May I Be Your Servant....

Lord...you call us to be servants, but the world wants to teach us anything but servanthood. We live in an all about me society. We are inundated with television, billboards, magazines, books that tell us that if its not about us that something has went strangely array. We slowly start to fade away from our calling into a world that slowly sucks the life out of us. It's time as Christ.-followers to stand up for the victory that has already been won. He calls us not because of our abilities...but despite our abilities. He is essentially saying that "You can be strong and courageous because I am with you. Victory isn't about your abilities, your strength, your skill, your armor, your gifts, or your dedication: it has to do with my presence. You can be strong, BECAUSE I will be strong in you." I know that in a world of uncertainty I find solice in the fact that I am not able to fulfill His calling....but he is able to complete His calling in and through me...through His ability not mine. We see all of our flaws, all of our weaknesses....but He sees what He has created us to be. I wish I could see the same picture of me that He sees. For He sees me so different than I do. I see a heart that wants to be used, a heart that wants so much to make him proud....He sees a heart that He is already proud of...and I didn't even have to do anything to earn it. Genesis 1:31 God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. I find so much joy in the fact that everything that He created he spoke into existence....but Genesis 2: 7 "the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life." Do we comprehend that? Do we comprehend that everything else God spoke into existence, but when it came to man, He formed us, sculpting us and then He breathed the breath of life into us. To me that says that He touched me and then his lips touched mine as they breathed the breath of life into me. I have been created for such a time as this. He has called me to serve and I will rise to the call.

So Are The Days of Our Lives...

Gosh, who could forget that old soap opera, Days of Our Lives. Perhaps its still on, and Bo Brady and Roman Brady are still confused about who they are. Isn't it funny how you can watch a soap opera and not see it for years and you turn it on again and the same things are happening today that happened 5, 10 even 20 years ago. Life seems to be alot like that. I wonder if its because we didn't get the lesson learned the first time around. I read scripture and I find it interesting to read that what is happening today, happened back in biblical times. Life just seems to go through the same processes over and over again. We live, we learn, we don't learn so we do it again until we do learn. So are the days of our lives. Our days are numbered...our time to make an impact for the name of Jesus draws shorter with each passing day. I think that we all should have a slow moving hourglass to see everyday....so that we get a constant reminder that time is running out. And what are we doing with that precious gift of time.

Lord Help Us.....

In Daniel 10, Daniel had a vision and in this vision "A hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees. He said, 'Daniel, you who are highly esteemed, consider carefully the words I am about to speak to you, and stand up, for I have now been sent to you." And when he said this to me, I stood up trembling. Then he continued, "Do not be afraid, since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard and I have come in response to them.

It's the next part of that story that really had me thinking. It goes on to say "But" the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. It took twenty-one days of spiritual warfare for the angel to get to Daniel after his plea for help. Do you know that "plea or plead" is mentioned 12 times alone in the book of Daniel. And that there are only 12 chapters in the book of Daniel.

We fail to see the war that is being waged because of our prayers....and once our prayers are answered we soon forget the answerer of our prayers. I'm reminded of a similiar story in 2 Kings 6, where Elisha and his servant are surrounded by an army. As the servant panics, Elisha is calm and says to the servant, "don't be afraid, those that are with us are more than those who are with them." Just to give you the gest of the story.....it was only Elisha and his servant....as far as the servant knew. But because of Elisha's faith and prayers, God had sent an army that filled the hills with horses and chariots. And Elisha prayed to God that the eyes of his servant be open, so that he may see. And when the Lord opened the servants eyes....he saw that the army of the Lord was far greater than the number that had surrounded them.

We see a world that seems to be outnumbered by an army of terroists, economic failures, political corruption, and uncertainties......but yet I think we fail to see the vast army that God has sent to fight for his believers. Open our eyes Lord...help us to see.

He Must Become Greater....

He must become greater, I must become less. That was from John the Baptist, after the
disciples came to him in confusion about Jesus baptizing. John recognized that we must become less for Jesus to become more. That reminded me of Jesus teaching to the disciples saying "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." In both teachings Jesus was saying...that we...we must become less....so He can become more. The innocence of a child is so mesmerizing. I don't think I noticed it as much when our own daughter was little, but I notice more as I get older. I think the busyness of being a parent sometimes blinds us to the beauty of such. I remember my own little one, crawling into bed with me when she was not yet 3, I was still asleep when she peels open my eyelid with her little fingers....she looks as close as a 3 year old can...and says "are you in there mommy." The sleepliness of the moment soon left me as I began to laugh.... "Are you in there?" I've never forgotten that moment. I wish those moments were here again. What things would I change? Would I have seen less of me and more of her? I wonder does God sometimes crawl into bed with us peeling back our eyelids asking...."Am I in there?" May I become less.....so that you may become more. And when you peel back my eyelid....may you never have to ask "Am I in there?".....may you see yourself in my eyes.

Lord If It's You.......

Matthew 14:28 Lord, if its you.....tell me to come to you on the water. And Jesus said "Come." Then Peter got down out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. BUT when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink, cried out "Lord, save me." Why is it that we question God's ability in our life, why do we question IF it is God. Notice that Peter said "if" its you. Now...I'm thinking...who else would be walking on water?? If I were out in a boat somewhere today and somebody was walking towards me on the water....I'm thinking that I wouldn't even be questioning who it was, let alone whether I could walk out to Him if He called me. I think that I would be bailing out of the boat before He even called me to "come." But doesn't He do that every day. He calls us to get out of the boat, to trust Him that what He calls us to do, is obviously not something that we could do of ourselves. But only through His calling. The reason He called Peter out wasn't to show how powerful He was....it was for Peter.....it was to test his faith in what the Lord said he could do. "Peter....come to me." But Peter lost focus and he began to sink as he took his focus off the Lord. And the Lord said "you of little faith...why did you doubt me?" I think about the many times God has called me out of that boat. At first I am so focused on Him, but soon the winds of doubt blow and I begin to sink. But He never lets me sink to far....before he holds out His hand to pull me back up. Help me Lord to have faith....that even when I get distracted by life...that you're hand is there to pull me back up again. Lord I want to walk to you.....help me to focus Lord.

Gods Significance.....Our Insignificance

What a message this morning. I have heard Louie Giglio speak numerous times and every time it is like hearing him for the first time over and over again. I think the thing I took most out of Louie's message was our insignificance....really...we are truly insignificant in this vast world that God spoke into existence. And even more profound to me was that by HIS breath then the stars were formed. BY HIS BREATH. What power, what majesty. That even his breath could create such beauty. The thought had occured to me this past week as we were preparing for the womens conference that God really doesn't need us.......He desires us.....He desires for us to participate with Him in his work....but He doesn't need us. If we are unwilling to carry out the mission that He has gifted to us, we are the ones that miss out...not Him. He will use someone else to accomplish His plan. Do we really believe that if we refuse to carry out His plans, that his plans will just be twarted....Psalms 103:15-16 As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more. I remember so well the day of my grandfathers funeral. My grandfather was a true man of God...humble and gentle. I never once heard my grandfather raise his voice or say a bad word about anyone. His nature was that of a true servant....but on the day of his funeral...as that hearse pulled out of the church parking lot, I fully expected the world to stand still for this man. Did they not know who he was. What influence he had in his life....at least in my life. As the world continued on....I realized that our influence as limited as it is, is still insignificant to the world as a whole. Todays message gave me an even greater awareness that we are simply a speck in a world that was spoke into being....we are simply a flower that will soon blow over and be gone. We truly are insignificant in the light of His significance.

It's Here....Amazing Grace

It's finally here!! After months of planning, preparation and implementation the day has finally arrived. Tonight is the opening night for Amazing Grace...the legacy. I am so proud of all the hard work and dedication so many have put in to this event. Many days I felt that God should have chose someone different to lead this group, that I was just really not what He was looking for. This morning I get up to a letter from our daughter, telling me that God choose to use me and that "I was brought here for such a time as this". That's from Esther, I know that line very well, as I hear it alot in my studies. Morgan did not know that. I get very nervous right about now. I am not a public speaker. Not that I am speaking much, but enough for me. I like to be behind the scenes, seeing everyone else rise to their potential. But her letter, gave me the strength to remember....its not I that speaks...but HIM...that speaks through me. We are so blessed to have her in our life. My prayers have already started this morning. It will definately be one of those days that the conversation between Him and I will just be ongoing. The funny thing is though, then when I sit down to do a concentrated prayer, I won't know what to say to Him. Kind of like talking to a friend all day and then sitting down face to face for a conversation. What do we say now. We've talked all day. May your grace overflow tonight father. May this be all of you and none of us. Remove us from the picture. You don't need us. We need you. Bless each woman that attends open their hearts to worship you and accept a word from you. Bless the men that will be there tonight for their service and their support. Help us Lord to serve you....and to serve you well.

Amazing Grace...how sweet the sound...that saved a wretch like me,

I once was lost, but now I'm found.

Was blind, but now I see...

How precious did that Grace appear, the hour I first believed.

I love you Lord!

Gods.......Opinion?

We say we want to hear from God, we say we want to be in his will....but do our actions speak as loud as our words. I thought about this today. I thought about the first time that God spoke to Samuel in 1 Samuel 3, three different times Samuel hears his name called "Samuel...... Samuel,......Samuel" (vs 4, 6 & 8). All three times Samuel got up and went to his mentor and said "Here I am, you called me," thinking that it was Eli that was calling. All three times Eli denied that it was him, but by the third time Eli realized that it was God calling out to Samuel and directed Samuel to return to his mat and the next time that he heard God call his name...he was to say "Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening." Samuel did as Eli instructed and in vs 10 scripture says that The LORD came and stood there, calling as at other times, Samuel! Samuel! And at this Samuel did as he was instructed and said "Speak, for your servant is listening. AND God spoke!!

We invite him to speak, yet we don't allow him enough time to do so. Don't begin to think that the devils not in the details, the busier he can keep us.....the less time WE have to hear God's voice. And many times we only think to ask God to speak when we only have a question to ask? We want him to speak to our questions, but He wants to speak to our WHOLE lives. God's not into giving his OPINIONS. Do I want his will....or do I want his opinion. Did you notice the humble stature of Samuel, although he was only a boy when God first spoke, Samuel says "your servant," is listening. If we want to get centered in our life its time for us to get out of the center. God's speaking....but are we taking the time to listen? Are we asking as a servant , with a servant's heart...God's still speaking if only we can silence the rest of the noise. In 1 Kings 19 Elijah is running in fear of his life (might I add, right after God showed Himself in the fire on Mount Carmel), Elijah finds himself hiding in a cave. When a great and powerful wind came....but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind was an earthquake....but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake was a fire....but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. A gentle whisper....what if Elijah had not been listening....what if we're not listening? How many winds, earthquakes and fires have already come...followed by the gentle whisper....I have never left you...nor forsaken you.

What Legacy Are You Leaving....

Yes....for those of you that don't know...this is our grandson, Matthan. On the day that he arrived in this world I remember wandering what legacy he would leave. His name is taken from the 1st chapter of Matthew, from the genealogy of Jesus. Joseph the husband of Mary, Jacob the father of Joseph and Matthan the father of Jacob. What a legacy.....we watch as he begins to grow into the man that God created him to be. He's so small now, soon to be 2 and his little life is only beginning. But his story is taking shape already. If only we could turn back the hands of time....if only we could of archived each step of the journey.

We are putting the final touches on the Women's Conference Amazing Grace.....the Legacy for the upcoming weekend. Talks have been prepared and re-arranged by God at the last minute-He seems to be good at that, breakout sessions are completed, decorations prepared, food picked up, budgets complete.....all that goes into planning has now came to an end, but yet its really only the beginning for what God is wanting to accomplish. It began last year shortly after last years conference..we were in a worship service and we were singing Amazing Grace. Morgan looked around and looked at me and said, "that it mom...that's the theme for next year....Amazing Grace," what she noticed as she glanced across the sanctuary was the passion of every generation that was represented singing with all that they had in unison to one song.....a song that has spoken to generation after generation. Thus came the legacy. And what legacy are we leaving to the next generation. What song are we giving them to sing. What do they see in us that they want to pass down to their children and their childrens' children. This generation has so many more hardships to overcome than you and I ever dreamt of. We played in the streets, rode our bikes at night, played until dark, made mud pies, went to school without the worries of abduction, abuse, drugs, gang violence and school shootings.

We will have to fight against a world today....filled with anger, frustration and abandonment to leave a legacy that they will not forget. Few children get the opportunity to receive a legacy worth fighting for. May this be a generation that returns to the Lord. May we be a generation that cries out to the Lord for grace and mercy. May we be a generation that receives the legacy that He has left for us.

What Legacy Are you Leaving?

The Gifts.....

I am so excited.....I love getting gifts. Who doesn't. The holidays are past, its not my birthday, and Valentines isn't even here yet. But yet there are gifts everywhere. What....you don't see them? They are here, but many times we just look right past them, failing to see what is right in front of our eyes, even refusing to take them when they are offered to us. I had read a book once that talked about that very thing. There was a man that stood at the pearly gates of heaven and as he was entering in, he asked Peter, "What is in the big warehouse over there?" Peter says "you can't see that yet." As the tour of heaven began, the man couldn't concentrate on anything else, but what was in that warehouse.....what could God possibly be keeping in such a big building....the mere size of it was unfathomable. As Peter completes his tour the man could not contain his curiousity any longer and began to run to the warehouse, he threw open the door and stood in amazement. There were presents everywhere, stacked from floor to ceiling, row after row after row. He looks at Peter with bewilderment and says "I don't understand, what's with all these presents?" Peter responds to the man, "you were not supposed to see them." The man in confusion begins to wander down the rows, until he notices his name on the tags and as he looks around, they all have his name on the tags. He begins to weep and again looks at Peter and says, "all these are for me?" Peter responds "NO, all these WERE for you, these are the ones that God tried to give you but you failed to receive." At this the man fell to his knees weeping even harder. "How did I not see, how did I not know, why did I not accept all that God wanted to give me."

I think of that story often and its been years since I've read that book. What gifts is God trying to give me today? What will I have missed, if my heart and my mind are not ready to receive. Whose life could have been transformed......maybe even mine, had I stood with my arms open ready to receive what God wanted to give me. God's ready to rain down his blessings...his gifts.... its all in whether we are ready and willing to receive them. I don't want to miss one present, NOT one gift from God. I want to get to Heaven and God say.....you received well....and you gave well. I want to arrive in heaven with all my gifts opened and received. Thank you Lord....for the gifts.

Dark Night of the Soul.....

So much of the Christian walk gets missed. I had attended a conference a number of years ago, on The Art of Hearing God. During our weekend we had a session on the Dark Night of the Soul. As new christians nobody tells us of these dark nights and dark dreary days that will come. It is in those days, those weeks and sometimes even those months that we may dare even say....that God has abandoned us, at least thats what we feel. I experienced that a few years after I began an extensive growing of my faith. I wondered what I had done wrong, was it something I said, was it something I questioned.....or was it just me....did he not want a relationship with me. WHY? The questions went unanswered for months, my prayers seem like they were hitting the ceiling. I heard nothing, I felt nothing....the closeness of the months prior to that had faded into darkness. What was happening. I had heard about it, but like most people I thought it would never happen to me. I felt so discouraged I felt so disappointed...not in him, but in me. Had I failed him. Had he moved on to use someone else. It was in those days that I found it even hard to open my bible, hard to even pray....but somehow through His strength I made it through. I found that my prayers were really heard and that the answered prayers came not when I wanted them, but when He had appointed them for. It's funny how our time line and His are so different, and I thank God for that. I think of some the prayers and had they been answered in the way that I felt they should could have led to much different circumstances in my life. And that I see now how He is using those days in my life, the good, the bad, the dark and the light to fulfill His good, pleasing and perfect will for my life. Scripture tells us that He will never abandon us, but I wonder if sometimes He doesn't draw back so that we seek Him out more. I see now how my faith in Him has grown through that experience. So when those days come....don't give up...don't quit..I'm sure Jesus felt so similiar as he prayed in the garden...enough so that he sweat drops of blood in His desperate cry for God to hear him....but this.....this to shall pass.

Illumination.....

As I was preparing for the Amazing Grace conference today, I was short a few oil lanterns for the table decor, so I made a quick trip to the antique mall....not really thinking that a trip to the antique mall could make for a God stop today. As I began to pray this evening what God wanted me to write about I heard "your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." Psalm 119:105 I thought about that lamp....and about the many times that we get up in the night and attempt to find our way in the dark.....even the smallest fliker of a flame...can illuminate the way. Isn't God alot like that flame, He often gives us only enough light to take one step at a time. Davids Psalms were choked full of wonder, times of distress and times of praise. God never promised us that it would be easy....He just promises us that we won't do it alone. For me His word is a lamp unto my feet....its like reading that old love letter over and over again. I remember the first time I began to really read the Old Testament...I was so lost...honestly...I was so bored, BUT, then after I came to know and understand the New Testament could I go back and now not only appreciate the Old Testament but hold it so dear to my heart. I SEE now, I was wondering around in the dark, until He illuminated my way. Now I see the prophesies that the prophets foretold. Now...I can read 1st Peter and know that Isaiah had told about some of the very things that Isaiah had prophesied about. I can't tell you the excitement that comes from knowing that the prophets of Old had told of what was yet to come and then to read about it in the New Testament. Most people when asked who they want to talk to when they reach heaven would tell you...one of the disciples..for me...I can't wait to sit down with Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel at the feet of Jesus.

One of the Psalms that has spoken to me the most is Psalm 25:4-5 "Show me the right path, O Lord, point out the road for me to follow. Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you." As the conference approaches my mind and my thoughts are so focused on the lives of those that will be attending....who needs the light....who needs the flame.....who needs the flicker to be fueled. Lord may we serve you....and may we serve you well. Be glorified...be glorified...be glorified..today.

Life....Like a Box of Chocolates....

A box of chocolates......kind of bittersweet. You know you have to really study each one, of course without touching any of them, when all you really want to do is stick your finger in one just to see whats in there before you take a big bite of that dreaded piece that you just hate. Being the medical field it is not at all uncommon for us to receive a box of chocolates, so this really makes one think.....is life...really, like a box of chocolates, do we ever really know what we're gonna get.

As a Christian the answer is YES. We really do know what's in the middle. If we are true Christ-followers living in faith and not an empty religion than....we know that each chocolate that we take a bite of will be the sweetest chocolate we've ever tasted. There is no doubt in our minds whether we want to try it. We don't have to poke around and wonder whats in the middle we serve the great I AM. The center of the universe. The maker and creator of all things. Yesterday, tomorrow and today. Always...in ALL WAYS.

So the next time you open a box of chocolates.....just remember "Who's" inside not "what's" inside.

Missing Piece.....

Have you ever spent hours constructing a masterpiece of a puzzle to find out that your missing the last piece? I thought about that today, our faith walk is alot like the piece of the puzzle thats missing. You see we think putting all the pieces of our life together to form this pretty completed puzzle is what we are called to do, but then we get to the end and find that we don't have the last piece. We become confused.....wait a minute, I quit swearing, I don't steal, cheat, drink, do drugs and I try my hardest to walk out my faith everyday.....now...where did I put that last piece? It's gotta be around here somewhere. I had all the pieces so neatly put away in the box. The box put neatly on the shelf and I always put it away as soon as I got done with it.

Ezekiel 34:4-5 "This is what the Soverign Lord says: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who only take care of themselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do NOT take care of the flock. You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally. So they were scattered BECAUSE there was NO shepherd."

Perhaps.....that is why I can't find the last piece.....I've been looking in the wrong places. You see the missing piece isn't about us at all....its about them. It's about the lost..We as a body are incomplete without them.

A Fresh Word....

Did I ever mention I hate this time of year.....No...well I do. You see in all of the seasons besides winter, I take a journey to prayer mountain (for those of you that don't know yet, its not a mountain, its our hill in the back 40) on the peak of this hill is a point where the face just seems to fall off, its a straight shot down the hill. The joke is you go out to pray....or you go out to jump. So far we've always came back alive. I've spent many an unclocked hour at prayer mountain, no watches, no cell phones, no electronic devices...don't everyone panic. It is surreal. It is as though you've been plucked from a world that seems to be spinning with activity to a place of complete and utter silence. The only noise is of the wind as it blows through the leaves, animals scurring around the woods and the voice of God. Wow, this is what makes the journey so worth it.....a fresh word....a time of reflection....a time of focus. We don't realize how the world clouds out our focus. Have you ever tried driving in a dense fog......and the road that you once thought you knew all of a sudden becomes new....different.....you begin to notice things that you had never noticed about it before. Why? Because our focus has become limited to the immediate.....to what is right in front of us, it has taken our focus off all the distractions that we would normally be focused on and focused us on the moment at hand. A day at prayer mountain is as good as a day in the fog.....all of a sudden the phone calls that need to be made, the laundry that needs to be done, the daily grind all fades away and the focus is on the only one that matters. Maybe its time for a few hours at the mountain.....

What If Today.....

What if today......was the last day of the rest of your life? How do you really know that it isn't? And what exactly did you do with it? I've heard this said numerous times, one was from a pastor that said a semi in front of him had in big letters on its rear door.....what if today." Just as simple as that. Then turning on the TV today the history channel is having armaggedon week. They had interviewed people on the streets and said, "what would you do different if you knew the world was coming to an end. " DUH! Aren't we getting closer to the end every day, aren't the signs that are happening before our very eyes obvious of just that. But even more surprising were their answers. NONE, said making sure that their lost friends were saved, none of them even said they would make sure their families were saved. Oh, they did say they would spend more time with those families, but in reality what would that time buy them. Although I wasn't surprised to hear that none of them said they would work more hours to stash up more money or material things, I've been at the edge of too many death beds to know that is of no importance when you are taking your last breath. What guarantees our next breath. What guarantees that we have the opportunity to share the hope to which we are called.....tomorrow. What really is tomorrow? I believe God is placing His urgency on the hearts of many right now. I believe that the day is drawing near when we will have to give an account for ourselves and for the gifts that He has given us.....what did we do with those gifts. If your gift is serving......how are you serving, if its prophesying....are you using that in proportion to your faith, if it is teaching.....how are you teaching, if it is encouraging....in what way are you being an encourager, if it is leadership.....this is your time, lead, if it is giving......where are you giving, if is mercy....how are you showing mercy. Rom 12:6-8 I believe the time is at hand for us to be ever so diligent that we are here for a purpose, for a mission.....its time for us to stand up....accept the mission....and go therefore into the world. They need us.....and more important God WANTS them.

Are We Contagious.....

You wouldn't think getting a cold would give you something to blog about. But today Bill and I both woke up with terrible colds so most of the day we've been assigned to our designated couches. Throughout the sneezing and coughing fits, I began to wonder if our faith was as contagious as our cold. Get within 5 ft of either of us and you may go home with something you hadn't anticipated walking away with. Is it the same with our faith, what contagious virus are we giving to people that we encounter. We didn't ask for colds....didn't even anticipate them coming on, but yet here they are. When I meet someone what am I giving them.....more than they anticipated or something more viral. I remember the movie Outbreak, where the whole community became infected with a deadly virus, it spread like wildfire. WHY? Because there was no innoculation, no cure and no treatment for such a viral disease. How's our faith rating on virility.....are we mildly contagious or are we something that can't be iradicated. I want to be highly contagious, I want someone to be within 30 ft of me and feel how viral I am. I want to know that what I have can never be cured, never be innoculated. To the common cold I say thank you.....for the day of reflection.

Perceived Wealth...or Perhaps Misperceived Wealth

Had a great lunch with son David today. He had been in Peoria, Il for a Catepillar meeting so stopped through on his way back to Nasville, Tenn. We got talking about a website that he had shared with us, which showed that statistics are showing that if you make at least one hundred dollars a day that you are wealthier than fifty percent of the global population. We discussed our shock in those statistics and how we fail to see the struggles around us. But more so, how we fail to thank God everyday that we have a warm home, a hot shower, food in our refrigerators and food in our pantries. He had commented about his last pastor Rick Warren who had challenged them to go home and seal their bathrooms off, clean everything out of their pantries, except flour and rice, and to shut off their refrigerators, and to remove their windows and doors and then and only then could we appreciate how many people are living today with so little. Note that I said living. We see all these THINGS as life necessaties, but fail to see what really is truly necessary. We talked about how our employers make us feel that we are at the bottom of the mountain and that it is their goal for us to reach the top, when in all reality compared to the way most people have to survive we really are almost at the top, and don't even see it, because our blessings have been given so freely that we fail to see them. Worst yet, we don't see those that are climbing behind us that have lost their footing and may not make it up the moutain without our help. 2 Corinthians 9:6 says that "whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously, Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. vs 11 goes on to say that "you will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your genersity will result in thanksgiving to God......we are wealthy. Not because of us but because of Him.

What's Your Story....

What's your story......everybodies got a story. As I worked the other day, I couldn't help but wonder about their lives....most of them were in their ninties by now, but they weren't always ninty. What were their lives like....what exciting things had they accomplished in their lives, what story did they have to tell? The aboriginals from Australia make their boys go on a walkabout, because they know that life without a story isn't a life lived. How's our walkabout going? What story do we have to tell. What stories will we be able to tell?

I think that many of our stories are what kept us away from church to begin with. We felt that our sins, our shortcoming....our stories were enough to condemn us. So instead of going we avoided church like the plague. I didn't really think about this until I talked to a co-worker that attended our church for the first time this past sunday. I had the opportunity to share her enthusiasm for what she saw and what she felt from attending. She had commented that she had been in and out of churches but never really felt much. But when she came sunday....it was different. What's her story....probably not much different than yours or mine. A life of desiring and working for more in our life that finally led us to seek out more and find it in the local church.

I read the obituaries and I wonder what their stories were....in older times you didn't have to wonder. They would write that Joe Johnson died today of such things as consumption (no he hadn't been drinking-tuberculosis), dropsy (edema), and apoplexy (stroke) at his home in whereverville, along side of him at the time of his death was his devoted wife Kate, his children played in their rooms and they all had....had a large meal together prior to Joe's dying. I chuckle when I read them. One obituary had said that he just had finished a sandwich before he succumbed. Where have we lost the details of living.....have we forgotten that its the small things in our life that form who we are. It's the little things that can make our story big.....what seemingly insignificant, but yet significant detail will you add to your story today.

Sleepless Nights....

Last night was one of those nights that sleep would just not come....and as you can imagine after me poking Bill a few times...just to see if he really wanted to sleep, I resorted to the laptop. I knew that our friend Andy had just done a youth conference with about 1400 youth attending and had posted it to his blogsite so I set out to see how it went. Much to my excitement it was on Isaiah 6. That is one of my favorite chapters, Yeah, I know I have alot of favorite chapters. The one thing that I was gifted with is seeing and imagining what things would look like, so to read this to me is like I am standing right there in the moment, I see it, I feel it and I experience it.....

"In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. And they were calling to one another:

Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord Almighty the whole earth is full of his glory.

At the sound of their voices the doorposts shook and the temple was filled with smoke."

WOW! Can't you just imagine the imagery in that. God doesn't come on a small scale, BUT.....High and Exalted and the train of his robe filling a temple. Do you know how big a temple is....that is a train that would make any bride jealous. And above him were seraphs and the radiance of His glory was so bright that they could not bare to gaze upon Him. And the echoing of Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord Almighty....rings in my ears. It doesn't say that Isaiah fell to his knees but I can only imagine he had no other way he could go as we hear him say "woe to me, I am ruined, and I live amoung a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty." Guess I'll take a few sleepless nights for a sight such as this....

Isaiah 6

Warning....

My walk today consisted of a path that I have taken many times before. Thanks to my dear husband and wonderful father-in-law I have a beautiful walking trail cut clear through all 80 acres of the two properties. My trip has never made me nervous before, why today. Perhaps it is because of the sounds of howls that come from the timber at night....the coyote's are so thick that we even had one sleeping in our yard in the middle of the morning one weekend. As I walked along I could see imprints in the mud of evidence that coyote's had been there prior to me. I found myself jumping at my own crumpling of leaves under my feet. I wondered why was there so much fear today when yesterday I walked without an ounce of fear........I answered my own question.....it was because I walked with my hero, my protector, the man that God gave me to look after me. He feels so big in my life. I don't know what I would expect him to do if one day a coyote decided to come at us...but I still have this sense of security with knowing he is with me.

Last year as I sat on the porch studying I looked up to see a fawn and its mother playing in the bottom. It was such an enthralling sight to see such innocence, with no awareness of the dangers that lurked in the world beyond the fun. The fawn knew it was secure, it had no worries of what could lie ahead. It reminded me of the security we have in God....when we don't tarry away from his watchful eye, he holds us close, he looks up at every rustle of leaves around us, making sure that no one or no thing harms his precious child. That night as Bill got home from work I found myself so anxious to take him down to the bottom to see if we could find the mother and her fawn. As we walked into the bottom and rounded the corner.....there we found him...the only things remaining where what the coyote didn't devour....the whole time the child played the coyote lurked around the corner, watching every move....just waiting for the opportunity... for him to wander away from the watchful eye of his mother. I believe our lives are alot like that fawn we do well while we stay close to the father and stay within his watchful eye, but what happens when we wander away....

1 Peter 5:8 "Be self-controlled and ALERT, your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour." RESIST HIM, standing firm in the faith. Many times after a victory we let our guards down and that is when satan does his best to find the smallest entry in to destroy our very lives. Stand Firm Church, satan lurks looking for the moment that we step away.....Let us not give him that opportunity.

Window of Opportunity

In a well delivered message there is always "bullet points," points that hit straight to the heart, straight to the marrow of your very being. But along with those messages are additives that give the message more body, make it more pallative. But sometimes those "additives" are more profound than the "bullet" itself. Tim's message was right to the heart this morning, a message that was so right on with how Gods moving today. But even more profound was the "window of opportunity" that we have been given..... in such a time as this. We can watch the world around us as it falls apart but as Tim said this morning, this IS the TIME for the CHURCH. How will they see us respond, how will they see us live differently. Will they begin to look for a greater hope than the economy, then the goverment, than their jobs. Where will they look? If we aren't living our lives daily with that hope.....why would they want too. Hebrews 6:7 says "Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God. But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless and is in danger of being cursed." In the end it will be burned. "God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them."
The world know thorns.....and thistles, but do they know the fruits of our labor...joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Gal 5:22) What could 400 people do in a town of 9,000? Four hundred people consciously living out the hope...... could bring a whole community to Christ. And begin to change the way we know life. What will we as Christ followers do with this window of opportunity......
What kind of harvest will we see from the rain of opportunity this year?

Where do we go from here....

Thats seems to be a good question in the world that we live today. All you have to do is listen to the news, open the newspaper or go to your local store. Is it just me or are we an "all about me" society. As I attempt to walk through the store I find myself just attempting to steer myself out of everyone's way. When did we become such a burden to one another, when did it become more important for us to get to the milk isle NOW, then to say, go ahead you first. I opened the door for an older couple today, they looked at me like I had lost my mind.....not in a bad way, but a way that clearly said to me...that nobody does that anymore. Then I wonder why our world is spiraling out of control. Perhaps it is because we have forgotten our purpose. It made me think of Paul saying in Romans that WE have been called, according to HIS purpose......and might I add FOR His purpose. When did we make it about our purpose? Do they see Jesus in us when we perform the small but simple task of opening a door, sending a card, cooking a meal....for the least of these. Let me remind us all that there are alot of "the least of these" out there today. They are not the poor as we would like to think....they are people just like you and me...but yet different. They don't know the hope to which we are called. Don't you think they wonder when someone does a kind act.....what or WHO was behind that act. PEOPLE, its time for us as Christ followers to shake the boat, rattle the waters and make some noise...some joyful noise, heaven knows the non-believers are making enough for all of us. What will people see when they see you.....hopefully not YOU. So where do we go......somewhere where very few go today....we show the world there is a better way, there is a world that's not about me.....and its glorious.

What time is it really?....

On our drive home from N Carolina today...I happened to fall asleep somewhere along the way as we crossed from one time zone into the next. As we sat down for breakfast I asked Bill what time is it anyway? Good question.....he didn't seem to have the answer, not being sure exactly where the time even changes. What really is time that we are so mindful of it? The bible talks about the second coming of Christ and that we will not know the time or hour, that not even the angels know. I think I get it now. We wont' know because we are all still down here trying to figure out exactly what time it is. I talk to my aunt and uncle in Japan and its already tomorrow there. It kinda makes me laugh, because I always ask her....so how is tomorrow....just in case I want to skip it. Our friends in Australia sleep while we are awake, and we sleep while they are awake. It makes me think of the parable of the ten virgins in Matt 25. Ten virgins went out to await the bridegroom, all of them with their lamps, but only 5 took enough oil to await his return. As they await the bridegroom those that did not have enough oil left to go buy more, while they were out the bridegroom came. Those that were ready and prepared went into the wedding banquet with the bridegroom, those that weren't missed the wedding. So what time is it......it's time to make sure that our lamps are filled... that we have enough oil so that we don't miss the bridegroom on his return. Keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.

TIME....it's really not determined by our clocks.