Sharing The Excitement

"For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard." Acts 4:20

Joy and excitement are contagious! Did you ever notice that? Last night we got to spend some time with some friends that we haven't spent a whole lot of time with lately- life happens and people get busy, and that's okay. What was extra special about spending time with these friends was that they shared with us that they are expecting a little one for the first time. Oh my! How exciting is that! And as they shared their news and some of the details, we very quickly were caught up in their excitement and spent a bit of time being excited with them. Happiness is so contagious!

Even yesterday, as we went to a new church for the first time, we were excited about simply checking it out, the message was great, the kids had a nice time in children's church, and when we left we felt like we were energized, we'd received something great from that church. On the way home we passed a large Lutheran church that was attached to a school, and Andy and I noted to each other that it looked new and nicely done. Fast forward a few hours and Abigail decided to ask me about that church attached to a school. She asked why they were attached, and so I told her a little about it. She got very excited- and her eyes lit up and she looked at me and asked "so they get to learn about God- even in school?" And when I said yes, she very excitedly said "Cool!" and went back to her watermelon. That really made me think for a minute. And I'm still thinking about it.

Over the last several weeks as we've made decisions and discussed plans, Andy and I have made no secrets with our kids, but I think we don't realize how much they just listen to the things we say and talk about. And we've also made no secret about being excited about discovering God's plan and place for us, and by golly if I don't think my kids are catching that excitement! They are eager to learn more, and they also know that we're looking to them to help us decide which church we are going to call home for the time being. It was pretty cute yesterday to discover that both kids have what they call "head lists" putting churches in order of their favorite to least-favorite.

The thing is, when God is such a focus and a feature of our life, we can't help but talk about it-whether we're talking to a neighbor or our children. And as we talk about the things that God has been working with us on or that we're anticipating, we get excited, and people want to know more. Our kids want to know more about God, our friends want to know more about how we place our faith in God, and our neighbors want to know more about this God. God is so exciting to us, that this verse in Acts speaks right to the core of how we are feeling, that we cannot help but talk about what we are experiencing. God is so gracious and amazing and even though I know right now that we are in a time of learning patience, I can be excited about that patience, because that means that we are learning something important that we'll need in the next stage of life for us. It's exciting! And I pray with all my heart that the excitement is contagious and that we get even more opportunities to share what God is doing in our lives. Because that's what it's all about ultimately, doing what we can to help bring more believers to Christ. Now that's a plan that I can get behind!