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