If You Missed AK

If you missed AK tonight, you really missed out.  There was this totally rockin' speaker...namely *ahem*, yours truly.

I'm actually the biggest scaredy cat when it comes to public speaking.  I usually feel sick right before getting up to speak, and this time I was even more nervous because my opening spiel had me speaking in German...

Guten Abend! Ich bin daran zu sprechen, und ich bin sehr glucklich dass ich deise Geigenheit habe.Ich weiss dass viele von ihr mir nicht verstehen kann, aber wo sind meine West Portal Lutheran Klassenkameraden?Ja, ich weiss dass ihr mich verstehen kann (hoffentlich).Hab kein Angst, ich bin nicht verruckt oder merkwurdig.Ich muss ein Beispiel machen.

[10 years later, still got it...Danke Schon, Frau F] 

My point being this: Sometimes when we think about who Jesus is in our lives, He seems to us a foreign language--because we are unfamiliar with His ways.  For me, tonight was all about reiterating who Jesus is in my life.  When you get to know Him, He becomes your dearest treasure.  When you choose Jesus, you will never be disappointed. 

It's super important that you guys get this.  Because life sucks.  It will beat you down and rob you of your joy.  I see it in the lives of my students that I teach, and so much of me wants to tell them--"The answer is Jesus!"  Yet with you, my AK'ers, I can be more explicit. 

Perhaps, then, the lyrics to the song we sang tonight will make more sense:

I live for you
All that I am, all that I do,
My heart beats with you, and each
Day I wake, I think of you

You are why I sing, You are why I live
Everything of me, I place at your feet
You are why I love, You are why I give
Everything of me belongs to you

I live for you
You are my God, You are the truth,
You're all that I need, My
Soul, it longs for more of you

It makes me so gosh darn proud when you guys choose Jesus.  And I know our heavenly Father is even more proud.

You have greatness within you...because our God is great.