Open Call!!!

We FINALLY kicked off the 2011-2012 Life Teen year on Sunday night with a fun, crazy and prayerful night dedicated to getting us all reaquainted, welcoming our newcomers, and breaking open our theme verse for the year!

This year's theme is "Open Call" focusing on the relationship that God calls us into with Him and His Church and our theme verse for the year is James 4:8 - "Draw near to God and He will draw near to you". I chose this verse because to me, it speaks very profoundly to the type of relationship that God desires with us and wants us to desire with Him. He does not simply ask us to "move" or "come" or "be" near Him - but rather to "DRAW" near to Him.

That word, "draw", has a much riched and deeper feeling to it than the others - when you are "drawn" to someone, it implies connection, relationship, mutual movement - it is a very organic and intimate way to talk about moving towards another person. And that is the key - the intimacy, the connection.

Have you ever know 2 people who seemed to be connected by some sort of invisible tether? Or seen that type of undeniable connection depicted in a movie, TV show, play or book? Is it almost indescriblable, but you know it when you see it - it is like a magnet is constantly pulling them together, despite their physical distance. I think of the scene in the Leonardo DiCaprio version of Romeo and Juliet - when they are at the big party with craziness all around them, but they see each other and there is this instant connection between them. Or  the friends depicted in "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" - they seemed to be bound to each other by an unseen force that defies distance and drama. In short, they are drawn to each other.

These types of relationships speak to something deep in our hearts - and something that is not there by accident. We all crave this type of connection, crave to be drawn into another being's universe - and we crave that because God put that desire in us so that we would seek Him out - because the kind of relationship I am describing is EXACTLY what He wants with us! He wants to be drawn into us and wants us to be drawn into Him. But because we have a God who will never force Himself on us, He will not just run to us, throw His arms around us and force us into this close relationship with Him - but He will, and does, continually invite us into a mutual relationship - He calls us to draw near to Him so that He can draw near to us. And that is a beautiful invitation.

So this year we will be exploring the ways we can draw nearer to God, and in turn Him to us, both in our personal prayer life and in the ways we live out that inner faith in the world! It is going to be a great year and I am SO excited that it is underway!!!

YOU ARE LOVED!!!!!!!!!!!