The Hampton Inn or Camp Site #154? Hmm, It's a Toss Up

When it comes to vacation I am totally "in." But, when it comes to camping, I'd prefer to be "out." I've been camping. It's cold (in Yellowstone), it's loud (bug and frogs and stuff), it's sticky (in the mid-west), it's A LOT of work (which I prefer to stay away from), and you have to pack so much junk!

Now, packing for a vacation is something I enjoy doing. Great bags, great clothes, great shoes, toiletries, books, pens, journals (yes, I take them all), and, to top it off, a purse. There. That makes for some great packing.

For camping, it requires those "extras" that, to me, can be a real pain in the neck. Duffel bag (no fashion there), sleeping bag (oh so far from the Hampton Inn), backpack (carry my stuff on my back? I think not), a tent (nuf said), a camp kitchen (I don't use mine very well, what makes someone think I'll use that?), and all the stuff for a regular vacation. Oh, and food.

Hey, I'm not knockin' camping, it's just not for me. I like to go to a camp site, get around the fire, have some smores, and then be able to drive back to my house or hotel. Yeah, that's my kind of camping.

With alllllll that said, here is where our next study comes in. In a word...Louis Vuitton. Ha, not really. It's baggage. Not the high fashion kind we like to buy, or even the cute suitcases we can find at T.J. Maxx. No, this is real life baggage. The kind we carry around in our hearts. The kind that weighs us down and makes us tired. It's also the kind we clutch close to our heart and hang on to like a paranoid little old lady would with her coin purse.

It comes in all shapes and sizes. It can be torn and tattered like a carpet-bagger, or a new version of the latest Gucci slung over the shoulder of Tyra Banks. We can hide it. We can pretend to hide it. We might not know we even carry it.

I truly believe God has shown me every piece of luggage we'll look at over the next coming days. He has revealed these in my life and maybe I pick them up again every now and then, but He has certainly set me free from many while is training me in some of the others.

We are going to take a step back at our camp site called "My Life" (not my life, your life. You get the idea) and we're going to look at each piece. We'll pick it up, unzip it and dump the contents out so Jesus can carry them away. I'll bet He'll take the bag too.

You were not created to carry anything except the burden of love. How can we carry that if our hands are full with things that Christ came to set us free from?

I hope you'll come back tomorrow as we take a look at our first piece.