Staying on Course

I hear a lot of talk in the church about recovering the apostolic church, about becoming an Acts 2 church or and Acts 8 church. Clearly the church has changed a lot since the book of Acts was written! Luke, Peter and others would be hard-pressed to recognize the current bride of Christ. I think Paul would send us a pretty harsh letter - maybe an email to be circulated through the faith community.

When I was younger, I used to think Paul needed to lighten up, but the truth is, we could use a few Pauls today. He knew it was critical to guard the integrity of the church. Even so soon after Christ's resurrection, he recognized it wouldn't take much to get us off course.

From boating with my husband, I have learned that I can be driving along, get distracted and fall off course just a few degrees which results in (besides me being yelled at) lost time to correct the course, higher fuel costs and if not corrected will ultimately land us in a different destination.

Same with the life and same with the church. Just a few degrees . . and, "Hey, how'd we get here?!!"

Jesus

I'm about to finish Luke today, my latest favorite book of the bible. Jesus is on the cross with the 2 criminals on either side. You know the picture - you've seen the 3 crosses as you drive down the road. I was never sure if they represented Jesus and the 2 bad guys or the Trinity - contrasting the negative & the positive. But anyway, here they are, crucified, in pain - both deserving and about to die. And just like the masses today, they're split down the middle.

Criminal #1 - Unbelievably railing at Jesus, "Are you not the Messiah? Rescue yourself and us from death!"

Criminal #2 - Toward Criminal #1 - "Do you not even fear God? Seeing you are sentenced to death and suffering justly; but this man has done nothing to deserve this. (Then to Jesus) Lord, remember me when you come in your Kingly glory."

How many years have I flown through this and thought, "idiot" . . . . but the Holy Spirit stopped me in my tracks today. By the realization that my current response would be the first guy's - cold, focused on myself, my situation, my pain, not looking past the moment, not seeing my guilt, not seeing another's hurts, nor begging for mercy. That's me - I can reach the same level as this guy! Oh how I want to naturally turn outward like the 2nd criminal - placing my reverence for God and acknowledgement of Christ's Kingship first, then asking for mercy.

These 2 guys represent all of us - alike in their guilt, but made different by their responses. I still need a Savior - His name is Jesus - Listen

Baaaaaaa

I woke up at 2:30am literally speaking "My sheep hear my voice" out loud. What's that about? My experience with sheep is limited to Bubba (left), my fairy god-daughter's 4-H lamb, who died 'suddenly.'
Anyway, lying there, I imagined what that really looks like, Jesus as shepherd, us as sheep. What a beautiful picture. Here's what we can know & believe!

• Christ is a good shepherd caring for us, not a hired servant who'll walk away because he's not paid enough! Jn 7-14
• He speaks to us. Jn 10:27
• He leads us. Jn 10:3
• We can know & recognize His voice. Jn 10:14
• We go the wrong way or something attacks? He'll leave the flock for 'one' sheep & be ecstatic to get it back. Luke 15:4-7
• He'll lay His life down for us. Jn 10:15
• We're valuable to Him. Worth much more than a sheep! Matt 12:12

Listen for His voice. Without Him, we are like sheep without a shepherd & we won't survive long!

2 Life-Changing Books

http://www.theholeinourgospel.com/

http://www.theholeinourgospel.com/

I'm reading The Hole in Our Gospel, by Richard Stearns, President of World Vision, an organization I love. The book has numerous takeaways, but one that stands out is God's patient wooing process of each of us. His time is not our time and we have no idea what He is preparing us for. When asked "How do you want World Vision to be perceived twenty-five years from now?" Richard replied:

If it could be said of us that we gave the poor a voice, that we provoked the rich and the powerful to action and that we gave hope to people trapped in hopelessness, I would be deeply gratified. My favorite Bible passage is from the book of Job. It would make a wonderful epitaph for World Vision:

Whoever heard me spoke well of me, and those who saw me commended me, because I rescued the poor who cried for help, and the fatherless who had none to assist him.

The man who was dying blessed me; I made the widow's heart sing.
I put on righteousness as my clothing; justice was my robe and my turban.
I was eyes to the blind and feet to the lame.
I was a father to the needy; I took up the case of the stranger.
I broke the fangs of the wicked; and snatched the victims from their teeth.


Read more: http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2007/05/ten_or_so_quest.html#ixzz0QE8mxpOt

Walk Down Another Street

I believe this poem is from a Tibetan book and a great illustration of life. I'm showing it to every teenage girl I know :)

I walk down the street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I fall in. I am lost . . . I am hopeless. It isn't my fault.
It takes forever to find a way out.

I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I pretend I don't see it. I fall in again. I can't believe I'm in the same place, but it isn't my fault.
It takes a long time to get out.

I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I see it, I still fall in.
It's a habit. My eyes are open. I know where I am. It is my fault.
I get out immediately.

I walk down the same street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk.
I walk around it.

I walk down another street!

Give It Up, Foodies

A trip to the beach will prove to you that food has become the object of our worship in the US. And no, this is not a picture of the hotsauce aisle at Publix but rather a small section of our cabinet. Our fridge is a literal condiment explosion leaving no room for real food. We are foodies and I'm embarrassed about it! You know the kind, "What should we have for dinner tonight?" . . . . at 6am!

With trillions spent in restaurants and the avg dress size up from an 8 to a 12, clearly we have misplaced our devotion. God wants our devotion, eyes on Him. That is why I am suggesting a fast for a variety of reasons. And no, it's not a diet :). I'm not much for sacrifice, but God always shows Himself faithful when fasting. I have seen God answer prayer at the very moment I've made the decision to cut out food, which of course makes me want to cheerfully skip through the rest of the fast like a field of tulips. I've seen Him answer heart wrenching prayers, change impossible situations, soften impossible people, including me; and once, I even experienced a total loss of food desire for several days - a miracle in itself. Some say that when fasting, you should pray whenever you think about food. I do that because it brings the whole food thing into perspective. It's part of 'taking every thought captive'; it's intentional, not manipulative. It's not like we're going to die of starvation, but it shows that we are relying on God for the strength and wisdom we need. According to Matt 17:21, some moves of God just require prayer and fasting. Jesus fasted, overcoming Satan himself and was strengthened from it. Fasting can also strengthen us for something later, something more critical. God already knows what's around the bend! And bonus? Prayers are answered. Of course, you can apply a fast to more than just food; Twitter, FB, the internet . . . and spend time with God instead.

Whole Nutha Level

I love getting on an airplane. Watching the little roofs, pools, neighborhoods and roads, I imagine I'm someone else, living somewhere else, traveling to another exciting life and destination. I actually envision the activity below, happy normal life events. Why is it, from this higher level things look better to me; I see only the big picture, my hopes are high, expectations great! God has an even better perspective than that. He can see 'yesterday, today & tomorrow' and knows our steps before we take them. He desires that we not get bogged down in the worries of life. Naturally, you probably desire to live that way too - to see above the details while still handling the details. The best practices I've found (but forget sometimes) are:

1. Reading the Bible - Viewing events from God-inspired scripture is about the best it gets to providing perspective. When I'm overwhelmed, too much on my plate, difficult tasks, or I've made a mess of something and can't fix it, scripture reminds me that He is much bigger than that, His plan is much bigger than mine, and my messes are small (but important) to Him. He's just waiting for me to hand it over. He does miracles right here at my computer!



2. Reading Something - Seeing life through someone else's eyes can still be a great way to get a different perspective. If you're going to imagine your life through someone else, make a point to read something healthy & purposeful versus a trashy novel.



3. Serving - Serving others always changes you and maybe even the people you're serving. Personally, it takes my mind off of ME! There are many ways to serve others. Christ's example for us to follow is summed up in Luke 4:18-19. (more on that later)



4. Social Strategy - Intentionally sticking your neck out & meeting someone new requires effort. Commit to asking someone you don't know well to have coffee or go to lunch, ask them their story, try to find common ground, on purpose. You'll gain new perspective.

Looking at life through God's eyes helps us think accurately and make better decisions, while still living expectantly knowing He has plans, 'plans to give you hope and a future!' Jer.29:11

I Love the Church

As a child, I remember our Walnut St C of C in Dickson, TN as a source of so many things including fun! It was large, relational and creative even in the 60's and I remember momentum kicking in when the younger, cooler pastor took the helm. We met every Sun morn (2-3 hrs), Sun night, Wed night, had dinners on the ground, played tag and hide'n seek until our parents dragged us away. Those seemed like simpler times even though our parents both worked until 6, had bridge club, the country club, etc.

Since then, I've met thousands of pastors and visited hundreds of churches. And no matter the brand of donut, people who come to church are still looking for a spiritual experience, for answers and for solid truth they can consider, & then take hold of. Our first priority is to teach the good news, the truth about Christ, who He is, all the great things that result from repenting and trusting in Him. In marketing terms, there are easily enough features & benefits from trusting in Christ for a pastor to plan out an entire teaching year! People are looking for peace, for protection, for joy, for hope, for strength and more, and most people I meet aren't looking to the church for that. Christ's ministry is made clear in 2 verses Luke 4:18-19 and he left us to do the same. Like most things, it's easy to make the church all about us. But it's still about Him. He's still the answer.

Creativity

Just when we thought we were creative! In 2 Samuel 10, just before David and his army 'took out' the Ammonites, his guys had a little innocent run-in with them. Basically, David's guys went to see the Ammonite king, Hanun, to express sympathy to him following his father's death. King Hanun's guys doubted that and said, "Do you really think these men are coming here to honor your father? No! They're coming to spy and then conquer the city." Hanun fell for their skepticism and:


4 So Hanun seized David’s ambassadors and shaved off half of each man’s beard, cut off their robes at the buttocks, and sent them back to David in shame.
5 When David heard what had happened, he sent messengers to tell the men, “Stay at Jericho until your beards grow out, and then come back.” For they felt deep shame because of their appearance.



So he shaved 1/2 their beard and sent them away with their be-hinds hanging out. Nice! I love David's protective response, for both them & him. Can you imagine? A little shame used to go a long way!

Back Seat Jesus

Beachside's new series is Back Seat Jesus. It's very common to think, "If things go how I want, I'll be happy." But it really should go like this - "When things go how You want, I'll be happy." My will turned over to Him! This could be me in this weekend's video:

Everything is Amazing, Nobody is Happy

I'm sure there are nicer ways to say this, but this is still my favorite 2009 video . . . so far!

Wisdom

Of course, we always hear about Solomon's wisdom in determining the real mom - just 'cut the baby in half.' Equally as impressive is the Judges 12 account of Jephthah and the men from Gillead, currently Jordan, and their dispute with the men of Ephraim.

vs 5-6 Jephthah captured the shallow crossings of the Jordan River, and whenever a fugitive from Ephraim tried to go across, the men of Gilead would challenge him. “Are you a member of the tribe of Ephraim?” they would ask. If the man said, “No, I’m not,” they would tell him to say “Shibboleth.” If he was from Ephraim, he would say “Sibboleth,” because people from Ephraim could not pronounce the word correctly. Then they would take him and kill him at the shallow crossings of the Jordan. In all, 42,000 Ephraimites were killed at that time.

Yup, apparently the people from Ephraim had a bad lisp!! Surely all 42,000 didn't fail that test, but it sure didn't end well for them. Jephthah, on the other hand, ruled Israel for 6 years. Brilliant!

Proverbs 4 - Above all else, get wisdom!

Be Different

If you could label each year of your life with a word or phrase, what would it be?
I try to record the events and learnings of each year on one sheet of paper, and I always detect an overriding theme. 2008 was 'set apart'.
As I journaled throughout the year, I found the same struggle - to be set apart, holy, obedient and living for God and yet still living with and for others. 1Peter 2 says we're chosen, a royal priesthood, holy, God's own. Can you imagine if we acted that way? The OT is filled with God's desire that we set ourselves apart for him. Just as we expect certain behaviors from our leaders, holiness means that we can't always do everything everyone else does. And believe me, that's okay! Because holiness also means that we'll be given things others won't. It's a great exchange - hopelessness for hope, chaos for peace, sadness for joy, frustration for patience.
1 Cor 6 - we are no longer our own, we've been bought with a price. What a high value he placed on us to have us act any other way but as children of the King!

Hurry Up, God!

I love doing things fast. My best line is "Do you want it fast, or do you want accuracy? Pick one, because I can't guarantee both!" I want to place God to do 'fast' too - silly me! In Exodus, he led the people around the desert road toward the Red Sea. The alternate route would've been faster - a straight line - and we know the shortest distance between 2 points is a straight line. Though they didn't know it, a straight line might've meant the end for them. Fast is not always what God is looking for. If it was, then as soon as we got saved, we'd be beamed up (or killed) and that would be it - done - heaven - straight line! Instead, scripture says he wants us to be conformed to the image of Christ - a potentially longer road with unforgettable learnings along the way! Would we really 'get it' otherwise? So when we spend hours asking God to bless us, change our situation, open doors, change our husband/wife, give us wisdom NOW, remember that God is still working, even though we can't see it. Keep asking and God will keep answering - gradually conforming us in a way that lasts!

New Day

Well, it is in fact a new day. History was made last night & Obama (I love this photo) will be moving into the White House in a few short months. I'd love to be on the transition team - wouldn't that be cool? He wasn't my choice and actually, neither was McCain, but I chose the least liberal. I'll be behind him and pray, pray, pray for him because as Daniel says, "God puts them on the throne & he takes them down." I was pondering man's everchanging word versus God's neverchanging word this morn. God's word is only thing we can securely lean on! Thankfully, He still reigns!

I think I'll leave my 'bitter praying gun-owner' sticker on my car just for grins :-)

Equally exciting - fresh cranberries are in! Yaaah! They are only available in the stores Nov/Dec. Did everyone else know that but me? I bought 10 bags - just in case - and here are leftovers from the first bag for a snack later - nummy! Just throw them in a pot with some butter, a little OJ and brown sugar and cook them a few minutes. They're good wrapped in a crepe, made as fried pies, or poured over brie - oh that's good! Can't wait!

Learnings from Job

As a result of an unwelcomed work assignment this summer, I’m now blessed to be on Pastor Wayne Cordeiro’s Life Plan reading schedule currently in Job from the OT & a couple of books in the NT. Job is the great sufferer of all time and his friends are there throughout to firstly encourage & console, then later accuse & judge. Nothing new there, but a couple of new learnings for me. First, since the focus of the book is Job’s calamity, suffering and God’s blessing, I have always missed these first few lines of Job:
4 His sons used to take turns holding feasts in their homes, and they would invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 When a period of feasting had run its course, Job would send and have them purified. Early in the morning he would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, "Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts." This was Job's regular custom.

I don’t know the cultural meaning behind some of that, but it’s clear that Job regularly honored God in a big way and desired the same for his children. Imagine being so burdened for your teenagers, 20somethings, etc., that you would regularly sacrifice to God each time they had the opportunity to party. My parents would’ve had to quit their jobs. And don’t forget the sister part – that’s just wrong. Job was really a good guy! Anyway, even with all that goodness, Job’s buddies eventually rip him to shreds.

Secondly, from the first speaker/friend, Eliphaz, comes a great honest approach for friends who are going through rough times. Eliphaz basically says something like this, “Job, do you mind if I talk to you? But what friend could keep silent at a time like this watching you go through so much!” Then he follows with gentle encouragement, treads lightly, compliments Job, suggests that he turn to God and predicts good things for the future.

Unfortunately, later in the book, Eliphaz becomes hurtful displaying a judgmental human nature familiar to us all. But thankfully God is perfect, just, merciful & full of grace. And in the end, He saves the day! Yaaah!

Before We Go

It dawned on me this wknd that I have about a week left here. I have great memories of Daytona Beach. As kids, my dad would wake my brother & me at 4am & with our pillows we would pile into the car for the long ride south from middle TN. It's unheard of now, but we always went to church somewhere in GA and inevitably were asked to go home for lunch with strangers who loved the Lord. Life has sure changed! I loved the boardwalk at night, putt putt, the Drive-In Church and in particular staying at the Thunderbird (now Seaside). As a 6yr old I remember watching a car get carried out to sea by a high tide. I decided to drive there at lunchtime today. I haven't been there in years, but things are never as you remember them. I almost cried coming home. I think I just missed my mom & dad :).

Sunday, I visited the Drive-In Church, which oddly is more relevant than ever. The greeters are incredible, there's a fellowship hall to get coffee and have a little community, message, worship, communion, offering & out. All car windows are open, (smoking allowed) so you can pull right up next to someone if you really want community. They took a special offering for their sister Galveston Church as we drove out the exit, so I know they collected a lot since you couldn't get past them. The homeless, crippled & disenfranchised were serving with so much joy, I was ashamed to be sitting in the car! God has shown me so much since April & I'm thankful!

Hooray for Fall

OMG, it's fall!! Okay first OMG means oh my goodness in my world; in fact I shouldn't even type it. It's like freakin' - we all know where it comes from. Prohibited in our house was darn, shoot, crap, f-rt - junior cuss words, I still can't say that last one. Anyway I just love Oct and I'm a little glad we're going back to O-town for the 'holidays' even though I still think God was clear with me about selling our house and I'll roll with it either way.

Next week is Catalyst, and you can follow it at Backstage which is currently Ben Arment's under-construction site. Ben exploded with The White Board Sessions, an awesome one-day conference outside of DC back in May. After that, Ben had many choices, and settled on a good one :-)!

Later in Oct I get to go home to Nashville! I cut a deal with AG that if I go now, we can have the holidays in FL. Something cool there in November is the Blvd Bolt, a 5-mile run in Belle Meade every Thanksgiving morning and I'll hate missing the time there with my cousin, bro & sissy.

But my like-a-sister friend, Suzanne, is going with me and we'll both visit our fams & go to APSU's homecoming & reunion, and maybe a bluegrass place or 2! My college beau, Randy & his 2 brothers all QB'd at APSU in the 70s and now the oldest, Rick, is the coach and everyone is all a-buzz. At 0 and 3, I'm not sure how long the buzz will last!

C'mon Man!

Somebody take this guy down!

MetroRedNexual

After viewing my wknd hunt camp pics on Facebook, my son, Matt, simply commented - rrreeedddd neeeecccck & I love it. I think he threw in the 'love it' part to make me feel better - like a slap, then a kiss. :) He's smart like that. Being from west TN, I buried the term redneck & have blamed all recent redneck activity on my husband who fully embraces it. Funny, he's actually a 2nd gen Italian from DE. However, someone in his family was involved in starting Punkin Chuckin up there - that's another blog!

So anyway, I began seriously considering my son's comment. I started my workweek in beautiful SE Georgia, coincidentally the home of my great great greats & where I spent my childhood summers. Later in the week I cleaned my Dale Earnhardt Rem 12 gauge, picked up some live shrimp for fishing, bought a cute camo tank top, talked my husband out of a new camo cap he'd bought for himself, watched a fishin' show, checked to see what was on the speed channel and spent hours 'trickin' out' & cleaning around our spider-infested hunt trailer so that I wouldn't be scared to spend the night there. Okay, so Matt's right, but there is nothing that beats the sound of the breeze thru the pines - and not another noise. I just love it in the fall - a fire burning, the smell of food cooking, no distractions. And the mornings! Oh they're so glorious as the woods come to life. Last fall, I remember spending hours uninterupted in scripture & with God and practically wrote a sermon on Psalm 119.

There are many theories about the term redneck one of which is related to my Scots-Irish fam who I have traced back to NC in 1690 - whoa! I suppose I will start enjoying my heritage but will still insist on using my iphone gps to find my way out of the woods. There are bears out there!

Competitive Social Networking

Feeling pulled in many directions today, I rec'd this morning's timely Edevotion from The Springs helping me sort through the things that were critical - Ephesians 6:6-7 – “….Not with eyeservice, as men-pleasers; but as the servants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart; with good will doing service, as to the Lord, and not to men:”

Shortly after, I rec'd this video that revealed the source of my stress - Social Networking. It is a dangerous, competitive sport. I don't care what they say - I'm keeping my old-fashioned Facebook!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyPDHh4d1Xo

The Elephants are Back!

Election years have always been exciting for me.
As a child, I had public servants on both sides (of the family, not the aisle). My daddy was a reddish-blonde Andy Griffith and I adored him! His TN state position and disposition, from my small perspective, seemed to teeter on whoever was elected to whatever office, particularly governor. We would all be on the edge of our seats until the newly crowned took office and the administration changes were made. I didn't know why at the time, but I loved the excitement! I'm sure my daddy didn't.

Some things have changed over 40 years. But there is still good ole corruption and many say just what we want to hear making the parties indistinguishable much of the time. I lean unashamedly to the right and am pro-life, pro-gun, pro-bible, pro-God, pro-man/woman marriage, pro-America, pro-capitalist, pro-small government, etc. I've stayed awake at night yearning for someone to dig both heels in & define 'my side' again, just like the old days.

Alas, in one quick evening, Sarah Palin did us all a favor by single-handedly shoving the elephants back to the right of center. Granted, she's only the VP nominee, but she & her family exemplify what I love about America, fighting for & achieving much through hard work, passion & loyalty. Her firm conservative stance, grass-roots experience, fearlessness & wit are just what I needed to get excited again! Win or lose, bring on November!

Biblia Reading

Several of us are reading through the bible in one year via Wayne Cordeiro’s Life Journal. Wayne is the lead pastor of New Hope, a cool multi-campus church in Hawaii http://www.enewhope.org/ a church I'd like to attend if we move there! The Life Journal organizes bible reading, prayer, journaling and scripture memorization all in one process and leads you to apply what you've learned each day. I'm already seeing the effects of this discipline even though I rebelled like a 13yr old girl initially. You'll find the reading and the journal on New Hope's website.

If you have an iPhone, you can have the entire daily reading at your fingertips with just a click - easier than Bible Applications b/c the assigned scripture is already loaded. And there are 2 versions of audio so you can listen too.

In Safari, type enewhope.org, click the plus sign, click Add to home screen

TaDA! The icon will show up on your screen. I just love technology!

Great Things

Reading Good to Great again this summer has only brought attention to my looming restlessness. So I’m officially in hedgehog mode this month, i.e. defining 1) what I can be incredible at, 2) what I am passionate about & 3) what will work within my economic parameters (pays). Having done this before, I can only determine that my hedgehog is moving.

Tropical Storm Fay parked this morn with her eye directly over Daytona giving us a break in the wind & rain.

I went to the beach at 6:30 to capture the 'sunrise' & then walked down to check our boatlines. My husband is clearly a professional knot-tyer! Two hours have passed & Fay's western wall is beginning to move in. Just like a snow day! I loved them, but recall that they got old just like this is.

Psalm 118:24 This is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice & be glad in it!

Temporarius

All blog titles will be in Latin this month - all 2 of them :-)

Those who know me well know that where I reside is not so important. Over the years, I have come to terms with the temporal nature of things including homes. Moving to Ponce, I took only my HBA’s and clothes and learned quickly that I didn’t have to have the skillet I love or the Cutco knives or countless other items. For the record, both Pampered Chef & Cutco started as favors for friends. I know you know what mean!

But it occurred to me this morn that come November, I will be longing for the solitude of this boardwalk. I nearly kill myself some days trying to get out here by 7am after seeing my husband off, coffee, bible reading, checking email, etc. Walking out onto the water reminds me that my Creator didn’t intend for me to get caught up or hang on to anything but Him in this life. Everything will pass from this world except Him. Reading through Jeremiah this month, I’m reminded that God measures us not by what we have, but by our obedience, faithfulness & a heart that surrenders all that we have to Him. His salvation, peace, & protection are the greatest riches anyone can have and they’re not temporary!

Speaking of temporary riches, did I show you this little skirt I bought at Ann Taylor Loft yesterday after church? They're having a sale AND they gave will give you a $25 gift card for spending $50! I don't know about you, but that's the deal of the week! However, I should've been buying water & batteries in preparation for Tropical Storm Fay!

Robbie O'brien had a great service at http://www.thebeachsidechurch.com/ in Ormond Beach yesterday. It was packed with people and intense in both worship & teaching. Beachside people were embracing and they also serve up a fair amount of food & coffee. One thing I had never seen was the line of tiny cups filled with cheerios for kids making the donuts last a lot longer for the rest of us, making the parents happy and requiring less sugar/carpet cleanup. :-) He also provided communion 'during' the connection & kids departure time so that everyone was standing talking and those who chose could go forward, bring their offering & take communion unnoticed. Not sure who first made the Lord's supper a solemn moment, but yesterday was cool.