faith and works.

I have spent the past week and Passport church camp with our youth group. It has been so very special for me. I saw little glimpses of heaven all week. We spent the week at Mercer University in Macon, and we did mission work in a rough part of Macon. My mission group was assigned to Mrs. Goode's house. We had to scrape old paint, prime and paint the entire house. Her house was pretty big. Actually, it was huge! It was so tall. But, it was old and needed a lot of work. The week started out kind of slow. I am not sure if the kids knew what they were getting into or not. You usually don't get put to work at summer camps. But slowly, the mood completely changed. Kids started interacting and working together. By the end of the week, our group became so close. It was such a blessing to work on this woman's house and to see these kids really do the work of Jesus. It was such a feeling of accomplishment yesterday when we finished after four long days! Right when we finished a huge thunderstorm came, and we were soaked! I thought of it as a little gift from God. It felt amazing. This is an example of where I see God the most. I see God in the poorest parts of town. I see God in a group of kids who are covered in dirt and paint after a long days work. I see God in the smile of kids who come from a broken home. This is where I belong. I feel for sure after this week that I am right where God wants me to be.
I have been reading 'Searching for God Knows What' by Donald Miller. It is a very good read. I really like his view on religion and faith. I know I have written lately how I have been getting frustrated with politics and churches and government officials. But now, I feel at peace. I have prayed and God has filled me with complete peace at the moment. I know that I cannot change the way people think and do things. But, I can work on myself and do my part. I can love people and help and work through people. That is all I can do.

James 2:17-26 is really on my heart right now. Faith without works is dead. It is true. You can sit there and read the entire bible and learn a bunch of religious facts and have good morales.. etc. But, if you don't do anything with what you know, then what good is it? I guess it would be like studying and preparing for the SAT, but never signing up and taking it. What good will that do you?