a living sacrifice

I just got done teaching a four day tennis clinic today. I was really glad that I did it. I had to get up at 8 am every morning, which definitely isn't something I'm used to doing. The thing that kept me going though was that I knew that those kids needed me there and I also had a really good time doing it.

A lot of things in life are like that. We have to make sacrifices; sacrifices that we don't always think will help us. In the long run, however those sacrifices lead to great things for ourselves and others. God desires that we live our lives as a sacrifice to Him and he promises to bless us with things we couldn't ever hope to have if we were trying to just please ourselves. I'm trying to learn more and more what it means to offer my life as a burnt offering to the Lord, to be molded by His "refiners fire", and to be used as a vessel to build his kingdom. I hope this is something we all try to reflect on in our day to day and allow the spirit to work in and through our lives to bless the people around us.