Friday, August 28, 2015
Wrestling God.
I wish I could say that wrestling with the decision of "shall I stay or shall I go" with our church started after we moved, but I'd be lying. The thoughts have been rolling around in my heart and brain and keeping me awake late night for nearly a year now or at least since the first time the elders announced that our church was at risk of closing it's doors. Nearly every leaders meeting after was about how to "save the church". This wrestling match has gotten more intense since we've moved, but really, it feels like the worlds longest WWE Monday Night RAW Smack Down World Championship Belt match.
I have not felt full peace about staying. I'm sure a lot of it has had to do with feeling burnt out as the women's ministry "leader". Maybe it was feeling like our church was lacking stability. Was the offering enough? Would we be open next month? I started feeling like we were all just sitting around waiting for someone to say "okay we're done". That sort of inconsistency was draining. Or that we are now living an hour away and getting up and everyone fed dressed and out the door so early has proven itself far more difficult than we'd anticipated. I didn't want to leave just because I'm not a morning person.
While I didn't feel great about staying, I felt totally worse about leaving. I knew God had me there in my "role" for a reason, and I wanted very much to obey Him. Not only that but these people are our family. We have been part of this family for 6 years now. We have been through so much, for better and for worse. Births, Death, Marriages, Divorces, Healing physically and spiritually....I truly feel like we've seen it all within our little community. I couldn't bear to leave that. Mainly for fear that we'd lose touch and probably see very little if any of our friends again. Life happens after all. I wasn't willing to let go. So I didn't.
We remained white-knuckled tight to our church. Transitioning from a 15 minute commute to an hour commute every Sunday morning, and it sucked, but we persevered. There were some weekends this summer however that we didn't make it. It's summer time after all. We signed up for VBS (because what is summertime without a little church hopping and getting rid of your kids for a few hours every day for a whole week!). Naturally that included a visit to the church, you know, to make sure they weren't going to teach our kids to bite the heads off chickens while dancing in the isles with snakes or anything else weird. We also had "vacation-y" weekends and even a weekend where we chose to stay home and install a split-rail fence... by our selves...on what had to have been the hottest weekend of the year (that was a fun ride that left bruises all over my legs, sunburns everywhere else and sore muscles in places I forgot existed, but that's a whole different story).
We were, however, not committed to leaving. I continued my restless nights of debating in my heart what God was leading us to do. We felt pulled toward our new community. God has been good to us with providing, not only a wonderful amazing neighborhood and school, but also friendly Christian neighbors, right next door, with kids our kids ages who seemed to connect at first meeting and spent the whole summer trading houses, running through sprinklers and dancing in the isles (in a good way) at VBS getting so excited about the Good News of Jesus, and having sleepovers. What a blessing!
There was still a nagging tug at my heartstrings to stay connected to our church. We'd promised everyone we weren't going anywhere just because we moved. There are two other families in our church from our (new) area. If they could commute, we could. I was committed to ministry duties. Oh God help me figure out what to do here!
This last Sunday, while we were "staycationing" with Adam's parents, and missing church, they announced that at the end of September, Beacon Hill Church was closing it's doors. Forever.
I didn't know until Wednesday when I received an e-mail from our pastor about it. I was a bit shocked, but at the same time, I knew it was coming. It was a matter of time, but I knew it was going to happen. My heart filled with emotions.
Relief. I was relieved because now I don't have to wrestle with this decision about staying or going. God literally closed those doors for us. Relieved that I didn't have to try to decide what to do with the women's ministry this fall. I truly got burned out. I had nothing left to offer these women. There was Peace too.
Sad. Sad that the answer for us was to shut the doors. I didn't pray for that, though we probably wouldn't have left otherwise. The burden of guilt over leaving was too heavy, we'd rather stay.
Disappointed. I feel like God shut our doors, not because we didn't have money, or attendance...but simply because we were disobedient. We are called to be active in our communities. What kind of footprint did we leave? I honestly don't believe the community around our church will even notice we're gone. The church we were renting space from will notice. The members of Beacon Hill...obviously. But the surrounding community?? Probably not. We simply were not active. Tim did an amazing job discipling us, but when it came time to send us out, we simply disobeyed. The church became a "safe place" that we went to to see our friends and fellowship together. There was no outreach. There was no serving our community. Not as a church anyway. Just huddling up in our cozy little comfort zones and simply not listening to God calling us out. So...what should we expect to happen? How disappointed I am in myself for not listening to what God had been screaming in my heart. "GO! Be in your community! Do MY work! Connect with these people!"
Looking back I see how much time I wasted wrestling in the night, praying over and over and over, and feeling so frustrated with our church and ready to just "be done" and "move on". I was so restless in my fight to stay idle. How stupid of me, and how frustrating for God.
I clearly see it now. God wants us here. In our own backyard. We have a challenge ahead of us in looking for a new church to call home. I have a good start though with the two churches we visited over the summer (no snakes or headless chickens!). I feel like we can visit them again without feeling like we are being disloyal to our Beacon Hill family. We can go with a different perspective, a different set of eyes. Open hearts.
I am excited about this next step. I can't wait to see where we are planted. Adam has a heart for youth ministry. I have a heart for women's ministry. Maybe it's something completely different! Or maybe God just wants us to be bench warmers, to get our hearts right, to get a clearer picture of what He has in mind for us and getting connected with HIM. Either way, I am tapping out and ready to (really) listen and obey.
Sunday, January 4, 2015
Being a Woman of God - Doing Womanhood well
I recently was able to attend Beth Moore's "Living Proof" simulcast. Ok...more like 4 months ago...but that's still pretty recent, right?
It was such a great message, I keep finding myself revisiting the notes I took and soaking in the wisdom she shared. So I thought, Why not share it with you?
Her message was a 7 point message....what I'm going to do is share my notes and try my best to share her message with you, through my own words (so it may not actually be a 7 point message). Hopefully I will be able to communicate some of these fine points almost as well as she did. Consider this my "disclaimer" that these ideas were not my own... I wish I had this kind of wisdom to share. Maybe some day I will reach a point in my spiritual maturity to share original thoughts that will motivate and touch other womens lives as Beth Moore has done.
At any rate...here we go:
Being a Woman of God- Doing Womanhood Well
We are one gathering of many women yearning for God to speak.
In Acts 16:6-15 we see this picture of Paul and Silas traveling through Galatia. The Holy Spirit had prevented them from stopping and talking to people...kind of like a "nope...not yet...keep going..." kind of thing. They knew they were traveling to spread the Gospel. Paul has a vision to go to Macedonia. Knowing it was God leading him to share the gospel there...he obeyed and they went...
Here we're going to pick up in vs 13...and we learn about the FIRST European convert:
"On the Sabbath we went a little way outside the city to a riverbank, where we thought people would be meeting for prayer, and we sat down to speak with some women who had gathered there. 14 One of them was Lydia from Thyatira, a merchant of expensive purple cloth, who worshiped God. As she listened to us, the Lord opened her heart, and she accepted what Paul was saying. 15 She and her household were baptized, and she asked us to be her guests. “If you agree that I am a true believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my home.” And she urged us until we agreed."It's significant that the first convert was a woman, and that the Holy Spirit kept Paul from spreading the good news until they came to this gathering of Women. We are valued.
I feel like we are meant to gather together. We, as women are supposed to come together and be women of God and seek Him out!
Jesus changes the story of EVERY woman he meets!
In the New Testament, every kind of woman is represented at one point or another...rich, poor, healthy, ill, mother, daughter, married, single, widowed, prostitutes...every kind.
In all their differences, they had 2 things in common.
1. they met Jesus
2. He changed them...they were never the same again.
This shows us that it is IMPOSSIBLE for me (and YOU) to not qualify to have an encounter with Christ.
Luke 1:45 (NIV)
" Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”
Every time you step into Gods word..."Blessed is she who believes"
Acts 1:24 - "Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen."
Jesus is the "heart knower"
He knows our hearts... Everything I am feeling, what I'm going through...he already knows...he KNOWS me!
Isaiah 61:1
The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
We all go through moments in our lives when we are just hurt, and are broken. It's okay to bound up those wounds and allow yourself to heal...but sometimes to heal your bound-hurt heart, you have remove the bandages, open up your heart to Him and trust Him-allow Him to heal you!
T. had to (unexpectedly) get a shot...as any traumatized three year old would, he put that band aid on and didn't take it off for a week...as a result, because he was so busy protecting his arm and holding onto that hurt, the band aid caused a rash and irritated the skin around the area he got the little prick for his shot. He needed to unbound that "wound" and let it breathe and be healed. Keeping it bound did him more harm.
Jesus Wants Women to Know WHO She IS and What She is NOT.
Our circumstances and hurts do not define us. Just because I am feeling defeated in a situation, doesn't mean I am defeated, or a failure.
Hold on to the truth of who you are in Christ.
Sometimes a Woman Needs a Clean Sweep to Find What She's Missing.
Luke 15 (Parables of the lost sheep, lost coin, and prodigal son)
Think of something that means a lot to you that you have lost and would like back....
Your virginity? Dignigy? Wishing you were as carefree as you used to be?
Trade your virginity for purity - they are not the same thing. Be pure in heart and soul and faith.
Trade your Care-free for Courage!
Your dignity is not something someone can take away! your dignity belongs to Christ!
A Woman's Joy is Not the Same Without Girl Friends to Share It. Tas Philas!
Lets look at the story of the Lost Coin (Luke 15: 8-10)
The woman called her GIRL FRIENDS to celebrate with her over her lost coin being found! (vs 9)
The greek words used in this verse for "friends" is Tas Philas...meaning "GIRL FRIENDS"
I lost the back of M.'s earring for the 3rd or 4th time. This time I'd noticed it while we were in her room and I'd just finished vacuuming. Fantastic. This particular earring back protects her head from being poked by the super sharp earring they'd pierced her ears with. I didn't have a replacement for it. I searched everywhere. I even dumped the dustbin from the vacuum to sift through the nastiness I'd just vacuumed up. It wasn't until the next day when (ironically) I was sweeping the floor in the living room getting ready to vacuum that I happened to find it right there among the cheerios and crayons! What are the odds of finding this little tiny earring back? You'd have to see my cluttered dusty floor to really get the picture of what a miracle it was! I jumped for joy! Literally Like a nutball, doing a little dance singing "Praise Jesus I found it!". I almost called my best friend over it! almost. I wanted to share the joy in finding it! of course I didn't call her because I stopped myself thinking it was too silly to call her over such a simple thing. I missed out on that shared joy! I later told her about this and she still got excited and said "you totally should have called me! I would have danced with you!"
The point in this is that we are wired...uniquely created!!... to share our joy with our sisters. We need our girlfriends!
In these current technology saturated days with social media, emails and texting, we have so many contacts and so few connections (comrades).
We are not connecting the dots between our joy deficit and our friend deficit. there is a direct correlation between joy and friends to share it with!
Joy is Not complete unless it is shared!
Philippians 2:2 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.
1 John 1:3-4 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We write this to make our[a] joy complete.
2 John 1:12 12 I have much to write to you, but I do not want to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to visit you and talk with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete.
Posting our Joy on Facebook and Twitter is not the same as meeting with our friends face to face and sharing our joy.
So why do we have a hard time doing this? Why do we not come together and share our joy and support each other?
We are threatened by other women. we are allowing ourselves to fall into this pattern of competing against eachother, comparing ourselves to other women feeding our insecurities...
insecurity pokes a hole in your heart!
STOP COMPETING! STOP COMPARING! JUST STOP. IT. NOW!
hypersensitivity is poisoning our friendships!
STOP IT!
Christ our savior is BIGGER than any of our insecurities!
Proverbs 24:17
17 "Do not gloat when your enemy falls;
when they stumble, do not let your heart rejoice,"
We need to fight FOR one another. Together, not against each other.
Philippians 1:27 -" 27 Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit,[a] striving together as one for the faith of the gospel"
Every Woman is Well Able to Share How Jesus is Changing Her Story
2 Timothy 3:16-17
"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God[a] may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."
While it is true that we can be saved through His word alone, it doesn't stop there.
For you to be equipped to be a Woman of God, you have to be in His Word and have a relationship with Him.
You are commissioned here and now. Don't wait for that specific moment to come to you to serve. serve now..wherever you are in life. Serve God Now!
When you encounter Jesus, it doesn't matter who you are, what you've done, where you've been, what you're going through now or what you've gone through in the past. You are woman enough! You are woman enough to be touched by God, be used by God, to serve Him.
Would you believe God for a miricle? For Him to reach down in you and grab your strongholds?
Are you a woman of God? Can people see it?
RESPOND!
I am not here to just receive, I am here to respond to what He is calling me to do!
Look back Lydia in Acts...The Lord opened her heart to respond! There's a difference between hearing and responding...she responded!
Jeremiah 7:24-
24 But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts. They went backward and not forward.
We can either pay attention - RESPOND- and move forward in our lives, or we can move backward!
What will you do with what God does today?
It was such a great message, I keep finding myself revisiting the notes I took and soaking in the wisdom she shared. So I thought, Why not share it with you?
Her message was a 7 point message....what I'm going to do is share my notes and try my best to share her message with you, through my own words (so it may not actually be a 7 point message). Hopefully I will be able to communicate some of these fine points almost as well as she did. Consider this my "disclaimer" that these ideas were not my own... I wish I had this kind of wisdom to share. Maybe some day I will reach a point in my spiritual maturity to share original thoughts that will motivate and touch other womens lives as Beth Moore has done.
At any rate...here we go:
Being a Woman of God- Doing Womanhood Well
We are one gathering of many women yearning for God to speak.
In Acts 16:6-15 we see this picture of Paul and Silas traveling through Galatia. The Holy Spirit had prevented them from stopping and talking to people...kind of like a "nope...not yet...keep going..." kind of thing. They knew they were traveling to spread the Gospel. Paul has a vision to go to Macedonia. Knowing it was God leading him to share the gospel there...he obeyed and they went...
Here we're going to pick up in vs 13...and we learn about the FIRST European convert:
"On the Sabbath we went a little way outside the city to a riverbank, where we thought people would be meeting for prayer, and we sat down to speak with some women who had gathered there. 14 One of them was Lydia from Thyatira, a merchant of expensive purple cloth, who worshiped God. As she listened to us, the Lord opened her heart, and she accepted what Paul was saying. 15 She and her household were baptized, and she asked us to be her guests. “If you agree that I am a true believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my home.” And she urged us until we agreed."It's significant that the first convert was a woman, and that the Holy Spirit kept Paul from spreading the good news until they came to this gathering of Women. We are valued.
I feel like we are meant to gather together. We, as women are supposed to come together and be women of God and seek Him out!
Jesus changes the story of EVERY woman he meets!
In the New Testament, every kind of woman is represented at one point or another...rich, poor, healthy, ill, mother, daughter, married, single, widowed, prostitutes...every kind.
1. they met Jesus
2. He changed them...they were never the same again.
This shows us that it is IMPOSSIBLE for me (and YOU) to not qualify to have an encounter with Christ.
Luke 1:45 (NIV)
" Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!”
Every time you step into Gods word..."Blessed is she who believes"
Acts 1:24 - "Then they prayed, “Lord, you know everyone’s heart. Show us which of these two you have chosen."
Jesus is the "heart knower"
He knows our hearts... Everything I am feeling, what I'm going through...he already knows...he KNOWS me!
Isaiah 61:1
The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
because the Lord has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,
We all go through moments in our lives when we are just hurt, and are broken. It's okay to bound up those wounds and allow yourself to heal...but sometimes to heal your bound-hurt heart, you have remove the bandages, open up your heart to Him and trust Him-allow Him to heal you!
T. had to (unexpectedly) get a shot...as any traumatized three year old would, he put that band aid on and didn't take it off for a week...as a result, because he was so busy protecting his arm and holding onto that hurt, the band aid caused a rash and irritated the skin around the area he got the little prick for his shot. He needed to unbound that "wound" and let it breathe and be healed. Keeping it bound did him more harm.
Jesus Wants Women to Know WHO She IS and What She is NOT.
Our circumstances and hurts do not define us. Just because I am feeling defeated in a situation, doesn't mean I am defeated, or a failure.
Hold on to the truth of who you are in Christ.
Sometimes a Woman Needs a Clean Sweep to Find What She's Missing.
Luke 15 (Parables of the lost sheep, lost coin, and prodigal son)
Think of something that means a lot to you that you have lost and would like back....
Your virginity? Dignigy? Wishing you were as carefree as you used to be?
Trade your virginity for purity - they are not the same thing. Be pure in heart and soul and faith.
Trade your Care-free for Courage!
Your dignity is not something someone can take away! your dignity belongs to Christ!
Or maybe you fall into this category: I'm missing something but I don't know what. With the noise and clutter in life, I can't tell what it is.
There comes a time when you just have to sweep it away so God can get to you. Sweep and you shall find!
A Woman's Joy is Not the Same Without Girl Friends to Share It. Tas Philas!
Lets look at the story of the Lost Coin (Luke 15: 8-10)
The woman called her GIRL FRIENDS to celebrate with her over her lost coin being found! (vs 9)
The greek words used in this verse for "friends" is Tas Philas...meaning "GIRL FRIENDS"
I lost the back of M.'s earring for the 3rd or 4th time. This time I'd noticed it while we were in her room and I'd just finished vacuuming. Fantastic. This particular earring back protects her head from being poked by the super sharp earring they'd pierced her ears with. I didn't have a replacement for it. I searched everywhere. I even dumped the dustbin from the vacuum to sift through the nastiness I'd just vacuumed up. It wasn't until the next day when (ironically) I was sweeping the floor in the living room getting ready to vacuum that I happened to find it right there among the cheerios and crayons! What are the odds of finding this little tiny earring back? You'd have to see my cluttered dusty floor to really get the picture of what a miracle it was! I jumped for joy! Literally Like a nutball, doing a little dance singing "Praise Jesus I found it!". I almost called my best friend over it! almost. I wanted to share the joy in finding it! of course I didn't call her because I stopped myself thinking it was too silly to call her over such a simple thing. I missed out on that shared joy! I later told her about this and she still got excited and said "you totally should have called me! I would have danced with you!"
The point in this is that we are wired...uniquely created!!... to share our joy with our sisters. We need our girlfriends!
In these current technology saturated days with social media, emails and texting, we have so many contacts and so few connections (comrades).
We are not connecting the dots between our joy deficit and our friend deficit. there is a direct correlation between joy and friends to share it with!
Joy is Not complete unless it is shared!
Philippians 2:2 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.
1 John 1:3-4 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4 We write this to make our[a] joy complete.
2 John 1:12 12 I have much to write to you, but I do not want to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to visit you and talk with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete.
Posting our Joy on Facebook and Twitter is not the same as meeting with our friends face to face and sharing our joy.
So why do we have a hard time doing this? Why do we not come together and share our joy and support each other?
We are threatened by other women. we are allowing ourselves to fall into this pattern of competing against eachother, comparing ourselves to other women feeding our insecurities...
insecurity pokes a hole in your heart!
STOP COMPETING! STOP COMPARING! JUST STOP. IT. NOW!
hypersensitivity is poisoning our friendships!
STOP IT!
Christ our savior is BIGGER than any of our insecurities!
Proverbs 24:17
17 "Do not gloat when your enemy falls;
when they stumble, do not let your heart rejoice,"
We need to fight FOR one another. Together, not against each other.
Philippians 1:27 -" 27 Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit,[a] striving together as one for the faith of the gospel"
Every Woman is Well Able to Share How Jesus is Changing Her Story
2 Timothy 3:16-17
"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God[a] may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."
While it is true that we can be saved through His word alone, it doesn't stop there.
For you to be equipped to be a Woman of God, you have to be in His Word and have a relationship with Him.
You are commissioned here and now. Don't wait for that specific moment to come to you to serve. serve now..wherever you are in life. Serve God Now!
When you encounter Jesus, it doesn't matter who you are, what you've done, where you've been, what you're going through now or what you've gone through in the past. You are woman enough! You are woman enough to be touched by God, be used by God, to serve Him.
Would you believe God for a miricle? For Him to reach down in you and grab your strongholds?
Are you a woman of God? Can people see it?
RESPOND!
I am not here to just receive, I am here to respond to what He is calling me to do!
Look back Lydia in Acts...The Lord opened her heart to respond! There's a difference between hearing and responding...she responded!
Jeremiah 7:24-
24 But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts. They went backward and not forward.
We can either pay attention - RESPOND- and move forward in our lives, or we can move backward!
What will you do with what God does today?
Wednesday, November 19, 2014
Fighting through Gods calling...
As I have pursued what I feel is God's calling for the Women's Ministry at church I have been subject to many challenges.
From disappointment when events I've poured myself into fail, or don't meet expectation, to feeling like reaching the women in our congregation is nearly impossible, doubting my own leadership skills and visions for our church ministry. Questioning decisions because "Is this what God wants? or is this something I want? what are my motives?"
After making efforts to find out what the women are looking for, and their availability, then establishing a night for a bible study. taking the leap to set it in motion. committing to a night, time and study, to have little to no response form the women...I am overwhelmed with discouragement. I m guaranteed to have some sort of battle happen all day on the day of any event...yes even bible study nights...every week... The kids act up, we're all emotional for no reason at all, patience doesn't exist in anyone's heart and peace is nowhere near our hearts and home. Adam and I argue over something silly minutes before I walk out the door. Dinner runs late, there's no gas in the car...
If it is not that, it is an unexpected "event" on the way to or from study. I make the wrong turn on my way to pick someone up and end up with 3 mile detour...one week I found myself calling 911 for a man I nearly ran over in the gas station parking lot because he'd been shot and needed help so he walked in front of my car to get my attention...
My computer that holds ALL of my women's ministry work...crashed. Hard drive is fried and all of my work, studies I have invested time and money into, contact lists, surveys...everything. gone.
There are days when I get a glimpse of the budding fruit from these efforts. Seeing God working in tiny ways be it through a conversation, a change of heart, or a breakthrough from a struggle. An encouraging email or phone call saying "you're doing great! I am seeing the difference...don't stop!"
I have no doubt that this is what I should be doing. The battles I face weekly are proof of that. If I wasn't doing Gods work, I wouldn't be having all of these adventures and facing all of these challenges.
I am ready this week for the fight. I am ready to not allow Satan to have a strong hold. Because I am ready, I am going to have to fight harder, because he will try harder to break me.
Even as I type this...my boys are fighting. Peace in my home. Lord give me peace in my home, in my heart, in their hearts.
From disappointment when events I've poured myself into fail, or don't meet expectation, to feeling like reaching the women in our congregation is nearly impossible, doubting my own leadership skills and visions for our church ministry. Questioning decisions because "Is this what God wants? or is this something I want? what are my motives?"
After making efforts to find out what the women are looking for, and their availability, then establishing a night for a bible study. taking the leap to set it in motion. committing to a night, time and study, to have little to no response form the women...I am overwhelmed with discouragement. I m guaranteed to have some sort of battle happen all day on the day of any event...yes even bible study nights...every week... The kids act up, we're all emotional for no reason at all, patience doesn't exist in anyone's heart and peace is nowhere near our hearts and home. Adam and I argue over something silly minutes before I walk out the door. Dinner runs late, there's no gas in the car...
If it is not that, it is an unexpected "event" on the way to or from study. I make the wrong turn on my way to pick someone up and end up with 3 mile detour...one week I found myself calling 911 for a man I nearly ran over in the gas station parking lot because he'd been shot and needed help so he walked in front of my car to get my attention...
My computer that holds ALL of my women's ministry work...crashed. Hard drive is fried and all of my work, studies I have invested time and money into, contact lists, surveys...everything. gone.
There are days when I get a glimpse of the budding fruit from these efforts. Seeing God working in tiny ways be it through a conversation, a change of heart, or a breakthrough from a struggle. An encouraging email or phone call saying "you're doing great! I am seeing the difference...don't stop!"
I have no doubt that this is what I should be doing. The battles I face weekly are proof of that. If I wasn't doing Gods work, I wouldn't be having all of these adventures and facing all of these challenges.
I am ready this week for the fight. I am ready to not allow Satan to have a strong hold. Because I am ready, I am going to have to fight harder, because he will try harder to break me.
Even as I type this...my boys are fighting. Peace in my home. Lord give me peace in my home, in my heart, in their hearts.
Sunday, July 27, 2014
Veggie Tales vs Monty Python
I am a big fan of Veggie Tales! Having 4 other little ones around that share my enthusiasm for Veggie humor we were making references at the table when Adam and I began to see some of the parallels between Monty Python and Veggie Tales. Here are a few. I'm sure there are a lot more, but these stuck out the most.
VS
(VT) The French Peas being Fish Slappers in Jonah
VS
French Peas on the Wall of Jericho....
VS
(VT) Archie Asparagus interrupting Silly Songs "Stop being so Silly!"
VS
(MP) " Stop being so silly and Get On With It"
(VT) The French Peas being Fish Slappers in Jonah
VS
(MP) Fish Slapping skit
French Peas on the Wall of Jericho....
VS
(MP) French Guard in The Holy Grail
This cracked me up a little bit. I like to see where some of the creators of VT might have used scenes as inspirations to add some humor and twists to their versions of bible stories.
I know I'm not the first to see this parallel. Actually I'm about a decade late, but it is funny not to share.
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
Boys At Dinner
I know I am not the only one in the world with boys, so I know that adventures at dinnertime isn't "new". But here's how dinnertime went tonight.
We were eating our family favorite of Fishsticks and Tator Tots (hey, only the best for my kiddos!). This rare delicacy was served with ice cold water. As I sit there across the table from my sweet faced little men, I watch as Titus tries to stuff a tot in his mouth, that is already full of his bright red shirt, while dipping his hand in his water...I just sigh and look down...maybe if I look down at my plate I won't discover if he's fishing for ice or dipping something in his cup. meanwhile, Max is gulping down water with an ornory look in his eye. Abby happily chats and munches away next to me while the light conversation continues. Then I hear it start. Someone learned how to belch. I look over to see this wide eyed-"did you hear that" look on Max's face as he's finishing this belch. It reminded me of that scene in ELF when Will Farrell drinks the 2 liter bottle of coke and then has this epic burp...well maybe not that bad, but the facial expressions were pretty close.
"Max, please don't burp on purpose at the table. It's rude"
"Okay, Mommaaa-aaauuuuurrrrp! ssskeewz me!" He grins his big undeniably cute face at me and burps again. "skewzme"
I glance over at Titus again and he's now stuffing all of his tots and fish in his shirt, like a pocket, completely in his own world. Then picks up his own cup of water and tries to immitate Max's burp. I see it in my near future. We will be having contests for sure. Belching, farting, see how many tots you can shove in your mouth at once, who can make their plate look the most disgusting...and then eat it.
I look at Adam...He just grins at me and says "well they are boys..."
Boys indeed.
We were eating our family favorite of Fishsticks and Tator Tots (hey, only the best for my kiddos!). This rare delicacy was served with ice cold water. As I sit there across the table from my sweet faced little men, I watch as Titus tries to stuff a tot in his mouth, that is already full of his bright red shirt, while dipping his hand in his water...I just sigh and look down...maybe if I look down at my plate I won't discover if he's fishing for ice or dipping something in his cup. meanwhile, Max is gulping down water with an ornory look in his eye. Abby happily chats and munches away next to me while the light conversation continues. Then I hear it start. Someone learned how to belch. I look over to see this wide eyed-"did you hear that" look on Max's face as he's finishing this belch. It reminded me of that scene in ELF when Will Farrell drinks the 2 liter bottle of coke and then has this epic burp...well maybe not that bad, but the facial expressions were pretty close.
"Max, please don't burp on purpose at the table. It's rude"
"Okay, Mommaaa-aaauuuuurrrrp! ssskeewz me!" He grins his big undeniably cute face at me and burps again. "skewzme"
I glance over at Titus again and he's now stuffing all of his tots and fish in his shirt, like a pocket, completely in his own world. Then picks up his own cup of water and tries to immitate Max's burp. I see it in my near future. We will be having contests for sure. Belching, farting, see how many tots you can shove in your mouth at once, who can make their plate look the most disgusting...and then eat it.
I look at Adam...He just grins at me and says "well they are boys..."
Boys indeed.
I Hate Chores
I am one of those people that go from one extreme to the other. I can be either incredibly anal and organized and MUST have it a certain way and will freak out if anyone disrupts the flow and organization of...well everything (my diaper bag and purse, and the cabinet of kids dishes and the bookcases are main ones that I do hold onto. tightly), or I have let it go and am on the verge of a Hoarders episode (unfolded laundry, junk drawers, and *gulp* toys).
Obviously having 4 small children disrupts...well...all of that, so I try to loosen up a little bit and just not worry about it so much...and find myself on the "other end" of the spectrum. Maybe it is that I am busy with the littles that I don't have time to be anal about everything, or it is that I have an honest struggle with laziness. I hear it all the time "you have four kids!" "you are a busy mom", "don't feel like you have to worry so much about your house" and that just feeds the laziness, and I find myself not doing anything, even the basic upkeep of the house, vacuuming, dishes, laundry, then it all piles up and I about lose my mind feeling overwhelmed with "this damn pigsty we live in" ! I have struggled with this for years now. It's enough to send anyone crazy or into a downward spiral.
Well, here I am. Tired of starting an organizational project, to get half way through (with the help of small masters of distraction and destruction) and then being left with more of a mess than I anticipated in the first place and feeling totally buried with no hope of escape.
And oddly enough, no matter how hard I try to "blink it away" like Jeanie or escape it all together by "getting busy" and leaving the house, every time I open my eyes or come home, it is still there waiting for me to put it away and clean it up.
Now you might be reading this and thinking "dang, Bec, just ask for help". My response to that is, if you have kids, I'm not going to ask. The last thing I need is to double the kid count against me while I'm trying to accomplish a task. If you do not have kids, I am assuming you are working. You can't be two places at once. And if you fit somewhere in the middle, chances are I have asked and you just couldn't do it. See where I'm at here?
I do find great comfort in going into other peoples homes when they haven't had the time to clean...call me a weirdo, but it makes me feel like I'm not alone in this messy business of mom-hood. If I walk into a house that has small kids and it's totally clean and decluttered, I hear the lies whispering in my head that I am a failure at my own home. What are they doing? how do they do it? why can't I get off my own butt and do the same in my own home? FAIL!FAIL! FAIL!
I know that's a little extreme. I am also trying to find refuge in Gods word about this. What does the bible say? Of course I am immediately drawn to all of the Proverbs about Laziness, which makes me feel even worse about my struggle with wanting to curl up with my cup of coffee and computer or book (for two or three hours at a time) and avoid the house (and yes, at times, even the kids). and of course the ultimate Proverbs 31 woman. I'd love to meet her, and after slapping her for setting the bar so stinkin' high, I'd like to follow her and see how she does it! Maybe learn a thing or two. (I sense what my next bible study will be). This would be a great time in my life to have a mentor friend that could come and get me motivated and hold me accountable, SHOW me how to get a handle on my house and get into a great routine that would help me get organized. Maybe I will add that to my prayer list.
God send me someone that can help me stay accountable for the daily routine of a stay at home mom, that will teach me the discipline of staying organized and keeping up with a routine, even when it's disrupted. Lord, help me get over my struggle with laziness and to find joy in my daily housekeeping. Help me find contentment in the home I am in until you provide us with the opportunity to own our own home.
Children in Church
I don't know if this is something that happens in most churches, but it seems to be happening in ours and it hits a bit of a nerve.
Lets start with some minor but important facts...
Our church is made up of MOSTLY children. Most of the families have 3+ kids... there are a couple of families just starting out with only one or two kids, but for the most part we're a "go big or go home" kind of group when it comes to the size of our families.
What I love about our church is we all take care of each others kids...you really don't know who belongs to who until we're all getting into our cars/vans to go home...and even then sometimes their all mixed together! Lets just say we've made it a habit to double check our head count and call our kids names. Yes that's right, we've nearly pulled out of the church parking lot a time or two with the right number of kids, but not the "right" ones...or with too many or not enough kids...so yes. we do roll call before we leave. It's a good thing.
What has been happening though is there is a tone or a perceived "feeling" that our children belong across the street in their own classes and just aren't welcome in "big church".
Every fifth Sunday a month (these don't happen very often), we have a "family service" where there is no childcare or childrens church. As a parent, I have a mix of feelings about it. On one hand, I love them going to their own classes, because then I can focus and enjoy my own (uninterrupted) time with God. On the other hand, it's only a few Sundays out of the year and I feel it is so vital for my children to see Adam and I worshiping together and just worshiping together in general as a family is so important to us. It teaches the kids what it means to worship and how to have a relationship with God. It gives them an opportunity to see their parents living out what they talk about at home. I love this time together and actually do look forward to it.
Do these Family Services go cookie-cutter amazing every time? Absolutely not. Our last one was a bit of disaster to be honest. I don't know how it went down for other parents, but in our pew row we had tears over lollipops, tears from being embarrassed, sitting on the floor and crawling under the pews, children suddenly feeling independent and not wanting help with opening that crayon packet (when they clearly need the help) and even had one strip down naked. It was a "memorable experience".
Do I look back and see where we went so very wrong? Yes! I feel like as the parents of these crazy kids, it is our responsibility to keep the disruptions to and absolute minimum.
Here are a few things we need to kindly remind ourselves, both parents on non-parents alike:
For all of us:
1. Our children are part of the Body. Without them we are not complete! It's GOOD for us to unite as one complete body every once and a while.
2. Remember that story in Matthew (and Mark...and Luke), Jesus said "Let the children come to me..."
3. They are children. They are not going to sit perfectly still and be unnoticed.
4. They aren't used to our "grown up" service. I mean really? We don't even get a snack!
5. This doesn't happen every Sunday...or MONTH for that matter!
6. They are our future leaders.
That being said, here are some other reminders for the parents:
1. Sit together. That's the point of the family service.
2. NO kids should be in the front two rows. The last time there were so many disruptions from kids sitting in the front row without their parents. (Kids under the age of 10)
3. Be prepared. If you know little Joey will sit better with a cup of water/juice and some animal crackers. or a notebook and crayons. have that kind of thing ready for him.
4. If it's just too much. It's OKAY! Feel free to excuse yourself with the kiddo. quietly/quickly exiting for a moment to console an upset kid, or go potty is less distracting than letting them just sit there and get louder about it. and speaking of loud...they aren't as loud as you think they are.
5. Have some grace. The people without kids don't fully understand what you're going through trying to keep your young ones quiet. It's okay. They shouldn't. Just do your best.
And we can't leave out the Non-Parents:
1. Sit up front. It's less distracting. You can focus on the message and you won't have little ones turning around saying "HI" a million times during the service.
2. If you chose not to sit toward the front, sit in the middle. leave the isle seats for the families for possible quick get aways.
3.Have some grace. You don't fully understand what the parents go through to keep their young ones content.
4. A lot of thought and effort goes into the planning of the service. We try very hard to reach all generations without being too juvenile about activities and song selection. Be open, don't expect deep soul poking, theological discussions...but don't under estimate what God can do through the simpler message either.
5. Greet them with love. Make them feel welcome!
It's not easy preparing for a family service. On one had we don't want to cater to the kids and water down the message too much, but on the other hand we do want to try to include them as well. The flow will be a little different and there might be some "get up and move" activities happening..but a little change, a little different, is good for us.
We are raising the next generation of Christians...How do you want to see them turn out? Think about the children that have been dedicated to the church, our commitment to help influence and raise them in a positive Christ-like, loving environment. Are we living that out by making them not feel welcome?
Lets start with some minor but important facts...
Our church is made up of MOSTLY children. Most of the families have 3+ kids... there are a couple of families just starting out with only one or two kids, but for the most part we're a "go big or go home" kind of group when it comes to the size of our families.
What I love about our church is we all take care of each others kids...you really don't know who belongs to who until we're all getting into our cars/vans to go home...and even then sometimes their all mixed together! Lets just say we've made it a habit to double check our head count and call our kids names. Yes that's right, we've nearly pulled out of the church parking lot a time or two with the right number of kids, but not the "right" ones...or with too many or not enough kids...so yes. we do roll call before we leave. It's a good thing.
What has been happening though is there is a tone or a perceived "feeling" that our children belong across the street in their own classes and just aren't welcome in "big church".
Every fifth Sunday a month (these don't happen very often), we have a "family service" where there is no childcare or childrens church. As a parent, I have a mix of feelings about it. On one hand, I love them going to their own classes, because then I can focus and enjoy my own (uninterrupted) time with God. On the other hand, it's only a few Sundays out of the year and I feel it is so vital for my children to see Adam and I worshiping together and just worshiping together in general as a family is so important to us. It teaches the kids what it means to worship and how to have a relationship with God. It gives them an opportunity to see their parents living out what they talk about at home. I love this time together and actually do look forward to it.
Do these Family Services go cookie-cutter amazing every time? Absolutely not. Our last one was a bit of disaster to be honest. I don't know how it went down for other parents, but in our pew row we had tears over lollipops, tears from being embarrassed, sitting on the floor and crawling under the pews, children suddenly feeling independent and not wanting help with opening that crayon packet (when they clearly need the help) and even had one strip down naked. It was a "memorable experience".
Do I look back and see where we went so very wrong? Yes! I feel like as the parents of these crazy kids, it is our responsibility to keep the disruptions to and absolute minimum.
Here are a few things we need to kindly remind ourselves, both parents on non-parents alike:
For all of us:
1. Our children are part of the Body. Without them we are not complete! It's GOOD for us to unite as one complete body every once and a while.
2. Remember that story in Matthew (and Mark...and Luke), Jesus said "Let the children come to me..."
3. They are children. They are not going to sit perfectly still and be unnoticed.
4. They aren't used to our "grown up" service. I mean really? We don't even get a snack!
5. This doesn't happen every Sunday...or MONTH for that matter!
6. They are our future leaders.
That being said, here are some other reminders for the parents:
1. Sit together. That's the point of the family service.
2. NO kids should be in the front two rows. The last time there were so many disruptions from kids sitting in the front row without their parents. (Kids under the age of 10)
3. Be prepared. If you know little Joey will sit better with a cup of water/juice and some animal crackers. or a notebook and crayons. have that kind of thing ready for him.
4. If it's just too much. It's OKAY! Feel free to excuse yourself with the kiddo. quietly/quickly exiting for a moment to console an upset kid, or go potty is less distracting than letting them just sit there and get louder about it. and speaking of loud...they aren't as loud as you think they are.
5. Have some grace. The people without kids don't fully understand what you're going through trying to keep your young ones quiet. It's okay. They shouldn't. Just do your best.
And we can't leave out the Non-Parents:
1. Sit up front. It's less distracting. You can focus on the message and you won't have little ones turning around saying "HI" a million times during the service.
2. If you chose not to sit toward the front, sit in the middle. leave the isle seats for the families for possible quick get aways.
3.Have some grace. You don't fully understand what the parents go through to keep their young ones content.
4. A lot of thought and effort goes into the planning of the service. We try very hard to reach all generations without being too juvenile about activities and song selection. Be open, don't expect deep soul poking, theological discussions...but don't under estimate what God can do through the simpler message either.
5. Greet them with love. Make them feel welcome!
It's not easy preparing for a family service. On one had we don't want to cater to the kids and water down the message too much, but on the other hand we do want to try to include them as well. The flow will be a little different and there might be some "get up and move" activities happening..but a little change, a little different, is good for us.
We are raising the next generation of Christians...How do you want to see them turn out? Think about the children that have been dedicated to the church, our commitment to help influence and raise them in a positive Christ-like, loving environment. Are we living that out by making them not feel welcome?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)