"I'd say it's right up there with Chipotle v Qdoba, Camp T v YL, Santa v the Easter Bunny."

Annnnnnd we're back. Wednesday morning bible studies have officially returned. While most of our Wilderness friends are off to college, Cassidy and I are continuing the tradition. This year we'll be joined by the Juniors and Sophomores who were in my cabin at TWL this summer. We started in Ephesians this morning and we're pumped about what this year will bring. 

The Magnolia Story has been on my reading list for quite some time and though I'm a low key fan of the Fixer Upper couple I was surprised by how much I loved reading their story. 

"Don't quit and don't give up. The reward is just around the corner. And in times of doubt or times of joy, listen for that small, still voice. Know that God has been there from the beginning--and he will be there until the end."

"I always thought that the 'thriving' would come when everything was perfect, and what I learned is that it's actually down in the mess that things get good. It was such a blessing to find myself thriving in the middle of the pain. Unless you find a way to do that, there's always going to be this fake illusion that once you get there--wherever 'there' is for you--you'll be happy. But that's just not life. If you can't find happiness in the ugliness, you're not going to find it in the beauty either."

Years ago I went to Mars Hill in Grand Rapids, MI every Sunday. I never wanted to miss a service because I was constantly learning and growing in that church community. Today I came across a quote by G. K Chesterton that I vividly remember first hearing at Mars Hill. I love these words...

"Because children have abounding vitality, because they are in spirit fierce and free, therefore they want things repeated and unchanged. They always say, 'Do it again'; and the grown-up person does it again until he is nearly dead. For grown-up people are not strong enough to exult in monotony. But perhaps God is strong enough to exult in monotony.
It is possible that God says every morning, 'Do it again!' to the sun; and every evening, 'Do it again!' to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never gotten tired of making them. It may be that He has the eternal appetite of infancy; for we have sinned and grown old, and our Father is younger than we. The repetition in nature may not be a mere recurrence; it may be a theatrical encore."