I believed them.  I encouraged them to ask who was telling them the things they are hearing.  It may be coming out of the mouth of, say, a teacher but it might not be God's truth and if it's not - it's a lie. (We'll talk about that a lot more in the future.)  I told them about how I turned away from God and lived life in what the world would say was "freedom" and how it became nothing short of bondage.  (Again, lies!)  Then I talked about my journey to freedom and KNOWING God.  I told them the magnet story.  I told them about how every day now is a God adventure for me even though I might not even leave my house all day.  He is here!  And then I read them these words that were on my heart when I woke up Wednesday morning:

"Buying into all that the world would like you to think is freedom comes at a 
cost. There comes a time in your life when you look around and realize all this 
stuff that was supposed to fill you up is really very empty. And that's when you 
begin to know God and not just know about God. 

That's when forgiveness kicks in. Once you realize all those you left in your 
wake, those you've hurt, those you may have stepped on in order to make yourself 
look better, those you drug down with you because whether you realized it or not 
you are a leader and people do follow you, those you may have followed in an 
effort to be "in" the in crowd, those who hurt you.  And on and on and on....

Only forgiveness can set you free at this point. Giving it. Asking for it. 
Receiving it for yourself. But the hardest part is forgiving yourself. 

The easy part would be to just simply believe the truth now before the lies 
begin to make more sense and seem more real. 

Here's the deal. It's your life. They're your choices. They're also your 
consequences."

I believe Holy Spirit showed up and spoke.  I hope so.  If it was me it was worthless.  If it was Him - they heard - seeds were planted and hearts were opened up.  And that is why I am sitting in a room on Wednesday nights with 25 teenagers for the next four years.  I couldn't be happier.