O come all ye faithful

O Come, all ye faithful....We sang these words all season. Or at least tried to. I am quite certain that I could have let the song spill forth from my mouth out of rote and tradition, but I don't believe in singing words that are not true of me, so I really had to soul search before I could sing these words. I really struggled with them. I am not sure I can be labeled faithful...so do I get to come? But now, I have come to the conclusion that they are words that should be our New Year's resolution.
I started with the word "come". It is an action word. It doesn't mean sit or watch. It is participatory. So the faithful have to participate by coming. Once I got that coming meant I had to DO something, I decided I needed to know what I needed to do. So, I got out my study tools and dug into the Word to discover what God wanted me to COME and DO. As I dug around in the word "come", I uncovered an amazing truth. The word for "come" and the word for "follow" are the same. In fact, when Jesus called His disciples to "follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." (Matt 4), it was the same word that He used when He said "come to me all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest." (Matt 11) The Word to "come" means to follow. Both are imperative commands that mean without hesitation, with urgency, without delay. To come to Jesus....means to follow Jesus....and not in a casual sense of following or coming, but with an urgent imperative that means come now or not at all. He told His disciples Follow me and they IMMEDIATELY dropped everything. They understood that the call to come was the call to follow and there was to be no delay. It is why Jesus told them to let the dead bury the dead and that they could not even say goodbye to their families. Because the call to come to Jesus is a call to follow Jesus immediately with no excuses, delays, if's, and's or but's.
Cool information, but why should this be our New Year's resolution?
First of all, it is time what we realize that coming to Jesus is an ACTION word. We must recognize that the action we must take is to FOLLOW JESUS. Simple church is nothing more than that. Making disciples that follow Him. Not half hearted, casual, delayed, hesitant, don't make me run, I am comfortable where I am kind of followers. That was not the call at all. But coming to Jesus, following Him and saying whatever HE says, we will do, no matter what kind of followers. It is focusing on our PURPOSE-to be a church that makes disciples by focusing on families. To equip the saints and make disciples not by programming, but because life is being poured onto life, by intentional relationships, creating relevant environments, meeting the needs of people; by showing the Word, sharing the Word, teaching the Word and serving the Word/World.
I'm not interested in coming to church. I want to follow at church. I don't want to come together. I want to follow together. I long not for a come to Jesus meeting, but a following of Jesus gathering. What if this year, we didn't just come to church, but we began to follow as the church? What if this year, we could sing the song....not out of rote or tradition, but with words that are true of my feet, that sounded like; "O follow, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant...O follow and adore Him....Follow and adore Him."
Now, there is a song, I long to sing-together. And a resolution for the New Year. Let's not just come to church...but let's follow as the church.
ALL FOR YOU

grown up christmas list

I sat down for a few minutes of down time this afternoon...flipped on the TV and Oprah was on. It was her FAVORITE THINGS show. I know very little about Oprah, however, it seems she must do a show every year where she shares her favorite things and then gives everyone in the audience the things she likes. For an hour, she displays unique item after unique item, from mixing bowls and board games to LG refrigerators, mixers and and UGs (some sort of shoe). I watched as the audience screamed and yelled, hollered and wept, stood speechless and jumped with excitement over the favorite things of Oprah, as she lavished on them her favorites, giving without measure and sharing what she loves.
But, somehow, I found myself a little sad. Not because I wasn't getting her favorite things, but because I wondered how many would rejoice if I gave them my favorite thing. This Christmas it has been my heart to lavish Jesus on people. Not just to talk about Him, show Him, share Him, teach others about Him, but to honestly be able to give them Jesus.... I know this sounds trite, but HE IS my favorite...and there is nothing I would rather do than give Him to the people in my world.
Although, I am still working on what that looks like, the thought that crossed my mind was how many would get as excited about my favorite thing as they did about Oprah's? How many would jump up and down, rejoice, scream, holler, yell, cry or stand speechless because Jesus was lavished on them? I kind of think it would look more like people saying...I have enough of that, I would rather have a refrigerator.
What if all we got this Christmas....was more of Jesus? Would our hearts rejoice on Christmas morning? Would we scream and tell the world about the gift we received? Jesus is received through life on life relationships. He lives IN US and through us...we give Jesus through building relationships with others and reflecting His goodness on them. And so, while I am thrilled that the Oprah show audience was blessed with things....I am a little sad because I think we would quickly rejoice over things and casually accept the gift of Jesus.
A few of my favorite things:
Time spent with family and friends.
A cup of coffee, so that we can linger over the moment.
Pouring over the Word of God.
Late night conversations.
Intimate pictures of His grace in our lives.
Sanctuary with Jesus.
Praying with others who have like minds.
Church in my living room.
Singing around the piano, song of praise.

Ok....so maybe I sound a little sappy....but these are the things I would lavish on you if I could...for they are a few of my favorite things. Merry Christmas...
ALL FOR YOU

tomorrow is not promised

I awoke this morning to a phone call saying that one of the most precious people in my life was in a car accident. Not a good way to start your day. My only peace in those first few moments was knowing that the last words we had spoken had been about the Kingdom and a love shared for one another.
Because of God's grace and a HEDGE of protection, she is fine. But today has been full of thought for me. Beginning with Tomorrow not being promised and ending with let's not WASTE a minute. Sure, life is not promised tomorrow. And that has been pressed in on us today. But I have also been reminded of the grace and provision of people in our lives. We take so much for granted, leave so much unsaid, assume much is given and known. We waste our words and so much time. I am so grateful for second chances, intentional relationships and the promise of journey. I am overwhelmed by the gift of LIFE in people.
The journey that lies ahead is full of ups and downs, but mostly is about the together. And today, I am thankful for another day together and don't want to waste it....but instead to lavish life on PEOPLE. Life IS about Intentional relationships. It is about being intentional with our walk with Christ and with those we walk with. It is about the WHO...not the what or the where. So, my life for theirs...live together or die alone and never forget to take time for PEOPLE. Those people that God has blessed you with... lavish life on them TODAY...for tomorrow is not promised.
ALL FOR YOU

a cold shower is no fun

I was in the shower this morning....as is my morning ritual, both to bathe and to pray, when another truth hit me. (shocking-i know!)
The water was hot...cause I LOVE a hot shower. It was just hot enough that it didn't burn me or make me run, but hot enough to warm and to make me want to just be drenched by the heat. Standing under the water, soaked with the heat and the water, I felt clean.
But then-as usual...I laid down in the shower to pray. I got my face to the ground and realized that the water that was hot when I was standing was not so warm when I was face down. And then it hit me. I was further away from the source and the water was quickly cooling. It was not as hot on the ground because I was further away from the source of the water.
Now this really has nothing to do with my prayer time and if you try to make an example out of it...you will be totally unbiblical...because face down does not cool you off. So let me make the application quickly before we spin off into a tirade of illustrations that won't line up with the Word.
The principle is this....the closer you are to the source, the more intense heat you feel. This is a basic life principle. Whether standing by a bonfire-the closer you are to the source, the more intense heat you feel. Or standing over the stove-the closer you are to the source, the more instense heat you feel. Or even about the sun-the closer you are to the sun, the more intense heat you feel. Or even my shower-the closer you are to the source, the more intense heat you feel.
How does this apply? The closer you are to the source, the more intense heat you feel. The closer you are to the SON, the more intense heat you will feel. If you want the Light of the glory of God to shine on you...don't move away from the source. Our tendency is to move away from things that are pushing us towards Jesus. Our tendency is to back away from the heat, so we don't get burned. Our tendency is to move away so that it is more comfortable.
Our God is a consuming fire. But He does not burn us up with His heat, instead He consumes all we are and envelopes us with His intensity so that we will have a deluge of His presence. Don't back away from that. Don't stand in the coolness of distance. Instead, snuggle up close...feel His warmth and His heat. Allow Him to drench you with the rain of His presence and allow the Heat of His intensity to overtake you. Don't back off from the heat...instead...allow it to invoke in you a need to stay there-where everything apart from His presence feels cold and distant.
Draw near to God and He will draw near to You. Our God is a consuming fire. Don't back off...press in. A cold shower is NO fun at all. So allow Him to rain down His intense heat on you. ALL FOR YOU

ash and shards

Have you ever just had a series of unfortunate events in your life that caused you to have to laugh or else you might just cry? Of course you have....It seems the Lord loves to make living epistles out of life, letters telling others of His greatness and His plan. His story is written on everything, everywhere, if we just look for it.
Last week, a friend of mine was cleaning out her fireplace. It was filled with soot and needed to be cleaned, so she decided to get the shop vac and suck the soot out of the fireplace. About 3 minutes into the task, she realized that the shop vac was sucking the soot out of the fireplace and blowing it out the top of the vaccuum, all over the living room. Now the soot was not just in her fireplace, but everywhere. All over her walls, her furniture. Overwhelmed by the enormity of soot that was now EVERYWHERE, she had to decide how to clean it all up. It was on the walls, the floor, behind the cushions. She found it three rooms away, resting on doorways, picture frames, air vents and tables. In her quest to clean the fireplace, there are now remnants of ash everywhere. You sit on the furniture and turn black. You walk on the floor, you turn black. And as hard as she tries to clean it up...remnants of ash still remain, unseen until she sits, touches or walks and then it is too late, it is already on her. She has washed everything down, but it is impossible to see or remove it all.
Later that week, one of my kids closed the sliding glass door and knocked a candle on the floor. The glass shattered and went everywhere. The shards were scattered all over my kitchen. I immediately got the vaccuum and began to clean it up. Being careful to remove all the pieces, cleaning a further radius out than I thought was needed, I was certain I had removed all the shards of glass. That is, until two days later, when I looked down on the carpet, down the hallway and realized there was a shard of glass. I realized that no matter how thorough I was, I couldn't get it all up or clean. I couldn't see all the shards to get them all up, much like my friend can not see where all the soot is.
Then it hit me. Shards, remnants of ash-God was teaching me. Sin is just like the ash. You think you are cleaning it up and before you know it, it is everywhere. It spreads to places we can not see. It touches areas that we had no idea it would reach. It gets all over people-the remnants of our sin effect others, even in the clean up.
But life is like the glass shards too. Although the ash just clings to us and turns us black, the glass shards can cut and hurt. Our sin is also like the shards, if we don't get it all clean, someone is going to get cut up by our sin. And just like the ash, the shards end up in places that we never thought they could, places we didn't even think to clean because didn't know that it would land there.
I was thinking about sin and how it clings to us, cuts us and takes us further than we ever thought we could go, does more damage then we ever could have imagined and effects more than just ourselves and I realized, again, my inability to clean up sin is just like the inability to clean up the ash or the shards. Oh, we can try to clean up. We can try to make things look better to the naked eye. We can pretend that we have done a good job and deceive ourselves into thinking things look okay because we can not see the dirt. But then someone walks by and our sin clings to them or they step on a shard and they get cut. Then, our world comes down because what we thought was dead and buried rises from the ash only to further effect us and those we love, leaving stains and cuts that we had no idea were even possible because we thought we had done a good job.
We can try to do a good job cleaning up our mess, but honestly, we are unable to do what only God can. God is the only one that can say "Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool." (Isaiah 1:18) He is the only one who can clean us up. So maybe it is time we stop trying to cover our sin or clean up our sin and simply run to the one who can take all of our sins and wash us, cleanse us from all iniquity and purify our souls. Because honestly, if we don't...our sin is just going to keep rubbing off on everyone else and cutting others up.
ALL FOR YOU

Curtains

SUNDAY IS PARTY SUNDAY! And that means the place is going to erupt for the GLORY of God. But it also means a lot of extra work, preparing the offering we are going to present to the KING. With that came a new set and a need to make curtains. Sunday is all about THE DOOR. We are gearing up for the new building and are having our last PARTY Sunday in the gym with TREEHOUSE. In order to best communicate the message, we knew that a new set had to come to life on the TREEHOUSE stage. With that meant a door and stage curtains. Today was the day to make that all happen. We had Pat Dickson build the door. It had been painted and was ready. Brandon O'Shields built the piping for the curtains. And a friend and I set out to make the curtain thing happen. We had already purchased the fabric. Today was sewing day. And since I know NOTHING about sewing, I was really just there to be an extra set of hands because the project was so big.

We spent all morning making the curtains, measuring and cutting, pinning and measuring. Sewing and....did I say measuring? To be sure that everything would be perfect. I learned all sorts of things about sewing that I didn't know before. I discovered what pinking shears are! And what scraps are called....scraps. Scraps are just called scraps. I learned about thread and bobbin and how the sewing machine intertwines the bobbin from the bottom and the thread from the top to knit the two pieces of fabric together.

But there are two words today that have changed my LIFE. Yes, I said changed my life. I know you are dying to know how sewing and terminology has changed my LIFE today. All day today, my friend kept referring to Salvage. Salvage is a cool word. It means the property saved, the act of saving anything from fire or danger. So, I was thinking Salvage could be a good Life word from my sewing lesson. I am SALVAGE....property that has been saved from fire and danger. But then, my friend explained to me that the word was not Salvage, but Selvage, which totally wrecked my sewing thought for the day. That is, until I began to understand selvage. Selvage is the edge of a fabric that is woven so that it will not fray or ravel. I then began to think that could be a pretty cool word too. Woven in such a way that we do not fray or unravel. Selvage is about working on the edges so the whole is protected. Making sure the edges don't fray. Being sure you are hemmed in and kept. As I began to realize what selvage was, I saw the need to began to pray over every seam. To be sure things were hemmed in, protected, woven correctly so that things would not fray or unravel.

As my friend began to teach me about grains in the fabric and the need to match up the grains-how we shouldn't try to sew things together that are going in different directions, but to be sure that we match up the grains and then sew it together-I began to think about the LIFE lesson in that. I began to realize how important it is to be paired up with someone who understands the importance of making the weave work. And how if we didn't understand the LIFE lesson behind this, we could be in danger. Because what is woven can not be undone. When you weave something together, it becomes something totally different than what it was alone. Something stronger. It looks different. It serves a different purpose. It is interlaced to make something new. It is not all of one or the other, but combined, something new altogether.

So, there are two words for LIFE today.

Selvage-the need to be hemmed in and protected so that things don't unravel or fray. LIFE woven in such a way that it doesn’t come apart.

Woven-two things going in the same direction, brought together for the purpose of strength and producing something new. Hemmed in and protected so life doesn't fray and TOGETHER to be something different than you are alone.

The Bible says it like this....a cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart. Ecc 4:12

Never thought, making curtains for the stage would produce such LIFE lesson. I am thinking it was a pretty productive day. Not just because we have curtains for the stage, but because of what went on behind (the making of) the "veil"/curtains. An offering of life change was accomplished for the King. So much more than just a curtain.

And the additional cool thought....there was fabric dust EVERYWHERE. Literally...on the tops of cabinets, on the shelves, on the floor. It was everywhere. We had breathed it. It was in our hair. The dye was on our hands, under our finger nails. Everywhere we looked, there was remnants of our LIFE LESSON. Isn't that just like Jesus? To give us a word picture? To teach us and then show us?

Selvage, weave AND remnants...okay, so I three words.

Look what happens when you serve the King! He gives you a WORD....or two...or three...Nevertheless....He changes you!

ALL FOR YOU

cool moment-WINGS

I think one of the coolest moments for me recently was spent in famiy movie night. Not because I got to watch a movie, cause honestly, most days I think that is a waste of time. But, mainly because of what I learned.
While watching Surf's Up with the fam, I learned that my kids are learning to think. For years, I have been the one making the illustrations from movies, asking questions that provoked thought. For years, I always got the response "aw mom, can't we just enjoy the movie." Like finding life application in stuff was too much work and they wanted to veg and just not think.
Well, that is a problem for me. I don't just NOT think. I am always thinking and processing. It makes other people tired to just be around me.
But last night....well, I didn't make any illustrations or comments. As I sat beside my boys and watched the movie with them...they just began to make comments about how that is like Jesus. Or how that is what God wants. They began to think on their own. It was the coolest thing for me to watch. I didn't have to craft it, guide it, talk about it, ask a question. I watched my boys take off and THINK. They grew wings last night. They started to fly. They began to think like Jesus, using and redeeming the movie for His glory. They began to use everything being said and to filter it through a Biblical world view.
They have a long way to go...but last night...I watched them grow wings and fly. It was a cool moment. The journey ahead promises to be awesome.
ALL FOR YOU

religious

I have been reading in Acts 10-11 about Cornelius. How the Lord sent Peter to Him to preach the gospel and as a result, the Holy Spirit fell on him and his family and they were saved. But the ironic thing to me is that BEFORE this happens, he is described as a devout, righteous, God fearing man, who gave offerings and prayed continually and was well known among the religious. And yet, He was NOT saved-even though he was described-in the Bible as being this kind of man.
It has ripped my heart up once again and only confirmed what I already knew. You can give your money, pray, have quiet times, come to church, do what is right and fear God and still miss heaven. It isn't until you meet JESUS and fall madly in love with Him, giving all that you are to Him that you are saved. Many would say they met Him, but the WORD says that those who encounter Jesus are NEVER the same.
So what made the difference for this religious man? What caused him to move from religion to relationship? Obviously the drawing of the Lord and the work of the Holy Spirit, but I love that his response to Peter's coming with the gospel is that he gathered TOGETHER all his friends and relatives and said to him...we are here to hear ALL that you have been commanded by the Lord. How cool is a heart like that? To be sitting ready, having gathered all his friends and family, yearning for and longing for whatever the Lord has to say. It is evident that he WANTS it.
What about us? Is that true of us? Are we gathering everyone together, just waiting for God's Word to fall for us to hear? And when we hear it are we immediately changed?
I don't want to be religious...god fear, righteous and devout. I want to be His.
ALL FOR YOU

LIFT

For the last year and a half the Lord has had me running. It was a physical picture of the spiritual journey He wants from me. To RUN after Him with all that I am. I am learning that to run is hard work. It takes discipline. You must learn to breathe. You must measure your steps. You must learn to press on, even when you think you can’t. You must train and find a rhythm so that you do not slow down or stop.
But in the last week or so, I have been unable to run. My knees have been bothering me. The pounding and the excessive jarring made it painful. The pain started earlier in the summer and has gotten worse and I have been frustrated because I NEED to run. I don’t want my heart to become lazy.
So earlier this week, I got on the bike. At first, it was work. There was strain on my arms and my neck, always looking up. My body wasn’t used to the rhythm of riding. I felt myself competing with myself trying to go faster and faster, instead of finding a steady speed and just stroking. Listening to my ipod and almost striving against myself, I heard the Father say…turn it off. So I reached up, turned my ipod off and began to just pedal. At first, it felt odd. But then, I could feel myself get into a rhythm. I began to discover that it wasn’t SO hard when I wasn’t fighting myself. It was in that moment, I heard Jesus say…”now you have wheels.” It took me a minute to process what I was hearing. When I realized what He was saying to me, I was overwhelmed with the graciousness of the Father.
Running is work and often feels like just pushing yourself even when you don’t want to in order to get where you need to go. But riding is a whole other story. You go farther, faster and with less stress on your body. It was in that moment that Jesus encouraged my heart by saying, I have seen your heart and the discipline and the labor of running, now I will give you wheels. You will still have to work at it and discipline your heart, but it will be less stress on you physically, if you have wheels…so you can go farther, faster. Christy, get in a rhythm. Don’t strive against yourself. Stroke and pedal, listen and breathe, worship and revel in what I am doing. Ride….and I will give you LIFT.
LIFT…now there is a word. It made me think of Isa 40:26-31.
26 Lift up your eyes on high and see who has created these {stars,} the One who leads forth their host by number, He calls them all by name; because of the greatness of His might and the strength of {His} power not one {of them} is missing.
28 Do you not know? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable.
29 He gives strength to the weary, and to {him who} lacks might He increases power.
31 Yet those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength; they will mount up {with} wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.

He not only gives me wheels, but He gives me lift by giving me WINGS to mount up on, like the eagles, to soar…to allow the wind of the Spirit to give me lift.
As I rode the bike, it kind of felt like that. A little LIFT. To go farther faster and to gain a new perspective on the journey.
ALL FOR YOU

This morning, I rose early to take my kids to breakfast at the church and then on to their flagpole to pray. The getting up part is usually a stretch for me, not to mention being mobile and able to converse this early rarely happens. But the Lord gives grace to handle all things that you are supposed to do and today, I was supposed to be at the flagpole. NOT just because it was See You at the Pole day. NOT just because it was a chance to be a witness. NOT just because it was a way to lead my kids in standing up for Jesus. NOT just because I am the minister's wife and am expected to lead. But because I was supposed to SEE something myself.
It was a slow go at first. It was my kids and I, along with a few kids from our church who had been at the breakfast. We waited a few minutes and a few of the school staff and their families joined us. Little by little, more and more came to the flagpole. There were probably 40 or so there by the time we finished. But, that wasn't what I was supposed to SEE at See Ya at the Pole.
About half way through the prayer time, the school administrator's realized what was happening (they didn't know it was SYATP Day). I looked up and realized that our Principle stood on my left and the Asst. Principle was standing on my right, praying with us. They were praying WITH us over our children. Amen was spoken and we began to break from our circle, when our Principle stopped us. He said, "I want to close us...I was just waiting to see if there was anyone else who wanted to pray. Please join hands again and I will close us in prayer."
Stunned, I grabbed my son's hand and listened as our Principle prayed out loud over our children, giving God all glory and honor and fame. Once he said amen and the kids began to head to class, I stopped him to shake his hand. I told him that in a time where most would hide their faith for the sake of being politically correct in the job, that I appreciated his leadership and his stand for his faith this morning. I walked away with one of our deacon's and we both were VERY encouraged to see and know the leadership that our children are sitting under everyday.
I was not all that thrilled to be up so early this morning. But, as I sit here typing this, I realized that I was the one blessed this morning. In my effort to bless God and be a witness, what I SAW at the Pole, blessed me. Not just the children, but to know that there are those overseeing my children everyday that are making a stand for their faith and blessing God as they do it.
Thankyou Mr. Howard and Mr. McCallALL FOR YOU

waste

REMIX...I like that Word. Tonight at Relevant, we talked about Prayer Remix. The basic premise was that we needed to remix our prayers or think them through a little more. I have been doing a lot of REMIXING lately...or maybe I should say examining the way I think and questioning why I do things or believe things. I have been challenged to let go of some things. I have had to redesign and eliminate things. I have had to ask some hard questions and I didn't like the answers I got, but when faced with the truth, change was the only option.
I began to ask questions like:
1. If Jesus is on the throne, would He be saying 'right on' to this?
2. If I filtered this through the Word of God, would it pass? or is this just what I like?
3. What is GOD's thoughts, plans and heart on this?
It is funny because when you ask these questions it begins to make life uncomfortable. Why? because we have ideas about life that don't measure up to the Word, God's heart and He wouldn't say right on to.
For me....well, I had to remix-rethink. And example of this was how I chose to spend my day yesterday. I thought I deserved some down time. We have been busy and needed to just stay home and relax. My day started with family time and a soccer game. While at the soccer game, I got to engage in conversation with other parents on the sidelines about the Kingdom of God. So while I am not sure that Jesus is "down" with soccer, I do know that He wants me to invest in my children and I used the time to advance the Kingdom as well by having intentional conversation. So, I think that one passes. Noah had a friend over and we went to eat. Then we all went home to watch the Clemson game. I made a pot of coffee, sat on my couch and did nothing for 3 hours. NEXT, came cooking dinner for the family, a trip to Anderson to look for a vacuum belt (which I didn't find), a cup of coffee at a bookstore where I read a gossip magazine and then home. I crawled in my bed at 8:45 and watched chick flicks for the next 4 hours.
While for many, that may seem like a good day. A fun day. A relaxing day....I was torn up over it. I did NOTHING. I thought about NOTHING. I WASTED the bulk of the day. I did very little for the Kingdom. It started out good...using what opportunities and commitments I had to talk about Jesus, but then....I tanked. And when I shut the TV off...I was sad.
I watched better than 7 hours of tv....omg, that sounds really bad, when I say it that way. I laid around and did nothing productive. I spent time reading a gossip magazine. I did very little to invest in relationships, community or the Word. I can't imagine Jesus was on the throne going....Christy, I want you to do more of that-this is exactly what I wanted you to do with the time I gave you. I know that the time spent in front of the tv would never make it through the Word of God test. I just liked it and did it. I know God's heart was grieved at the time HE gave me to breathe and live for HIM and I took it and squandered it.
I am a believer in a Sabbath rest. But the Sabbath is for GOD....to focus and center on HIM. I believe in being still and taking down time, but not so that I can fill that downtime with things of the world.
Honestly, I can't say that Jesus was pleased with how I spent my day. There are moments where I talked about Him, thought about Him and used it for His glory....but 7 hours wasted....
I think I need a remix on how to spend my time, not just how I pray. I laid in bed last night, sad because of the WASTE. I confessed to the Lord how sorry I was that I had not used any of the FREE time to love on Him, pursue Him or even just sit with Him. I was sad because while I could have used that time for Him. I used it for me. And I am quite certain Jesus was not on the throne going....RIGHT ON....with that.
So will I watch football....CERTAINLY, but I will be more intentional about what I do with that time. Have people over, talk to my kids about being on God's offensive line, use it as an illustration. Watch the plays and think about how we need to be offensive and defensive in the Kingdom. Compare that to the playbook. Or maybe, just have people over, work on community and unity and fellowship, talk about God while we enjoy the game...I don't know....but I do know that I don't need to waste a second, but use every moment, every breath as a chance to advance His Kingdom. I can't find anywhere in Scripture where it says...take a little time for yourself, indulge in the simple pleasures of life, don't worry about thinking about GOD today....Time for a remix...to change the way I think.
Jesus, I am sorry for the waste. I repent and return to you. You are my hope, my dream, my all. Help me to use every step, every breath for you-to not waste a moment. ALL FOR YOU

simplify

Ever since I was a kid, there was a phrase that has pushed me to do things and say things, change things and process things in ways that people can understand. It is a phrase that continues to swell in my brain as an overiding theme of life. It is represented on my wall in a word, a word that reminds me of the phrase. The word is not something I naturally lean into, but something I have to really work at.
The word is Simplify. The phrase is "keep it simple, stupid."
And while I KNOW these truths, I find that it is a hard thing to live out. Life is not simple, it is complicated. Schedules, family relationships, jobs, finances, conflict, church. Our lives quickly busy with "life". And we complicate it with "stuff". Somewhere along the way, we all get caught up in DOING instead of BEING. We lose sight of the fact that God never intended life or church to be this way-complicated. We like our options. We like being busy. We like "stuff". But "stuff" sucks the life right out of us. We are too tired to come to church, to serve, to love, to listen. We are too busy to study, to work on relationships, to be intentional, to want more. Our lives are full and we like it that way....and yet, most of us sit and wonder how life got so complicated? What can we cut out so that we can simplify?

I have been reading a book called SIMPLE CHURCH. Dave actually gave the first chapter out to our deacons and has encouraged them to read it. In reading this book, I have been reminded that Jesus had a very SIMPLE plan for changing the world. It was a very SIMPLE mandate from Scripture and a very SIMPLE process. Why? because people respond to SIMPLE. If you make something complicated....people just shut down, tune you out, don't come back and stop participating. Why? because people respond to SIMPLE. It is why the IPOD exists. It is why Starbucks has made millions. It is SIMPLE....they do ONE THING and do it well. They have designed a SIMPLE process to reach people. They have a SIMPLE product.
(exerpts from the book follow)
Now, there is a difference between simple and easy. Simple is basic, uncomplicated and fundamental. Easy is effortless. Ministry will NEVER be easy. It is messy and difficult because people are messy and difficult. (not looking for easy, thinking simple) But if anyone knew simple, it was JESUS. And if anyone was a revolutionary, it was JESUS. He is the original simple revolutionary. He stepped into a complicated and polluted religious scene. It was CLUTTERED with Religious people-Sadducees, Pharisees, Herodians, Zealots....He did not play by their rules. (He made them mad because He wouldn't do church their cluttered way!) He could not stand their hypocrisy. The religious had a religious system with 613 laws-that were not even in the Bible. But Jesus has the ability to take religion and make it simple. He stood opposed to all the religious laws and summed them up in a simple statement-to love the Lord your God with all. Jesus was and is adamantly opposed to anything that gets in the way of people encountering Him-especially religion.
Many of our lives, and our church life is CLUTTERED. So cluttered that people have a difficult time encountering the simple and powerful message of Christ. So cluttered that many people are busy DOING church instead of BEING the church.
Clutter can make things look okay, even good. The busyness is a great disguise for the lack of life. Complexity is a great cover-up. Great amounts of activity do not produce life change. It only gives the impression that things are happening, that there is life. The question is not how much are we doing or not doing? The question is how much life change is happening as a result of what we do? If we are not seeing Spiritual transformation in the lives of people, then we have become content with busy calendars to masquerde the truth that life change is not happening. We are on religious treadmills going nowhere.
How do we get here? It occurs when churches and leaders are not sure who they are. They are not clear what their fundamental identity is. They run in a disjointed and frantic fashion. When the church is unsure of who she is, programs and ministries move in multiple directions. This is not an enviornment for life change to happen. While we all know that the church is to be committed to evangelism, prayer, helping people build relationships with believers, the study of the Word, seeing people grow deeper and serving (Acts 2), the question remains why is this not happening and HOW do we create a SIMPLE process so that it does? And why are we doing all this other stuff? The problem is there is no overarching discipleship process that pulls everything together. There is not a clear process in place that streamlines ministry and keeps everyone on the same page. We can no longer measure ministry on how well a program is going. Then we just become program managers. We MUST see the whole picture. Who we are. What we are created to be. We must get rid of the clutter that masqurades life and begin to discern what our process is. We must be sure that everything in church produces life change. There must be a simple process that pulls everything together to move people towards spiritual maturity.
So what is it that we are called by God and Scripture to be about? The Great Command...not suggestion is that we are to make disciples. Jesus had a SIMPLE plan and it worked. He changed the world by pouring His life into 12 men. It was not a program or a platform. It was Jesus making Disciples. And that is what He told us to do.
EXERPTS FROM SIMPLE CHURCH by Thom Rainer and Eric Geiger

As a church, we have proclaimed to our community that our heart is for FAMILY-children and students. And so, if our identity is to BE the CHURCH (not just do church) in our community that reaches out to FAMILY-children and students-making that our focus and who we are, then we must create a SIMPLE process by which we make disciples of those the Lord gives to us. We must skillfully design enviornments where life change can occur. We must create a process that moves people through stages of spiritual growth. The process must be clear, planned and must move people toward maturity. This is not some fly by the seat of our pants activity...this is the GREAT COMMAND-we Can't mess this up. We must MAKE DISCIPLES and we have to be intentional. That doesn't mean it needs to be complicated. In fact, just the opposite. It NEEDS to be SIMPLE. Let's do one thing....and do it well. We say we are all about family. God has called us to make disciples. Let's focus on that and move forward towards that goal. Let's make it SIMPLE...work on the one thing and BE what God has called us to BE, DO what God has said to DO.
ALL FOR YOU

Have you ever walked on stepping stones that were not spaced correctly? It makes you feel almost like you are stuttering when you step. It causes you to feel off balance and for lack of a better word a little retarded in how you walk.
For weeks, I have been thinking about this because everytime I go to walk into the office at the church I had to walk across stepping stones that felt that way. They just weren't spaced right. They were off just enough that it felt weird and made you hesitate. In fact, I eventually just stopped walking on them because it became so hard to adjust my step to them. That is...until today. Someone (thankyou!) adjusted the stepping stones. They must have been bothered by it too, however, they took some iniaitive to fix it. (better than me, again, thankyou!) So, as I began to walk into the church office, I realized that the stones were an easy fit to my step and that it felt natural and normal to walk on the stones and get to where I was going. I felt bad for not having fixed it myself, but grateful that someone had taken the time to make the steps easier to walk on.
Obviously, I have been thinking about stepping stones and the process of walking on them lately. Just like the stepping stones into the office, we often make church just as difficult. We think we are laying stones that are plain, easy and are a path to where people need to go. But the best laid plans often become cumberson and difficult to traverse. Sometimes through religion and tradition-though well intentioned, we make it HARD for people to walk out the process of being a follower of Christ. What was intended to help us walk out our faith, only makes things difficult. What was supposed to lay the groundwork to where we need to, only causes people to step off the path.
Maybe it is time to REALIGN our steps so that people can walk on the path.

Ps....this does not mean we change the message....to fit our steps. It just means when the process is too hard to walk in...we might ought to think about a different process.ALL FOR YOU

Not too long ago, a friend of mine visited Disney World-you know the "happiest place on earth." While there, she encountered another Mom who began to share with her about her daughter. She said that it didn't matter where they took their daughter, that everywhere they went the little girl would just cry. She would cry and say "i don't want to be here, Mommy, I want to go to the Kingdom. I only want to go to the Kingdom."
Of course the little girl was referring to MAGIC KINGDOM and that she didn't want to be in any of the other parks, any of the other places. She wanted to be in the KINGDOM. She wasn't interested in the other rides and the other amusements the "world" had to offer. She wanted to be in the Kingdom. That is all she wanted.
Today, my heart feels a lot like that little girl. Not really interested in what the world has to offer. Not amused by the attractions and entertainment it is throwing my way. I am sure it is great and that many would enjoy. I am not even saying that they are wrong to enjoy them. But, today, my heart longs to chase what the little girl stated. My heart is crying out saying "I don't want to be here, Daddy, I want the Kingdom. I ONLY want the Kingdom."
As I have delved into the Scripture, I have been reminded that the Kingdom of heaven is in our midst. (Luke 17:21) It is here and NOW. It is living inside of ME. That Disney World is not the place where Dreams come true. That the Kingdom is alive and well and advancing inside of me. But I was also reminded that it doesn't just fall into our laps. It doesn't just come easily. The Kingdom has come and everyone is forcing their way into it. (Luke 16:16) I can be happy in the other places or I can be like the child who is crying out and forcing her way there, despite the calls and attractions of the world.
Today, I am just a child, crying out and saying that I just want the Kingdom. Only the Kingdom. Nothing else. But today, I am also an adult who realizes that the Kingdom is here and now, inside of me and that I must not sit back and expect it to be an amusement at Disney World, but must work to force my way into it....through all the other stuff....to get to what I really want. ALL FOR YOU

fair?

On our way home from our first trip to California to visit Jim's Mom, we had to sit in Burbank airport awaiting our flight to leave. Knowing that we would leave shortly, I decided to go to the Ladies room. But I got sidetracked. People just amaze me. I guess that is why I am a people watcher. You can learn so much about people by watching them. And I got sidetracked by a woman who was making quite a seen at the gate across from the bathroom.
Apparently, last call had been made for the flight, the door had been shut and gate closed, when this woman appeared with her children. She was running late. She held her shoes in her hands (from the security check) and was out of breath, indicating that she had probably run all the way to the gate with her kids from security. I knew from only minutes before that security was a nightmare and that it had taken us a half hour to process through that check point. We were so glad we arrived early.
In the graciousness of the attendant, he phoned the plane, grabbed the kids and ran them to the flight. It seems that she was not flying with the children, but was there to put them on a plane to go somewhere without her. And while the gate had been shut, the man made an exception to get the children on the plane. I observed all of this while walking to the restroom. I didn't think much about it until the attendant came back through the doors and the woman began to yell like a mad woman at the man. It was at this point, I decided that the restroom could wait and I just leaned against the wall outside the door to the Ladies room to watch the show.
In the minutes that followed, this woman began to rave about how this man had not treated her fairly. She must have said it a dozen times, so loudly that even over the airplanes, anyone in the near vicinity was aware of how she felt. She berated the man for the next five minutes, saying she was treated fairly and that she wanted to say goodbye to her kids. Best I can understand, the woman was upset because she didn't get to walk the jetway with her children and tell them goodbye. Even on a good day, when she wasn't late, she would not have gotten that privilege. No One gets through the gate without a boarding pass. But she was insistent that she had not been treated fairly.
I began to laugh. Here is a woman who was late to the airport-for whatever reason, she did not have a boarding pass to get through the gate and yet, she seemed to think that SHE was the one who was not treated fairly. It was not the attendants fault that she was late, nor that she did not have a boarding pass. In fact, he had gone out of his way to be sure the kids got on the plane, even thought the gate had been shut. It was at this point, the attendant called security.
I quickly slipped into the restroom and when I returned to my spot on the wall, found the woman in the custody of two armed security guards, while one additional guard spoke with the attendant. It only took a few minutes for the guards to explain that whether she thought she was treated fairly or not was not the issue, but that she could not speak to the attendant nor make the scene that she was making in the airport. It was at this point that I decided the excitement was over and I returned to find Jim at the gate where we were to depart.
As I sat contemplating the scene I had watched, I was amazed that this woman thought she had been treated unfairly. What a crazy thought. She was late, exceptions had been made for her and her kids got exactly what they needed-to be on the plane. But instead, she was insisting that she was not treated fairly. It only took a few seconds for the Lord to prick my heart and to say "isn't that how so many treat me." I stopped dead in my 'thoughts' and backed up. How many times do WE say to God-You aren't treating me fairly. Well, maybe we don't say it...or even think it, but we do feel it. We think we DESERVE things when we don't. We feel like God owes us things that we He doesn't. We are at fault. We mess up. We sin. Exceptions are made. Grace is given. Mercy is offered. And we still look at God as if to say, you didn't treat me fairly.
Okay, some of you might be thinking...NOT ME. But have you ever thought:
-I am a good person. I do what is right. Why is it always so hard? Give me a break.
-I obey your commands. I go to church every week. I even teach Sunday School. But it never seems to pay off?
-I tried to raise my kids right. I took my family to church. We even had devotions. So why did things turn out this way?
-I gave money in the plate. I always helped others. So why are my finances to tight?
-I prayed for help. I depended and trusted you to bring healing. But you didn't. Why should I worship a God that won't help me out.
-Why would a loving God let this happen to me? (so you deserve better? you didn't get hell...that should be enough!)

I could go on...but you get the point. We all do it. We all stand at the gate and though mercy and grace has been offered, we look at God and say "you haven't treated me fairly. You owe me more!"
When will we ever realize that God owes us nothing. He doesn't even owe us breath. In fact, we deserve to NOT breathe. We deserve nothing. Fair...you want to talk about God being fair. If we really wanted fair...then we would get what we deserve, which is hell, total separation from Him. We are traitors. We are unfaithful, disobedient, stiff necked, strong willed children that incessantly insist having our own way. And yet, He gives us grace. He gave His Son to pay a debt He didn't owe. He has blessed us with every spiritual blessing and equipped us for everything pertaining to life and godliness. And yet, we think He owes us MORE because we go to church or TRY to live right. We think that we deserve more because we TRIED with the HIS children or gave some of HIS money back. We think that because we are trying hard that He should give more.
What a crazy thought. But it is how we think. He has not treated us fairly. But I am not sure FAIR is what we want. I want grace, not what is fair. If I get what is fair...I don't think I will be very happy.
You can learn a lot leaning against a wall and watching people. And in those moments, it is when God speaks and pierces our hearts to remind us His grace. We can scream about how unfair life is all day long, but the truth is....we got more than we deserve. ALL FOR YOU

surf school for disciples

While we were in California, we took a morning to drive down to Newport beach and let the boys swim in the Pacific ocean. The beaches there are much different from what we are used to on the East Coast. They are wide and deep and filled with Baywatch lifeguards and lifeguard stands. This particular beach was one Jim used to hang out at when he was kid and so with the visit came memories of the past.
We arrived at the beach with only ourselves and our towels. Jim has this hang up about looking like tourists and carrying tons of stuff to the beach. So, we simply parked our car, picked up our towels and walked the 100 yards of sand to the ocean. The boys ran and played, enjoying the surf. While Jim, Drew and I watched the surfers that were shredding the surf as if it were cotton they were surfing instead of waves. I sat on the beach and took pictures and enjoyed the scene of my children, my husband and the surf.
That is until something else caught my eye. And NO it was not a Lifeguard. (lol) It was these groups of children in wetsuits. Some as small as 4, others as old as 15, but they all were doing different activities-TOGETHER. I am all about the TOGETHER right now, so I was intrigued. I love to people watch and discovered after a few minutes that surf camp was going on and we had parked ourselves in the middle of the beach where kids were learning how to surf. Enthralled and interested in how and what they were teaching these children, I began to watch as they did differing activities to train their reflexes and teach them the skills they will need to know to be able to stand on a surf board, while at the same time, watching the myriad of people surfing. You had the experienced surfers, riding the waves and the inexperienced, learning through training.
After about an hour or so of watching the kids in their activities, I began to see a group that had surfboards, heading out into the water. They were on long boards and there was an instructor with each child. It was so amazing to watch as the instructor would walk the child through EVERY step of what it was going to look and feel like. He didn't just tell him how to do it, but was out in the water, showing him how to paddle past the waves. And then he turned the child around, held onto the back of the child's board (they were only waste deep) and he would help the child stand while the wave was coming and then gently let go and let him ride the board in to the shore. Some would fall, some would make it. But I was not intrigued by the children. I was struck by the instructor and what a cool picture of disciple making that was.
You see, the instructor didn't just teach, speak or tell the pupils. He didn't just stand on the shore and shout instructions. He got wet. He stood right beside the student. He literally walked with him through every step of the process and as a result, surfers were being produced.
I sat on the beach and thought to myself-that is what I am supposed to do. That is what the church is supposed to do. That is what Jesus commanded us to do. Make Disciples. Jesus came to make disciples and He didn't do it by yelling instruction from heaven. He came in the form of a man and walked with those men-every step, showing them how to live, how to make disciples, how to sacrifice, serve, love and obey. Because the best disciple maker is one that gets wet. Or gets dirty. Or gets involved...of just gets in. The best disciple maker is the one who is willing to sacrifice their comfort to journey into the water and help the student learn every step of the process so that nothing is missed, no shortcuts are taken and no mistakes become habit.
I think I had church that morning. God spoke through a surf school to my heart and reminded me that what we want to produce are those who shred the waves-learned disciples. But the way to do that is to walk out the process-every step with those whom the Lord has given you to teach, so that we don't reproduce badly-but those who can ride the waves. The best disciple makers.....GET WET!ALL FOR YOU

are we falling

I am sitting in the Chicago airport having just arrived from Greenville. We are traveling with all three boys and it has been quite an adventure already. There are terrible storms in Washington, tons of flights were cancelled and rerouted. Therefore, the airports are crazy. We didn’t have seats together, so we are in the process of having our seats reassigned. And the boys are going crazy. I have just given them Dramamine, in hopes that they will sleep the rest of the way.
The flight from Greenville was somewhat interesting. The stewardess was quite the comedian, making jokes about how for those of us that have not been in a car since 1957, we will need to know how to work a seat belt. We had seats in the very back, which was perfect for the boys. They were excited about the adventure. The first half of the trip was a bit uneventful, as they settled in to watching movies and having snacks. That is until we hit a little turbulence.
For me….well, I don’t like turbulence. I don’t like roller coasters and I don’t like planes that drop or bump in the air. But Micah, that is a different story. He loves it. He thought it was cool. He immediately started screaming…WEEEEE and then looked at me and asked “are we falling?” To which I answered, “I hope not!”
We were passing through clouds and we couldn’t see how far up or down we were. Things were bumping around and I found myself grabbing the seat in front of me, which Jim was seated in. But Micah, was cracking up laughing and enjoying the ride. Every time we would drop, he would laugh and ask me again if we were falling. I didn’t think it was so funny. But, he did.
I was thinking about the reason why it didn’t bother him. It might be because he has a bigger sense of adventure than I do. It might be that he is going to be a roller coaster lover and I am not. It might be that he loved the risk and the feeling of his stomach in his throat. But I kinda think that it might be because he wasn’t thinking about the danger and he trusted the pilot.
Micah was not thinking about the danger involved in “falling” out of the sky. He was excited about the ride. He was excited about the adventure and the bumps along the way didn’t bother him. He wasn’t concerned that he couldn’t see what was ahead. He trusted the pilot and didn’t think that the pilot was really going to let us fall out of the sky, even when it FELT like it.
Maybe we need to embrace some “Micah thinking”. Maybe, we need to be excited about the journey God has on us, despite the bumps along the way that might make us think that we are falling. We may not like the feeling of falling, but we can get over that when we trust the pilot that is in charge. When we trust the Father so completely that even when we FEEL like we are falling, we can rest in the truth that no matter what we FEEL we know the reality is that we are just on a bumpy journey and we will arrive safely at our destination.
So, Micah has just proven one of my life’s motto’s. LIFE IS A JOURNEY, ENJOY THE RIDE….even if it is bumpy or feels like we are falling. Trust the Father…
ALL FOR YOU

Can you imagine the time and energy it must have taken to place every single egg into place in order to balance and create such a thing? While I am very impressed with what has been accomplished, I must say that my first thought when I saw these pictures was NOT "how cool!"

In fact, it was just the opposite. I could not help but think "what a wasted life." There is just something inside of me that wonders if God is up on His throne in heaven saying, "I sure wish you would spend days, weeks, even months balancing eggs." I just can't conceive that God created anyone for the purpose of egg balanced art. That when He breathed life into man, that His dream for them was to accomplish art from eggs or spend all their days working diligently to create such a thing. I just can't see Jesus cheering him on and saying, "well done! that is why I created you. Keep up the good work." There is NO doubt in my mind that God can use anything to further His Kingdom and advance His fame. There is NO doubt that we can use any talent we have as an opportunity to advance the heart of God-even egg art. But there is just something inside of me that screams....DON'T WASTE YOUR LIFE. Spend your days becoming and making disciples of Jesus Christ, investing life and relationship in others for the sake of the Kingdom, living for the name and renown of God, laying down your life for one another. How is it that we have come to a place where we glorify egg art over the greatness of a Holy God? And how is it that we don't believe that this is a wasted life and that living wholeheartedly, surrendered to Jesus is? I don't know....just feeling a little sad today over so many who waste their lives NOT chasing God with all that they are, but instead choose things of this world. I just KNOW that God is not on His throne hoping we will accomplish great egg art, but instead is crying out for us to Go and Make disciples of all nations. Anything less...is a wasted life.

This was just such a picture of that to me.
Doxa
Christy Upton
The intimacy of the Lord is for those who fear Him, and He will make them know His covenant. Psm 25:14
for more....check out http://doxaglory.blogspot.com

ALL FOR YOU

simulated rain?

Downpour.....it is what I have been praying for since October of last year. Sitting in the verses in Hosea 6:1-3 and crying out to heaven that He would send the rain. Over the recent months, I have spent a lot of time thinking about, praying for and longing for rain. While sifting through Hosea, I realized that Hosea 6 is connected to Hosea 5. (I know, I am a little slow) What a revelation of truth there! God tells us in chapter 5 that He will go away until they acknowledge their guilt and seek My face. Basically, says that there will be no rain until we Repent and Return. (exactly what Acts 4:19 affirms.)
That hit me like a ton of bricks. We can pray for rain. We can call down heaven. We can ask for a downpour, a deluge or even hurricane-but He will withdraw from us, until we Repent (change the way we think, turn from our sin and abhor it) and Return (turn back and follow after His ways, pursue, harrass and run after Him!). We can pray for it, but it will not come without the Repenting and Returning.
While meditating on these things and asking the Lord to cause me to repent and return so rain may fall in my life, I was struck by a visual that the Lord gave me. We have really needed some rain-both spiritually and literally. My grass needed to be watered. We had run the sprinklers a couple of times, hoping to help it, but what it really needed was just a good downpour. Why? Because simulated rain is not a replacement for what only heaven can bring. I can water my grass with simulated rain (sprinklers) everyday, but it will not produce what one downpour from heaven can do. Simulated is not the same as real. And simulated will not sustain-only what is real produces the effect wanted.
The same is true for our lives. Simulated "rain" is not the same as real. We can try to simulate a downpour from heaven, but only a real one will produce the effect wanted. We can try "sprinklers", but what we really want is for the sky to open up and rain down. And THAT only happens when we repent and return.
So, I was on my way to a pool part last week and praying through all these things. NOT wanting simulated rain. NOT wanting to turn my sprinklers on and just asking the Lord to send a deluge of rain. About an hour into the party, the clouds began to brew and before we could leave and get home....a downpour came. I was telling the boys in the car how gracious the Lord was to answer my prayer, that I had prayed for rain and here it was. Naturally, they were upset that I had prayed for rain when they were going to a pool party. What was I thinking?
Isn't that how many of us think when it comes to asking the Lord to rain down? What if He does? What if He rains down and it ruins our party, our life, our plans, our comfort? What if He rains down and the wind blows and it uproots some things that have been? What if "trees" fall?
Then so be it....if God rains and things are uprooted...then they were not intended to remain. We should never fear the rain, but instead repent and return and cry out for it...so that we can live before Him, press on to know Him, be raised and revived.
But NONE of this will come without the REPENTING AND RETURNING. And NONE of it can be simulated. Everyone will eventually see that simulated won't isn't real-because simulated doesn't last.
If you are finding life dry....pray for rain.....but don't expect any-unless you repent and return. And then wait-don't simulate, because simulated is not the same as real. We don't want sprinklers. We want a deluge of heaven, raining down on us. ALL FOR YOU

altar and plow

Once again, it is getting late. When Jim is gone I burn the midnight oil. I think better at night. And it is quiet. I guess it takes my mind all day to gear up, but once it starts moving...it is hard to gear down. So, here I sit, in the quiet, with my thoughts, dwelling on this phrase that I am falling in love with. NO...it isn't written on my wall...not yet anyway.
I was looking at some Scripture in Acts about the Altar that Paul saw while passing through their town. Inscribed on the altar was 'to an unknown God'. I thought it was quite funny that they would make an altar to an unknown God, as if to say...."in case we missed you....". I have always wondered if people passed through my life, what would they see written on my altar. What would they observe as the object of my worship?
Don't fool yourself. We may think and say that we worship God, but everyone knows what is on our altar and what it is we worship. For some it is an unknown God...a God they don't know, have not experienced and don't really want to let in close. For others, it is an object, an ego, pride or people.
And yet, Christ has called us to place our lives upon His Altar. To sacrifice all. In Fact, Paul reminds us in Romans 12 that our lives are to be offered to God as living sacrifices-as our spiritual service of worship. Consecrated to Him. Our lives are to BE on the altar.
However, for most, as we pass through their lives we can see that they are not on the altar, but instead worshipping at the altar of an "unknown god". Funny...how everyone else sees that when we don't. Deceived....our gods are not really unknown....only to us because we won't admit them. For everyone else passing through sees them.
I want my life to BE on the altar.

The second word is plow. I first started praying over this word as I was studying through Hosea. Hosea 10 talks about breaking up the fallow, hard ground in our lives, for it is time to seek the Lord-until He comes to RAIN righteousness on you. As I have been seeking to sow righteousness, I have also been painfully aware that in order for that to take root and for the rain not to become RUN OFF, that we must break up the hard ground-otherwise the rain comes, but the ground does not absorb it and does not bear fruit-it just runs off. So I have been praying that the Lord would break up/plow up the hard ground. I want to be part of that....I am not asking for the easy way. I don't mind hard work. I don't mind putting my hand on the plow and working the ground so that it is ready for what God wants to do.
There has been a lot of plowing going on. Breaking up and making the ground ready...so that when it does come a deluge...it won't just be run off.
But this week, that thought became even more precious as I read in Luke 9:62 that "No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." Our lives are to be about the Plow as well. Allowing the Lord to break us up, but also being part of those who til the soil. And if we don't do this...we are not fit for the Kingdom. If we are lazy and not willing to be broken. If we are unwilling to do the work necessary to prepare the soil. If we spend our time looking back instead of plowing ahead. We are not fit for the Kingdom of God. NOT MY WORDS....HIS. We are to put our hand to the plow...break it up and not look back...but move forward.
My heart is to be a plow. Allowing the Lord to break up the fallow ground in me, but also tiling the soil and not looking back in the Kingdom.

And then I was thinking the Altar and the Plow go together.
The life of being a living sacrifice doesn't mind being broken nor does it mind working hard to break up what is hard. Our spiritual service of worship is to allow the Lord to break us and then to break up the hard ground. It is to sacrifice and put our hands to the plow and never look back. To conform us to His image and bear much fruit as we sacrifice ourselves and plow up the hard ground.
So I think I might be ready for the Altar AND the Plow....
neither seem like fun....sacrifice, brokenness, Hard work....yet, when it rains-much fruit will come and thus prove that I am His disciple and He will receive much glory.

Altar and Plow....just a thought....ALL FOR YOU

Jim is gone and the house is quiet, now that I have the other two boys in the bed. I spent the bulk of the day at baseball, which is a good thing. I get to spend time with my boys, while redeeming the time...listening to preaching. I listened to all of John MacArthur's sermons on the BeAttitudes. Since we are teaching that in TREEHOUSE right now, I could certainly use the input to help wrap my mind around the truths we are trying to teach and live out before the kids. (5 hours of sermons...my brain is tired...but it is GOOD!)
But that is NOT what this is about. Most of you know I take TONS of pictures. Well, today I had some of them printed and was busy framing and hanging them tonight around my house. But that is NOT what this is about either. Hanging the pictures on the wall got me to thinking about what I want on the walls of my house. Which led me to the WORD of God. Which led me to ONE WORD-which is a Bible study method I have been using lately. Allowing the Lord to focus my heart on ONE WORD, penetrate my heart with that truth and wrap my heart around it so that I can obey. I am finding that a lot of the time I have trouble with ONE WORD. So why move on?
Anyway, I don't want to get bogged down there. Because this isn't about that either. I was thinking about the WORDS that God has been using to pierce my heart and to change me and the way I think. I was thinking about words like; Breathe, Dream, Checed, Yada, Doxa, Run, Canopy, Perhaps, Naked, Free, Roots, Coffee....all things that bring me back to a truth that I am working on. So, I stopped hanging pictures and went to writing words on my walls. Most of you will think that is weird and would never take a paint pen and begin to write on your walls. But for me....well, I am just weird. So, I picked up the pen and began to meditate on the WORD and allowed the Lord to tell me which words to write....Lampo-the Greek Word for Shine. Ruwts-the Hebrew word for Run. There were more, but I won't bore you with my list of words.
The point is this....We can hang pictures on our walls, but the heart of the Father is that His Word be written on our hearts. So, instead of JUST hanging pictures on the walls, I want a daily reminder of the WORDS HE is writing on my heart. I don't want the Word to just be a picture that is on my wall. I want it to pierce my heart and to get into my bones. I want to bleed it when someone bumps into me and I want it to be the natural exhale of every breath. So, my office is slowly becoming a place full of Words. You may walk in and think....what was she thinking. But to me...those Words....HIS WORDS...they are life to me.
For I do not want the Word written only on my walls. I want it written on my heart.

Exod 34:27 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel."

So tonight, I guess I was just wondering if there might be ONE WORD....that you could write on your wall as a result of HIM writing it on your heart. You don't have to take out a pen, but I was just wondering....in all of us....if we had to write ONE WORD-that explained what God was teaching or doing in you in your heart-would you know what to write on your wall? ALL FOR YOU

a picture says it all...

tracks

While running on the beach one morning during the Beach trip with the youth, I heard the Father whisper into my ear. Some of you may think that is weird, but the Word says that the sheep KNOW HIS VOICE. The Voice was clear and simple. I had been running down the beach, being careful not to get my shoes wet. I don't like sand and wasn't too thrilled about the fact that it was slowly filling up my shoes. Still....I ran. And it was in that moment, I heard the Voice whisper in my ear.
Later in the week, I had the chance to share with the students what the Lord had said to me on the beach. It was obvious that it was the Voice of God because the students immediately latched onto the phrase that was given and began to "run" with it.
What did He say? "Let's Make Tracks!" Not a phrase I would typically use, but on the beach as I watched the footprints of those in front of me wash away and thought about the ones that I was laying down as I ran, the Lord gave me a phrase and word picture of what our calling is to be. We MUST be a people that are running with the Father and leaving tracks for those who come behind. God's Voice to me was "Christy, Let's Make Tracks....run after me and leave tracks for those who are coming behind." And then, I realized that the world was quickly coming behind me and erasing what I had laid. Whether it was the surf or others who were messing up my tracks with their own, the tracks that I lay are in danger.
So, how do I fix that? I make sure that those who are following my tracks are following close enough that they don't miss the tracks that have been laid and end up following another course. I make sure that those who are following are laying tracks as well, so that the consistency of what has been laid continues. I make sure that those who come behind are faithful to follow and make tracks as well.

There is also a different interpretation of the "let's make tracks" thought....for many, that phrase is something that is used to say..."Come on, let's get moving, let's go!" The cool thing about when God speaks-all meanings apply. Come on...let's go, let's get moving and Make some Tracks. Let's lay some tracks that can be followed and let's follow so closely that we don't have to worry about the world wiping away what we lay down.

This week....Let's Make TRACKS!

PS....check out the pics....all about laying tracks, where we walk and the putting feet to what the Lord has said. COME ON LET'S GO! ALL FOR YOU

bleeding

The woman who had hemorrhaged for 12 years and could be healed by no one came at touched the fringe of His garment, wanting to be healed. Her faith was amazing....believing that she only needed a touch of his garment. And she was right, she was immediately healed. It has always amazed me that Jesus stopped everything to identify who touched him. Naturally, He is God...He knew who. He wasn't looking for her or wondering who she was. He knew...all along. And yet, He asked the question, "who is the one who touched me?" The disciples thought this preposterous. People were pressed all around, many touching Him. But only ONE received the power of healing from the touch. Not because she spoke and asked. Not because she cried out. But because of her faith. She merely just wanted a TOUCH of His garment for she knew it held the power she longed for.
When the woman saw that she had not escaped notice and that Jesus knew what had happened, (which is funny to me-she had to realize that she couldn't sneak up and get something from God. And that if He could heal her, He could identify her.) that she came trembling and fell down before Him, declaring in the presence of all the people the reason why she had touched Him and how she had been immediately healed.
Jesus wasn't interested in identifying her. He already knew her. He wasn't interested in finding out why power had gone out of Him. He already knew why. He was interested in her DECLARING in the presence of ALL the people what the LORD had done. He wanted the glory among ALL the people, not in secret. She came and bowed low, trembling and worshipping Him and He was able to show even more grace and compassion and receive even greater glory.
I am just like this woman. Knowing that all I need is a touch of His garment, coming in secret amid the crowd. And yet, His desire is that we would not try to "get" His power in secret, but declare among ALL the people the need and how He meets it. He does not want us to hide in the crowd, but to declare amongst everyone, worship at His feet in front of everyone and fall down before Him in front of everyone.
Her faith made her whole, because her faith was GREAT....a touch of the fringe of His garment. But He doesn't leave it at the healing or at making her whole. He wants it declared among the people.

Isa 43:21 "The people whom I formed for myself, will declare My praise.

Every thing in our lives is an opportunity to touch the fringe of His garment and declare His praise among the people. We can not hide in the crowd but MUST come before the crowd and make His praise glorious.
Ps 66:2 Sing the glory of His name; make His praise glorious.
ALL FOR YOU

Random thoughts on sharing life

If Jesus brought the Father glory by accomplishing the work which He had been given to do in reproducing Himself in the life of the disciples....If Jesus realized that all He had been given to the Father HAD to be passed on to those He was entrusted with-given by the Father.....and if Jesus lives in me-I am dead-He lives, then we have been given the same work to do-to glorify God by being sure that we accomplish the work given in reproducing Jesus in the lives of those the Lord has entrusted to us.
God has given us people, not just ministry and our lives MUST be given to pour LIFE into a few. Jesus staked everything on a few. He risked His Father's glory, fame and message on a FEW. (it wasn't really a risk, but you know what I mean.) He put all He had to offer in a few, knowing that it would mass reproduce. He was willing to stake everything, His Kingdom, heaven and His Father's fame on a few. His whole work depended upon what He did with the 12, particularly 3. His whole ministry would have either succeeded or failed based on what He did in those lives. And IF He lives in us....the same methodology and the same truths remain. What if we looked at people that way? as if the whole success of the Kingdom was based on what we did with what we had been given? ( I realize the Father does the work in us...but again..you know what I mean?)
What does it take to think and live like this? TIME....that is all it takes. Not money, not technology, not programs, but Time spent with the Father so that we have something to pour out and time spent with people, to pour out on. God gets glory when we see others through to completion. We MUST continue to flesh out the Word=which is life, to pour it onto people. We were all created to bring glory to God, by Christ living IN/thru us. So, What was Christ doing that He still wants to do in and through me? Reproduce disciples by pouring LIFE onto a few-.
How often are we lazy slaves with the people we have been entrusted? The disciples were God's gift to the Son and the Son's gift to the Father. God has given us people and our gift back to Him is to give back disciples that we have poured everything we had into. People are a gift to us! But most of the time we view them as a burden. That SO needs to change.
We are very quick to share with people what they should DO...and yet, we need to spend more time sharing who they should know. We are to SHARE LIFE-share JESUS, share the WORD. For Jesus is life and the Word. So How do we share Jesus and the Word....by SHARING LIFE.
When Jesus came He came that we might have LIFE TOGETHER....both I in Him and He in me, but me in you and you in me. That WE may be One as the Father is ONE with the Son. How does this happen? Sharing LIFE together. For it is the only way we KNOW one another-that intimate faith. It is relationship in the daily, in the moments. It is the OVERFLOW-what's on our hearts and minds will flow out of our mouths-we will talk about and to the ones we Love-both God and one another.
If the Word is indeed our life and it is not an IDLE Word....then Life together looks like talking about Jesus and His Word in the daily everyday moments of life. If this is NOT happening-Is He our Life? We can't share what is not ours. We should bleed Jesus and His Word. Not works, not programs, not service-but HIM. Jesus' ministry was talking about the Father and glorifying Him by laying down His life for others and investing in 12. What if we began to think like this? Everything Jesus had, He passed on to the disciples. And that is what we are to do. We are to pour our lives out for one another as we SHARE LIFE with one another-living LIFE TOGETHER....for LIFE IS CHRIST and CHRIST is TOGETHER.
Jesus did not say to live life so that Christ is seen in US alone...He said live life so that it is seen in others. God is glorified in THEM-the disciples. What if we began to view success based on not only our own walks but in making sure that the others make it to completion? What if the few became our dream so that Christ recieved glory? Would we be willing to STAKE Everything ON ONE....other than us....making it to completion in Christ. If everyone had ONE who was living life to make sure they made it....we would all succeed.

I guess the thought that is piercing me today is that our intention in life can not be independent but must be staked on sharing LIFE TOGETHER so that He gets glory, disciples are made and the bleed reproduces. The enemy will stand against this, but God's plan is clear. SHARING LIFE TOGETHER is what reproduces disciples. It is not idle life....or idle words, it is indeed our LIFE......
ALL FOR YOU

yawn or yearn

Have you ever passed Yawn gas? You know, when you yawn and then the person next to you yawn's because you did. In fact, you may have just yawned right now thinking about it. Wouldn't that be funny?
Yawning has always been a sign of being tired or perhaps bored. And yet, the Father has called us to run after Him, to follow after Him, to YEARN for Him. However, most of what is seen in us is yawning, not yearning. No wonder the world is not interested in what we have. We look bored and tired of it.
We are such a spoiled people. We have the BEST of the best. We have everything we could dream of available to us. The best music, the best preaching, the best of relationships. We have the best technology, the best air conditioning, cars and houses. We have sung the greatest of earthly responses to the Lord and heard the most well spoken sermons. We have had available to us the Word of God and people to explain to us how to study it. We have had the presence of ALMIGHTY GOD all around us, Living IN US and longing to draw us closer. Yet, all we can do is Yawn instead of Yearn.
Instead of Yearning for His presence, responding to His greatness so the world may see and basking in the blessings of all that He has given to draw us to Him, we Yawn. We stand in our services and act as though the treasure we have received is just another on a list of spoils we have retained. I had someone tell me in the last couple weeks that we just look dead-and that can't be all we have to offer the God of the universe. I CONCUR!
We are spoiled rotten. We are selfish and we are calloused to the truth. We yawn instead of yearn. Which makes me question whether we see and know God. Isaiah 40 says Have you not seen, have you not heard that the Everlasting God of the universe, the Creator, the Lord does not become weary or tired. His understanding is inscrutable. He gives strength to the weary and to Him who lacks might He increases power. How do we become bored with such a God? How is it that we grow tired of whispering His name, serving His Kingdom and expressing His worth? How is it that we don't long to lavish our love and worship upon Him with each passing breath? Because we don't yearn for Him. We stand in our churches and yawn, waiting for the service to be over instead of yearning for His presence to fall in such a way that we don't want to leave.
Why is it that we don't? We are spoiled. But it is also evidence that we are not IN LOVE with Him. Our hearts are not fully given to Him. We have been taken captive by the things and pleasures of this world. And so we look at Jesus and yawn while we yearn for time on the boat, at a football game or by the pool. We don't have to be taken captive and put into slavery by another country. We are already there. We are held captive by the things of this world that have stolen our love and affection, causing us to yawn instead of yearn.
Eph 5 says it this way, "Awake O sleeper and arise from the dead and Christ will shine on you."
Stop yawning and wake up. Yearn for Him and He will shine on You. And quit passing the YAWN GAS! ALL FOR YOU

cost of following?

The cost of Following Christ seems so high. While we all want to receive what God offers, few of us long to Follow In what He requires. And somehow, in the dichotomy of thinking, we have divorced the idea of Following Christ from being a Christian. Another words, we want the grace without the obedience. We want to accept and not follow. We want what we want without the cost.
I know most of you would disagree and say that you are a Christian AND you are Following Christ. However, let me challenge you to look at the Followers of Christ in the Bible. Just take a few minutes and look at the lives of the Disciples, of Paul and the countless others that the Word calls Followers of Christ. And then look around and see how many people we see in our churches living like that. I am SO convicted when I look at the Word and measure my life against it. Haven't you ever looked at the Bible and then at the lives of American Christians and thought.....could we all have missed it-because what I see looks nothing like what is described in the Word? In fact, my heart aches as I look around and see that is in this Book is Nothing like what I see being lived out around me. And it has challenged me to take a fresh look at my life and begin to count the cost of being a Follower of Christ.... and to ask what does that REALLY look like. I am finding that I must REPENT-change the way I think about Following and the cost of it.
In fact, when we start talking about the cost of discipleship, the cost of following Christ-it just seems too high. Honestly, it just seems like what it will cost me and what I get...just doesn't measure up. After all, I can accept God's grace, live as I want-doing a few good things and coming to church along the way and still get into heaven, right? Is that why Christ died? So that we could live as we want, but still get in? Did He really die so that God could have a people that Followed Him with a half hearted commitment and mediocre love? So, why should I pay the price of Following Him in ALL, when I can still get in if I don't. I mean...He will forgive me of all my sins, if I confess? MAY IT NEVER BE. That is what Paul said. (Romans 6) What crazy thinking! The dichotomy of being a Christian and a Follower is NOT Biblical.
But we still think this way. The cost is too high. Let me give you an example of this thinking. We will spend thousands of dollars on vacation. We will rise early to work out or to go hunting. We will take days off work to enjoy our latest recreational activity. We will forgo time with our family for work. We will mark out time for relationships that we enjoy. But do we do ANY of these things in order to be a better Follower of Christ? Will we spend thousands on time away that will advance our Spiritual journey? Will we rise early to spend time in the Word, make it to a prayer or accountablity small group? Will we take days off of work to attend a conference that will point our hearts towards the throne? Will we forgo time with our families in order to see the Kingdom of God advance? Will we mark out days at a time to spend searching out the things of God? So, tell me again...what is it we value?
You see, maybe it isn't that the cost of discipleship is so high. Maybe it is that we don't value it enough. Maybe, it is that we value other things more highly and thus are willing to sacrifice for them. If we were offered a thousand dollars a verse to memorize Scripture, we would certainly start memorizing like crazy. All of us would TRY. But why does it take that kind of motivation to make us strive to place the Word inside of us? Could it be that we value money more than the Word. That we see the value in memorizing Scripture when we are being PAID for it? Our thought...."we are actually getting something out of it." But aren't we getting something out of it regardless?
The cost of Following is high. But the truth is, we aren't willing to pay it. And so the question begs....are you truly a follower if you aren't willing to pay the price it costs to be one?
A though crossed my desk this week that has sent me reeling into thought about these things.
"the cost of Following Christ is high. But isn't the cost of NOT Following higher?"
It may cost us to Follow Christ. It may cost us our family time, our rec time, our dreams, our vacations, money and much more. But what is the cost if we don't Follow Him? Isn't that cost higher than if we do?
Count the cost....your choices determine your future.ALL FOR YOU