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