When I was a little boy, my Mommy (actually my step-mom, but the only woman I ever knew as "Mommy") used to make "Hot-Milk-Toast". It was one of my favorite things to eat. Basically, it's exactly what it sounds like: Heat up milk, pour it over cut up pieces of toast, and add some sugar on it, which puts a sweet taste on the soggyness of the bread instantly created. Might sound gross to some, but if you eat it quick enough it was very tasty! Obviously, let the milk cool down, and the bread get absolutely soaked to the point it falls apart, and no amount of sugar is going to save it.

Lately, I think I'm seeing too many of us Christians walk thru our lives like a bowl of Hot-Milk-Toast. We get our spiritual lives on fire (Hot-Milk), and pour it over every broken piece of our lives (Toast), and then try to add fun things to it (Sugar) to make it look, smell, and taste ok. The problem is, all too often, we get ourselves prepared correctly, and then do nothing with it...becoming soggy, luke-warm Christians, "and no amount of sugar is going to save it".

I'm sitting here thinking of so many of the young people I work with...some doing very well, some probly needing a bigger pat on the back, some needing a bit of a spiritual kick in the rear-end...and yet, I still wouldn't trade it for anything.

We are in the middle of VBS this week at Horizons, and so many of them are involved, I'm very proud of them. It's great to see and hear about their servant's hearts...

As we look forward to Summer Camp at Hume/SD I have to say I'm as excited as I've ever been about the theme, "All-In". I think, and pray, that our students will be challenged to put up or shut up, when it comes to their walk with God. Even after all these years in youth ministry, it still bums me to know that some problems and choices teens still face continue to take them down paths that God so wants to help them avoid. It's hard to watch good kids make poor decisions, and yet contstantly refreshing to watch God not give up on them.

There have been parts of the last year that have been very trying on me personally in ministry, perhaps like never before. And yet, in the last few weeks I have seen a group of young people stand up and say, "Troy, we want to make a difference, and we will not put up with spiritual soggy lukewarmness anymore!" I can't wait to invest the next year into THESE students, as well as anyone else who wants to come along for an amazing ride.

Hot-Milk-Toast can be a great treat, or a disgusting mess...kind of like our spiritual lives...just random thoughts....