Present

Just got back from a church conference that I attend every year. It's huge. This year there were 13,000 in attendance.
It's always awesome. So many people, great bands (think Steve Fee, Hillsong, etc) and wonderful speakers. This year Mark Driscoll, Priscilla Shirer, Andy Stanley, Dave Ramsey and Francis Chan were a few of the main speakers. Then there's all kinds of random weird off the wall stuff they throw in just for fun.

Top take-away memory: 6:30am, and I'm on the top of the ferris wheel, looking out at busy big-city traffic and listening to a live jazz band. They're giving out free coffee and the fun is just beginning.

The theme this year was "Be Present" and it kind of underlined what I've been mulling over all year. That there's so much distraction and so much going on, and so many people busy escaping reality that they miss what is going on right in front of them, and they miss what is happening at the moment. So I'm sitting there, listening to message after message about being present, and thinking about the next tweet to sum it all up. Talk about ironic.

Being present means living the life that is happening now. Not wishing for the next thing, or trying to run ahead of the season you're in. Being present is noticing the leaves changing, or taking time to listen to the person speaking to you.
Being present means not being fearful, but saying yes to the adventure of life that is happening.
Being present means taking today and making something of it. Taking today and reaching out to others. Taking today and storing up eternal riches.

It's kind of another reminder to be contented and happy where I am at the moment and let God work here and now in me and through me. It's so easy for me to want to quickly finish this up and go on to the next thing. The next thing always looks more fun, more exciting, more fulfilling.
But it's now that matters.
I may never make it to the next thing.

More on being present coming in the next days and weeks.
I don't want my life to pass by without me.

I want to live, really live. I want to see and experience everything that is going on. I want to stop to smell that flower, or admire that view. I want to feel each footstep on the pathway, to enjoy the journey, not just rush to the destination. A life full of vibrancy and dancing and laughing.
A life of following Jesus and letting Him reach out through my hands to touch the people around me.

Don't forget, Katie. Don't forget to live. Don't forget to breathe. Don't forget to be present.