Mourning Into Dancing

When Love was Born...

2011-10-12T01:17:00.001-05:00

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” – Isaiah 9:6 (NIV)

When Love Was Born

I am writing this on a mid-October day, when the temperatures are still fairly warm in Middle Tennessee. The leaves haven't even begun to hit their peak for fall changes yet. And while folks around us are just getting geared up for that other holiday at the end of this month, my church music buddies and I are already knee-deep into rehearsals for our churches' Christmas presentations.

Christmas is already on our minds! Hard to believe it's almost that time of year isn't it??? Stores are already putting up their decorations. Shoppers are already making the hunts for their treasures... We're looking up recipes, getting organized, and preparing for the busy days ahead.

And much to the chagrin of others, we're singing and playing Christmas music already.

Without a doubt, we’re already getting the looks as we drive around town, with windows down, Christmas music cranked up on the music players of our choice, rehearsing lines and are singing "Variations on Jingle Bells" at the top of our lungs…

As my friend, Kevin says, “Yes. We’re church musicians. We fa-la-la-la-la in October!”

And if you read the scripture passage I placed at the top of the page, I’ll bet you are singing some familiar words from The Messiah right about now, aren’t you??? (Or if you’re more of an instrumental type, you’re playing your favorite instrumental part in your head!) That will put you into the mood for Christmas, won't it?!?

“For unto us a child is born… Unto us… A Son is given… Unto us… A Son is given… For unto us a child is born… And the government shall be upon His shoulders…. And His name shall be call-ed… Wonderful… Counselor… The Mighty God… The Everlasting Father… The Prince of Peace… The Everlasting Father… The Prince of Peace.”

When Handel wrote his infamous work, The Messiah, much of the text was taken straight from the Bible. And what a wonderful text he chose!

Make no mistake. When Isaiah wrote those words, his intent was clear: he was declaring that God had promised a Messiah, and he would save the people from their sins! He (Isaiah) was relying solely on the promise that God would follow through with His promise to send a Messiah. This was something that only God could do! No man could do what God had promised.

Long before Isaiah penned his words, or before Handel penned The Messiah, God had decided that there would be a Promised One.

.... Long before the angels sang their first note.

…. Long before the shepherds watched their flocks.

…. Long before the stars were made.

…..Long before the manger was built.

…. Long before Bethlehem.

…. Long before wise men came from the East.

…. Long before the foundations of the earth.

…. Long before you and I were even a twinkle in God’s eye….

Love was born!

“This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” – 1 John 4:10 (NIV)

A Cord of Three Strands

2011-09-13T21:49:00.000-05:00

"Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up! Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken." - Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

As a violinist, I am often asked to play for weddings, and have participated in many beautiful ceremonies over the years. A couple of years ago, I was invited to play for a wedding for a couple from my home church. Instead of the traditional "unity candle", the bride and groom had chosen to braid a cord of three strands, based on this particular passage of scripture from Ecclesiastes.

Solomon was writing a book about vanities, and when he got to chapter four, he was actually talking a bit about miserable old men who were basically hermits! And his advice to these hermits was to get out of your shells, and find yourselves a friend or a mate... and enjoy life.

Solomon was saying that we need one another to spur us onto love and good works... And that when we allow ourselves to be the kind of people that God wants us to be, it is hard for anything to separate us. There forms a triad of sorts between husband, wife and God... The closer we grow to God, the closer the triangle becomes and three actually become one.

But what happens when the mate dies???? I would submit to you that when God is in the midst of those types of marriages, those who are left behind find their Maker to be their husband... and as He has promised, a Father to their children as well.

Dear young widow, you are loved by your Heavenly Father... and it is He who:

Sustains you
Protects you
Provides for you
Enjoys your company
Wants to talk with you through His Word
Goes with you
Goes before you
Gives you strength to face your battles
Gives you encouragement for your days
Lightens your burdens
Knows you better than you know yourself
Knows you better than anyone else knows you
Created you for His own pleasure!
Gave His life for you, simply because He loves you and wants to spend eternity with you.

So often, I hear from young widows who are lonely for companionship within a couple of years of the passing of their spouse. Many of them find themselves hurt and broken-hearted after rebounded relationships went sour. Sometimes this happens because they feel guilty for dating too soon after the death of their spouse, or they compare the new friend to their former spouse.

I think the key to finding the right time or the right person after loss really is all about letting God choose for you. Allow Him to decide when it's time, and let Him bring that person to you. In the meantime, enjoy being loved and spoiled by your Heavenly Daddy, who loves you so!!!

The Domino Effect...

2011-08-15T01:45:00.000-05:00

"He must increase but I must decrease." - John 3:30

"Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God," for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death." - James 1:13-15

Anyone who knows me knows that I am pretty much built like one of the lollipop kids on the Wizard of Oz... I'm quite short, and I have a rather wide girth. Sometimes with my low estrogen, I think the beard is coming next, but that's a story for another time! HA!

Anyway, my short stature makes for some fun times when I drive. I have some pretty long legs, so reaching the pedals isn't the issue. It's seeing over the dashboard of my vehicle that causes me problems. I am forever hitting the curbs or potholes... and knocking my tires out of balance. This happens to me more than I would like to admit, but I've actually learned something from the experiences. When I knock one tire out of balance, the rest of them don't wear correctly.

I think that's true in the Christian life, too!

Sometimes I think we get knocked down in one area or another and then one by one, the other areas of our life are affected by the one area that is out of balance. It really doesn't matter whether the area that starts the fall is in the emotional, physical, psychological/mental, or spiritual... a failure in one area will affect the other three.

Take for instance my severely neglected health... My failure to take care of my body has caused me to be severely obese. And that puts me at risk for all sorts of horrible diseases. But that also hinders in some ways my ability to serve Christ fully! For instance, I've taken two mission trips overseas in the last year. On both trips, I found myself huffing and puffing, trying to keep up with the rest of my teammates/ co-laborers in Christ because I was just too overweight. Getting buckled up on the airplanes was a task because of my waistline. Working with kids outside in the heat was not an easy task. Why? Because I was not in shape for the trip!

My witness has also been rendered ineffective by some because of my obesity. One afternoon while teaching at another church, I was trying to share Jesus with one of my students, and he said, "Isn't gluttony one of the seven deadly sins?" He was implying that I was too fat and I had no business talking to him about Jesus, if I was not living for him. I responded to that with, "They are all deadly sins." But I still came home with the thought that I would never get through to that kid so long as I was in his eyes too fat to be talking Jesus!

What did all of that do to my self-esteem??? Let's just say it wasn't pretty! Yes, I know that God still loves me and that His love is not based on my dress size. But if He had to judge the contents of my heart and whether I trust Him based soley on what went into my mouth (or what came out of it), there are times that I'm afraid that He would be severely dissappointed in me... (I'm thankful that's not the case!!!)

Soon after all of that, I talked with some of our church staff about starting a face to face group for widows. One of the guys mentioned the possibility of doing a video series of lessons. Can you imagine the horrible thoughts going through my head about how the camera packs on the pounds??? And then we just end up with a downward emotional spiral...

But things have been changing in recent months. For nearly two full months now, my husband and I have been faithfully making changes to our lifestyles. We've started with an exercise program at a local gym/pool. And we're starting to make good choices with nutrition.

For me, that's a decision that has spiritual impact and implications. I don't want to be an ineffective servant of Christ. He's God of all of me, and He is trustworthy and certainly worthy of my worship in this area, too... I don't want my weight to be a hindrance in the effectiveness of my witness or my ability to serve. I don't want my unhealthy body to be a distraction to those that I might tell about Jesus, either...

Jesus isn't just at the center of my life. He is my life!!!! He goes everywhere I go. He knows everything I am doing, what I am thinking, where I am. He's a part of every decision. It's all about Him.

There's a worship song made popular a few years ago by Matt Redmond called, "The Heart of Worship" that we sometimes sing in our churches. "When the music fades, and all is slipped away... and I simply come. Longing just to bring something that's of worth that will bless Your heart... I'll bring You more than a song for a song in itself is not what You have required. You search much deeper within than the way things appear... You're looking into my heart! I'm coming back to the heart of worship and it's all about You... All about You, Jesus. I'm sorry, Lord for the thing I've made it when it's all about You, all about You, Jesus."

Yes, it's all about You, Jesus. Even when it comes to crazy things like keeping in shape.

Rejoicing in the Dance...

2011-05-10T01:21:00.000-05:00

Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance, and the young men and the old shall be merry. I will turn their mourning into joy; I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow. - Jeremiah 31:13

Two years ago, when I began the Mourning into Dancing Blog, I wrote a post that was entitled, "Dancing in the Dark." And I spoke of learning to dance with God, as a small child would learn to dance on the feet of her daddy.

There is a time that comes to the Christian's life when she finds herself deep into the dance with her Heavenly Daddy... a finding of peace as she deepens her relationship with God.

He extends His hand to us... and then offers the invitation... and thus, the dance begins.

This is a love relationship at its best... God has given Himself to us... and then we respond by loving in return... and desiring to know Him more and more. We learn to not only read His word, but to apply it to our lives on a daily basis. In short, He becomes our universe! He is all we desire... and in that desiring, we seek to know His every heartbeat... We hang on His every word...

And the longer we dance, the more we pay attention to every detail of every thought, every whisper, every action, anticipating nearly every move He makes... And our rhythm begins to match His... and step by step, we finally become One.

And in Him, we rejoice! Because He has offered the invitation... It is He who takes us by the hand and twirls us about the room! It is He who teaches us in the way we should go. (Isaiah 48:17)

Rejoice, my friend! The music is playing... and Your Heavenly Daddy wants to dance with you!

Undivided Attention

2011-04-11T13:03:00.000-05:00

"Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!" - Ps. 46:10

Yesterday, I had the unusual opportunity of being without responsibility as a lead worshipper... at least from being on the platform, that is. On any given Sunday, my leadership role at our church largely consists of sitting as the concertmaster of our church worship orchestra.

Anyway... We play nearly every Sunday throughout the year, and with few exceptions. Yesterday, the worship orchestra was enjoying a rare morning "off " (meaning that our presence was not required and we were allowed to sit with our families.) For me this meant that I had the opportunity to participate in the entire hour of our small group discussion and could sit through worship with my husband for the entire service. This was a real treat because I usually have to leave my small group time early to tune my instrument (I have a very small window of time before the brass begin to warm up) and prepare for worship. And, sometimes, when the orchestra is not playing, I have been known to sub on a praise team. That also wasn't the case yesterday and that was a very good thing.

I need to have moments when I don't do anything... except listen to God. I need to rest occassionally. That's hard to do when your life's tempo is most often measured in "warp speed." (I actually had a friend tell me recently that she never knew me to not be in a hurry!)

God took advantage of the time when He actually had my undivided attention yesterday and taught me something....

I learned something new from the scriptures when paying attention to the Holy Spirit yesterday and not to the clock or what's next... While sitting in the small group session yesterday, I actually had a light bulb click on about a particular passage that I hadn't ever really thought about until then. (More on that in another post.)

Afterwards, it dawned on me that God probably likes to have my undivided attention occassionally so that He can get stuff through that thick skull of mine. That's when He can take my head that is seemingly filled with silly putty, empty it of the junk inside... and try to teach me something that if I don't manage to get it twisted up will actually have a chance to remotely look like His wisdom. :)

There comes a time when busyness has to be set aside, and we have to just sit at the Lord's feet and rest for a little bit... and drink in whatever it is that He wants to teach us. And those of us who have large ministry (lay or professional) commitments need to take the time to rest as well. There comes a time when we have to choose carefully how we will spend our time so that we best utilize our time for the Kingdom's sake. Remember -- even Jesus told Martha that Mary had chosen the better part... (Luke 10:38-42) We need to learn to choose wisely so that we choose the better part as well.

Sometimes God calls us to do that for a season, but sometimes it just means taking a short break -- one that just lasts for a moment. I enjoyed my moment yesterday.

Redeemed Forever...

2011-04-07T01:16:00.001-05:00

Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! 2 Let the redeemed of the LORD say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble 3 and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south. - Psalm 107:1-3

I recently returned from a mission trip to Lima Peru, and had the privilege while there to share the gospel with some of the students at the International Christian School there. One of my students, a third grader responded to the gospel and asked Jesus to be her Savior during one of the teaching hours! When I was sharing that with one of my dear friends and mentors from days gone by, I said that it was "totally cool." (Or something to that effect. But his response was "No - it's bigger than that. Eternal."

When Jesus saves us, His blood covers us forever!

Our past is forgiven. (I John 1:9)
Our life is made new. (I Cor. 5:17)
Our home is in Heaven. (John 14:1-6)
Our future is secure. (Romans 8:35-39)
Our inheritance is the same as His. (Romans 8:17)

All because He redeemed us forever.

Our hope is in Him.

What an awesome privilege we have then to share that with others! We have the unbelievable opportunity to share that with the world... Our world... So, why don't we??? Why do we not share the truth that we've been given with the folks around us???

Can I challenge you (if you are a Christ-follower) to tell others about the Jesus in you??? Simply tell them your own story. How Jesus changed your life forever... Don't worry about whether they will respond to what you've said. The Holy Spirit will take care of that. That's His job. So the pressure's off...

And if you don't know Jesus, well, I would sure love to introduce Him to you... Talk to me. I'll be happy to tell you about how He has changed my life forever!

Loaves and Fishes

2011-02-10T16:18:00.000-06:00

"And he said to them, "How many loaves do you have? Go and see." And when they had found out, they said, "Five, and two fish." " - Mark 6:38

God never ceases to amaze me with how He can take something insignificant or small in our eyes, and use it for His glory.

Take this story from the Gospel of Mark, for instance. Jesus and the disciples had been very busy. They had already spent the day with the crowd, teaching and Jesus had been preaching all day. In addition, Jesus was just about emotionally spent, too. He had found out about his dear friend, Lazarus' death, as well.

The crowd was tired, had traveled a long way and they were hungry. There was no place to buy food nearby... Then came the disciples' asking of Jesus, "Can you send them away??"

You know the story.... Jesus told the disciples that they should find them something to eat... and all they came up with was a little boy's lunch. I can only imagine the conversation:

Disciple A: "Hey, Jesus... This all we found."
Disciple B: "Looks like it's leftovers from yesterday's Fred Lobster meal. Just a handful of cheese biscuits and a couple of fishsticks. Can't feed this crowd with that!"
The rest of the disciples: "Nope. Not THIS crowd! Send them away, would ya, Jesus????"

Jesus looks into the little boy's lunch sack, pulls out one of the cheese biscuits, breaks it, asks God to use it and then does the same with the fish. God multiplied the small gift that the little boy brought that day... and fed thousands of people with it! The Bible says that there was enough to feed everybody there, and still had twelve baskets of food leftover!

There are several messages in this passage to us:

The first message here is that nothing small we offer to God ever goes unnoticed.... a hug, a word of encouragement, a thank you, a kind gesture... giving a cold cup of water in Christ's name. He can use even the smallest of things to bless many. Often we are quick to give God the bigger things... or the religious things... or certain things that we think would be pleasing to Him in some way. And in truth, it's the smaller things -- the ones that we think are insignificant that God uses the most.

The second thing that we can take from this lesson is this -- The multiplication process comes from God, not the gift or from us. The leftover kids' meal was just a kids' meal until God got ahold of it. :) No matter how hard we try, we cannot make that happen, but God can!

The third lesson we can take from this is that once we place that in His hands and let Him do with it as He pleases, He is able to do great things. The Bible doesn't say whether the little boy offered the lunch to the disciples or whether the disciples just took it. But in either case, it landed in the hands of the disciples, who then took it to Jesus. Anyway you slice it, that required some trust and obedience on the part of that child.... God saw the little boy's faith, trust and obedience and He blessed the small gift and fed several thousand.

The fourth lesson we can take from this is that we don't know one thing about the little boy outside of this story. It would have been easy for folks around the little boy to congratulate him and tossle his hair.... and call him the hero for offering his lunch. But Jesus was the REAL star here... It wasn't about the lunch or the little boy.... It was about Jesus!

So, I just wanna ask... Whatcha got in your lunch sack today to offer to Jesus??? What do you hold in your own hands that can be offered back to Christ and used to bless others??? Are you giving Him just the big stuff??? The religious stuff??? Or are you offering Him everything???? Are you doing this freely, with His kingdom purposes in mind?? Are you quick to brag on God for what HE has done??? Or, do you simply try to take credit for something you have offered to Him???

Abba Father... Daddy... We desire never to withhold anything from you.... not the smallest of gifts... not our money... not our time... not our efforts... not our attitudes...not our motives... not our jobs... families... health or anything else... our loaves and fishes. We give it all for Your kingdom's sake, with Your purposes in mind, and for Your Glory. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

Tame Me, Lord!

2011-01-29T16:24:00.010-06:00

"You shall therefore love the LORD your God and keep his charge, his statutes, his rules, and his commandments always. 2 And consider today (since I am not speaking to your children who have not known or seen it), consider the discipline of the LORD your God, his greatness, his mighty hand and his outstretched arm," Deuteronomy 11: 1-2

Okay. So, I am not normal. I came into this world feet first, and my whole world has been weird since the moment I took my first breath. Every ounce of me wants to break the pattern of discipline that comes with the way the rest of the world works! I am undisciplined, unbridled, spoiled, and stubborn. I am messy, temperamental, and good grief -- don't even talk to me about my eating or sleeping habits! And then there's the spiritual realm...

Sometimes, I feel like this:

Well, not exactly. I'm not a large bronze statue...

I had the opportunity once to see The Mustangs of Las Colinas, outside Dallas TX, many years ago. Now, I must tell you up front that I am not a horse enthusiast. I don't know a thing about farm living and certainly not anything about the wild mustangs of the wild west... I was raised in the city. The closest I have ever gotten to any such creature was riding my Great-Grandfather's old work horse, Ruby when I was about 6 or 7 years old, when I went to visit in West TN. And she promptly made sure that I found a seat on the ground -- airborne style!!

But this image of the Wild Mustangs intrigues me. It's the epitome of the so-called "Free-Spirited" life... one that we all fight against... the "do-whatever-you-want-when-you-want-to-do-it life"... There's this innate part of my being that wants to do things on my own... To be me... To be without a care in the world... and to be in complete control of who I am, where I am heading and frankly, how I am going to get there... (I landed feet first, remember....I guess I figure I should stand on them or something...)

Ok. So back to the horse thing. I don't know one thing about taming wild horses, but I would imagine that the process is tedious, to say the least. I am certain that the disciplining of such a beast would take large amounts of love and trust from the trainer before the bridle ever gets put onto the horse or the bit put into his mouth. There is no such thing as an overnight success here. There won't be any saddles or riders on the back of the animal for quite a while.

But I am no different from that untrained, wild pony when it comes to the hidden matters of the heart sometimes, especially when it comes to obeying the whole truth of God's Word. Some days, it's just easier to choose the parts I like to live, and ignore the rest. But that's not how God expects me to live. He is looking for complete and whole-hearted surrender from me to His way, on His terms... and all for His kingdom purposes and for His glory.

Just to keep it real, here are some of my own areas that I make excuses for ...

That submission (to my HH, to authority... you get the picture) thing. (Just ask HH about this! I am sure he can give you an earful!!!)

Or the gentle and quiet spirited thing. (Doesn't God like me loud and obnoxious??? See the above statement about the submission thing. )

Or discipline and follow through. (Check out the last time I wrote a blog post or stepped on the bathroom scales!)

Or the playing skillfully unto the Lord and with a shout of joy thing. (Practice much???)

He is looking for me to serve and obey Him completely all the time from a heart of love... Disciplined, compliant to Him in every area of my life... not just the ones I like... or that I bring out for the sake of impressing my small group teacher or the pastoral types or whomever else I seem to esteem.

My heart is one tough beast to control sometimes! God will attempt to put a bit in my big mouth and I will turn right around and either a) bite the hand who put it in there, or b) spit that thing out like a watermelon seed at a Fourth of July picnic!!! Then, I will raise my legs and promptly attempt to kick my Trainer in the teeth! (And the scary part is that I am a pretty good shot!)

Nevertheless, God is steady, unmovable, unshakable, unchangeable. His love and faithfulness, along with His gentle discipline drives me to where I am now -- at a point of surrender. I don't know what that looks like. I can't tell you that I really know what that means. I haven't been here before. At least not completely. Not in these areas. What I do know is that God loves this beautiful mess that I am... and that He desires to move in my life, if I will but trust Him by giving Him complete control and allowing Him to teach me His ways.

So, God, tame me. I know without a doubt that I belong to You... and belonging to You is more than just being part of a dog and pony show. It's more than prancing around in a ring and letting others see just how pretty I am. We settled that a long time ago. But I also know that there are hidden areas of my heart that need to be under Your complete control. Take those feral parts of my heart...and break them according to Your ways. I know that this won't be an overnight thing... It will take time and discipline. And I expect it to be painful at times. But You have my permission to do whatever it takes. I'm not looking for blue ribbons here (those belong to You alone.) ... I just want to be an effective witness for you. Maybe when You are done, I will be a picture of beauty and gentleness. Amen.

Enthralled

2010-10-19T03:25:00.000-05:00

"The king is enthralled by your beauty; honor him, for he is your lord." - Psalms 45:11

Cinderella has nothing on us!

Someday, girlfriends, Jesus, the King of all Kings, is going to return to this earth and take His bride, the Church, home to live in Heaven with Him forever.

Yep. We'll be going to a forever ball, and we'll get to dance with the Prince of Peace... Wonder what the conversation will be like on the dance floor of Heaven??? What will He say to us, when He gazes into our eyes on that day???

He is enthralled by your beauty.

Enthralled.
Captivated.
Enchanted.
Delighted.

Yes. He thinks YOU are BEAUTIFUL! Like a bride adorned for her husband....

Stunning.
Gorgeous.
Dazzling.
Fine.
Brilliant.

Sweet princesses all, He has invited you to His ball... to be His special guest... And in every case, He will brush the curls from your face, and hold your head in Hands, and tell you just how much He loves you!

He's crazy about you. Nuts about you, really. So much so that He gave everything He had to purchase this life with you.... He stretched out His arms at Calvary, and said to you and to me... "May I have this dance?"

Just for your invitation to this dance. The ultimate celebration.

We'll be dressed in His righteousness alone. And we will be made like Him.

Oh, dear friend! Our only part is to honor Jesus.

To adore Him.
To worship Him and Him alone.
To give Him praise.

For His honor.
His glory.
His kingdom's sake.

For He (Jesus) is our LORD.

He is King.
He is Ruler.
He is Boss.
He is Personal.

He is Real.
More than a knight in shining armor.
Besides - there are no fairytales here.

He's beyond belief, really.

And He loves YOU.
More than any other loves you.
More than there are stars in the sky.
Or grains of sand on the seashore.
Beyond your wildest dreams.

And He's yours for the taking.

Just ask.

True Praise in Response to He Loves Us

2010-10-10T00:30:00.000-05:00

A friend posted this on facebook, and I just had to share it... We need to learn to shout it again and again at the top of our lungs... He LOVES US! OH HOW HE LOVES US!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kwlh8e37QdA

Draw Me Nearer

2010-09-15T00:22:00.002-05:00

"Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you." - James 4:8a

A friend of mine has been posting three word sentences as her facebook status for the past several weeks... In every case, the first two words have been, "God is...." A few days ago, her status simply read, "God is... near." I had been going through a bit of a weird funk -- for lack of better words -- for a few weeks, and when I read her status, I received the gentle reminder that God is, indeed, near.

What I had been feeling was like when you go window shopping with someone. You know that they are there, because they came in with you... But then you find yourself further interested in something and rush over to take a deeper look. You find yourself totally captivated by this (fill in the blank here) and have found yourself wrapped up in your own little world. Then you turn around, only to find that the person who was with you is right there with you.... and had been all along. Nothing is "wrong"... The relationship is still intact... You're still friends... You were just mesmerized momentarily by something that captured your attention. And you are slapped back to reality when you turn around and remember that your friend is there. You knew it all along. And maybe you suspected that they might go and do their "own thing" for a while, since you were totally involved in whatever it was that demanded your engrossment.

There will always be times when circumstances will cause us to feel as if God is distant and distracted from us. But nothing could be further from the truth.

Though the enemy would love to taunt us and tell us otherwise, He is not far away.

He is near. So close you can almost feel His breath on your neck and His heart beating next to your own!

He is within you. (Col.1:27)

I don't know about you, but because He is within me, there is this driving desire to know Him more...and more.... To be so tightly woven that one could not tell one from the other.... And yet, on this side of Heaven, because of my many failings and imperfections, I know that will never be.

Still, there's a longing from within me that wants to grow deeper and deeper in our relationship...

I long for my heart to beat not like His, but to be syncronized with His.
I long to breath as He breathes.
I long to see as He sees.
I long to hear as He hears.
I long to speak as He speaks.
I long to love as He loves.
I long to live as He lives.

I think that was what Fanny Crosby was talking about when she wrote Draw Me Nearer. It's based on Hebrews 10:22, "Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water."

Draw Me Nearer

I am Thine, O Lord, I have heard Thy Voice
As it told Thy Love to me.
But I long to rise in the arms of faith
And be closer drawn to Thee....

Refrain:

Draw me nearer,
Nearer, Precious Lord
To the Cross
Where Thou Hast Died.

Draw me nearer
Nearer, Nearer Precious Lord....
To Thy Precious bleeding side.

Consecrate me now to Thy service, Lord,

By the pow’r of grace divine;
Let my soul look up with a steadfast hope,
And my will be lost in Thine.

Oh, the pure delight of a single hour
That before Thy throne I spend,
When I kneel in prayer, and with Thee, my God
I commune as friend with friend!

There are depths of love that I cannot know
Till I cross the narrow sea;
There are heights of joy that I may not reach
Till I rest in peace with Thee.

Draw us nearer, Lord!

Good for the soul...

2010-08-03T17:02:00.000-05:00

"Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working." - James 5:16

Ok. I may as well admit it. I'm addicted. To sweet tea, for cryin' out loud! :)All of this summer time heat hasn't helped, either. I've been drinking that stuff by the gallons... Seriously. It's been kinda scary. I can finish off a gallon of tea in less than a 24 hour period. Without help!

Whenever HH and I go to restaurants, I often tease our servers to "just bring me a pitcher and a straw... it will save you some steps." The poor souls often wear the rubber off their shoes just getting my refills....

All of this started when I was a small child. My great-grandmother used to make the BEST sweet tea EVER. I mean, it was the color of liquid gold, and was so thick that you would think you could cut it with a knife... And my young palate loved the sweet stuff... I could drink gallons of it even then.

After a lifetime of giving into this temptation, I've had to change my ways. Now that I am older, I am cautious about packing on the calories and hopefully potentially staying away from the dreaded D word (diabetes) ... So, I have learned a new way to feed my addiction, and still maintain the taste... SPLENDA!

So, the "house wine of the South" is still king at our house... We still have sweetened tea... but we have it without the calories.

Hmm... Isn't that how a lot of us are with other things??? When God tries to correct us on an issue, do we try to do an end-run around Him? Do we go for something a little "lighter" (but with the same flavor) ??? Do we dance around issues, or do we try to face them head on???

Just a little something to chew on....

Now... if we can just tackle the peanut butter in the same way.... :)

What a Week!

2010-07-29T15:00:00.000-05:00

"A friend loves at all times and a brother is born for adversity." - Proverbs 17:17

To my many friends,

I don't even have words to begin to describe the week I've had... Talk about a roller coaster ride!!!! I celebrated my 30 year high school reunion last Saturday! What a night that was!!! Every time I heard a happy squeal, it was music to my ears, and I knew that the planning had paid off!

These are the folks who knew me when I looked like this:

There were even folks there from my elementary school days! They knew me when I looked like this:

That's me with the pigtails, front row, three from the far right.

These were the people who knew me when.... and love me anyway! HA! What a testimony that is to the kind of loving people we all grew up to be and to us as a class....I am proud to be a part of that group.

Then on Sunday morning, we HAD CHURCH at NBC! My buddy and singing partner, Edwin, sang "Midnight Cry" with our choir and orchestra. He knocked it out of the park!!! It was incredible!!! What a great song, and what a great God! That was followed by an AWESOME sermon by my pastor relative to watching for a Savior, not the signs, and being prepared for the return of Christ.

All of the celebrating came to a screeching halt as we came into a week filled with deep sorrow when we realized that a dear cousin was going to be departing this earth... She passed away on Tuesday evening following a staph infection. The doctors at Vandy still don't know what caused her death. So many of you have expressed your deepest sympathy and we appreciate your kind words. This is a difficult loss for all of us, particularly her younger sister (my cousin) and my mom. Please remember us in prayer in the days ahead.

It's at times like these that we realize that God gives us friends to lean on and to be "Jesus with skin on" to others... Thank you for your kind expressions and for your sweet friendships in both the good times and the bad... You guys are the best! :)

Much love,

Bitz

Word of God Speak...

2010-07-29T02:09:00.000-05:00

"For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart." - Hebrews 4:12

I absolutely love taking the time to type posts or to study God's word into the wee hours of the morning. It's a time of day when I know that there will be absolutely no distractions - no noise from a television, no phone calls, no incoming emails to distract me, and not a soul is on facebook at that hour! It's a great time for me to have conversations with God because I am the epitome of the night owl musician... Up late, and sleeping in.... (And I am ever so thankful for a job where I can do that.)

A couple of nights ago, I posted a comment on a board for a local newspaper. It seemed a particular local politician was in hot water with a religious group for doing a little research, forming an opinion on what he read and making that opinion public knowledge. I actually had applauded him for doing the research and for making a stand on the issue at hand based on what he had read.

It was really late, and I did need to head for bed, so I finished up, and began my normal bedtime routine... Before I crawled beneath the covers, I grabbed my Bible, as is my custom, and flipped it open. There on the pages in front of me was a passage where God was speaking, and it was as if He had just said those exact words to me as an affirmation of what I had just said on my post! I quickly told the Lord, "thanks for saying that!" and proceeded on to other things of our conversation that night.

Now, I am not an advocate of playing Bible Roulette for daily Bible Study (closing the eyes, opening up the Bible and circling the finger above the pages, then landing randomly on a passage.) That's just plain dangerous!

But I do, however, want to say that the Word of God is still powerful... It still speaks to hearts and minds today, and God does have a Word for us. The Bible is God's love letter to us! He has much to say to us from the pages of His Word....

You know, if the local politician had formed his opinion strictly on hearsay or public opinion, and not on actual researched facts, I probably wouldn't have given the guy the time of day after that. That's because public opinion is not time honored or a solid way of finding truth. Opinions come and go. Fads fade. But God's Word stands forever.

Sadly, I see a lot of folks in the world who will discount the Bible as just being an ancient book of yonder years that has absolutely no message or meaning to folks of today.... They will discount the scriptures, discount believers, even turn things inside out (calling love "hate" and "hate" love) and yet, when you ask them where they got their information, or whether they had actually read the Bible, they will say, "I don't read the Bible."

If you've never read the Bible, chances are you have one somewhere. Find yours. Blow the dust off the cover, crack it open and read it for goodness sake! Discover the wonderful ways that God still speaks to you and I... Take the time to read a short passage. See who the players are. Discover the principle that God has there, and then take the time to ask God what He is saying to you about that principle. How does this apply to you?

Betcha that the words will just jump right off the page, and scratch you where you are itching the most.

I am reminded of a song that came out a few years ago by Mercy Me...

"I'm finding myself at a loss for words

And the funny thing is it's okay

The last thing I need is to be heard

But to hear what You would say

[CHORUS]

Word of God speak

Would You pour down like rain

Washing my eyes to see

Your majesty

To be still and know

That You're in this place

Please let me stay and rest

In Your holiness

Word of God speak

I'm finding myself in the midst of You

Beyond the music, beyond the noise

All that I need is to be with You

And in the quiet hear Your voice

I'm finding myself at a loss for words

And the funny thing is it's okay" - Bart Millard, Peter Kipley

A Simple Message with a Simple Invitation

2010-07-20T17:09:00.000-05:00

"But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God." - John 1:12-13

During the first two weeks of June, I had the privilege of flying to Brazil with 24 other musicians from the US for a mission trip with Global Missions Project. We played about 17 concerts in a ten day period in Sao Paulo and Brasilia, all under the direction of my friend, Camp Kirkland.

At one of the churches in Brasilia, God reminded me of something that I think we often take for granted in the US. In the middle of our concert that night, Camp presented the gospel in a very simple, easy to understand way... When we finished the concert, the pastor of the church gave a really simple invitation, "Does anyone want to receive Jesus tonight as their Savior? Anyone????"

Ten people responded to the simple question. Ten individuals' lives were changed that night for all of eternity!
Such a simple presentation and a simple invitation... and the folks responded as if it were a Billy Graham crusade!

Sometimes I think we get so elaborate in our presentations that we miss the simplicity of the gospel: God sent His Son Jesus to save us from our sin. Jesus died a cruel death on a cross to rescue us and redeem us from the consequences of sin before a Holy God. He rose on the third day and someday He is coming again. And if we ask Him to become our Savior, He will!

Does anyone want to receive Jesus as their Savior??? Anyone???

It's a simple message and a simple invitation. If you don't know Him as Savior, then you can by simply trusting your life to Him and asking Him to take over. That's what the word, "Lord" means. If you already know Him, are you asking others, "Does anyone want to receive Jesus? Anyone???"

Come By Here

2010-07-20T01:16:00.000-05:00

"And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden." - Genesis 3:8

A couple of days ago, I was sitting in an upstairs room that we call the baseball room of our house, at the computer. I was scrolling through so many facebook statuses, reading, while at the same time pondering some events that happened at our house last week, and it came to me...

I wonder if part of our problem is that we no longer sing Kum Ba Yah. The very translation of Kum Ba Yah is, "Come By Here." Since when did we become so sophisticated that it was no longer acceptable to ask or seek God's presence???

The truth is that we aren't the first to fail to seek God's presence... As you can tell from our scripture at the top of the page, Adam and Eve took the prize there. And we've failed to seek His presence since then.

I've even heard this from a pulpit (or two or three) from a "super cool" pastoral type when visiting churches in the past: "It's not like we're just going to stand around in a circle and sing Kum Ba Yah...."

Uh. Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah... Nope. Sounds really cool like ... maybe it will even meet the approval of the Hollywood crowd... but I think I want to be in a church where God is present and we aren't too afraid to ask Him to be present, and we aren't ashamed of trying to please Him. (And, thankfully, I have experienced that at our home church!)

Seems to me that the first priority of our worship is to seek God... and to ask Him for His presence... And those above anything else. We should seek to be in His presence, and for Him to move among us. Never should we assume anything or that we deserve to stand in His presence. Only Jesus is worthy of that. But His Word does say that we can go boldly before the throne of grace.... And by doing so, we are worshiping the Father.

Romans 12:1-2 says, "I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." (ESV)

Could it be that our spiritual act of worship is turning to God in our daily tasks??? I believe that was exactly what Paul was saying! So.... What would our lives be like if we asked for God to show up at the routine times of our daily lives? What if we asked Him to "Come by here" when:

When we are hanging with friends...

Someone's laughing, Lord. Come by here.

At the beginning and ending of life... (and all of the days in between)
Someone's crying, Lord. Come by here.

When we need talk with Him...
Someone's praying, Lord. Come by here.

When we're driving down the road and singing with the radio at the top of our lungs...
Someone's singing, Lord. Come by here.

At life's joyous occassions...like a wedding... the birth of a baby... graduations...
Someone's dancing, Lord. Come by here.

When you realize a loved one's journey will soon end....
Someone's dying, Lord. Come by here.

When your feelings are crushed.... or you are the object of gossip or some misunderstanding.
Someone's hurting, Lord. Come by here.

When you've messed up and need forgiveness.... Someone's sinned, Lord. Come by here.

When you are in need of a Savior...
Someone needs You, Lord. Come by here.

Oh, Lord. Come by here....

Great is the Lord Almighty

2010-05-20T12:41:00.015-05:00

"Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised in the city of our God! His holy mountain..." - Psalm 48:1

(WARNING: Transparency Alert!!! If you aren't the type of believer who welcomes real people with real stories of a real God Who really saves and changes lives, then stop reading here, and go find another blog. This post will contain some adult situations in an effort to be transparent and to encourage others who may be struggling with their own pasts to find freedom in Christ... Parental guidance suggested. Pharisees need not apply!)

So I was sitting in church orchestra rehearsal last night, playing "Great is the Lord Almighty," (Dennis Jernigan), getting ready for Sunday. As we were playing, I was once again reminded of the lyrics of this great song of testimony:

"When His Children were dying and lost in their sin, MY GOD DIED AND HE ROSE AGAIN!
And I've been rejoicing since He took MY PLACE, and I thank YOU, JESUS, and PRAISE HIS NAME!!!"

A few years ago, while serving in the orchestra at Liberty Baptist Church in Hampton, Virginia, our church choir and orchestra accompanied Dennis Jernigan for a concert during one of our morning worship services. Now, mind you, I have played a lot of music over the years, and I was quite familiar with several of Dennis' worship tunes, but his was just a name on a page of music, like the many other composers' names I read on a weekly basis.... until I heard his story that day.

Dennis was saved from a life of sexual sin -- specifically, homosexuality. He spent several years in homosexual relationships, all while in the church. But then, Dennis came to the end of himself, and began a relationship with Jesus! And God changed his life! He is now married to a heterosexual wife, has several children, and God sings songs to him that he now writes and we as the church of today now sing: You Are My All in All, Great is the Lord Almighty, Who Can Satisfy My Soul, and countless others like them.

As incredible as Dennis' story may be, each of us who belongs to the family of God, every Christ-follower also has a story of our own... One of how a loving God, in His infinite Grace and Mercy has saved us and made us His very own.... And at a time when the church is struggling to be heard in the world, maybe it's time we started getting real with the folks in the pew next to us, and shared our own stories... I mean, how better to re-ignite the flames of faith, than to remind one another of just Who God is and what HE has done in our own lives????

Beth Moore tells the story of when one of her young children was hospitalized with a rota virus, one of her daughter's classmates sent her a homemade card that read, "I thrupt, too!" (Translation: I threw up, too!) I think that there is a desperate need among our congregations for revival, and how better to do that than to become real with one another with what Christ has done in our own lives and to remind us of who we are, who we were before Jesus came in and rocked our worlds, and who we are yet to become???

Yet, I also believe that there is a definite fear among us to share our stories.. There is a fear of judgement among believers... so much so that it would drive the very members of the family of God back into hiding behind the doors of our pasts, and would keep us from being effective servants of the Living God! And there, boys and girls, is the very definition of hypocrisy... We claim to have experienced the grace and merciful favor of the God of the Universe, and yet, we shove our own histories under the rug and will not so much as give credence those who bring their own histories to the forefront!

Truth be told, our pews are filled with sinners every single time we meet! The Bible says, "There is none who is righteous, none, not even one." NEWSFLASH! The girl who sits in the orchestra on the platform week after week and sings the solos has a story, too!!!! And as much as I hate to admit it, my own story's not pretty... And I know that many of my readers are folks who have served side by side with me in churches from days gone by will be reading/hearing this for the very first time. Many of you have heard me sing or play, or are in my Sunday School class... Several of you worked with me in Christian workplaces and will have no clue about the story I am about to tell. I haven't told it because there is a lot of shame involved... and I have had an inherent fear that should I go public with my story that the Church would force my testimony back into hiding... and that I would go right back to the idea of praising God publicly, but keeping the past hidden... and only admitting that there was a past... And I am convinced that is precisely where the enemy wants the Church to be... hidden, cowering in fear of harsh judgement of those who sit with us in the pews week after week... when, in fact, God calls us to be real.

That's what the whole story of the woman at the well is about ... Jesus called out the Samaritan woman when she told Him that she "had no husband..." In John 4, Jesus told her, "You've spoken correctly that you have no husband... when in fact, you've had five husbands, and the one you are now with is not your husband." Jesus basically told her to get real! And we all know the story there. (If you don't go read John 4! Here's a link: http://www.biblestudytools.com/esv/john/4.html Ready, set.... GO!)

I can relate to the woman at the well in some ways... You see, I struggled with sexual sin in my early twenties and became pregnant with a child out of wedlock. The father and I intended to marry, but changed our plans after I lost the baby in a miscarriage. (And yes, it was a miscarriage, not an abortion, as rumors would have it.) I started spotting three months into the pregnancy -- all thanks to a tubal pregnancy and no thanks to two back to back eighteen hour shifts at a fast food restaurant in Oxford, MS with no breaks -- and was placed on bed rest, and still lost the baby two days later. I had a DNC for a miscarriage and two weeks later, I was back in the hospital for four days with an infection from the surgery. I was a lost church member, baptized, and actively attending worship, singing wherever God would allow me to sing, and serving in the high places in our denomination! I would finally marry -- legitimately -- to a different man in 1992 (ironically our wedding fell on the ninth anniversary date of my miscarriage -- I was convinced that God was giving me Tony because I had been "good"!) I began to stake my life on my marriage to Tony... Then, horror of horrors, Tony died of cancer in 1998. I was 35. He was 40. After Tony's death, my life pretty much fell apart. I had always really struggled with purpose in life... I guess I always knew what I wanted to be when I grew up, but I just never had the courage or the confidence that I could go there. So, consequently, I jumped from job to job, was fired from more jobs than I am willing to admit, and really had no substance to my life. Don't get me wrong -- I had all the friends I could ever want, plenty of nice things, a life full of opportunities that others would literally kill for, but I was empty -- lonely, unfulfilled and without direction. I had no money... and I didn't have a job. To make matters worse, I was not easy to live with. I would argue with a fencepost, and had no control over my temper or my tongue. As far as I knew, the universe revolved around me... and if it wasn't already about me, I made it about me. Widowhood only compounded the struggles I had. I felt useless, like I was just taking up space in the universe that was intended for someone else. I struggled financially, and nearly lost my home... So much of my own life's downfall was due to my own making, and I felt I had nowhere to turn! Prayers bounced off the wall because I had absolutely no relationship with the God of the Universe... although I talked about Him quite a bit... I knew all the right things to say, and all the right things to do... but did not KNOW God... until the day I came to the end of myself, and said, "Jesus, I am tired of struggling. I am tired of trying to do and be, and coming up short. I'm tired of me. I need You to be the Boss of Me. I need You to take over my life." My life has changed dramatically since that day! For the past ten years, I have been teaching music in private studio. I remarried in 2001 to a godly guy... I have a beautiful home, great church home, and a purpose within the Body of Christ, and a purpose in life! Life is not perfect, and God is still molding me day by day into His image... But I am not who I was and I am not yet who I will be! I am simply clay in the Hands of the Creator of the Universe... An adopted Child of the King of all Kings, and a joint heir with Christ, nonetheless, and only so because of His infinite love, mercy and grace.

So. There you have it, boys and girls. Now you know why I am in awe of our God. Now you know why I Praise Him so! That's the story of this child who was dying and lost in her sin... And MY GOD DIED AND HE ROSE AGAIN... And I've been rejoicing since HE TOOK MY PLACE... And I thank YOU, JESUS, and PRAISE HIS NAME... singin':

Great is the Lord Almighty, He is Lord, He is God and King
Great is the Lord Almighty, He is God Supreme
Great is the Lord Almighty, He is Lord, He is God and King!
Great is the Lord! Great is the Lord!

So... What's your story??? I dare you to tell it!!! I double-dog dare you to drop your own masks and share your own story -- warts and all -- first to a church that needs to be reminded of Who Our God is... That very action will cause our churches to lift Him up. And dear Christ-followers, I triple-dog dare you to be a people who understand GRACE and to be givers of MERCY... When that begins to take place, the lost world that is dying and headed for hell will sit up and take notice -- not of us, but of JESUS.

After all, isn't it all about Him????

The Habits of this Highly Effective (But Lost) Church Lay Leader: Part 10 - The Heart of (the) Worship(er)

2010-04-01T21:55:00.001-05:00

"But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him." - John 4:23 (ESV)

We began our series in October, and as only God could design it, we are now ending this series on the Heart of the Worshiper at Easter! What a better way to end a blog series than by bringing it back around to WHO worship is really all about and why???

I know that this has been a zany journey for us at best, as you've read about my wacky stories. But I hope that you've come away with this thought:

Worship is not about us.
It never has been.
And never should be.

It is about the Holy Son of God.
He was At Creation.
Appointed by the Father.
Sent to earth.
God's Passover Lamb.
Without spot or Blemish.
The Only One Who could fulfill God's requirements.

Came to earth as a baby.
Born in a feed trough in a barn.
Fully God.
Fully Man.
Born with a Purpose...

To save us.

Some of the people followed Him.
Some of the people loved Him.
Some of the people hated Him.

Some cried "Hosanna!"
Then they cried, "Crucify Him."
Fickle they were.

But that was part of the plan.

To Save us.

He was beaten.
Beyond recognition.
Bruised.
Humiliated.
Crowned with Thorns.
Forced to drag a cross through the city.
Then nailed to a tree.

But that, too, was part of the Plan.

To Save us.

He died....
Placed in a borrowed tomb.

It was Sealed
With a large Boulder
And Caesar's personal seal.

And Heavily Guarded
By the Roman Government....
With the threat of death,
Should anyone allow the stone to be removed.

But that didn't stop our God!

It too, was part of His Plan.

To Save Us!

Sometime during the night,
Fingers moved.
Eyes twitched.
Legs swung over the place where He lay.
He sat up.
Feet hit the floor!
He stood.
Removed the burial garments.
Folded them with the carpenter's fold.
And left them lying.
To show that the work was complete.

Jesus was ALIVE.

The Angel of God rolled away the boulder.

And out of the tomb He came!!!

The Work was Complete!

To Save Us.

And when the Heart of the Worshiper realizes Who He is, and What He did, we bow in awe...

That, my friend, is what worship is about.
That, is WHO worship is about!

Not about you.
Not about me.
Never has been.

Just Jesus....

Matt Redmond wrote a beautiful song called, The Heart of Worship. Click on the link below to hear it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZgPPmtZgS4

The Habits of this Highly Effective (But Lost) Church Lay Leader: Part 9 - Personal Holier-than-thou-ness: My stuff doesn't stink, but yours sure does!

2010-03-25T00:48:00.000-05:00

"But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him." - John 4:23 (ESV)

So.... Where were we???? Ah, yes! We're nearly finished with this series on the heart of the worshiper. (Is it one "p" or two???? I've always thought it to be two "p"s but the ESV says one.... We'll go with their spelling.)

We've all slept since then, so here's a quick review of just some of the things we've discussed... We've talked about things like Absolute Abandonment, Being Real with God and Others, Meeting needs of folks who are different from ourselves... We've talked about making Jesus our treasure first, and then all else will fall into place... And we've talked about numerous other things...

Deep breath. We've got to tackle one of the biggest topics of all this week.... Personal Holiness.

Ok. Before we go any further, allow me to say that this is a topic that doesn't excite me when it comes to writing about it. Why? Because it probably is the one area that trips me up the most! If I go too far with it, I can fall into pride and become extremely judgemental of others. If I don't go far enough with imitating Christ and trying to live the way He wants, I fall into the trap of relying on myself to set my own rules rather than relying on God. Scary thought, huh?

We already know what kinds of consequences those types of attitudes result in. And in either direction, the issue is clear: personal holiness can easily become personal holier-than-thou-ness... And the biggest question is where is the line drawn?

I think what we have to do is ask ourselves some hard questions. Am I trying to impress others more than I desire to please God with the way that I live? Do I talk about the kinds of things that I do for the kingdom publicly, in order to receive praise from others? Do I look for ways that others fail and bring them to their attention more than I consider my own failures? Do I hope that God "looks the other way" when I deliberately fail Him? Do I look for ways to rationalize my own faults and sin? Is my heart still tender toward God, and do I still try to please Him according to His word? Or am I making up my own rules and hoping that will do?

For my own life, prior to having a relationship with Jesus, I was very quick to jump to the judgement of others, while failing to see my own sin in my own life. I thought that as long as I didn't do something really bad, God would look the other way... and that He was okay with me. After all, I was in church, and I was reading the Bible and goodness knows, I was doing all sorts of things in His church! And wasn't that good enough to get me into His kingdom, or certainly within His good graces?? I thought I was the golden child!

Uh, yeah. Right.

Listen, friends. The Bible says that our righteousness to Him is as filthy rags! (Isaiah 64:6) None of us has arrived spiritually speaking. We are a fallen people, living in a fallen world. And it's only because of the grace and mercy of Almighty God that any of us even have the ability to stand before Him!

Which brings me to something that has been bugging me. A restored worship pastor friend of mine told me recently that after a moral failure, there were some folks with the attitude that he could never serve in a leadership role in that church again, because "there was a need to protect the bride."

News flash! Jesus said that He would be the One Who would present the Church as a Bride, without spot or blemish. It is not our job as the Church to present the Church without spot or blemish to God. The Church cannot present itself as spotless or without blemish to Christ because it consists of a fallen people and a fallen people cannot represent themselves as spotless or without blemish. Only Jesus can do such a thing, and to think otherwise makes Jesus' sacrifice on the cross needless and without merit! (Who needs a Savior, if the Church can save herself???)

Truth factor: Each one of us has scars. Every last one of us has sinned. Every last one of us has failed God in some way. That is not to say that following the moral failure of a leader that we don't have to go through the biblical path for restoring a fallen brother or sister in Christ. But if we, the church, take the attitude that a fallen brother or sister in Christ is now permanently disqualified from serving in leadership forever, even after having been through the process of restoration, then I would submit that no believer would be able to serve in leadership roles! And that's just not biblical. (Don't believe me? Look at the story of King David. The guy slept with another man's wife, tried to cover it up, and then had her husband killed when his plan didn't work out. And yet, after all of that, God still called him a "man after His own heart!")

As a believer, I have no right or standing with God that gives me permission to judge another based on my own ideas of morality. I have no right to stand judgement on any other believer. Period. I only have the right to judge my own behavior based on the Person of Jesus Christ and my own actions based on the truth of His Word. Period. The standards of the Bible are not there to question the hearts of others but to question my own heart! And to see where I line up with God....

What about if we go the other direction? What if we kinda make up our own rules as we go along? The Bible calls this "carnality..." That's when we live only by opting for the flesh, our human nature and fail to live by God's standards. Again, this finds its roots in self-serving attitudes. Often, we don't dive into carnality head first. It usually begins with simple longing, a lack of satisfaction with Christ, and then we search for it with the eyes, then we allow the mind to be engaged. The heart follows suit. And BINGO. We're in the middle of a mess that we had no idea that we created for ourselves!

It's in those times of carnality that we finally willfully defy God, and we only pray that He will turn His head away and let us slide. But nothing escapes His sight! And we know it. So finally we either do one of two things: we return to God, and do things His way, or we begin to make up our own rules to live by.
Sometimes that means that we try to change the rules to suit our own fancy with our own sin. Sometimes it means that we even go so far as to attempt to dismiss the existence of "sin" as a whole from our culture... and then that removes the need for a Savior... We then become spiritual, without being Godly. We become religious without a relationship with the Living God. We search for truth in all but Christ....

But Jesus said, "You shall know the Truth and the Truth shall set you free!" (John 8:32)

So, then how do we combat these areas of failure?

First, I think we remember Jesus, and imitate His attitude...

1 If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. - Ephesians 2:1-11

Second, we need to grow up in our faith in Christ, and find our freedom and our satisfaction in Him. From Colossians 2:

6 So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, 7 rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. 8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ. 9 For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, 10 and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority. 11 In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, 12 having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. 13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. 16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. 17 These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ. 18 Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you for the prize. Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen, and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions. 19 He has lost connection with the Head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow. 20 Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: 21 "Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!"? 22 These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. 23 Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.

Finally, I think we can learn to use the scriptures to only judge ourselves, not others.

1 "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. 3 "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye. 6 "Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces. - Matthew 7:1-6

I'm Baaaaaaack!!

2010-03-19T02:54:00.000-05:00

OK. Contrary to the rumors, I haven't fallen off the planet. I have just been extremely busy for the past month. HH and I took a few days and had a working vacation in Virginia... and since arriving home, I have spent my time playing catch up. There have been concerts, friends who have come into town to visit, and lots of other distractions. I know, it sounds like a lot of excuses, but I'm back now. ;)

The blog series will continue, and I will try to have something up and ready for you to read early next week!

Many thanks to those who have been so faithful to continue to check in during my absence and wondering where I've been!

Well Done...

2010-02-07T23:41:00.001-06:00

The last time I saw him was in early December. I took a student over to the nursing home where he resided, and we played for the residents there. He was sleeping for most of the time that I was there, but at one point, he looked up, opened his beautiful blue eyes, and looked directly at me. "There are those beautiful steel blue eyes that I love so much!" I said. Then he quickly closed them and went right back into his almost comatose state. I kissed him on the forehead, and patted his forearm. He quickly grabbed my hand. I told him that I loved him and that I wanted to play some Christmas carols. He whispered, "That'd be fine."

Dr. H, as I fondly called him, was my former pastor, a wonderful shepherd and a loving friend.... He buried my Tony and married me to my second husband. Though I wasn't led to Christ by him, his teaching has certainly shaped my life in more ways than I could begin to count. He was an encourager.... my biggest cheerleader after Tony died... and one who loved his flock well above and beyond the call of duty.

And we loved him back.

I think probably my favorite Dr. Hubbard story has to go like this:

We were sitting at dinner, just a few weeks after Tony had died. Crowded around my little breakfast table were five of us.... Dr. H, Mrs. Faye (his beloved bride), my friend, Ron (who led me to Christ later) and his wife, Jean. I had made some supper for us, and had them over to say thanks for all that they had done from the time of Tony's illness until his dying breath. And for dessert, I had decided on Sara Lee pound cake, and fruit. I had bought the whole fruit that had been quick frozen in a bag, thinking this would be fine, and would be easy. (Somehow, I think I managed to miss the domestic gene for females...) Anyhow, the fruit didn't thaw as quickly as I had hoped. Dr. Hubbard was trying to be nice, but he just couldn't fake it. He said, "Bitsy, I nearly broke a tooth!" I quickly apologized... and we all got a laugh about how bad my cooking skills were. (Needless to say, the next time I entertained, I had pizza delivered!)

A little later that night during the dinner conversation, Dr. H looked at me and said, "Bitsy, I believe the roses will bloom again." I had never heard that expression before, and he explained to me what he meant. He was saying that he believed that I would eventually remarry, though at the time, I wasn't so sure.

As it turned out, he was right. When my then fiance' and I had met with he and Mrs. Faye for lunch in order to plan our wedding just a couple of weeks prior to the wedding, Dr. H again found a moment to tell me, "I think the roses are in bloom again." Nearly four years had passed since the night around the dinner table, and soon friends and family would gather in the livingroom of that same little home and my then retired pastor declared two of us as husband and wife in the company of a handful of family and close friends.

Yes, Dr. H, and they are blooming still, now eight years later... but none like the many roses that you have cultivated in our lives, my sweet friend. You were a joy to me and to countless others in your 50 plus years of ministry....

Thank you, Ken Hubbard, for sixteen wonderful years of friendship. You are a gem in His crown!

I love you, and I will miss you sorely. See you on the other side.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzhFyNp3Ja8

The Habits of this Highly Effective (But Lost) Christian Lay Leader: Week 7: Treasures

2010-02-03T02:46:00.000-06:00

"But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him." - John 4:23 (ESV)

When I started writing this blog, I wanted to be sure that we accomplished (at a bare minimum) two purposes: 1) Encouraging those who are already Christ-followers, and 2) Speaking truth to the non-believer, both in a very real, very personal way.

Hard to believe we've made it to this point, isn't it???? We've been learning about developing a heart that is that of a true worshipper... We're learning to abandon ourselves to God, and allow Him to have complete control of us, and we've talked about developing that loving relationship with God. We've talked about having a servant's heart and loving God and loving others.

Since we've been talking about the heart of the worshipper, I am going to continue in that theme, and I'd like to discuss here the topic of what motivates us to be givers. I am not specifically talking about the giving of money, but let's not dismiss the thought that giving a tithe back to God through the local church is a very large, very practical part of having a giving heart.

Before you go and hit the x button, I should tell you that there is no need to worry. I am not going to ask you for one single penny! This site and the facebook group are provided and maintained at no cost to any of you. If there is one thing I am a firm believer in, it's this: we should never ever have to charge folks to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ!

That's not to say that we (as Christ followers) should not support certain ministries or ministry projects, and most certainly, we should bring our tithes and offerings to our local congregation. Those are things that God commanded. And if it's in the Book, then boy, howdy, I think we'd better do it just the way that the God of the Universe laid out the principles.

God commanded that we give. Throughout the Bible, God commanded that His people be a giving people. You can find references to tithing even as early as the Book of Numbers in the Old Testament. And Jesus talked about giving more than He did just about any other subject!

What is it that causes you and I to hold on so tightly to whatever it is that happens to be in our hands???? Why is it that we refuse to be open-handed or open-hearted with our lives???? It's not like we don't have a God Who won't provide for us.

I mean, let's face it... You and I definitely have a Provider in Heaven Who meets our needs... and does so willingly and cheerfully. He's the same God Who:

Fed the Children of Israel with manna from Heaven while they were in the wilderness.

Stretched the oil and flour.

Turned water into wine at a wedding reception because the wine had run out.

Blessed the widow's mite.

Fed Five Thousand with a couple of sardines and a handful of dinner rolls.

Filled the nets of a group of tired, previously unsuccessful fishermen (to the point of breakage) with lots and lots of fish.

Fed Four thousand more.

And He has promised to supply all of your needs according to His riches and glory in Christ Jesus. (Phil.4:19)

And yet, we cringe when we hear someone talk about giving... or get bent out of shape when we are asked to help in some tangible way. What is it about us that causes us to grip the things that are tangible or intangible to the point of having white knuckles???? I can't answer for you... but I can tell you how I felt before I became a Christ-follower. You may have felt the same way or there may be other reasons.

Like you, I had heard the stories of Jesus' miracles and of God's provision over and over again. We've heard all about how God loves a cheerful giver... And I guess that I believed that all those stories were fine for those folks back then. But for the life of me, I never could seem to grasp that the reason God was telling us those stories was that they were testimonies of His faithfulness to all generations.... The story hadn't ended with those folks in the pages of the scriptures! He wanted us to know that He was faithful to them, and He would remain faithful to us... His faithfulness would remain throughout eternity.

But beyond all of those reasons, I failed to understand that God wants us to learn to be givers because it is a real reflection of where our hearts really are... both to Him and to those around us. See, the bottom line is that it never has been about us. If we give with ulterior motives, then we will have a hard time accepting His own gift without strings or ulterior motives. If we hoard or become stingy, then we will not be likely to effectively share His truth with others. If we give out of duty, then our relationship with God will also likely exist out of duty, not love... If we fail to give at all, then it is also likely that we don't trust God in other areas of our life. And I would even be so bold as to say that this is true even where our salvation is concerned. Bottom line? If He isn't Lord of all, then He isn't Lord at all! Period.

So, what changed my heart about giving?

I think a large part of it came when I realized the priceless gift that Jesus gave was for me at the cross... I had already heard over and over how God had set the example... But when I came to the realization that a Holy God,One Who cannot be touched by the impurity of sin became sin for me and I accepted His gift of salvation,I became a part of His family.

When I became a Christ follower, Jesus became my treasure. "But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us." - 2 Corinthians 4:7 I finally understood that I had a personal debt that I owed Him that I could never, ever begin to repay.

You see, it had always been easy for me to believe that Jesus died for the sins of the world... But I had the hardest time accepting that He actually died for my own personal sins..... That it was for all of those stupid, horrible things that I committed (or didn't do) that put Him on that cross! Yep. Those ugly words I said, that gossip that I passed along, the crude, ugly jokes,the lies I told,and the many, many things that I did that broke His heart... Yeah... All of those were placed on my Savior... and He was nailed to a tree at a place called Calvary...

He did it for me...

And He did it for you.

And He did it "just because."

Ever gotten a gift "just because?" I firmly believe those are the best kind of gifts ever! I love getting them, and I love giving them! Those are the gifts that don't come on your birthday... or Christmas... or anniversary... or any other occasion. They are just presents given out of a heart of love. Jesus did the same thing when He gave of Himself for us... It was a gift, "just because."

The prophet Isaiah wrote: "But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all." - Isaiah 53:5-6

The sacrificial death of Jesus on the cross motivates me to be like God in that I want to give my all to Him, because He gave His all to me. Why? Because He gave His life in exchange for my life out of His love for me! It was entirely a gift of love! I can never, ever outgive God... But that doesn't stop me from trying to be like God. God was a giver. I want to be a giver, too!

What should we give?

Let's start with Jesus.
Then, let's give:
Ourselves.
Our love.
Our heart.
Our talents.
Our time.
Our money.
Our expertise.
Our prayers.

To whom shall we give it?

Let's start with Jesus.

Then to:
Our families.
Our church.
Our friends.
Our neighbors.
Our co-workers.
Our acquaintances.
To strangers.
To enemies.
To our allies.
To aliens.
To whomever God places in our paths.

Lovingly.
Willingly.
Cheerfully.
Freely.
Without ulterior motives or expecting anything in return.

Just because....

The Habits of this Highly Effective (But Lost) Church Lay Leader: Week 6 - Serving: Working up a Sweat

2010-01-26T02:40:00.000-06:00

"But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him." - John 4:23 (ESV)

We've made it to the sixth topic of our series on the heart of the worshiper. This series has turned out to take a lot longer than we anticipated, but I think sometimes we don't always see the big picture that God has in mind. So, I am glad that we've been flexible thus far and that you are still with me as I share my zany thoughts from my days prior to becoming a genuine Christ-follower.

To tell you the truth, the idea of talking about serving the Lord is one that makes my head swim.... There are a lot of things we need to address when we talk about service.... Who we serve, What we serve, When we serve, Why we serve, How we serve, How much, and then we need to discuss some of the fallacies of service. We need to discuss our motives for serving. We need to discuss spiritual gifts and how those are used within the body... And if I honestly tried to cover all of this, it would take six months to read one blog post!

Rick Warren has written a fabulous book called, "The Purpose-Driven Life" which addresses serving God. There are similar books out by Dr. David Jeremiah and Max Lucado on the subject as well. If you are looking to go deeper on this topic, those would be great places to start.

For the purposes of this blog, and to keep the continuity of the previous blogs, I am going to share my own experiences relative to serving in the local church body prior to knowing Christ. And then I am going to share what God has taught me as a Christ-follower over the past nearly nine years.

I believe I shared with you last week that I was invited to church by one of my neighborhood friends, who also happened to be a PK. She had invited me to join a youth choir at her church because she knew that I loved music. I think I also told you that particular choir was going on tour to Texas.

I learned right away that service was supposed to be a big part of the Christian life... and I have the physical scars to prove it! The very first time I ever remember going to that church was to go to work at a pancake breakfast in order to earn money for the choir tour. I had not even been to a choir rehearsal yet, but I was already working in the church.

After the pancake breakfast that afternoon, I helped to wash windows along the church nursery wall. This was an outside wall, and beneath us was a paved driveway that led to a carport typed awning (this was in the 70's) for a drop-off point for parents. Now, mind you, I had never even so much as cleaned my room at home or had to clean a bathroom mirror! So this was an entirely new experience for me. But I wanted to earn my way to Texas, and so I climbed up on a rickety step ladder and began to clean those windows! Side by side with my little PK friend, we were working for Jesus. Or something like that.

Okay. Now, I was a very short kid -- always the shortest one in my class and I hadn't gotten all that much taller by the time I reached the seventh grade, and so reaching some of the spots on those windows was a challenge for me. At one point, I gave up and climbed up on the very top of the step ladder. The ladder gave way, the bucket that I had on the shelf fell, and I went backwards! The next thing I knew, I was down on the pavement! I had a gash in the top of my head, and there was fear that I might have had a concussion as well. It wasn't pretty. But I helped earn my way to Texas.... and as far as I could tell at that point in my little warped teenage brain, that was also a step on the journey to earning my way to Heaven as well.

The only problem was that I didn't know how much I needed to do to get into Heaven. So, I continued to do nice things. I tried to make sure that I was at church nearly every Sunday from that day forward (surely God would count that toward getting in) and that I did plenty of good things for him. My resume was filled with all sorts of lay activities in the local church, as well as professional opportunities in churches and para-church organizations or agencies. If I had one of those Sunday School pins to represent each of the things I did over the years, I believe I would have tripped over it!!!!

But those things all became moot point because all of those activities were about me.... and boosting myself in the congregation and getting God to notice....

Here are some of the things I have learned since following Christ about service:

1) I am to serve Him because I belong to Him.... Not because I want to belong to Him. Do you see the difference?

"8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." - Ephesians 2:8-10

2) My service to God is a way of showing others that I do, in fact belong to God.

"22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. 26 If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless. 27 Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world." - James 1: 22-27

3) My service to God is for the benefit of His kingdom. Therefore, I am to serve humbly and follow Christ's example. It isn't about me.

"1 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant,being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." - Philippians 2:1-11

Did you notice what Jesus did? He took the form of a servant... and humbled Himself by being obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (v.7) Our example of servanthood comes from Christ Jesus, Himself!

4) God designed and calls each of us to fit into a specific local body of believers to complete the specific mission that God has destined for our churches. We are to use our spiritual gifts, our natural talents and our life experiences to help our local church to reach the lost and to encourage the saints. He did not design anyone for pew warming!

You can find spiritual gift lists in Rom 12:3-8 ; 1 Cor 12-14; Eph 4:7-13 ; and 1 Peter 4:10-11. If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, then He has given you certain spiritual gifts to be used within the body of Christ. Those came at your salvation. Discover your gift, and use it for His benefit within your local church. If you fail to use your gifts within your local church, your church will not be able to accomplish fully her mission that God has designed for her within your community.

There are many good gift surveys available to help you discover your areas of spiritual giftedness. Your pastor or educational minister could probably help you to find a survey and help you discover your own gifts. I seem to remember that "The Purpose Driven Life" had a good gift assessment survey in the back of the book as well.

5) Don't confuse "spiritual gifts" or natural talents with THE GIFT or THE GIVER! God has given us the GIFT of HIS SON! One of my biggest issues I think was that I often confused the idea of serving with having a relationship with Jesus.

If you are questioning your salvation, the best thing to do is nail it down!

God loves you and has a plan for you:

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him, should not persish, but have everlasting life." - John 3:16

There's a problem - God is holy and we are not.

"There is none righteous, no not one." - Romans 3:10

"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." - Romans 3:23

The penalty for sin is eternal death. .
"For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." - Romans 6:23

God made a way for us through Jesus and His death on the cross.
"But God commended His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." - Romans 5:8

All we have to do is ask Him to be the Lord of us. The word "Lord" is probably best translated in today's terms as "Boss." When you ask Jesus to be Lord of you, you are asking HIM to call all of the shots on your life from this point forward. He's in charge 24/7...

"because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved." - Romans 10:9-10

If you have made this decision, the next step will require some courage on your behalf, particularly if you have been in the church for a long time, as I was. You will need to talk with your pastor or another church staff member and tell him of your decision. He will guide you from there as to next steps (believer's baptism and so forth.)

I will be praying for each of you.... as you find your place of service and for some of you who will be nailing down your salvation experience for the first time!

The Habits of this Highly Effective (But Lost) Church Lay Leader: Week 5 (Part B) - Daily Walk: The Do's and Don'ts of the Christian Life

2010-01-19T02:13:00.001-06:00

"But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him." - John 4:23 (ESV)

Last week, we learned that we are slaves to sin... and that God gives us freedom. Sometimes our freedom comes when we first come to know Christ. Other times it comes after we are believers who experience some kind of moral failure (big or small) and find ourselves in a position of brokeness before God. That's what I want to touch on this week.

Sadly, yes, believers fail God sometimes. And sometimes we get ourselves into real messes. And depending on the circumstances, we can find ourselves in a place that is embarrassing, and costly.... Very costly. I am talking about the kinds of costs that money cannot repair... emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually. The kinds of costs that disrupt our lives... and sometimes cost us our jobs, our families, our friends, and sometimes, if the person happens to be in ministry, our churches. This is the kind of cost that bankrupts our lives.

And do you wanna know the truth?? (The truth is what sets you free!)

It's precisely where God wants you and I to be.

You see, it's when we are broken that we are most useful to Him in His kingdom. The heart of a servant who serves from the broken places is not likely to stray again.

Shepherding was a very common way of living in biblical times. And Jesus told a story about the wandering sheep and how the shepherd would go after the one that went astray (Luke 15:1-7.) I've heard it said that what Jesus was referring to was the practice of shepherds in His day relative to teaching a wandering sheep not to wander again.

The shepherd would go and retrieve the wandering sheep and before he would bring it back to the fold, he would break all four legs of the little wandering lamb. Then the shepherd would gently bind up the broken legs and place the little lamb on his shoulders, where he would remain until the wounds healed. During this time of healing, the shepherd fed the lamb, and he would carry him everywhere that he went. The shepherd would meet his every need, just as he met his own needs. When the healing was completed, the little lamb would then be allowed to return to walk on his own again. But from that point forward, the lamb would become a shadow to the shepherd. He would never stray from his side again.

When we are broken before the Lord, and allow the Lord to be the Only Healer of our wounds, we have the choice to serve Him out of our brokeness. If we allow Him to carry us, He will meet all of our needs. And as He allows those wounds to heal, we learn to follow Him.

Like that lamb who is allowed to walk again eventually under his own power, if our eyes are on Jesus during the entire time of our healing, it is not likely that we will find ourselves in the briar patches soon again.... We will fall right in step behind Him....

Paying attention to His every word for us.
Listening closely as He speaks to us.
Obeying all that He asks of us.
Remaining teachable as He teaches us.
Being a fisher of men.
Going to the least of these.

All from a servant's heart.
All from a broken servant's heart.

The prophet Isaiah wrote (about Jesus):

"The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; 2 to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; 3 to grant to those who mourn in Zion-- to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified. 4 They shall build up the ancient ruins; they shall raise up the former devastations; they shall repair the ruined cities, the devastations of many generations." - Isaiah 61:1-4

Did you notice that He has come to set the captives free? But did you also notice that the freedom followed the binding of the brokenhearted?

Again, like that lamb, we've been set completely free to come and go as we please but now we are CHOOSING to follow.

Following closely.
Remaining at His heels.
Never straying.
Never. Straying. again.
Even when we could do our own thing, we choose to follow ONLY Him.

Step.
By Step.
By Step.
By Step...

Learning.
Growing.
Rebuilding.
All for His good pleasure.

In some cases, we will be redesigned for a different purpose. In others, we will be scarred vessels who will be used in similar circumstances to where we were before. But it's not up to us to decide how or where or when He will use us, or whether He will choose to use us again. That's for Him to choose. And for us to obey, and in whatever capacity He chooses to use us, if He chooses to use us, we will be content.

Our job is to look to Him, and simply follow.....

Letting Go After Twelve Years... A Word of Encouragement...

2010-01-12T23:48:00.000-06:00

Okay. I know some of you will be freaked out by the fact that I have written three posts, three days in a row... Don't get used to it! I don't usually have the time to do this and this has been a unique week.

Most of you will read this on January 13th. For most of you, it will just be another date on the calendar, but it has a specific meaning to me. It was January 13th, 1998 that Tony passed away following a battle with cancer. Today will mark the 12th anniversary of his death.

Now before all of you start getting all weepy and soppy on me, I want you to be aware that this year is different for me. For the first time, although I can't say that I have made a really big deal of the date in quite a while, I am aware of the date's arrival and I am finally being able to say that I can think of Tony in a way that does not associate his life with his death (necessarily.) I have come to a place where I can think of the pre-cancer days and smile, remembering birthday parties with family, crazy things we did together as a couple, the dreams we dreamed.... buying our first house together... The tears don't come as often as they once did...

And I am only sharing these thoughts with you because I want to encourage those from Mourning into Dancing who are struggling with loss. So many of our girls are still in the very early stages of grief, and I want them to know that time has a way of healing old wounds... This is about encouraging you, girls.

Tony and I had a great life together.... and make no mistake... I loved him dearly! But there comes a time after the grieving process when you move on.... and you realize that you are living in a totally different world. That time comes at different places for different people. There are no magic formulas... no magic pills or dates on the calendar that make it go away... I still have moments when the tears come... but that happens on the very, very rarest of occassion now... and I am a long way from crying myself to sleep as I did for the first three years or so after he died.

And that doesn't mean I don't still think about him daily (actually he comes to mind several times a day.) In truth, it's hard to escape thoughts of someone, when everywhere you turn in your home, there is some piece of furniture still there that you built together (and the fights that went with it.... LOL) or your little furry shadow that you both raised from the time she was six weeks old is still sleeping on your bed (she's nearly eighteen years old now).... Then there are all of the sayings and silly rituals you had together.... Those thoughts don't dissappear. But now, I can remember those things and smile... I can't drive past our first home which is just a few blocks over and not think about us picking out that house...

Anyway, girls, I want you to know that God has a way of comforting us in our grief, if we let Him.... You and I will never know on this side of glory why God chose to take the men in our lives away at one time or another... But as a really good friend of mine posted on facebook last night relative to another loss, because of Jesus, if they knew the Lord, we will all have a lot more time in eternity with them than we did on this planet. Therein lies our certainty.

This little poem was read by one of our former pastors at Tony's funeral, and it stays in my mind. I have no idea who wrote it... But it speaks of "Letting Go."

"Miss Me But Let Me Go"

When I come to the end of the road

And the sun has set for me
I want no rites in a gloom filled room
Why cry for a soul set free!

Miss me a little - but not too long
And not with your head bowed low
Remember the love we once shared
Miss me - But let me go!

For this journey we all must take
And each must go alone
It's all part of the master plan
A step on the road to home

When you are lonely and sick at heart
Go to the friends we know
And bury your sorrows in doing good deeds
Miss me - But let me go!

Whodathunkit???? :)

2010-01-11T21:35:00.002-06:00

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen". - Ephesians 3:20-21

Yeah, I know. Two posts in twenty-four hours! Major miracle, right??? Well, let's just say that I wanted to give the Lord a "Standing Ovation" for what He has done with Mourning into Dancing!

Last spring, God really impressed upon my heart the need for "Mourning Into Dancing" to become a reality for a group of young Christian widows. So many of them were already in my circle of friends... and were really hurting from the pain of losing their spouse. Having gone through this just 12 years ago myself, I knew what little existed by way of support for these girls. And with a heart of obedience and really kinda feeling my way through the dark, Mourning into Dancing became a reality in April, 2009.

Tonight, as I am typing this, we now have 27 girls in the facebook group from literally all over the world. Because of God's leadership, modern technology and thanks to the world wide web, 27 girls are connected to other girls who have walked in similar circumstances of loss. 27 ladies under the age of 60 can lean on the shoulders of twenty six others who totally understand and can pray and encourage....

Not bad for a group that is almost entirely based on word of mouth and just through facebook, huh? :)

So, join me, dear friends in Thanking God for His continued work in Mourning Into Dancing!

Thank You, Jesus! I never dreamed that we'd reach five, let alone 27! And I certainly didn't expect them to come from around the world! Thank you, Lord for so many who have found a home on our simple group page.... and come with an encouraging word for others who also may be hurting. God, You ROCK! Thanks! In Your Precious Name, Amen!

The Habits of this Highly Effective (but Lost) Church Lay Leader: Week 5 - Daily Walk: Dos and Don'ts of the Christian Life

2010-01-10T22:20:00.004-06:00

"But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him." - John 4:23

And..... We're back! :) Hopefully, you have all recovered nicely from a great Christmas break and the New Year is well under way for you by now. My husband and I celebrated our eighth wedding anniversary on New Year's Eve during our break. I am so thankful for him and grateful to God for the gift I have in him as my husband. He is my best friend, and my soul mate. And I love him dearly!

Are you ready for week five, friends??? Shall we review just a bit as to where we've been thus far first? Let's do that quickly. In week one, we learned that we need to drop the masks and get real with one another and with God. In week two, we talked about our prayer life and we learned to pray the way Jesus prayed. In the third week, we first learned about loving others and then in part two, we learned about fully loving God. In week four, we learned about wreckless abandonment, and how we allow God to do with us as He pleases, all within the love relationship that we have with Him as His child.

Ok. Take a deep breath, and lets begin thinking about our freedom in Christ this week.

Let me start with a story.

When I was a child, I grew up in a neighborhood filled with lots of playmates on our street. All of us were from various backgrounds... My dad was a computer guru in the retail industry. Other dads worked in insurance or sales. We had a nurse, a pilot, a mechanic, a truck driver... and then there were the Baptist preachers... Yep. Just a few doors down from us and across the street was a parsonage belonging to the church that I would attend in my teen years... and in that parsonage lived several different pastors and their families over the years. So, I grew up with some PKs being in my peer group during most of my childhood.

I remember one particular family who lived in the parsonage.... and the oldest daughter was just a few months older than me, but a year ahead of me in school (she started at age five, even though her birthday was late in the year.) Anyhow, this particular girl was the first one to invite me to her church. She knew that I loved music and invited me to come to youth choir with her. They were going on a youth choir tour to Texas, and she knew it would be fun for me. And so, it began....

Well... a few months into the journey, they had youth council elections, and the pastor's daughter was elected to the council. I had NO clue what a youth council did in a Baptist Church. I had not been raised in the Baptist Church. My family as a rule wasn't a church going family, except on Easter when we would dress up in our new Easter clothes and go to the grandparent's houses and show them off.

So, anyway, one afternoon not too long after the elections had been held, I was over in the backyard at the parsonage, hanging out... and I congratulated the PK on making youth council. Then, I said (in my great naiivety), "So.... Are you guys planning some great dances soon?" My little PK friend's face turned ashen, and said, "Bitsy, Baptists don't dance!"

Now, I am sure that my little face turned about as red as a beet because I was totally embarrassed. And I proceeded to find out all of the other dos and don'ts of Baptist life... And in my warped little brain, I think I began to believe that it was all of those things that I did, and all of those things that I didn't do that made me a Baptist, and then, true to my nature, I took it one step further... I thought it was what made me a Believer... So much so that I carried that belief all the way through to my adulthood years.

Going to church faithfully all those years, and taking so many classes and learning doctrine from the pulpit, my Sunday School teachers, at college, in church classes, I learned all about what it meant to live the Christian life, but I had NO CLUE about what it meant to be in a relationship with Jesus. I knew all of the right words to say and all of the right things to do, but I did not have a love relationship with the Living God! I just didn't. I didn't know how to even begin to have a relationship with God. I just thought that because I didn't drink, I didn't smoke, didn't do drugs, kept myself "pure" (well, I did up to a point, but that's for another time and another post), didn't dance, didn't curse (or "cuss" as we would say it in the South), didn't gamble, and I voted Republican that made me a Christian! Seriously. I was even baptized... or well, I should say that I got wet. What's worse, I actually was serving in leadership roles in our denomination's state convention office!

Anyway, a few years ago, God began teaching me and showing me some truths. I didn't know it at the time what that was.... But I remember watching some movies from the "Left Behind" series and some similar in content with a group of singles from my church. And I started identifying with the Associate Pastor in the movie who had been left behind. I knew a lot of Bible stuff! Hey, Christianity was one of my double majors in college.... I knew the Book well! And I could argue with the best atheist you could throw at me! But I didn't know the Author of the Book... the Author of Salvation...

I didn't know God.

I was caught up in the world's biggest religious rat race... And sadly, I was one mighty big rat.

All I was doing was spinning my wheels... and going nowhere...

Like a hamster on a wheel.

Round and round I went. And I was going everywhere that I thought I was supposed to go, but in truth, I was going NOWHERE.

I had absolutely no purpose in life. I jumped from job to job to job. I was so insecure, no real motives, no real goals... No real life. Yeah, I had a lot of stuff... and on the outside, it looked like I had it all together, but inside of me was a turmoil that would make Don King want to shave his head! I'm telling you!!! It was the truth! I was one giant mess.

Ok. So back to the movies... I started having nightmares... and lots of them. My first husband had died a couple of years prior to that... and I began having nightmares about him. And I had nightmares about being left behind. This went on for a couple of months... During all of this time, I was still faithfully attending church, and going to choir rehearsals, singing in a ladies group that I directed...

I remember that the Easter production came, and I was at the end of my rope. I had been several months without a job, and was financially in the worst shape I had ever been in my life. I was close to losing my home, had no money, horrible credit (due to no fault of my own) and was struggling with nearly every relationship I had. I felt deserted..... abandoned.... and completely at my wits' end.

And it was there that I finally gave in and talked with a dear friend (my former worship pastor and one of my closest friends), who led me to Christ in his office. Those chains of legalism were unlocked that afternoon of April 18, 2001!

God took the shackles off my feet that day.... And He is still teaching me to dance.... I won't be so arrogant to say that I understand complete freedom at this point in my life, but I can tell you that He is still teaching me how to be free... And there are still some areas where I need to be unshackled. But the taste of sweet freedom is beyond anything that I ever dreamed before.

" To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." They answered him, "We are Abraham's descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?" Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed." - John 8:31-36

Mary Mary made this song popular a few years ago.... I hope it ministers to you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wRayKxgePQI

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-23T22:16:00.000-06:00

"1.And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed .2.(And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) 3.And all went to be taxed , every one into his own city. 4.And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) 5.To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. 6.And so it was , that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered .7.And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes , and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. 8.And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field , keeping watch over their flock by night. 9.And, lo , the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid .10.And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold , I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11.For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. 12.And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. 13.And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,14.Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
15.And it came to pass , as the angels were gone away from them into heaven , the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass , which the Lord hath made known unto us. 16.And they came with haste , and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. 17.And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. 18.And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. 19.But Mary kept all these things , and pondered them in her heart. 20.And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them." - Luke 2:1-20

Sometimes it's best to just let God's Word tell The Story.... :)

Merry Christmas!

Much love,

Bitsy

The Habits of this Highly Effective (But Lost) Church Lay Leader: Week 4- Absolute Abandonment

2009-12-15T10:31:00.005-06:00

"But such an hour is coming and now is here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship Him." - John 4:23

I have finally returned to the blogging world after a three week hiatus, due to a computer issue! And I have to say, thank you, friends for hanging with me and being patient. Sharing a PC while trying to write a series of blog posts just doesn't work, if both people are active PC users. While I love my husband beyond life itself and I know he loves me, I am not sure he wasn't thrilled to finally have his computer for himself again as of last night. He enjoys online gaming and I think the idea of sharing his computer for three weeks was a bit annoying and put a kink in his system. I am happy to report that I now have a new computer, thanks to Wayne, computer guru extraordinaire, and most everything I had before on the old one has been returned to its proper place on the new one. I am still hunting for a couple of things, but I am sure that I will find them soon.

So, where were we??? Let's review a little bit. The first week, we talked about authenticity - being real before God and before others. The second week, we discussed our conversations with God and learning to pray as Jesus prayed. The third week, we tackled two things - loving others and extending God's grace because He first loved us and, in part two loving God with an exclusive love above all others.

We're ready now to tackle Absolute Abandonment. Now, I have to tell you that in my days of being a lost church member, I really was a bit confused with some of the church language. Such was the case with the phrase, "Absolute Abandonment." I honestly thought that it meant to be highly involved in activities of service within the church body. So much of the time, I was feeling like I was living at the church! I was constantly involved in some kind of ministry activity or program. I was exhausted and I was still missing the peace that only Christ can give. In some ways, I honestly believe that I was trying to find a way to make God notice me... or to love me more. But somehow, I knew I could never measure up! I always felt as if I knew that I would work myself to death in some church activity only to get to the judgement seat of Christ, only to hear the words, "Depart from me, I never knew you!"

I think as we take a look at the definitions of the term, "Wreckless Abandonment", in the context of the life of a Christ follower, we'll find that its meaning is really very different.

Let's pick it apart just a little bit, shall we???

The term abandonment is actually a legal term. In its deepest roots and earliest meanings, it means to leave the care of something that you own completely to the care of someone else, to the point of leaving behind your ownership. In the case of the life of a Christ-follower, this is about extinguishing your rights to yourself and your life and giving God ownership of yourself and your life. In other words, your life when fully abandoned to the Lord Jesus becomes entirely His to do with as ONLY He wishes. He now has full ownership of your life and has the right to decide how you will now live. You no longer have rights over your life. They belong completely to Him.

Every decision.
Every thought.
Every action.
Every purpose.
Every desire.

Every part of our lives:

Our families.
Our homes.
Our jobs.
Our church.
Our friends.
Our enemies.
Our finances.
Our health.
Our activities.
Our mission.

Our passions.

Our dreams.

Our visions.

Our lifestyles.

Our education.

Our calling.

Our satisfaction.

Our comfort.

Our contentment.

Abandonment means that you and I have now given up every part of our lives, including the rights to ourselves. All of our life now belongs to Jesus.... and we really don't have a say in what He desires to do with us. To take back any part of those rights for ourselves would be to live in disobedience to Him.

Sounds awfully legalistic, doesn't it??? To require that every part of our lives must be given to the Master???? Ah, but here's the kicker... Abandonment is just that if it is not first rooted in the love relationship between the Heavenly Father and the child of God.

I have several friends who have adopted children into their families. In every case, these moms have known that this child that they now call their own was meant to be theirs from the very beginning of their search. God made it clear that each one of those children were designed to be in their family as a part of that child's forever family. And as such, the forever family will spare no expense in getting that child into his new forever family. When the child finally becomes legally a part of that family, that particular day is then celebrated as a "Gotcha Day." The former foster care program and/or orphanage and/or guardianship/parental rights have been abandoned, and this child is now and forever more belonging to the new family, where he/she will be raised in a loving home.

Some dear friends just brought home a seven year old little girl from China. This little one has already discovered the love and joy of her new family. But she hasn't been without tears for the old friends... or without need for help in overcoming language barriers and so forth. She is quickly assimilating into her new family because of the love and support of her new family and friends. One of the things her mom told me was that she was eating heavily when they first got her, and now, just a little over two weeks later, she has learned that she will be well-fed, and feels comfortable leaving some food on her plate. She doesn't have to worry that she won't be fed enough. Her parents have fed her well. There is a comfort in knowing that she doesn't have to concern herself with that anymore.

Child of God, Your Daddy gave everything for you, so that you might be adopted into His family! As an adoptive family would go to great expense to bring home a child, a Holy God Who loved you from the beginning of time, spared no expense: Jesus paid the Ultimate price for you! When you made the decision to follow Jesus, that became your "Gotcha Day." It was the day when you became a part of God's family.... His heir... and all of the rights of being a child of God are now bestowed upon you.... There is a love relationship and a bond there that cannot be broken. And in that love relationship, you learn to abandon your old self and old ways to the ways of your new family... The family of God.

As you are wrecklessly abandoned to Him, you will find that He will care for you... tenderly, and in love, as only a Daddy can do. He will laugh with you as there is a need to laugh. He will cry with you when you are crying bitter tears. He will comfort you when you are sad, or when someone has hurt you. He will provide for you, according to His riches and glory in Christ Jesus. You will never have to beg again. He will teach you His ways, and discipline you in love when you are wrong. We don't have to return to our ways of stubborness and self-serving lives.... We have new rights... a new life... and a life that can be filled with love and joy, peace, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, patience, and self-control (Gal. 5:22.)

He's your Heavenly Daddy. And He is crazy in love with you, precious child. With every gaze into your eyes, His desire is to see a little more of Himself in you. Do you bear a family resemblance?

I'm BAAAAAACK....

2009-12-15T00:14:00.002-06:00

Did ya miss me??? Were you aiming at me??? LOL

Hey, got the new computer up and running now. Look for a new blog post before week's end. We'll be starting week 4: Absolute Abandonment. This is some cool stuff. : )

Thanks for being patient!

See you soon!

Bitsy

Ministry Update -- December 2009

2009-12-04T13:07:00.003-06:00

I know you all have been following the saga of my computer woes... We got an email yesterday from computer guru extraordinaire, Wayne, and the part finally came in. It took a full week to get to Murfreesboro from Memphis by FedEx. Go figure on that one.

I should have the computer back in a couple of days.

In the meantime, here's a quick ministry update:

The Mourning into Dancing facebook group now has twenty members. The girls are now starting to encourage and pray for one another. I am hoping to eventually start a prayer partner ministry among them. We'll see how that pans out. It will all depend on the girls' willingness to pair up.
Many of our young widows are experiencing their first holidays this season without their mates. For some of them, the first anniversaries of their husband's death falls around Christmas week. Please keep these ladies in prayer. They range in having been widowed for years to having lost their husband just a couple of months ago. Some have deep relationships with God, others are still growing in their faith.
We've had 1700 hits on the blog akready. Given that it is really only advertised through my facebook account, and word of mouth, I have to say that's pretty cool! Clearly, God is using this avenue in some terrific ways. I am just thrilled/surprised that people actually want to read my stuff!
The series on the Heart of the Worshipper has gone well. I have had the opportunity to speak with several folks about this particular series and God is moving. Please continue to pray for this as God continues to speak to many readers and is using it to impact His kingdom! It has been hard to be so transparent with my own experiences from the days before my Genuine Surrender. But it has been entirely worth the effort.
Please continue to pray for me as I research and write the rest of the posts for the journey we'll be taking together in this series... The preparation and research time literally takes hours prior to writing posts. I want to be sure that I give you correct references and that I spend time reading commentaries and other reference materials prior to writing so that I don't just feed you my own thoughts on God's word. Leaving thoughts up to my own pea-brain can be very dangerous, so I consult as many Biblical apologetic and scholastic materials as possible prior to writing. Much of what I do research-wise is probably in some small ways very similar to the way a pastor prepares a weekly sermon or a Sunday School teacher prepares a Sunday School lesson. And that's not to say that the enemy hasn't given plenty of distractions here in recent days, to keep us from lifting up the name of Jesus! But I'm onto him and I've already given him notice. I've been talking to DAD about him, and his foolishness. One thing is for sure: The Book says that He isn't going to like what Jesus is going to do with him!!!! [Insert Grin here... ]

We'll be back to the series after my computer returns and I am able to spend more hours researching and preparing for writing than I can on a borrowed computer. I am expecting that we'll likely return to it early next week.

Thanks again for hanging in with us!

The Computer is still out...

2009-12-02T15:43:00.002-06:00

Hi, All!

I know so many of you have been checking to see whether this week's blog has been posted yet. My computer has been in the shop for over a week and a half now. I haven't heard an ETA as to when it will be finished. In the meantime, I am going to have to postpone entries. Hang tight. We'll be back up and running again soon!

Thanks for your patience in waiting on the next segment of our series.

Bitsy

The Habits of this Highly Effective (but lost) Church Lay Leader: Manipulation and the Inner Circle (Part B: Making Friends in High Places)

2009-11-25T00:47:00.000-06:00

"Hear, O Israel! The Lord, Your God, the Lord is One. And you shall love the Lord, Your God with all of your heart, and with all of your soul and all of your might. " - Deuteronomy 4:4-5 (ESV)

Last week, we discussed a familiar text that runs throughout the entire Old and New Testaments. We found that in the New Testament, Jesus added the second greatest commandment of "loving your neighbor as yourself." As a matter of clarification, most scholars believe that Jesus was actually referring to two key pieces of Judaism - The Ten Commandments, and a familiar daily prayer called the Shema, which is the text found in Deuteronomy 4-5.

I believe that last week's lesson comes easy to some of us simply because God has made us in His image and has created us with the desire for affection. Because we are imitators by design and we learn so much by imitation, our desire for affection comes with the ability to mirror what is given to us. So, even in a fallen world, a fallen people can almost grasp the idea of showing affection toward others to some degree or another. Having said that, however, it is not until we are able to love God that we are able to love others the way that God loves them (unconditionally.)

So, this week, we're going to talk about Loving God Fully.... with all of our heart, soul, and might.
But that's the second half of the Shema. Let's first discover some truths about the first half.

As I said before, this was (and still is) a familiar daily prayer for Judaism. It is recited morning and evening, and it is the first prayer recited at the end of every worship service. The main point of this prayer is that God alone is God and He is King.

The literal translation of the first part of the Shema (according to Wikapaedia) is as follows:

Shema - Listen, or hear and do (according to the Targum, accept)

Yisrael- the people of Israel or the congregation of Israel

Adonai- often translated as "Lord", read in place of YHWH (*Adonai was a personal name for God)

Eloheinu- our God (this is the same as Eloheim, which is translated THE LORD in all caps in the Old Testament)

Echad- this word has a dual meaning in Hebrew - it means both the number one (1) and alone.

With the Shema came two things: a premise and a promise. The premise was that it was a given that God is KING and that we must accept that as fact. The promise came with it was that if you were to keep this particular commandment all of your life, life would go well for you and you would multiply greatly. (Deut. 6:3)

The commandment was found in the second half: loving the Lord Your God with all of your heart, soul and might. This was to be taught to their children (v.7), hung on their doorposts and on their gates.

So what kind of love is this???

Matthew Henry's commentary says that this kind of love is a sincere love, not just in word, saying we love Him when our hearts aren't with Him, but "inwardly and in truth, and finding solace in Him." He goes on to say that this should be a "strong love...one that is carried out with great ardour and affection." The idea here is that God - and only He - should have our entire beings.... our all! This is a love reserved only for Him. It is higher than any love for any other.

In addition, we are to know God, so that we can share Him with others. When we love God with our minds, our thoughts are centered on Him. We cannot think without considering Him in the thought. His thoughts become our thoughts. The mind of Christ becomes our mind as we grow to love Him and know Him more fully each day.

This is a nothing held back kind of love. It is a following hard after Christ in all that we do! We leave nothing for another. And we wouldn't dare chase after anyone but God! He is IT! He is the God of above all gods... The King above all Kings and the Lord above all Lords! He alone is God and there is absolutely no other.

There is no Higher God.
There is no Higher King.
There is no Higher Lord
There is no Higher Name.
There is no Higher Way.
There is no Higher Desire.
There is no Higher Agenda.
There is no Higher Life.
There is no Higher Design.
There is no Higher Plan.
There is no Higher Path.
There is no Higher Passion.
There is no Higher Love.

Not even one.

And there is none who deserves our Praise except Our God! It is in Him Whom we live, move and have our being. (Acts 17:28) It is He Who brings us (the followers of God) together in one Body, the church.

From a personal view, this is where the rubber meets the road. Quite simply: we either love God fully, or we don't love Him at all. We're either going to love God and obey Him and desire nothing and no other but Him, or we have placed someone or something above our desires for Him... and bowed to another god. If we, as the Bride of Christ, have set our affections on another rather than on God Himself, then we have committed adultery with Our Heavenly Bridegroom! And if we give credence to other circumstances or other things that are not of our God, then we are not being faithful to the One Who has been Faithful to us!

When God gave the Ten Commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai, the very first words out of His mouth were, "I am THE LORD Your God Who brought you out of Egypt. You shall have no other Gods before me." (Exodus 20:2-3) He is a jealous God. (Exodus 20:6) But His love is steadfast toward all who love Him and keep His commandments. (Exodus 20:7)

This is a full-throttle love, dear readers. This is the kind of love that transcends any other love. It does not find itself lurking in the shadows or waiting on someone else to move you. It is the all out, sold out, fired up, flipped out, crazy kind of love. And it cannot be found anywhere else but in the person of Jesus Christ! And it is all about Him, all for Him, and cannot be found without Him!

Got your heart revved up for God?? Or is He God at all to you??? Check your heart.

A Note from Bitsy....

2009-11-22T21:03:00.003-06:00

All:

I am typing this on a borrowed computer, as mine has finally had to go into the shop for repairs beyond what we could do at home. I honestly believe that, in the infamous words of Spock, "It's dead, Jim." But I won't know until our dear friend, Wayne has a chance to take a look at it. Needless to say, I wanted to let you know that tomorrow's post will be post-poned until we are able to discern what we will do next with my computer situation.

I will have a computer soon, but it's just a matter of whether my current one can be repaired or I will need to purchase a new one. As crazy as this sounds, I would rather keep this one because I am in the middle of saving for a rather costly mission trip next summer, and would rather not have to buy any big ticket items between now and then, if at all possible. While I have already managed to earn or save about half of the cost of the trip for next summer, it is still going to take quite a chunk out of our household budget in order for me to go. So, I am all for the cheaper option and for repairing first. If it has totally given up the ghost, then I guess I will want to see if we can salvage the stuff from the old hard drives and put them on the new computer as a backup.

Oh, and while I have your attention, I also wanted to tell you that I have felt the impression of the Lord to write a part B of last week's post, so stay tuned. This will stretch out our series a bit longer than we had planned, but that's okay... God's ideas are always better than ours! Amen???

As we approach the Thanksgiving Holiday, dear friends, I want you to know what a blessing you are to me! Thank you for your overwhelming support for the blog! I think I am still just in amazement that people actually want to read my stuff! Did you know that in just eight months of blogging, we've had nearly 1700 hits to the blog site??? And did you know that nearly 400 of those hits have come in the past 4 weeks??? I'm blown away by that! WOW!

God bless each of you this week... And I promise, I will be back soon to continue our series.

Much love,

Bitsy

The Habits of this Highly Effective (but Lost) Church Lay Leader: Manipulation and the Inner Circle (Week 3)

2009-11-16T15:27:00.008-06:00

"Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks." - John 4:23

Well, well. We've made it to week three together! Thanks for hanging out with me thus far. Before I get into this week's topic, I want to tell you that last week was a topsy-turvy one at our house. My husband had an emergency heart catherization following what we thought was just going to be a routine stress test on Wednesday. No doubt, many of you, who are regular readers and know me personally already know that, but for those who were not aware, he's recovering well.

God is still in control, even when there are rough circumstances. We are very thankful that God has provided us with a great family doctor who made a great call, and a very attentive stress test tech who stopped the test at the first early signals. Your prayers for a continued recovery for him and for peace in my already chaotic world would be greatly appreciated.

So... Let's review a little bit: In week one, we talked about being real before God and before His people. We want to make sure that we have a real relationship with God through Genuine Surrender, and are not just fulfilling religious practices. We also want to drop those masks that we sometimes wear as believers in front of other folks... Last week, we learned to communicate with God by learning to pray the way that Jesus taught us to pray in the Model Prayer.... and not by pre-conceived notions that we may have learned by observing others.

Now, let's talk about this week's topic relative to our horizontal relationships. Over and over in both the Old and New Testaments, God instructed His people with regard to how to treat people around us. And there is a recurring theme. It was first introduced in Deuteronomy 6:5: "Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength." This same command was given four more times in the Old Testament (three more times in Deuteronomy, and then again in Joshua), and in all four of the gospels.

When Jesus was asked what the greatest of the commandments was, He responded with this same Old Testament quote, then He added, "and love your neighbor as yourself." Three of the four of the gospels record a version of this same quote from Jesus. You can find it in Mt. 22:37, Mk. 12:33, and Lk. 10:27.

Now, I'm not sure about you, but if the God of the Universe says something, I generally give it a lot of credence... Especially, if it was said over and over and over again... and then Jesus said the same thing on the earth later. Kinda makes it a no brainer, huh? At the very least, He gave the same instruction over and over again.... as if the repetition would somehow help it to sink in.

But stupid humans that we are, we just don't get it sometimes, do we? The people of Jesus' day certainly didn't. And I'm not so sure that we're not a lot like them...

Let me show you what I mean. Take the story of the Good Samaritan. Turn over to the book of Luke, Chapter 10, beginning with verse 25. If you don't have your own Bible handy, I've printed this parable of Jesus here for you from "The Message:"

25 Just then a religion scholar stood up with a question to test Jesus.
"Teacher, what do I need to do to get eternal life?" 26 He answered, "What's
written in God's Law? How do you interpret it?" 27 He said, "That you love
the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and muscle and
intelligence - and that you love your neighbor as well as you do yourself."
28 "Good answer!" said Jesus. "Do it and you'll live." 29 Looking for a
loophole, he asked, "And just how would you define 'neighbor'?" 30 Jesus
answered by telling a story. "There was once a man traveling from Jerusalem
to Jericho. On the way he was attacked by robbers. They took his clothes,
beat him up, and went off leaving him half-dead. 31 Luckily, a priest was on
his way down the same road, but when he saw him he angled across to the
other side. 32 Then a Levite religious man showed up; he also avoided the
injured man. 33 "A Samaritan traveling the road came on him. When he saw the
man's condition, his heart went out to him. 34 He gave him first aid,
disinfecting and bandaging his wounds. Then he lifted him onto his donkey,
led him to an inn, and made him comfortable. 35 In the morning he took out
two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, 'Take good care of
him. If it costs any more, put it on my bill - I'll pay you on my way back.'
36 "What do you think? Which of the three became a neighbor to the man
attacked by robbers?" 37 "The one who treated him kindly," the religion
scholar responded. Jesus said, "Go and do the same."

No doubt, if you have been in Sunday School at any point in your life, you've heard this story. There was a Jewish man going to Jericho down a very familiar highway and along the way, he was beaten by robbers. A couple of guys pass by on the other side and do NOTHING to help this poor guy that had been beaten, stripped naked and left for dead on the side of the road. But a Samaritan saw him and came to his rescue...

Funny that in verse 29, one of the religious teachers (a lawyer, actually) was looking for a loophole... He wanted Jesus to "define neighbor." Sound familiar??? Aren't we always looking for some way to escape the ways that God has called us to love other people?

Allow me to give you a modern day picture of the characters in the parable of the Good Samaritan and perhaps you will actually see the way that God intends for us to love and care for one another and for those around us.

The Samaritan in Jesus' day was a half-breed, hated people. The Jews despised them. To call a Jew a Samaritan was to equate them with being evil, being a devil! In our modern-day world, the modern day Samaritan would likely be the kind of person you would find residing in your local ghetto... He was considered a hoodlum of the worst kind!

The Jew who had been beaten by robbers would be like a person who had been beaten by gang members, and left for dead on the side of the Interstate.

The folks who passed by were priests and worship leaders. These were the religious folks who were more concerned about following the law, than about rendering aid. This would be like you and I, though we saw the body of the person on the side of the road, driving past, without stopping to help, or calling for an ambulance.

That the Samaritan took it upon himself to pay for the Jewish man's well-being was an understatement! He basically gave the caregivers everything he had on his person and told him to send him the bill if he needed more! Bear in mind, he was not at all a wealthy man. What he gave for the care of this young man was beyond sacrificial. I've heard it said that "True sacrificial giving is not 'giving what they need', but rather 'giving what I need." That is precisely what happened here.

Ok. So how does that translate to our everyday lives, as we learn to love those around us?

Can I share a personal opinion/observation here? I honestly believe that there is an attitude that has crept in among believers these days. We, the church, have become hateful, dogmatic, legalistic and down-right mean when it comes to dealing with folks outside of the church. We have become so bitter, angry and defensive that we cannot possibly be useful in winning people into the kingdom of God. When we are confronted with the truth of the type of behavior God requires of us as His child, we simply respond with, "I'm not Jesus, and I'll do as I want!" We have simply forgotten the mercy and grace extended to us by Christ at the cross... and we often fail to extend that same grace to others.

News flash: People are hurting all around us in our churches, in our communities, in our families, in our world... All of them need our love and support. And that's not to say that we should only render aid to those who may look like us, dress like us, smell like us, behave like us or talk like us. (See the book of James, Chapters 1 and 2.) The priest and Levite in Jesus' story should have been, by all rights and means, the Jewish man's heroes! After all, they were from his same religious background and were probably from his hometown. And yet, they ignored him. But the Samaritan (the most hated kind of guy on the planet) went out of his way and took pity on him. He met his needs and treated him with respect, in spite of the fact that the same type of care probably would not have been extended to him, had the shoe been on the other foot.

In short, we need to remember that we are able to extend this kind of love to folks because that same type of love has been extended to us in Christ. We were the outcasts of His kingdom... we were the ones without hope... we had lives filled with sin... And the Holy God of the Universe showed us His love and extended His grace toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8) The type of love, mercy, grace and forgiveness extended to us at the Cross is the same kind of love that we should extend to others. We love because He first loved us. (I John 4:19)

I like what the Apostle Paul said in his letter to the church at Colossae (Col. 3:11-14, from The Message) as a way of dealing with people in general:

11 Words like Jewish and non-Jewish, religious and irreligious, insider and
outsider, uncivilized and uncouth, slave and free, mean nothing. From now on
everyone is defined by Christ, everyone is included in Christ. 12 So, chosen by
God for this new life of love, dress in the wardrobe God picked out for you:
compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline. 13 Be even-tempered,
content with second place, quick to forgive an offense. Forgive as quickly and
completely as the Master forgave you. 14 And regardless of what else you put on,
wear love. It's your basic, all-purpose garment. Never be without it.

Well said, Paul. Well said.

The Habits of This Highly Effective (but Lost) Church Lay Leader - A Series:Communication (Week two)

2009-11-09T14:19:00.003-06:00

"Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks." - John 4:23

We've been talking for the past couple of weeks about being the kind of worshipper the Father seeks. Last week, we discussed the topic of genuine surrender before the Father, and being real before Him and with one another regarding our decision to become a Christ-follower.

Speaking of being real with one another.... After last week's blog was posted a dear friend commented to me that there was a point that she wished I had addressed and that was the masks that believers wear. Before I go on with today's thoughts on communication, I wanted to address this mask quickly. This is the mask that we put on when things aren't going so well, but we continue to pretend that things are just perfect... and refuse to be real with fellow believers or with other people period. She is completely correct with this.

You know, I think sometimes that we (as Christ-followers) convince ourselves that we have to portray perfection when it comes to living the Christian life. I think it's (in a wacky way) one of the ways that we believe that we are "witnessing" to others, when we put on the mask of perfection... That it shows "the world" that God takes care of us... and that even though we may be having a day that is not a good one, we throw up that "everything's fine" mask.

My late father-in-law was a prime example of this. He suffered from kidney disease and was on dialysis three days a week for about seven years, prior to his death. During the last several months of his life, if I asked him how he was doing, he would often answer with an exuberant, "I'm fine!" But often, he would be sitting with his head between his hands or his knees... and we knew better. So, I finally learned to respond to his answers with, "is that really the case, or are you fibbing to me?" And he began to start speaking truthfully to me.

Let's learn to be real with one another, and drop the masks... Relationships deepen as we learn to get past the surface with one another. And we don't get past the surface if we have on masks or build up walls of protection around us. Just sayin'.

Okay. Onto the new stuff... This week, we're going to be learning to grow our relationship with God when it comes to communication. This area is probably the hardest and truthfully, can be the most awkward part of our relationship with God, and yet, it is so vital that I honestly believe that its absence leads to much of our woes when it comes to knowing God as His child.

I had the worst time with this. I always felt like my prayers were always made of rubber... They just bounced right off the ceiling! So, when I did pray, I tried all sorts of things to try to convince God to listen to me.

And let's face it. We may as well admit that it's hard to talk to Someone that you haven't seen.... and most especially when so many others question His existence (and those same folks would quickly commit you to the nearest looney bin if they caught you talking to what they believe is yourself!) And can you imagine the same kind of response from those same folks when you have claimed to have heard something or learned something from God???? So, more times than not, I just kept my mouth closed when it came to praying privately. Of course, with me, when it was all about showmanship, I would pray publicly.... Go figure on that one. But then I was all about appearances.

Now, I went through all sorts of style adjustments when it came to public prayers as a lost church member. I can remember a particular deacon of the church I went to as a teenager praying over the offering every Sunday. And that guy would clear his throat every time before he prayed, then he would basically pray the same prayer week after week. He also used about a thousand "thees" and "thous" so, I thought that put him right up there with God Himself. So, whenever I listened to other people clear their throat before prayer, I wondered if that was something we were supposed to do. (I don't know that I ever did that. But I thought it was kind of unusual.) Then, I wanted to be next to God, too, just like Deacon So-and-So, and so I used a thousand "thees" and "thous" as I prayed.

Then the time came when we were taught about conversational prayer. That would be where we learn to talk to God like He is our very best friend. That worked well, but I found that it didn't settle well within my heart when I was mad at God and I called Him some of the names that I would have called one of my friends in the same situation. There was a lack of respect there that got lost in translation....or at least in my mind, it did. So, I mixed it up with the occassional "thees" and "thous" again. I think it made me feel like maybe that would make God listen to me...or something. I dunno. (Nevermind the fact that I didn't know His Son...)

Oh, and then there was the guy who began his prayers with "Master." So, guess who I began to copy this time when praying publicly???

So, anyhow, all of these big words and long public prayers were boosting me up everywhere (or so I thought) but with God. His ears were pretty much turned off by them. And so, He didn't bother to answer them. There wasn't anything to answer, truthfully, if you came right down to it. When it came to public prayer, I had center stage, and my prayers were all about showing off.

And then there were the prayer requests that became pry-er requests. You know, the ones where when sharing a "request" in a small group where things turn to gossip, or we try to correct the situation in prayer ourselves by giving a "solution" to the person's problem in our talks with God, rather than speaking with the person and giving scriptural advice. Yep. Been there and done that one, too.

My life was filled with all sorts of things that caused those prayers to bounce off the ceilings:

Unbelief. (in both senses, as a non-believer, and as a believer who fails to believe God)
Sin.
Wrong/impure motives.
Hypocrisy.

So, then the private prayer life, which I told you earlier was pretty much nul and void, was useless to me. I didn't spend time talking to God... If there was a God, I had already come to the conclusion that He wasn't going to pay attention to whatever kinds of useless drivel I gave Him and there wasn't anyone else around to show off for. So, why bother???

And, in all honesty, I have to say that every believer I have ever spoken with has had a real struggle at one time or another with some of the same issues, with regard to the private prayer time. Forgive my candidness here, but the only way that I can tell you how to learn to pray is to learn from The Rabbi of Nazareth, Who gave us the tools for effective prayer in Matthew 6:1-14. These are familiar verses, no doubt, so let's read them from The Message this time, to get a fresh perspective on what exactly Jesus was trying to say.

"Be especially careful when you are trying to be good so that you don't make a performance out of it. It might be good theater, but the God who made you won't be applauding. When you do something for someone else, don't call attention to yourself. You've seen them in action, I'm sure - 'play-actors' I call them - treating prayer meeting and street corner alike as a stage, acting compassionate as long as someone is watching, playing to the crowds. They get applause, true, but that's all they get. When you help someone out, don't think about how it looks. Just do it - quietly and unobtrusively. That is the way your God, who conceived you in love, working behind the scenes, helps you out. And when you come before God, don't turn that into a theatrical production either. All these people making a regular show out of their prayers, hoping for stardom! Do you think God sits in a box seat? Here's what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won't be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace. The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They're full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God. Don't fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need. With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply. Like this: Our Father in heaven, Reveal who you are. Set the world right; Do what's best - as above, so below. Keep us alive with three square meals. Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others. Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil. You're in charge! You can do anything you want! You're ablaze in beauty! Yes. Yes. Yes. In prayer there is a connection between what God does and what you do. You can't get forgiveness from God, for instance, without also forgiving others."

'Nuff Said???

The Habits of This Highly Effective (but Lost) Church Lay Leader - A Series: Dressing for Success (Week One)

2009-11-02T12:15:00.002-06:00

"Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks." - John 4:23

Last week, we introduced a ten-week series on being the kind of worshipper the Father is seeking. If you are just joining us, you may read that introductory post here: http://mizbitz.blogspot.com/2009/10/habits-of-this-highly-effective-but.html

Since I have now made myself entirely vulnerable to the world wide web by sharing some of my most in-most thoughts from my days before my genuine Surrender to Christ, I have to admit that the idea of going deeper in the weeks ahead is a little scary to say the least. I am not so much concerned of what you may think of me for sharing this, as I am more about pleasing the Father than I am about pleasing you guys these days (more on that later.) I certainly don't want to give some of you ideas for being your local church's pest, either! (Although, I have to admit that I am not sure I ever lost that title... even after genuine Surrender. God is still working on me... Amen?!? )

So, here we are. And I guess you're probably wondering what in the world I am going to tell you about my thoughts relative to "Dressing for Success (Putting on the Sunday Game Face...)" Well, the first thought that crossed my mind was the thing that I was the most guilty of before becoming a Christ-follower.

Are you ready for this???

Phoniness. As we'd say in the South, I was made of pure-i-o-d phoney baloney! I was guilty of wearing the plastic mask of religion inside and outside the church house whenever it comes to talking about religious topics or being around "religious people." I was always concerned about "appearances." There was more of a real desire to impress people and to please them than to be real, and please God. So my junk stayed hidden.... at least I thought it was... and I went to great efforts to keep it hidden from the folks in those Christian circles. I didn't want them to get the wrong impression of me.

Sunday after Sunday, my little plastic mask went on. And the games that came with my little mask were played. You would have thought it was Halloween every single Sunday. I was a master at showmanship! And hidden behind that mask of religion was a monster that I had created to near perfection! Most days, I thought I managed to score points on the God-scale in my mind. After all, I had been in the church most of my life. I knew the drill. And I had been there nearly every time the door was open. I had learned what worked and what made my pastors and my teachers proud. (And I was the biggest "Church staff groupie" you ever saw!) I could speak the language of Zion with the best of them. I knew the Bible. I had memorized scripture. I was also in all sorts of leadership roles in not only my local church, but for our denomination, as well. I knew the stuff! And I knew it well. Bottom line... I WAS THERE TO PLEASE EVERYONE BUT GOD. But I didn't know JESUS. And that was the biggest displeasure where God was concerned.

The truth is that even with all of the things that you would think that would make me be a genuine follower of Christ, I would have gotten it. But there was this other side of me that had some really seriously rotten issues with sin. Seriously habitual sin. And while I won't get into the gory details of all of that, I will say that I could just about justify (to myself) everything that I did with, "But God, it's me... Can't you cut me some slack here?" I was so steeped in religion and religious tradition, that I took no ownership of my own human condition.... I couldn't bring myself to believe that I could sin... or that I might be lost. And yet, the stench of my sin was growing stronger each time I put on the church mask and showed up on Sunday morning and took my place in the choir or orchestra or Sunday School class.... I could tell you all about my church... I loved that place. But I couldn't tell you about my Jesus or anything specific HE had done in my life. There were no specific changes that had taken place in me that I could definitely say happened because of the relationship I had with God. I could tell you plenty about my church, and even a lot about my denomination. But nothing about Jesus changing me.

Several years ago, I was in a Church Training Class, when I learned the passage in Ephesians 6 regarding "Putting on the Full Armor of God." I knew each piece - the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the helmet of salvation, the sword of the Spirit, the shield of faith, and the feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. I probably have those out of order. But I am not really going to point out those to you so much as I am going to ask you to take a look at the list. You have probably read this list before...

Do you notice something missing in light of the previous paragraphs?

Right! There's no mask of religion in the list!

In fact, Jesus scorned the religious folks of His day over and over. He called them, "Hypocrites."
That word, "Hypocrite" comes from the Greek word, "uJpovkrisi", which means, "stage-playing or acting." In the Old Testament, there is no Hebrew word for Hypocrite, but it is implied, as a way of conflict between life and insincere worship.

So, how do we drop the mask? If we're to be the kind of worshippers that the Father seeks, then there are some things that need to happen:

Genuine Surrender needs to take place before God...and then you need to admit that before His people. This takes a lot of courage. Especially if you have been in the church for a long time. Believe me. I know what that's like. It was rough, having to stand before a congregation that had actually voted to send me to New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary to become a Singles minister and only to come back later and tell them, "Guys, I just now became a believer." Not an easy task. But I decided that it wasn't them that I needed to please. It was God Whom I needed to please from henceforth. And I had to let the chips fall as they may.

As long as you remain hidden behind the masks, you will never have the kind of heart that God is looking for as a worshipper. This is the very first step in having a relationship with Jesus. And honestly, only you and God know what kind of relationship you have together. Sometimes I think it's a good thing that others can't know our hearts. But I also know that those who are genuine in their relationship with Jesus usually have a strong desire to please HIM alone.... and not so much about pleasing others... They generally let the chips fall where they may. And if we happen to please the others by pleasing God, that's great and fine. But the ultimate purpose is to please God. No one else will do.

I think the Apostle Paul is a pretty good example to follow when it comes to talking about the having courage when it comes to the getting real part of Surrender. Remember before Paul had his encounter with Christ on the Road to Damascus, he had been a persecuter of the Church and had been torturing Christians. Can you imagine the response of those believers toward him when they found out that he had a real encounter with the Lord??? Can you imagine the fear of the folks who discipled him??? I am sure that they finally relaxed after they read his writings... After all, the truth came out of him when he was jailed and beaten and left for dead... He was REAL.

We can see some evidence of this when Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans, Chapter 13 and gave some really great truths for Christian living. He summed up the chapter in verse 14 with, "But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires."

Again in Colossians 2:12-17, Paul wrote, "Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him."

Paul had gotten it. Question is: have you???? Are you real??? Was your own surrender genuine??? And have you announced that before God's people? Or do you still wear the masks, Sunday after Sunday, hoping and praying that no one finds out who you really are? Truth is, God knows who you are. And He loved you enough to not allow you to stay that way....

Will you bow the knee in Genuine Surrender???

The Habits of This Highly Effective (but Lost) Church Lay Leader

2009-10-26T13:48:00.021-05:00

"Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks."- John 4:23

I am an active part of our church's worship ministry and have been serving in such a role (or similar role in other churches) for 35 years. But it wasn't until just in the past eight to nine years or so that I've really come to understand what true worship really is. Up until then, if someone asked me what worship was, I would respond with going to church for a couple of hours, singing and/or playing a few hymns, listening to a sermon and going home. Or I might have said that it was the first twenty minutes of the same said service, where we would sing/play in order to "warm up" the congregation for the pastor's sermon.

Sadly, a lot of people don't get it when it comes to what it really means to be a Christ-follower and they don't understand what worship is really all about. I was one of those folks. And what's worse, I was in many leadership roles for a lot of years before I came to an understanding of what it means to follow Christ and to worship Him in Spirit and in Truth. I made a great member of my denomination, but I really didn't follow Christ and I most certainly didn't know the real meaning of worship.

I think if I had written a book about the worshipper's lifestyle several years ago, it probably would have looked like a poor facsimile of one of Steven Covey's popular "7 Habits" books... And it would have probably been aptly dubbed by those who knew me best as "The Habits of This Highly Effective (But Lost) Church Lay Leader." It would have included chapters like: 1) Dressing for Success: Putting on the Sunday Game Face, 2) Communication: How to bounce a long prayer off a ceiling and/or turning prayer requests into pry-er requests, 3) Manipulation and The Inner Circle: How to Win Friends in High Places, 4) Absolute Abandonment: How to attend Church every time the door is open and still not "get it", 5) Daily Walk: The Do's and Don'ts of living the life, 6)Serving: Working up a sweat (to try to get into Heaven), 7)Treasures: Giving when I want something back, 8) Personal Holier-than-thou-ness: My stuff doesn't stink, but yours sure does, 9) Testing: just learning all the stuff for the "final", and last, but not least, 1o) Whose Church is it anyway? (It's all about me.)

The truth is I was taught how to live the Christian life, but like so many others, I really failed in actually understanding what it meant to truly know Jesus in a personal way. As I have shared in previous posts, I went through all of the motions of becoming a Christian, but there was no substantial evidence of Christ in my life outside the walls of the church or Christian circles.

And then the gig was up.

Life began to fall apart for me. My husband had died. I was left with very little monetarily. I left a poorly paying ministry-related job in our denomination's state convention office for another that seemed to pay better, only to realize that was a BIG mistake. Then I spent the next nine months searching for another job, all the while my credit was going into the toilet and my former employer was to blame. In addition, I was having all sorts of nightmares about my dead husband. Then I started having nightmares following watching a series of movies similar to the "Left Behind" series as well as the first of "Left Behind" movies. I could see myself in the role of the associate pastor in that first Left Behind movie - although I was one who was a church lay leader, I had all sorts of knowledge, but really had no relationship with God.

Then, like Humpty-Dumpty, I fell apart.

And nothing I did or said would put Humpty back together again. I knew all of the right stuff to say... all the right things to do. But somehow, life just wasn't playing out right for me.

And I couldn't figure out why.

Soon I started paying attention to some things, and decided to have a heart-to-heart discussion with a long-time friend, who knew me well. And it was in his office that I finally came to the point of genuine Surrender.

After thinking about a lot of this, I would like to share several thoughts with you along the lines of the same topics that I think would have been in my facetious book above and spend the next several weeks talking about what it means to be the kind of worshipper the Father seeks. However, I would also like to be certain that I am not just filling the heads of some folks who may be in the same position as I was in prior to having a real relationship with Jesus, and not introducing their hearts to a real, vibrant, personal relationship with Jesus. As I write these posts, while parts of them will be tongue-in-cheek, I want to be sure that they always come back to pointing folks to a Savior. So we will come back to the topic of true worship and what that actually means, according to the Bible.

I also want to make it clear that it's not my job to be The Holy Spirit. There is a Holy Spirit and I am not Him. Nor do I want to do His job for Him. However, I am expecting that God could use this series to open the eyes and ears (and hopefully, hearts) of those who may be in the same position that I was just a few years ago. Rest assured, however, that if you happen to read these posts (or any other of my posts) and find yourself in that same position, there is a Savior... And you can know Him. He already knows and loves you. I'd love to show you how you can know Him!

So, stay tuned. We'll go for several weeks, through most of the Thanksgiving and Christmas Seasons. There may be some weeks when we break because God will lead us to do something a little bit different. But for the most part, this is where we will be headed for the next several weeks.

The Christmas Card list....

2009-10-14T11:25:00.004-05:00

"O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up;you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying downand are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue,behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before,and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;it is high; I cannot attain it." - Psalm 139:1-6

It's already beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here! Rehearsals for Christmas performances have started. A friend of mine said it best yesterday:" Yes. I am a church musician. I fa-la-la-la-la in October!"

Last night, I purchased the first of the Christmas gifts for three of the men on my list. I was delighted to find that the little things I found, though trinkets to be sure, will be cool gifts for some guys in my family that I know well.

I also bought a small box of Christmas cards the other day. While we don't typically send out cards to a gazillion folks as some people I know are in the habit of doing, we do send out a few to some folks on our list.

It was the Christmas card list that has me thinking today... Some of the names on that list used to be very close friends. Friends that I spent a lot of time with on a daily basis in the past. Friends that I could tell you everything about, including what they would order from a fast food place back in the day. But time and distance has delegated that those friendships now are a part of nothing more than the Christmas card list....

What was once an intimate relationship has turned to a once a year greeting from one another. We may send a Christmas brag letter to these folks, just to catch them up on all of the news of the past year... but little else transpires to keep the fires of the friendship burning. We may occassionally see one another from time to time and attempt to pick up where we left off, but it really isn't the same.

I hope that my relationship with God doesn't ever become like that. I hope God doesn't ever become a Christmas card list friend.

One of the things that used to scare me when I was sitting in church years ago was when pastors or Christian friends would talk about having an "intimate personal relationship with Jesus." I never understood what that meant. But in a very real sense, this is what I have grown to understand that it means:

God knows me.
God KNOWS me.
God knows ME.

Every single part of me.

My heart.
My head.
My hair-brained moments.
My genius attempts.
My likes.
My dislikes.
My personality.
My fears.
My cheers.
My challenges.
The things that make me tick.
The things that make me sick.
The things that make me laugh.
The things that make me cry.

Inside and out.
Upside down and sideways.

He knows ME.

And He loves me!

And you're asking... How do I know that?

Well...

The Bible tells me that He sent His Son as a gift. (John 3:16, Romans 3:23)

He sends me little gifts and surprises sometimes that are tailor-made for me.

He answers prayer, sometimes before I have even asked.

And I am getting to know Him in the same way.

What He likes.
What He doesn't like.
What makes Him smile.
What makes Him cry.
What makes Him tick.
What makes Him sick.
What makes Him happy.
What dissappoints Him.

And I am trying to live my life to please Him.
I want to do things that will make Him happy.
And though I know that He is never "surprised" by the things I may do for Him, I still try to do little things that I know will bring Him joy.

I want that relationship with God to stay current. I want to visit with Him in His house regularly. I want to spend time with Him daily... talking, listening, learning from Him. I want to do things that will make Him happy.

And it never fails, He is always giving me the best little gifts of love that show me how well He knows me and that He thinks of me, too.

So, I ask you... What does your Christmas card list look like?

That's My King!

2009-10-12T14:50:00.000-05:00

This is a link to a favorite video... Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=upGCMl_b0n4

He's Got Your Back!

2009-10-07T18:25:00.006-05:00

"I have set the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand." -Psalms 16:8-11

My friends, Bruce Wethey and Lisa LaCrosse, are a unique couple. Bruce is a professional violinist and Lisa is a professional flautist. They met in Miami many years ago, while playing with the Miami Symphony. They are among some of the finest musicians in our country, having played in some of the best concert halls in the country (can you say Carnegie?), and having had a following as classical artists.

It's not often that you see folks in the classical field with the giftedness that Bruce and Lisa have to offer cross over to the Christian instrumental side of music. Actually, more often, Christian artists are sometimes guilty of crossing over to the secular side of music and leaving faith far behind them.

God had a different plan for these two, however, and they now travel as Christian instrumentalists, trading Carnegie Hall for local churches, and doing ministry. Bruce has played with folks like Twila Paris and Michael W. Smith, among others, but more often than not, you will see Bruce and Lisa traveling together across the country as a husband and wife team, as lead worshippers together with local church folks. They understand that their calling is to meet folks in ministry and to offer their gifts back to God. And they wouldn't have it any other way.

A little of their story...

Lisa has struggled with non-malignant brain tumors and has had several surgeries over the years to remove them. Yet, Lisa will be the first to tell you that when following Christ, there is a joy that sustains her!!! She trusts completely in the loving care that her Heavenly Daddy gives to her. She knows that even in the midst of pain, and the trials that come with her daily battles, she can trust Him to take care of her every need.

It was during the first of one such surgery that Bruce found himself face to face with the question of his own eternity, and he met with a pastor who befriended him during Lisa's hospital stay. That led to the beginning of his journey as a Christ follower. Lisa, on the other hand, had come to Christ as a teenager, while watching a Billy Graham crusade on television. She will quickly tell you that she was not discipled following that decision. And it wasn't until much later that she began to grow in her relationship with Christ.

I remember one particular time a few years ago when we were at our church in Virginia, and Lisa had had yet another surgery just a few weeks prior, and Bruce and Lisa came to Virginia, to minister to the senior adults* there. I was absolutely amazed that she was there!!! I asked her how in the world she managed to do that! She told me that her biggest issue at that time was exhaustion, but that the "Lord would provide her strength."

(* Quick funny story about that particular concert: I am a looooong way from being old enough to go to Senior Adult functions, but because Bruce and Lisa were friends, and because I had actually won a contest to name their latest album at that time, Offering, I begged our Senior Adult Pastor to allow my husband and me to crash the party.... He gladly gave in. When I got there, Bruce made sure to "card" me. :) That's the only time I think I have ever been "carded" at a church event. Smile.)

Often, I think we get discouraged when we hit some kind of a snag in our walk and we wonder if God is really there for us. And we do like Elijah did: we go and hide our own makeshift caves, and then start to get depressed because things may not necessarily be "peachy" for us. And we'll start to whine and moan and complain... But then, God comes around and asks, "What in the world are you doing in here?" And in that still small voice, He shows us Himself... (I Kings 19:12)

Whatever it is that you are facing, remember that God is in control. He loves you and He knows about every single thing that you are going through. And while there may be times that we may not understand what it is that He is trying to accomplish on this side of glory, we can know that His plans for us are perfect and His ways are true. And somehow, someway, He will use whatever those circumstances to benefit His kingdom and His glory.

Following Christ doesn't bring about the absence of trials and tribulations. But what I can tell you is that you can still find joy in knowing that your loving Heavenly Daddy has your back.

Another lesson from the Doolittles: Walking in Victory

2009-09-22T11:10:00.005-05:00

"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." Galatians 5:1

There's a scene in the classic, "My Fair Lady" where Alfred P. Doolittle (Eliza's dad) visits the home of Professor Henry Higgins, proposedly to fetch his daughter, Eliza, after he has learned that she is staying with him. Alfie doesn't know of the experiment or bet that Professor Higgins and Colonel Pickering have made with one another regarding Eliza. But he has learned from another flower girl that Eliza sent for her things and didn't ask for any clothes! He incorrectly assumes that his daughter has begun selling herself as a prostitute. So, Alfie, being that he is her father, has decided that he should get a cut of her "earnings" and proceeds to see what he can get from the arrangement between them. He knows the professor is obviously wealthy and asks for a simple five pound note from him.

When questioned by Colonel Pickering as to whether he has any morals, Alfie gives him a puzzling glance (that basically says, "do you?"), pauses and responds with, "No. I cannot afford them. And neither could you, if you were as poor as I am." Then he proceeds to launch into a whole monologue about how he is of the undeserving poor, and how he "plans to remain so, because I like it." Professor Higgins is so intrigued by it, that he offers him more, but Alfie turns him down, asking for only the five pound note. (He doesn't want to be launched into the middle class.)

This entire scene is so typical of the human condition, isn't it? Just like Alfie Doolittle, I think people sometimes come to God with the hand out, asking Him to bless us with a (fill in the blank as to whatever your petty "five spot" might be.) We know we're undeserving and we plan to stay that way. No need to get caught up in all of that religious or moral "stuff"... just get what you think you deserve from God and go back to things the way that you want them to be. No harm. No foul. Others are doing things that are worse, and who am I to judge them or they me, right?

To that argument I say, HOGWASH! As long as you or I continue in the life of habitual sin and fail to see the need for walking with Christ on a daily basis, we will always remain a slave to sin and we will never see victory. Sin will always hold a defeated audience in captivity. Freedom comes when we willfully turn away from whatever it is that holds us in bondage, and turn to Christ and begin to follow Him.

Jesus said, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." (Luke 9:23)

Time to give habitual sin the boot! Then willfully turn and start following after Christ. The journey is long, but the rewards are sweet!

P.S. Can I be real here? I am adding this on Wednesday morning, the day after I wrote this post. When I was writing this yesterday, I began to think of the issues in my own life where I fall short. But I failed to place them here. And this morning, the Holy Spirit has been convicting me to "'fess up" as we are fondly known to say in the South.

In the past seventeen years, I have put on more than seventy pounds! I really struggle with overeating. I have been to Bible Study after Bible Study to try to help with this, but until I simply learn to put down the fork when I am full and walk away, those Bible Studies are all useless! I can fill my head and my heart with all sorts of knowledge about how to eat, but I will never be an effective servant of Christ until I learn to do battle with the Little Debs and the carrot cake! There's nothing wrong with those things by themselves, but if I am not hungry, those things should never enter my mouth.

I have learned the rules: Food for fuel is fine. God intended for food to be fuel. We don't continue to put gasoline in our cars if the tank is full, do we? But eating for the sake of eating (just because it's there) is not. If I am using food to console myself instead of running to God for consolation, then I am living in disobedience to God, and that would be sin. If I am using food as a means of celebration when I am not hungry (such as at a party or a church function), then that, too is also sin. If I am loading up the plate at a buffet line when a half spoonful will do, I have overdone it.

But as long as those rules are in my head, and I don't apply them to my life, the pounds are going to pile up and the scales are always going to read higher. Until I learn to walk away from the Swiss Cake rolls, and say no when I am not at all hungry, then I am living a defeated life!

So I am asking you to pray for me. I need to be held accountable here. This is an area where I need to shrink and He needs to increase.

Center Stage...

2009-09-17T15:03:00.003-05:00

"But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself." - John 12:32

This past week I have been in rehearsals for a local theatre company's production of "My Fair Lady." I am in the pit orchestra as a hired musician. I have enjoyed playing with this particular group a couple of times now. Most of the players are Christian musicians and are playing in local church groups around town.

One night earlier this week, there was a stage direction given to the cast for a particular scene because of some changes being made in the way that some backstage scene changes were going to have to take place.

And then it dawned on me.

When it comes to corporate worship, Who takes center stage of our worship services????

The correct answer should always be Jesus! But I had to ask myself whether we always make that happen. Do I make that happen? Do you?

I remember a few years ago, when a couple of friends and I wrote a Choir musical called, "For Thou O Lord" there was a scene where Jesus was at the wedding of Cana. And we had choreographed Jesus to be watching while some of the party goers were dancing, as would have been the custom at any Hebrew wedding reception... At one point, Jesus and His disciples join into the authentic dance with the bride and groom. Some of the folks at our church got a little upset with us because they were not expecting that our Lord would dance!!!!

God forbid that Jesus might actually participate in something that was completely biblical and customary for Him to do as a Jewish male at a wedding during this time! I am being totally sarcastic here. But I think you understand my point.

Here's a deeper question: Do we try to "work around" the Jesus Who is fixated at Center Stage ???? Or is He involved in everything you and I do? Is He permeating all of our worship, or is He so attached to the place that we have set as center stage that when we are downstage or upstage or backstage that we leave Him behind?

It's almost expected that God would be able to comfort us when we are sad, be a friend when we're lonely, heal us when we are sick...

Do we allow Him to dance with us through every act of celebration? To get overjoyed with us??? To get happy feet with us???

Is Jesus pleased with all of our worship???

I hope He dances!

What We're About: Namely, Christ

2009-09-09T22:06:00.020-05:00

"My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." - Colossians 2:2-3

When the Apostle Paul wrote these words in the letter to the church at Colossae, they were to a group of people he had not had the pleasure of meeting face to face. He was wanting this particular group to know that he was laboring alongside them (in Spirit) for the cause of Christ, though not physically nearby.

These two verses really sum up Paul's purpose for the entire book of Colossians. He was clearly burdened for them (v.1.) He wanted them to be encouraged, united in love and to have a complete understanding -- "the mystery of God, namely, Christ"!

When I consider a purpose or mission statement for the Mourning into Dancing blog and ministry group, I would like to adopt these verses. This is what we are entirely about.

First and foremost, we are about encouragement. The word encouragement in both the Old and New Testaments simply means, "Comfort." Whether it is a matter of helping a young widow through a time of or a fellow Christ-follower in a time of need, it is my desire to offer encouragement to those who would seek it.

Secondly, Paul mentioned unity. The Greek here implies a knitting together of lives in love, in the same way that woven yarn can be used to make a garment or a blanket. Those strands of yarn are woven together and together serve a purpose that alone they could not accomplish. In the same way, Paul was saying that we, as Christ followers are also woven together with the purposes of love.

The reason we are woven together in love has to do with what Paul says next. It is so that "they may have the full riches of complete understanding in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely Christ, in Whom are hidden all the treasures of mystery and knowledge." The mystery of God is Jesus. The knowledge would be like gaining an unlimited wealth of knowledge, and an unfathomable spiritual treasure that would last through eternity in Christ!

Simply put, it is our chief desire to point others to Jesus, and to Him alone.

He is our Salvation.
He is our Redeemer.
Our Savior.
Our Deliverer.
Our Friend.

I'm glad that you've joined us for the journey we'll take together! As we search for God's hidden nuggets of truth together, it is my sincere prayer that you will find Him as one who finds great treasure!
If you've been reading this blog for a while now, you've been hearing me talk a lot about Jesus! And I would say that probably several of my faithful readers already have a relationship with God. But perhaps you are someone who doesn't know this Jesus I've been talking about all along. Maybe you just stumbled upon this blog while surfing.... And you kept reading. And in reading, you realize that you want to know this Jesus I've been writing about.

It's no accident that you are here!

God loves you and desires to have a relationship with you! The Bible says, "For God so loved the world that He gave His One and Only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)

Because we live in a fallen world, we cannot enter the presence of a holy God on our own. The Bible says, "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) The word "Sin"comes from an archery term. To have sinned, it means you simply miss the target for which you are shooting. When we sin in spiritual terms, we have missed God's mark... that mark of perfection that He requires as a Holy God to enter His presence.

The Bible also says that, "The wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ Our Lord." (Romans 6:23) The word "wage" here means payment. The payment for sin is not only physical death, but more importantly, the payment for sin is spiritual death. Without God's Salvation, we cannot live!
It is God's free gift -- but it was not without cost. God's gift of Salvation to us, cost His Son, Jesus, His Life. You see, Jesus, Who was without sin, gave His life on the cross in payment for the penalty of our sin. (Romans 5:8) It is up to us to accept this free gift of Salvation.

The Bible tells us in I John 1:9, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."You can do that by simply asking Him to take over your life. (I think I just said something to the effect of "Jesus, please be the Boss of Me." And then I gave Him complete control of me from that day forward.) Romans 10:9-10 says, "That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved."

When you accept God's free gift of Salvation, you become a child of God! You are adopted into the family of God and receive all of the rights and privileges of being a joint heir with Jesus! (Romans 8:15-17)

If you have decided to become a Christ-follower and have entered into a personal relationship with Him today after reading this blog, please let me know! I would love to rejoice with you in your new found relationship with God! It's also important that you find a local Bible-believing church in your area that will help you grow in your new relationship with Christ. If you need help in finding a church, I will happily connect you with folks who can help you do that, and most of them can give you materials as well that can help you get started in your walk with God.

It is my sincerest prayer that you would begin that relationship with Him today!

Stirred, but not Shaken

2009-08-31T22:04:00.005-05:00

"None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I'm absolutely convinced that nothing - nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable - absolutely nothing can get between us and God's love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us." - Romans 8:37-39, The Message

Because I was the product of a teenage pregnancy, I had the wonderful privilege of knowing all of my grandparents and four of my great-grandparents. Two of my grandparents are still living!

My last great-grandparent, my maternal great-grandmother, passed away at the age of 98 in 1997. I was thirty four years old when she died. Since my family lived near her for most of my life, I spent a lot of time with her, and grew to love her. She had lived through two different centuries and was a very colorful character. She was the oldest of thirteen children, and was raised on a farm in West Tennessee. Three of the things that I remember most about her were: a) she loved Jesus b) she was a wonderful cook, and c) she often would share some funny sayings with a truth attached. More than once she made me giggle and think, all at the same time.

One of my all-time favorite quotes from her was, "The more you stir manure, the more it stinks!" The Enemy takes a lot of joy in stirring things up and making things really stink, doesn't he? Take a look around you... It doesn't take much to find out that people are hurting around us. It could be that you are the one facing challenges right now. And if you aren't at the moment, chances are that if you are breathing, you've either had your share already, or you will face them soon enough.

So....What do we do when everything is at stake? What do we do when everything that is precious to us seems to be coming to an end or is being or has been taken from us?

What should our attitudes be when we're up against the wall and it doesn't look like -- on the surface at least-- that there's a way out?

How do we react as Christ-followers to our own troubles or to the hardships that come to those whom we know and love?

I think that as Believers, we have to start with one premise: God is looking out for His kingdom's interests in everything He does. One of the biggest fallacies I think that believers fall for is that we think that God has only our interests at stake. I really believe that is why we often set our own agendas and then ask God to bless them! We tend to believe God is some kind of a glorified genie in a bottle, and if we rub the bottle the right way, or say the magic words, that He'll pop out and make everything right. Just the way we want it to be. Just like magic.

That, my friend, smells of smoke from the pit of hell! It never has been and never will be about us, when God is accomplishing kingdom purposes. It will ALWAYS be about God. And, my dear friends, James 1:2 tells us that we will suffer various trials.

So, I think it's safe to say that:

Every triumph,
Every trial,
Every victory,
Every defeat,
Every success,
Every failure,
Every loss,
Every gain,
Every joy,
Every sorrow....

Whatever it is that God throws across your plate is all about accomplishing God's purposes in your life. I think it's also safe to say that the life of a Christ follower isn't always about rainbows and puppy dogs... Sometimes it includes sailing on some pretty rough seas.

The second thing that we have to remember is that when we belong to Jesus, He NEVER leaves us or forsakes us. (Hebrews 13:5) It's easy to feel as if God is with us on the good days, and to feel like He is walking with us when all is right with the world. We need to remember that He is going to walk as closely with us through the fiery trials that we face, just as He walks closely with us on the good days. He hasn't left us!

Lastly, I think we need to remember to trust in God for whatever the outcome of our days, whether they be good days or bad days. If we are already trusting God on the good days, and He has shown His love and protection for us there, it seems to me that we should also trust Him completely for the times when the road gets a bit bumpy. If He has proven Himself trustworthy during the good days, doesn't it make sense that He will also be trustworthy in the bad times as well?

He is unchangeable, so from where He sits, tomorrow will be no different from yesterday or today. (Hebrews 13:8)

He is still God.
He is still Faithful.
He is still True.
He is still the Creator of the Universe.
He is still the Ancient of Days.
He is still the Great Physician.
He is still the Lover of your Soul.
He is still the Ancient of Days.
He is still the Bridegroom of the Church.
He is still the Father to the fatherless.
He is still the Husband to the Widow.
He is still the Author of Salvation.
He is still The Way, The Truth and The Life.
He is still the Vinedresser.
He is still the Great Shepherd.
He is still the Mighty Fortress.
He is still your shield in the midst of a storm.
He is still the Rock of Ages.
He is still the Creator of the Universe.
He is still the Resurrection and the Life.
He is still the Gate.
He is still Lion of Judah.
He is still the Prince of Peace.
He is still Wonderful.
He is still Counselor.
He is still the Almighty God.
He is still the King of All Kings.
He is still the Lord of All Lords.
He still LIVES in YOU.

And He is still head-over-heels crazy in love with you!

Nothing will change that.

Ever.

Did you get that???

Nothing.
Zilch.
Nada.
Zero.
Zip.

Not one blessed thing will change His love for you.

And He will never, ever leave you.

Not ever.

Not in a bazillion-trillion years.

You can bank on it.

So... when your back's against the wall, remember Who is in charge. Leave your days -- whatever they may be, along with the outcome, to God. Because with Him, you have Hope. And Hope does not disappoint. (Romans 5:5)

You Have Made Me Glad

2009-08-19T22:02:00.005-05:00

"Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." - Hebrews 4:16

I just came home from a Wednesday night church orchestra rehearsal. That's nothing unusual for me. It's been my routine on Wednesday nights for a number of years now. And every now and again, I will come home with a particular song from the upcoming Sunday's worship set that sticks with me. Tonight, it was a song by Darlene Zschech that is popular among our congregation called, "Made Me Glad" that I have been singing all night after returning home:

I will bless the Lord forever
I will trust Him at all times
He has delivered me from all fear
He has set my feet upon a rock
I will not be moved
And I'll say of the Lord

You are my shield, my strength
My portion, deliverer
My shelter, strong tower
My very present help in time of need

Whom have I in heaven but You
There's none I desire beside You
You have made me glad
And I'll say of the Lord

You are my shield, my strength
My portion, deliverer
My shelter, strong tower
My very present help in time of need

Most of this song came straight from the scriptures! David wrote many, many of the Psalms and gave many of these same titles to the Lord as He was running from Saul. The guy was being chased by a madman, running in and out of caves and yet he still managed to call God his strength... his portion and deliverer.... Don't get me wrong here. He also made it clear that he wanted God to get rid of his enemies, but in nearly every single one of the Psalms, David still managed to come back around to God.

He knew that God could and would handle every single situation that He found himself in regarding Saul and his men.... even when Saul was absolutely crazy!

We're no different from David today, are we? Ever been falsely accused? Been in a situation where you've gotten a lot more month left than you do money? What about your marriage? Ever run into some disasters there? David sure did! He actually caused some major issues there! But he also learned the forgiveness of God. (Ps. 51) And he was quick to tell Him thanks. What about your health? David was in the midst of some pretty severe depression in some of those caves.... Yet, he found a way to talk to God about it and gave Him praise.

Think about that a minute! How often has God pulled your feet from the fire?? How often has God made you glad???

Is He your strength?

Your shield?

Your shelter?

Your deliverer????

Like you, I have plenty to praise the Lord for! For example, I know that when my husband was going through his cancer treatments two years ago, things were really very stressful at our house. We had been living in Tennessee and our former home in another state hadn't yet sold, thanks to the current economy. We then had to deal with a misdiagnosis and prognosis for his cancer, and then had to deal with expensive treatments. But during it all, God provided every single penny that we needed! And He answered our prayers with a correct diagnosis and with a what has been a clean bill of health for going on two years.

Our minister of music reminded us tonight that it is easy to forget that we need to say thanks to God for all of the wonderful things He has done for us. He's right! After the new wears off from the miracle, we seem to go back to the status quo.

Remember September 11, 2001? Do you remember how churches were packed full after the planes hit the towers? About a month later, things went right back to normal and the politicians were back to bickering, churches went back to their regular crowd sizes. Six months later, we were no longer enthralled by the giant hole in the middle of New York City now known as Ground Zero. What phrase seemed to be the rallying cry after that? Do you remember? It was, "We Will Never Forget!" And ironically, it almost seems that we have.

Our minister of music had us just say a word of Thanks to God tonight for all of the great things He has done. And I wanted to ask you to take the time to do the same thing. Take the time now to recall those things that God has done, and say thanks.

Has He set your feet upon a rock? Tell Him!

Do you have a Provider in Heaven? Thank Him!

Has He been your Strength when you have been tempted? Give Him praise!

Has He been your Shelter when you have been in the middle of a storm? Exalt His name!

From what has He delivered you? Remember! Give Him Glory!

Has He made you glad??? Ooooooohhhhhhhhhhh!!! Shout it, friend, shout it OUT! HE IS WORTHY... AND HE HAS MADE ME GLAD!

Facing the Not-So-Jolly Green Giant

2009-08-09T15:54:00.007-05:00

"A champion named Goliath, who was from Gath, came out of the Philistine camp. He was over nine feet tall." - I Samuel 17:4

We all know the story of David. He's the kid that was in the field tending sheep that was anointed to be king.... In I Samuel 17, we read of a story from David's life, when he was faced with challenges.

At the time that this particular story in David's life took place, Saul, Israel's first king was still on the throne. Saul and the Israelites were at war with the Philistines.

David's dad, Jesse, had eight sons. David was somewhere in the middle of the lineup of the siblings. He had three older brothers and four younger brothers. The three oldest brothers were following Saul and were hanging out with the rest of the Israeli army. David had been spending his time caring for his father's sheep and had been going back and forth between the sheep pen and taking messages and food to his brothers.

The two parties at war were on opposite hills from one another, with a valley in between them.

One particular day, Jesse sent David to his brothers, to take them some food.... When David made it to the hillside, he found Goliath, a giant of a man taunting the Israelites. This obnoxious bully was yelling across to the Israelites day and night... He was challenging the Israelites to a battle. This would be a winner takes all battle. The loser would have to bow to their enemy. And this had been going on for forty days! No one would dare step up to face the giant.

Imagine what our hero, the teenager David thought when he heard the giant taunting the Israelites.... If he was like a lot of teenagers that I have known over the years, he could have had a little bit of cockiness about him. Or maybe he was a little naiive. Whatever his emotional state, he couldn't believe his ears! He was going to stand up for the God of Israel. And he was not going to stand for this smart-mouthed bully.

Can you imagine what the crowd around him thought when he said, "I can take him"? His brothers pretty much thought he was crazy! They tried to talk him out of it. Saul even tried to give him his armor and his sword. But it was too big. I can imagine that it probably looked like a little kid playing dress up or something. So David just used what he knew best.

Here was this kid who was going to take on this beast.... Now, granted, David was accustomed to fighting lions and bears off from the sheep pen, but this guy was over nine feet tall! The tip alone of his spear weighed 5000 shekels. I am sure that David probably looked like (and felt like) the little green sprout in comparison! Goliath was HUGE!

Can you say "overwhelmed" ??? This was a GOD-sized problem David had here. And it required a GOD-sized faith. If he failed, the Israelites would have had to submit to the Philistines. I am betting that the entire crowd could hear David's knees knocking!

But David knew God was with him, and told the big bully as much. And that in no uncertain terms, he was going down... pretty much because God was gonna take him down.

We know the rest of the story.... David picked up five smooth stones, grabbed a slingshot and planted one right between Goliath's eyes! In one shot, the gargantuan beast fell to the ground. The crowds roared and little David became an instant hero!

We all face giants of one kind or another in our lives. I know that I have faced plenty of them in my lifetime. And I have a few on my plate right now. Chances are that you do, too.

Make a mental list of the giants that are in your way right now. You make yours. I'll make mine. Got your list? Good!

Now. How do you and I act when we are faced with something much bigger than us??? Or do we react??? What happens when there is a GOD-sized challenge before us??? Do we remember to Whom we belong and trust Him to face the challenge/fell the giant? Or do we automatically cower in defeat?

It's easier to let the circumstances of our lives and our own self-sufficiency to dictate whether we can follow God, isn't it? (Case in point: Ever let the things you have in your hand dictate whether you can obey God? What about the clock? Or your calendar? Your checkbook?) It's easier to bow to the idea that something God has put in front of us that may be bigger than us is better left undone than calling on the One to help you Who called you in the first place.

The sad truth is, most of the time, we'd rather back down from the fight with the giant than to consider that God may actually have something far greater than we ever asked or even imagined in store for us, if we'd just obey Him. We respond to His challenges with, "This just isn't doable, God. I can't."

And God simply answers with, "You're right. You can't. But I can."

Our God is a God Who majors in the impossible! He is a God Who is bigger than any circumstance that you or I may have. He is fully capable of equipping those whom He has called to the purposes for which they were called. He felled David's giant. And He can certainly knock down yours and mine, too.

Remember this old chorus by Don Moen?

God will make a way
When there seems to be no way
He works in ways
We cannot see
He will make a way for me.

He will be my guide
Hold me closely to His side
With love and strength
For each new day
He will make a way.

God will make a way.

Ministry Update

2009-08-03T13:06:00.003-05:00

I wanted to pass along an update to my blog readers on how things are going in the Mourning into Dancing ministry group. God has brought some amazing people to us in the group and I am thrilled at how He has worked thus far.

Since the group has primarily only been advertised through word of mouth and through connections via facebook, I am thrilled at the response we've had thus far! We've been fortunate to be mentioned in a couple of prominent blogs by some wonderful friends as well. My college roommate, Renae Brumbaugh, mentioned us on her blog, "Morning Coffee with Renae" (http://www.morningcoffeewithrenae.com) Also, Vonda Skelton, a new friend that I met a few months ago (funny story there), mentioned us in the kudos section of her blog, "The Christian Writer's Den" ( http://www.vondaskelton.com) I am thankful for both of these ladies and their terrific support in getting started!

Since our beginning in late April, we've had eleven girls to be a part of the group. They hail from literally all over the US. In the past three weeks alone, God added five new girls to the group.
We hail from Coast to Coast... which is really amazing to me. Thank You, Lord, for the world wide web!

Some of our girls are really new to widowhood. Please pray for them as they experience some of the many things that come with that first year -- holidays and birthdays without their spouses, the first time they pass their wedding anniversaries, even the first anniversaries of their spouse's death and all that goes with that. The first year is often the worst because of those reminders that someone is missing.

I am impressed with the walks that so many of these girls have with God! It is really encouraging to know that so many of them are relying heavily on God and His grace to get them through these tough days.

We've already had opportunities to encourage the young women in our group, which is what we are entirely about. Please pray that God will continue to provide opportunities for the group members to encourage one another as well. It is my hope that they will befriend one another and begin to lean on one another as they learn more about all of the things that they have in common. Beth Moore says that we girls love comraderie... I believe she's right. I am hoping that the things that link this particular group together will allow us to be an encouragement, praying for one another, sharing together and so forth.

The blog has had just over 930 hits or so, since its beginning in late April. Since there have only been nineteen posts since the start, that means we're averaging about 200 hits per post. We also have fifteen people total who are publicly following the blog (for those who are wondering, Network blogs count the administrator as a follower - that's why the total I give is different from the one they do.) Our goal is to share Jesus constantly and consistently in a real faith way, so that all can understand and believe... So every time we get a hit on the blog, we know that it is one more time that we know we have told folks about a real Savior, Who saves in the real world...

So I guess what I am saying is, Thank You, Lord! Reminds me of this old hymn, "To God Be the Glory".... Sing it with me, will you?

To God Be the Glory
Great Things He Has Done
So loved He the World
That He gave us His Son!

Who yielded His life
An Atonement for Sin
And opened the Lifegate
That all may go in!

Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord!
Let the Earth hear His voice!

Praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord!
Let the people rejoice!

Oh, come to the Father
Through Jesus the Son
And give Him the Glory
Great things He hath done!

Freeing God from the "God Box"

2009-07-28T17:11:00.010-05:00

For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty,but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it." - Isaiah 55:8-11

Ever watched people try to figure out God???? They try to peg Him into their notions of whatever it is that they think God should be and they put Him into this "God box" of sorts. You've seen it happen. These are folks who get bent out of shape when the offering is taken at a different place in the order of worship, or the pastor leaves out a poem from his sermon points. Or they only expect God to work or act in certain ways... according to their will -- not His. These are the same people who don't spend time building their relationship with God... They sit and expect God to do all that they ask of Him, but rarely spend any time getting to know Him. They create these boundaries for God, and whenever God decides to do something different -- perhaps outside the box, they get depressed and wonder if God truly loves them, doubt His existence, blame Him for self-imposed ills, and really become a mess.

The thought of some people opening up their imaginary "God boxes" makes me giggle. Seriously. It's like that old Warner Brothers cartoon, "The Singing Frog." You remember: the guy runs across a singing frog in a box. And whenever he opened the box, he heard, "Hello, my honey... hello my baby... hello, my ragtime gal!" As soon as the box is slammed shut the frog is silenced. The guy takes the frog to agencies, expecting to make a quick buck off of the frog, but the frog instead just sits there.... all frog-like... and does nothing.

The man desperately tries to make the frog sing in front of the agent. But to no avail. He dances, pulls out his hair, and pokes the box... All to make the frog dance and sing, but the frog will not cooperate. Then the minute he walks out the door and opens that box, the frog is singing at the top of his little froggy lungs. This goes on for a while and finally, the guy gives up. He puts the frog back in the box, slams the lid shut and leaves the frog for the next guy to come along.

We want God to show up when we need Him, but we don't want to take the time to know Him to build a real relationship with Him. (We don't build them with other people. Why should we build a relationship with the God of the Universe?) We have this notion that as long as God can fit into a small box the size of a Big Mac burger box, it's all good. We say grace, give God a "tip" on Sunday, show up for the Sunday morning services, shake hands with a couple of people, pat ourselves on the back, and feel we've done our duty for the day.... or for the week.

And God just sits in the heavens and laughs.

He knows we're going to call on Him, and when we do, He may or may not fix the problem. And when He doesn't answer at our beck and call or we try to figure Him out because He didn't do what we expected of Him (like some genie in the sky),we become whiney and grumpy. We blame Him for being the cause of the mess that we actually created. And sometimes we become downright mad at Him.... when we know all along that we are the one who has acted like the spoiled child.

Last Sunday, I heard a pastor say, "A god you can figure out is not a God who can save." Mull over that for a little bit... "A god you can figure out is not a God Who can save."

We spend a lot of our time as believers often trying to peg God and to put Him into this "God box"... and we open the box to let out a little bit of God whenever we desire a little bit of God. But when we're done with that little taste of God, we put Him right back in the box and
close the lid.

And Heaven forbid, if we let too much of God out of the box! The Holy Spirit might take control of us and we might just turn into some sort of fanatical crazies!!! So, we quickly slam the lid shut!

The really weird part is that we often hang onto the "God box." And that's about as ludicrous as hanging onto the box that once held your Big Mac last week... We don't like change. We don't want to get out of our settled patterns because we are afraid that God might actually do something in our lives. Or, worse -- He might expect something from us!!!!

So, how do we break out of this mentality of the "God box"? How do we release God from our ideas of what He should be and just let Him be God?

We spend time with God in His word:

"I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways."- Psalm 119:15

We hang out with Him... talk to Him:

"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray
standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. I tell
you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you
pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen.
Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you." - Matthew 6:5

We hang out and get to know the rest of His kids on the planet:

"All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had." - Acts
4:32

We actively participate in genuine worship:

Corporately:

"What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church." - I Corinthians 14:26
Individually:
"Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will." - Romans 12:1-2

We listen to our hearts and when we're hungry for God, we fill them with Truth:

"As the deer pants for the water, so my soul longs after You. You alone are my heart's desire and I long to worship You." - Ps. 42:1

We throw away the junk -- "God box" and all -- and imitate God instead:

"Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children
and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up
for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God." - Ephesians 5:1-2

We have a Servant's heart:

"Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men." - Ephesians 6:7

We let the Holy Spirit have complete control:

"The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is
life and peace." - Romans 8:6

Loose Him from that God Box!!! Let Him have the freedom to work in you and in your circumstances... Allow Him to move in your church the way that He wants to move, not from your own pre-conceived notions of what church is supposed to be. Expect God to do something that you could never accomplish on your own... and then let Him be God.

The Rabbi's Example: How Beautiful

2009-07-23T10:39:00.006-05:00

"So he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples' feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him." John 13:4-5

I have some ugly feet. Seriously. I hide these toes of mine from the world because I don't want folks to see how ugly my feet are. I never wear open toed shoes. I cannot wear sandals or flip flops in the summer for fear that people would run screaming after seeing my sad piggies. I bathe them -- sometimes two or three times in a day! I use deodorant on them. Put medication on them. Wear socks nearly year-round. And still, I have these horribly ugly feet!

The journey for the Christ follower in the days of Jesus required travel by foot dirty, mud-caked roads on ordinary days. Most of the disciples were likely barefoot as they traveled, because only the wealthy owned sandals in those days. Even so, it was not uncommon to have feet coated in mud or animal droppings by day's end. So it was customary to have a servant to wash the feet of a guest in a home prior to a meal. On the night that Jesus washed the disciples feet, there was no servant offered. So, Jesus took a towel, wrapped it around His waist and began to wash the dirty encrusted feet of the twelve.

You remember the story. Peter even argued with Jesus (so what else is new?) about whether He would wash his (Peter's) feet. Jesus told him that if He couldn't wash his feet that he could have no part with Him. Then Peter told Jesus that He should wash his head and the rest of his body, too! (Isn't it funny that when God does some little something for us, we will respond much like Peter? Don't we either feel as if we are either a) too insignificant for Jesus to do something for us or to notice us, or b) we want Him to treat us as if we are all that and a bag of chips?)

Jesus promptly told Peter that he'd already had a bath. He didn't need to have his head washed again, and that his feet were what was dirty. So, Jesus washed Peter's feet. Stinky, nasty, dirty crusty feet....

And then, one by one, He washed the feet of all those in the room.... every last one of the feet of the twelve... 120 toes.... 24 heels.... all coated in who-knows-what. Can you imagine the Son of God digging mud out of the nail beds of His best loved friends? Can you imagine how humbled the disciples might have felt to know that their Teacher, their beloved Rabbi (the Son of God!) was seeing their bare feet (up close and personal), let alone taking the form of a servant, wearing a towel, and washing feet... their feet?

And let's face facts here. Those boys didn't smell like a bed of roses, either, just before dinner. No doubt, Jesus was coated in all of that stuff that they had stepped in by the time it was all said and done.

I often wonder when I've read this story as to how I would have felt had Jesus tried to wash my feet? How would I feel about revealing every ugly toe to the Master? How would I respond as He took a washcloth and attempted to wash away the scars from the burns I received on my feet as a small child (I stepped on both a floor radiator and hot coals as a two year old)? What would I do when He saw the fungus on my toes or the dry cracked skin on my heels? And oh my goodness, did I remember to shave that day???? Please tell me that I did!

How would He respond to my ugly feet??? I wonder whether this revealing would change things for us in some way... He's seeing the side of me that I keep hidden to the rest of the world. And while I know that He is omniscient, there is a part of me that thinks that maybe I can hide this from Him as well. And then when there is the thought of it being revealed to Him, it makes me cower in shame. I want to put my best foot forward, so to speak... especially for Him and with Him.... I don't want to coat Him with my stench!

And what would He think afterward about me? What would be His impression of me after He had cleaned my stinky nasty feet? Better yet, what would be my thought toward Him after He had washed my feet? Would the shame still be there? Would I make excuses as to why my feet look like they do? Would I try to place blame?

And that's not all! Jesus said we're to wash one another's feet! So, then I wonder what would happen if some of you got a towel, a washcloth and some Safeguard, and had to wash my ugly feet! I know some of you! You would definitely run away!!! Or you'd get sick with the smell. And what would you think of me then? Would you also try to cover the smell with something from Bath and Body Works? Would you then try to recommend a podiatrist for me? Would you try to ignore the smell and hope it went away and that you didn't get any on you? So much for impressions, huh?

I am being a little facetious here. But aren't we also that way when it comes to the rest of our lives? Don't we try to work so hard toward impressing others with our lives that we, too, really become what my pastor friend calls the "Plastic People"?

Plastic people. You've seen them. They lurk in every congregation. They are the ones with the painted smile, perfect hair, perfect clothes, and expensive perfume... and afraid to get someone else's odor on them. You never hear about any kind of awful crisis that they might be going through. And they don't ever get dirty. Life is just a joy to them. And there's a part of you that wants to slap them into some kind of reality if they say, "Blessings" to you just one more time!

Some of us are good at wearing the "church mask" that we put on when we walk through the doors of our respective congregations, aren't we? Or at least we think we are. But we're not fooling God. God sees our nail beds. He knows what's there. And what's lacking.

Why is there this innate need to impress? Or the need to "stay clean"? Why is there this feeling that we should not be real or that we shouldn't reveal the truth about ourselves to Him or to those around us??? And if we are truly following Christ's example, shouldn't there be a little dirt under our own nails from cleaning someone else's feet?

If He knows us, even as we are fully known, then why the pretending or hiding or the desire to only show the good parts of us? And why the lack of involvement in the lives of others?

I think I need a pedicure. And maybe a physician. Probably not in that order. Especially before any of you guys ever have to wash my feet. Or not. I may just buy me some sandals.

And then I may grab a towel.

Another Giveaway!

2009-07-20T17:16:00.003-05:00

Hey, Readers....

My friend, Vonda Skelton is giving away a $300 gift basket and a book from Cecil Murphy on her site, The Christian Writer's Den. The book is called, "When Someone You Love Has Cancer." It is designed for caregivers of those who are fighting Cancer (which is appropriate for some of us who are either walking that road, have walked that road or want something to put in our library to help minister to someone else.)

If you are interested, here is the link:

http://vondaskelton.com/Blog.htm?blog_id=210#addComment

All you have to do is leave a comment on her site and be entered into the drawing.

Best wishes to you!

By Your Side - Tenth Avenue North

2009-07-14T14:21:00.002-05:00

A friend shared this with me today. I thought this was appropriate for a lot of folks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHgNCj4DU_M

A Random Post...

2009-07-13T20:51:00.003-05:00

Lest some of you think I have sorely neglected my blog, I decided to write a random-y vacation blog to catch you up on where I have been this past week.

We left on Wednesday morning for a mini-vacation on the East Coast. We drove from Middle Tennessee to Central North Carolina. There we spent Wednesday night with my husband's brother and sister in law. They took us to a terrific local restaurant called the Blue Mist. For those who are unfamiliar, this is one of those country-styled meat and three restaurants, where you'll find "creamed" potatoes on the long list of fresh veggies along with fried squash and sliced tomatoes... and the waitress calls you "Hun." It was awesome!

The next day, the four of us piled into the rental car and drove to Virginia. We made a quick stop for lunch and met up with some of my husband's family members. Then, we drove to Williamsburg, where we stayed for the next several days.

Funny story... On the way into Williamsburg, we got caught in some construction traffic. Our four lane route was down to one single lane for both directions. We had been traveling for several hours by this time and it had been a long time since our last pit stop. We were just a few minutes from the hotel and I was pretty sure I could last until then. Yours truly is known for having one of the world's smallest bladders. I am only five feet tall and most of my vital organs are about the size of a ten to twelve year old child... with the exception of my "girls"... but we won't talk about them. Everything on the inside of my torso is compact. And stuff sits on top of other stuff... like my ribs sit on top of my hips...even when I am skinny. And the cone-shaped muscle called the diaphram sits on top of my bladder. When I have to go, I have to go right then. And I often do a "little dance" when I am trying to make my way to the bathroom. HH calls it "duck walking." Anyhow, I think you get the picture.

I am also well known for laughing -- hard, loud and often. Those who know me personally know that when I start cackling, it becomes contagious and others often join in with the laughter. Having said that, however, as much as I hate to admit it, sometimes when the laughter and the diaphram meet on top of a full bladder, disaster takes place.

Back to our little story. While we were waiting for our turn to get through the line, I made the comment that I needed to "go." Keep in mind that this line of traffic had not moved one inch in fifteen minutes. With that came a comment from the back seat (in jest) that they might decide to let the folks in front of us through and then stop the line with our vehicle and make us wait again. At that point, my loving husband (who was in the driver's seat) said (indirectly to the man in the vest who was holding the stop sign and to the one who made the comment from the backseat), "You'd better not (stop the line with us)! I'll have my wife wet on you!" (Ok. That wasn't quite the word he used. But I am trying to keep it clean.) I was in such shock that he said such a thing that I just lost it. So did everyone else in the car. That doesn't bode well on a full bladder. So much for going into the Williamsburg Marriott Residence Inn with dry undies...

On Friday, we met one of my close friends and her two very small boys (both are under age three) -- my "sister by another mother" -- and my two "nephews" -- at Colonial Williamsburg. We had a great time there -- seeing all of those historical sites and meeting some of the costumed interpreters. The boys were really too little to enjoy it much, but I certainly had fun seeing them and their mom. The oldest came to visit us along with his parents last summer for a week, and knows me already as "Aunt Bitsy." He is just starting to talk, and has stolen my heart. His little brother (he's eight months old) hasn't figured out what to do with me just yet (who has?), but I did get to hold him for a few minutes yesterday... and he seemed to warm up to me a bit then.

On Saturday, we met some more of my husband's family in Chesapeake, and ate dinner together at the place where senior adults rule: Golden Corral. HH and I were the youngest two in our group of eight... and because we didn't fit the senior category by a long shot, our host had to pay full price for us. I was the youngest of all.... I felt like a five year old!

After lunch, we sat around and talked and caught up as family sometimes does. It was a good visit. It was the first time that the aunts and uncles had seen my husband's brother and his wife since the death of my husband's parents in 2005. While we were talking, I had the treat of explaining to the group (the average age was 79) just what a "blog" is and all about the MID facebook group and the MID blog. I think they were still clueless, but nevertheless, we gave it our best shot.

On Sunday, we visited our former church in Hampton Va, Liberty Baptist Church. Liberty is a mega-church and is growing by leaps and bounds. God has been doing some amazing things there. The church has been without a full time worship pastor for the past year. They are taking their time in getting the right person for the job. Please pray for the worship ministry and those in leadership who are charged with filling the position.

Following the second service, we had lunch with some close friends and their families. One of the girls in the group at lunch is one of my former writing co-horts from Liberty. We wrote a couple of choir musicals together, along with our former worship pastor. She told me that she is in the process of writing a book about three generational families living together, and caring for elderly parents and children at the same time. I am really excited for her. This is a much needed ministry. She said her new book will be called, "Whose Diaper Shall I Change First?"

After lunch on Sunday, we drove back to NC to drop off the in-laws. When we arrived at their home, we found out that the power had shorted out while we were gone. Apparently, a small animal found the transformer the hard way. Yikes! Anyway, it knocked off the power. So, they had to wait for a few hours until it was fixed. In the meantime, we still had a long drive ahead of us today, so we found a hotel nearby and got some rest.

We drove back to Tennessee today and arrived home tonight at about 6 pm Central. My seventeen year old cat met me with a little bit of hesitancy. She wasn't crazy about being left behind to mind the store while we were gone. She is not letting me out of her sight right now, and I am doubting that -- if left up to her -- that I will be allowed to leave the house for the next 3 days.

Anyhow, we're back. And I will start posting more in the next couple of days.

Turning the "Stuff I am Gonna Do" Page

2009-07-03T23:38:00.003-05:00

"Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ." - Ephesians 5:19-21

"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." - Romans 8:28

My husband, Bill, and I went to see the 3-D Disney/Pixar movie, "UP" today. The movie has been out in theatres for several weeks now. I love animated films and fortunately, God blessed me with two guys in the husband department who were serious comic book collectors. Thankfully, neither has been afraid to see animated films with me.

I won't give away the entire storyline for "UP" here because some of you may not yet have seen the movie. But I will give a brief synopsis. (Note: This all happens early so, I don't think I am spoiling anything for anyone who hasn't seen the movie.) The story is about Carl, who has lost his wife, Ellie after many years together, and a little boy named Russell who is trying to earn a merit badge for assisting the elderly. The movie chronicles the adventures of Carl and Russell. It is a beautiful story about love and adventure, and how sometimes the adventure is all about perspective.

The writers of "UP" did a great job of telling Carl and Ellie's love story with pictures... without words. I have to tell you that some of those pictures opened up some emotions relative to my first marriage that I haven't felt in a long time. And it surprised me that some of those feelings were still there, eleven years after Tony's passing. I certainly could relate to Carl's loss, although I was much younger at Tony's death. I'm ashamed to admit this, but I had a little bit of a pity party going on inside my head there for a bit. But in all honesty, I didn't stay there long. As the movie moved forward, I actually found myself rooting for Carl, and secretly hoping that he would finally turn a page in the adventure book!

Life is not easy. And God didn't promise that it would be. But one thing that I have discovered in the many ups and downs of my own life: God is trustworthy. He is faithful. That means that I can take things one day -- one adventure -- at a time. Why? Because He is for me... and if He is for me, who can be against me? (Rom. 8:31)

Are those adventures going to be exotic?? Probably not. More likely, they will be daily encounters with a small group of people that God has placed in my sphere of influence. And more than likely, they will consist of doing simple daily routines and perhaps with a crazy day thrown in just for fun every now and then. But one thing will be certain: the adventures aren't ever about me, so much as they are about bringing glory to God and about being a blessing to someone else.

And as long as God writes the script for my life, I can turn the page each day in confidence. Because whatever He decides for me (good or bad) is going to be worked out for my good. He has promised that. (Rom.8:28)

So where are you headed? What's the next page going to look like in the chapter of your adventure book? Whatever it is, go for it! Turn the page!

I'll leave you with the words of songwriter Steven Curtis Chapman, from his hit, "The Great Adventure":

Saddle up your horses, we've got a trail to blaze!
In the wild blue yonder of God's Amazing Grace!
Let's follow our Leader into the glorious unknown!
This is life like no other --
This is the Great Adventure!

Time to Go Deep....

2009-06-30T15:17:00.012-05:00

"Jesus answered, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." - John 4:13-14

Our denomination held our annual convention last week in Louisville Ky. Several things came out of the meeting last week, none the least of which was a question about evangelism and how we effectively reach people for the kingdom.

Personally, I believe that believers will be a lot more effective in reaching people with the gospel of Jesus Christ if Jesus were really REAL to us. And if our motivation came from Jesus being real to us by way of having a genuine relationship with a LIVING GOD, I think we'd actually spend more time loving people and being the hands and feet of Christ, rather than spending time arguing over style of worship... or worrying about what sins we're against (since God is against all of them)... and start living what we are for: JESUS!

Let's face it. 85% of American churches are dead or dying. And it's our (the believer's) fault! We've spent way too much time talking about all the things that we are against (and have made our ways to the headlines far too many times for our arguments), and trying to change the world's behavior politically, and have forgotten as a people of how to genuinely love people where they are. The Jews of Jesus day were looking for an earthly ruler. If we continue to behave in this fashion as the church and are trying to change the world by the use of political action, are we no better than they?

I am not saying that we shouldn't be involved in the political process. That's a part of our dual citizenship in two kingdoms as believers. We should vote. And if God has called you to run for a political office, you should run. That's not what I am addressing here.

The truth is that lost people aren't going to behave as believers. That's a given. And try as we might, telling them to behave as believers won't make them believe or get them into Heaven. But if we demonstrate genuine love, respect, and consistently show them how Jesus is real to us when the rubber hits the road, we might find that our churches will be full!!! People will be coming out from behind the shadows of the steeples of our churches in droves and will be lining up to get in to hear about our God. Then we'd have more LIVING CHURCHES. Imagine that!

It all starts with the believer's understanding of the Cross... and allowing that to be REAL to us... not just words from the pastor or words from the page... remembering the blood of Calvary, the tremendous pain, the unbelievable gift of life that Jesus gave for you and for me. When we remember what He did at the Cross was not just for all the people for all of time, but that He did it just for you, then we realize that His love is personal. When we become aware of His holiness and come to grips with the fact that our own moral piety (regardless of how "pure" we might think we are) is nothing but filthy rags in His presence, that should make us bow in humility. When we become aware that what He did at the Cross was not just for you, but also for all of the people for all of time, that should make us missional. When we realize that the ground is level at the foot of the cross, that should make us unified and purposeful. When we realize His call to us, that should make us want to follow.

When we truly learn to love God, and become genuine followers of Christ, I believe that we will learn to thank Him and to praise Him. And we will learn to worship Him DAILY with a grateful heart. As our love relationship deepens, we will know Him more and more to be

the Lover of our Soul,

the Provider of our needs,

our Protector from Harm,

the Healer of our diseases,

our Deliverer,

our Maker,

our Guide,

our Breath,

our Life,

our Counselor,

our Best Friend,

our Father,

our Daddy,

our Master,

our Strength in times of Trouble,

our Wisdom...

This is by no means an exhaustive list... The deeper we go in love with Him, the longer the list. And the longer the list, the more those things will bubble out of us and will overflow onto those around us.

Remember the story of the woman at the well in John 4? Do you remember what Jesus said to her about the rivers of living water? He said that whoever drinks of His water would have rivers of living water flowing out of their lives. This was certainly true of the woman at the well after she met Jesus. Remember, she went back and told the others all that Jesus said and many began to follow Him. What she had gotten from Jesus was contagious! The entire village began to follow Jesus after they saw what He did for her.

Are you thirsty for Him?? Come and drink! Hungry for Him??? Come and eat!! Be filled up with what God has to offer... Dive in deep.... Learn of Him. Spend time with Him. Go deeper... Submerge your life into a Savior... Get soaking wet from head to toe in the River of Living Water.

Take the plunge. The rest will follow.

Happy Father's Day

2009-06-20T23:48:00.003-05:00

"Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you." - Exodus 20:12

This is just a short post to wish a Happy Father's Day to the guys in my life who have helped to shape me into the person that I am. I am fortunate to have been raised not only my dad, but also my paternal Granddaddy (that's where my love for music/violin/fiddle came from.) After my folks' divorced, God added a loving step-dad to the mix sometime in the middle of my college days. He's not only crazy about my mom, but he treats me and my siblings and our spouses as if we were his own kids. Gotta love that! When I married Bill, He also blessed me with a wonderfully godly Father-in-law, who is now with the Lord. I have also been blessed with great teachers/professors, coaches, principals and pastors and pastoral types, as well as Sunday School teachers and goodness knows who else God has placed in my path to teach and shape me.

Some of those folks are still around, others have since left this earth. But I am ever so thankful for every last one of them. Anyhow, I just wanted to say, "Thanks, guys! Happy Father's Day!"

FWBLE

2009-06-20T11:01:00.007-05:00

"If I speak with human eloquence and angelic ecstasy but don't love, I'm nothing but the creaking of a rusty gate. If I speak God's Word with power, revealing all his mysteries and making everything plain as day, and if I have faith that says to a mountain, "Jump," and it jumps, but I don't love, I'm nothing. If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don't love, I've gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I'm bankrupt without love. Love never gives up. Love cares more for others than for self. Love doesn't want what it doesn't have. Love doesn't strut, Doesn't have a swelled head, Doesn't force itself on others, Isn't always "me first," Doesn't fly off the handle, Doesn't keep score of the sins of others, Doesn't revel when others grovel, Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth, Puts up with anything, Trusts God always, Always looks for the best, Never looks back, But keeps going to the end. Love never dies. Inspired speech will be over some day; praying in tongues will end; understanding will reach its limit. We know only a portion of the truth, and what we say about God is always incomplete. But when the Complete arrives, our incompletes will be canceled. When I was an infant at my mother's breast, I gurgled and cooed like any infant. When I grew up, I left those infant ways for good. We don't yet see things clearly. We're squinting in a fog, peering through a mist. But it won't be long before the weather clears and the sun shines bright! We'll see it all then, see it all as clearly as God sees us, knowing him directly just as he knows us! But for right now, until that completeness, we have three things to do to lead us toward that consummation: Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly. And the best of the three is love." - 1 Cor.13

When Tony and I were engaged, he came up with a saying that became our marriage's motto of sorts, "Forever won't be long enough." We would include that on notes and cards to one another throughout our engagement.

After our marriage, we shortened the phrase to FWBLE. The phrase was too long to go on my wedding band, so we just used the first letters of each word. A local paper interviewed us just before the weekend of our wedding and we told our "adoring" public (aka, the folks who happened to read the Tennessean that day) all about FWBLE.

All together now: Awwwwwww.

Yep. It was pretty sappy. But I was married to the king of sap!

It made a great little country song that I wrote after he died. Sang it for a couple of weddings and a worship service once. It came close to getting picked up by a country band, too, if you can actually believe that. As the teenagers would say, "What-ever."

The truth is that sucessful, long lasting marriages aren't built on sweet phrases and thankfully, ours wasn't. They aren't even built on emotions like love or warm fuzzy feelings. Why? Because there comes a time in every marriage when the happy couple figures out that honeymoon is over... and the real life together begins. And trust me, there are no warm fuzzy feelings when that man that you love so much comes up to you, wanting to snuggle after he has been out cutting grass and desperately needs a shower! And, he's not going to be so happy with you when you roll out of the sack looking like you've been fighting the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles all night long, so much so that you even ripped a hole in the your old t-shirt that you've been sleeping in since college. One of you will snore and keep the other one awake!

And there will be days when one or the other will be seriously ill and the other will have just spent every waking hour at a hospital with him for the past several days/weeks... praying...

That's not to say joyous occasions don't happen. They most certainly do. Additions to the family, weddings, graduations, birthdays and other happy celebrations will be special days.

The real happily ever after marriages are from the beginning built on a relationship with Jesus first and then unconditional love, respect and commitment to one another second. That means you still love him in spite of the peeling paint from his snoring. And he's still crazy about you in spite of the bedhead hair you have first thing in the morning.

Having said all that, I played two weddings today. Both were for daughters of long-time friends. Both brides have AMAZING God stories. And both couples have a tough (but great) road ahead, if the roads behind them are of any indication of what kind of future they might have. I am thankful that God has blessed each of these two young women with wonderful husbands who will care for them... and meet their every need! And most of all, they love Jesus... more than they love one another.

My sincerest best wishes to Jessica and Ryan, and to Jacqui and RJ! God bless you guys!!!

The Rabbi's Invitation to Discpleship: Follow Me

2009-06-17T23:27:00.002-05:00

"Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." - Luke 9:23

I recently heard an old sermon podcast by one of my former pastors. He was speaking on the topic of Discipleship. One of the things that he said was that whenever a young Hebrew boy was chosen to be a student of a rabbi in Jesus' day, the rabbi's priceless invitation only included two words, "Follow Me."

Instantly, the young student would drop whatever it was he was doing and become a follower of the rabbi. He described how the new disciple would learn everything that the rabbi did... he spent every waking hour learning what the rabbi thought, how he ate, what he ate, believe what he did, and this new disciple would be (or would want to be) just like the rabbi.

Jesus has issued those exact words to us... "Follow Me." These are the same words he issued to the twelve. And these were the same words he issued to Peter when he was restored in the Feed My Sheep passage in John 21... You remember the story... After Peter had denied that he knew Jesus three times (after Jesus' arrest, while at the home of the High Priest), the rooster crowed. Later, after the resurrection, Jesus told the girls at the tomb to tell His disciples and Peter that He was alive and to meet Him in Galilee. The disciples didn't get there until later. Peter decided to go fishing. The rest of the disciples joined him. (Personally, I think they were probably needing to blow off some steam and did that in the best way that they knew -- to fish.) It was there that they saw Jesus on the shore making breakfast for them. They had fished all night long and hadn't caught anything. Then Jesus told them to cast the net on the other side of the boat! They caught 153 fish!!! It was there during breakfast where Jesus pulled Peter aside and asked him three different times whether he loved Him... Then Jesus lovingly told Peter to "Follow Me."

Following Jesus would probably mean that we spend our time learning from Him. We spend time in His word. We spend time in prayer and Bible Study. We may find ourselves in a small group learning from other followers what the Master taught. We learn what He likes and what He doesn't. And a Christ-follower, a disciple of Rabbi Jesus will want to be just like Him.

But cross bearing is not easy. You may be mocked and stripped naked emotionally by an irreverent crowd of on-watchers. You may find yourself bullied and beaten down by others who do not know or love The Rabbi Whom you are following. You may be spat upon. Laughed at. Mocked. And you may get a few splinters in your heart. Some of us may actually even face physical death for Following Him (just ask some brothers and sisters in the Underground Church! God is moving in spite of laws, but that's another post for another day!)

So... we find ourselves daily plodding down a road, walking where He has gone before us, following diligently in the Master's steps... and at some point along the road, we realize it is to His Via Dolorosa where He is leading us.... There we lay down our rights to ourselves.... our selfish ambition and our pride... we lay down the sin that so easily entangles and fix our eyes on Jesus (as Hebrews 12:1-2 tells us)... and then the hammer falls. In gratefulness we find that all of who we are was nailed to His tree on Golgatha... where He took the punishment for us all. (2 Cor. 5:21) Blow by blow, day by day, self is crucified (Gal. 2:20.) And by His mercy, we are then set free. Set free to live victoriously ... over sin.... over death... Set free to follow Him.

Then tomorrow, and tomorrow and tomorrow again... we will hear The Rabbi's Invitation issued once again to us: "Follow Me."

AKA Flapjack and Fred??? Not so much...

2009-06-09T20:26:00.008-05:00

"O Lord, you have searched me and you know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways." - Ps.139:1-3 (NIV)

I have a new nickname. Since I actually am called most of the time by a nickname given me as a newborn, I don't have a problem with gaining a new one. My first husband used to call me, "Hummy" (and I called him, "Bear.") I call my second husband, "HH." I've forever been known as Ms. Bitsy or Ms. Bits to my friends and their children. But this name is entirely different. I have newly been christened "Flapjack." Yes, you read correctly. "Flapjack."

My new name was given to me by a fourth grade boy sitting in front of me in the VBS Worship Rally yesterday. This kid was an active little boy... all boy... and liked to talk. You know the type. Outgoing. Likes to stir up trouble but not in a bad way... He turned around to my friend and asked her, "Do you know my name?" I didn't know the young man at all but quickly decided he was the type of kid I could have some real fun with... so I just grinned, elbowed my buddy and said, "Looks like a Fred to me!" Of course, the group of boys sitting around him starting giggling and he said, "No. Guess again." So I quipped, "Well... I was gonna say, 'Hubert' but I decided that you don't really look like a 'Hubert'. Nope. You're definitely a Fred! I'm gonna call you Fred all week!"

He said, "Then I'm gonna call you, 'Flapjack!!!!' Well... what's good for the goose is good for the gander, so I agreed...

This marked the beginning of a beautiful friendship. We've seen one another in the hallways, in classrooms, outside, in crafts... Pretty much everywhere... And each time, we greet one another with an exuberant "Howdy, Flapjack!" or a "Hey, Fred!", followed by a high-five. And we've ended each day with goodbyes...

Since I'm not a mom, I don't often spend time with the kids at church, unless they happen to be taking music lessons from me or I know their parents. So, I am doubting that any of those boys actually know my true name. No, I will likely affectionately always be remembered by them, henceforth and forever more as simply, "Flapjack."

Have you ever worn so many names that you run into an identity crisis of sorts? You are Mom to your children, Mrs. (insert your name here) to your child's teacher, the doctor, the dentist, and everywhere formal. You may wear any number of affectionate names. You may even have a special name for the hats you wear in your family... sister, aunt, grandma.... You may wear the name "Boss" at work. And some days, things can just be so crazy that you don't have a clue as to what your name is because you are wearing fifteen different hats all at once!

But one thing that we never have to concern ourselves with is whether God knows our name. The One who built and specifically designed every atom of every cell in our bodies knows every hair on every head. He knows all about the way that we walk, how we think, what we had for breakfast, and what we are doing at every single second of every single day. Yes, The One who created the Universe is the Same One Who designed blue, green, hazel, brown, black and golden eyes and placed them in the sockets of every child on the planet.... specially crafted for each and every one of us.

Make no mistake... our Heavenly Daddy knows our names! He even knows the exact moment that we took our first breath because He planned it before the foundation of the world.

And no matter what name the world may call us, regardless of the roles we play in this life, if we belong to Jesus, we have a special name that He has given us to wear... His very own. His name is the Name above all Names. It breaks the power of canceled sin and it sets the captive free! There is no name under Heaven or earth whereby men might be saved. (Acts 4:12)

And He has graciously given it to us.

It All Comes Back to Jesus

2009-06-07T17:56:00.006-05:00

"God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. " Hebrews 1:1-4 (NKJV)

This week is Vacation Bible School at our church and our theme (like a lot of other churches) is "Boomerang Express: It All Comes Back to Jesus." It really does all come back to Jesus and our personal relationship with Him, doesn't it?

How we live, who/what we worship, what we believe, how we manage our finances, how we plan our lives, raise our families, work at our jobs, the usage of the gifts we have and all that we own, dream about, live for boils down to our relationship with God... We either: a) love God and are called a part of His family because of an intimate personal relationship with Jesus Christ, or b) we don't have a relationship with Christ and choose not to trust Him. Whatever is the case, everything we do comes back to this question:

What kind of relationship do you have with Jesus?

I'm not talking about religion here... or denominations.... or lack thereof. Religion and church membership no more place you and I into an intimate personal relationship with Jesus Christ than walking into a garage makes you a car! I'm not asking about whether you've kept the Ten Commandments. I'm not talking about baptism, church membership, taking communion or how good of a life you or I might be living. I was baptized before I began to follow Jesus and all I did was get wet! All of those other things (baptism, church membership, living the Christian life) come after you have decided to follow Jesus.

I am talking about the day in, day out, relationship that you and I have with the Living God. Do we have real conversations with Him (that's what it means to pray)? Do we respect Him and give Him top value and priority over our lives (that's what it means to worship)? Do we listen to Him as His Holy Spirit teaches us from His Word (the Bible), other believers, the church, and circumstances? Do we Trust Him, not only for our salvation, but for our everyday decisions? Do you like what He likes, and do you do what He does? Do you dislike what He dislikes???

My second husband's parents passed away in June, 2005, just six days apart. Their 58 year marriage was such that you sometimes could not tell one from the other. When we were talking with their pastor regarding the planning of a second funeral service in a week's time, one of the things that we joked about was that after 58 years of marriage, they couldn't stand even a week apart from one another!

I believe that's what God intended for our relationship with Him. He knows us fully. (I Cor. 13:12, Ps. 139:16) He loves us deeply. (John 3:16) We should be so excited to spend time with Him daily that we can't stand one second apart from Him! He desires so much to spend time with you on a daily basis... not just on Sundays or Wednesdays for an hour or two, but every single day! I've said it before and I'll say it again! He is CRAZY about YOU! And He gave His life to prove it! (Romans 5:8)

It All Comes Back to Jesus. Romans 10:9-13 (from the Message) says this:

"Say the welcoming word to God - "Jesus is my Master" - embracing, body
and soul, God's work of doing in us what he did in raising Jesus from the dead.
That's it. You're not "doing" anything; you're simply calling out to God,
trusting him to do it for you. That's salvation. With your whole being you
embrace God setting things right, and then you say it, right out loud: "God has
set everything right between him and me!"Scripture reassures us, "No one who
trusts God like this - heart and soul - will ever regret it."It's exactly the
same no matter what a person's religious background may be: the same God for all of us, acting the same incredibly generous way to everyone who calls out for
help."Everyone who calls, 'Help, God!' gets help."

So... How's your love life with Jesus? Have you trusted Him to be the manager/boss of your life?
Have you totally committed everything you are to everything He is for His benefits, His plans and His ways and on His terms for now and all eternity?

Are you a Christ-follower? Will you follow Him today?

Dress rehearsal

2009-06-02T00:22:00.005-05:00

"The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness."- Lamentations 3:22-23 (ESV)

I am a music instructor by trade. I have a lot of fun doing what I do and I love the interesting opportunities that I get doing what I do. At least a couple of times a year, I get the opportunity to play in the pit orchestra for different musicals. Usually these are church choir/worship ministry musicals, and always, they call for a series of final rehearsals: tech rehearsals, drama cast rehearsals, choreography, and then the final dress rehearsal.

That last week of rehearsing is the time when all of the tweeking is done to make everything "performance ready." This would be the time when costumes are checked, makeup gets a chance to work on the cast, spotlights and mics are set, and the final tough musical passages are worked out for the performances that would be around the corner.

The night of the final dress rehearsal, everything is supposed to be ready to go, just as if it were the opening night. The operative word here is "supposed." But things inevitably do go wrong. Light cues get missed. A mic switch won't take place. Power boards fail. Lines get dropped. Soloists forget lyrics. Orchestra folks miss cues. It's a part of being human. And, thus there are several "takes" (as the industry will call it) before the final dress rehearsal is completely polished and the product is "performance ready."

So what if we treated every day like it were a final dress rehearsal for the coming days with the Lord?

What would that look like?

2 Peter 3: 14 says, "So then, dear friends, since you are looking forward to this, make every effort to be found spotless, blameless and at peace with him."

Will our days ever go absolutely perfectly? No. Not on this side of glory at least, because we are a fallen people living in a fallen world. But that does not excuse us from living and giving our best for God today. God has already poured out His mercies on us. They are new every single morning, as our focal scripture says.

Tomorrow will bring with it a brand new day... with brand new mercies from a loving God.... a new day for a dress rehearsal! Will you treat it as if it were your final dress rehearsal?

Giveaway

2009-05-27T17:33:00.004-05:00

Hey, All!!!

Not sure who is reading regularly here yet... Do I actually have regulars??? LOL

Anyhow, if you read this... Pop over to my friend, Dori's blog... http://yourwordislife.blogspot.com/ and be entered in a drawing for an autographed copy of Jennifer Rothschild's Self-Talk, Soul Talk. Jennifer Rothschild is also the author of Me, Myself and Lies, the summer Bible Study for Living Proof Ministries (Beth Moore's blog site.)

All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on Dori's blog for Dori that says that you came over from my blog.

Have fun!

Bitz

Thank You!

2009-05-24T23:29:00.007-05:00

"This is the very best way to love. Put your life on the line for your friends.." - John 15:13, The Message

One Saturday afternoon a few weeks ago, I was driving East on Interstate 24, heading home following a trip into Nashville for a baby shower. It had been pouring rain all morning long and a heavy rain was falling on the drive home. It was still a little on the nippy side because we were experiencing a cool snap like I had mentioned in one of my previous posts.

I looked over to my left side, only to see that I would be coming up on a convoy of soldiers heading toward Murfreesboro. There were four vehicles involved. The final vehicle was a Hummer/mini tank, which was following three other green vehicles. They were laden with supplies that looked like they might be en route to help with tornado clean up efforts.

I should probably tell you that since 9-11, I have a developed a habit of personally thanking soldiers whenever I see one of them in uniform. I consider these guys and gals heroes of the greatest kind. So, I whenever I get the opportunity, as corny as it seems, I want to shake the hand of every soldier I meet, look them square in the eye and say thanks from a grateful heart. They get enough flack from a lot of others. I figure that it's the least I can do.

Back to the freeway.... As is true to my encouraging nature, I decided that on this rainy Saturday, in the middle of the freeway, I would try to make the day of some of our working boys and girls in green camoflauge...

As I passed the mini tank, I lowered the window of my pickup and stuck my short arm out as far as I could (thanks to the cooler weather, I was wearing a red jacket, I had no doubt they'd see it) and gave an enthusiastic thumbs up!!! I yelled, "Thank You, Guys!!! Thank You!!!" Then as best I could, I snapped what I thought to be a perfectly good civilian salute.

The response from the guys in green took my breath away.

A solitary soldier popped up through the top of the tank and stood at attention, with a full salute in the pouring rain! He remained at attention until I lost sight of them... or I guess he lost sight of me.

Here was a soldier, willingly putting himself in harm's way for our freedoms... and he was saluting... me!?!

The more I think about it, that's exactly what Jesus did for us. He willingly gave up His life so that we might live.

Grace.

Mercy.

Undeserved.

But freely given.

I'll leave you this Memorial Day weekend with these immortal words from the pen of Lee Greenwood:

"And I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free. And I won't forget the Man Who died Who gave that right to me. And I'll proudly stand up next to you to defend her still today. For there ain't no doubt I love this land! God bless the USA!"

Happy Memorial Day.

Five little letters...

2009-05-20T00:33:00.006-05:00

"Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him." -James 1:12

Several weeks ago, Murfreesboro TN was placed on the world map when an EF-4 tornado tore through the west side of town, leaving a path of destruction of 23.5 miles long and a half-mile wide. While much of the "clean up" process has taken already been taking place, there are marks of devastation across the landscape of the hearts of some families that will certainly remain forever.

Because the hardest hit area was less than a half-mile from our church and only a few minutes from our own home, I have heard over and over stories of God's amazing goodness, His mercy and His grace, in spite of the storm that took only two precious lives. I've seen pictures of the massive tornado taken from the front porch of a friend's house... And I have seen God's face in the face of those whose homes were completely destroyed but who lived to tell about it without an inkling of bitterness or complaint.

How is it that my friends have managed to remain faithful to their Lord throughout this trial? What is it that keeps them from becoming angry or bitter at God? What keeps them from losing their sanity or from giving up (or worse?) I believe it has to do with the fact that they believe God is looking out for them...that He has their best interests in mind. They may not understand His ways and especially when they aren't what they would have chosen for themselves, but they TRUST HIM.

TRUST.

Such a small word...just five little letters.

Five little letters that caused a young teenager to take on a mouthy giant with a handful of stones and a slingshot... and win! Five little letters that allowed Moses to stand firm in the face of Pharoah and tell him, "Let my people go." Later, it would allow those same freed people to cross the parted Red Sea on dry land. It would teach Job's friends that even in the loss of all that he had (up to and including his life), God was still trustworthy.

TRUST.

TRUST. When the path is unseen or the way unclear. (Hebrews 11:1-6)

TRUST. When you are weary. (Isaiah 40:29-31)

TRUST. When you would rather worry. (Phillippians 4:6)

TRUST. When God's plan seems bigger than you are. (Jeremiah 32:27)

TRUST. When you are disappointed. (Jeremiah 29:11)

TRUST.

Five little letters.

Such a small word.

But He's one REALLY BIG GOD.

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made: the Belly Button Ring

2009-05-11T13:37:00.000-05:00

"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." - Ps. 139:14

Several years ago, in the days following Tony's death, I often joined our church singles group for lunch following Sunday morning services. This was often a group of eight to ten people, some were divorcees with/without their children, some were never marrieds and then there was me... the young widow. We always had a great time together, laughing, eating, sharing stories, and catching up.

One particular Sunday afternoon, one of the college aged daughters came along with her mom for lunch. While we were sitting around the table, the mother turned to her daughter and (in a tattling-like tone) said, "Tell them what you did this week."

All eyes were on Suzy (not her real name). We were all curious. We had seen this child grow up and knew her to be the epitome of purity throughout her high school years. She was the girl who dated the young man who was surrendered to ministry. She was the one who was active in the youth group and that all of the other girls wanted to be like. But when she became a college freshman, all of that changed.

"What?" Suzy inquired.

Her mom said, "You know what I am talking about."

"Oh that?"

Suzy slowly lifted her shirt just above her waistline, only to reveal her new bellybutton ring!

One by one, all of our mouths hit the floor. And the people (particularly those of the male gender) in the group started firing one question after another... Did it hurt? How did they do it? How long do you have to leave it in? How do you clean it? The questions and conversation continued for several minutes while I sat in stunned silence.

Finally, after what seemed like ten minutes of listening to the guys play twenty questions with Suzy, I decided I had heard enough. So I began to look at her, look at the guys and look down at my own (quite round) mid-section... and wondered out loud, "Hmmm... belly-button ring, huh????" Then I shook my head and said, "Nah. I couldn't find mine to pierce it!!!"

We're all made differently, aren't we? The God of the Universe has created each of us uniquely. So why is it that we are always hung up on our appearances? Why is it that we can't just let the Master Designer love us as we are? After all, didn't He design us with a purpose in mind, and don't you think that maybe you fit nicely into that purpose, regardless of what the outer package may look like? Let's not get too caught up on the outward beautification process, but let's learn to focus on inward beauty, and let God love us just as we are. And then let's learn to laugh at and love ourselves the way He sees us.... Beautiful!

Blackberry Winter

2009-05-02T22:39:00.000-05:00

"Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." - 1 Peter 5:8 (NIV)

Middle Tennessee really only has two seasons: winter and summer. (Spring and Fall are really just variations of the previously mentioned seasons.) The temperatures bounce back and forth between cold and hot during the months of March, April and May, then they finally settle into the sticky hot weather of summer. And the reverse is true in the fall months until about mid-November, when the temps will become more wintry.

Nevertheless, Spring is gorgeous in middle Tennessee! We have some beautiful flowers like daffodils and tulips that begin to show their smiling faces in early March. Dogwood and Red bud trees bud. Roses, azaleas, and other flowers are in all their glory. And much to my husband's chagrine, the grass also grows.

Around the end of March, the weather will start to warm up again. And it will continue to get warmer through the early part of April. Therein lies the problem. Most of the new people around here will be lulled into a false sense of security by all of the beauty and the warm weather that seems to sneak in and stay for only a few weeks. After all, wherever they came from probably had four real seasons, so they form the false belief that it's here to stay. They will put away their winter clothes or plant delicate perennials, only to be quickly fooled by the changes of temperature and late frosts. It's a really cheap shot to the human psyche from nature... and those who are unsuspecting find out the hard way that it really isn't summer just yet.

We actually have names for the last two of these changes in temperature in the Spring time: "Dogwood winter" and "Blackberry winter." These shadows of winter signify the last of the cold snaps of the season and usually happen around the middle of April and end in early May. They are so-named because the dogwood trees and blackberries bloom when these last little cold snaps come. Usually, the skies are grey like winter, and the wind is colder than it has been in previous weeks. Sometimes it's rainy. Other times, it's just cold. Whatever the case, it is tom-foolery for the unsuspecting!

Have you ever gone through a spiritual "blackberry winter"? I most certainly have! And if you've been a believer for any length of time, I am betting you have, too! Whether it's a fall into temptation, complacency or God just has you in a dark spot for a brief time for a period of testing, blackberry winters come to us all.

Don't be fooled by spiritual blackberry winters! If there's anything I have learned after becoming a Christ-follower, it's this: Satan is the chief of liars! He wants nothing more than to lull us into believing all is well... or that we can get away with one little thing... And then all of the sudden, we find ourselves drowning in the middle of a sea of misery, guilt and shame. I Peter 5:8 in the Message says this: "Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce and would like nothing better than to catch you napping."

The good thing about the blackberry winter is that it doesn't last long. The reward is that the berries bloom, and soon after there will be sweet, juicy fruit! The sun will be back, shining and the days will be warm and summer upon us for good.

For the believer going through the spiritual blackberry winter, remember that above all, God does love you. He will be there with you through the duration of this period of whatever it is you are going through. God has promised the crown of life to those who will persevere under trials. (James 1:12) If you fall for one of Satan's lies, forgiveness can be a beautiful thing, especially when you go to God with a broken heart and a contrite spirit (Psalms 51:7). Whatever the case, the spiritual fruits that will follow these seasons of trials will be sweet.

Dancing in the Dark

2009-04-23T19:32:00.000-05:00

"You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have put off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness, To the end that my glory may sing praise to You and not be silent. O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever." Ps. 33:11-12 NKJV

Early in my first marriage, my late husband, Tony and I lived in a small duplex in a Nashville subdivision. We had a tiny kitchen, and very little by way of furnishings for our apartment. We were trying to save for our first home, so we had been eating at home quite a bit.

Now, I must also tell you that Tony was a hopeless romantic... always writing poetry for me, bringing home flowers, and such. One particular night, during dinner, the moon was really shining brightly through the patio doors of our kitchen. Suddenly, Tony jumped up, turned off the kitchen light, grabbed my hand and pulled me close. He flipped on a small radio we had in the kitchen. And we began dancing in the middle of that tiny kitchen...to the light of the moon as it shone through the glass doors.

I am sure that I stepped on his toes at least once (I am a musician, not a dancer!) But we soon learned to dance together...

Sometimes, I think as believers, we have to learn to dance in the dark as well. God will nudge us in a particular direction, He'll grab our hearts, and suddenly we'll find ourselves up in the middle of the kitchen, dancing with Him... Sometimes, it means learning by dancing on top of His feet, as a small child would do when learning to dance for the first time with her Daddy. Other times, it means that we simply place our heads on his chest, listen to the rhythm of His heartbeat and slowly turn as He guides us. There will be times when sin will cause us to be out of step or we will most certainly step on His toes.... or He will step on ours!

Nevertheless, the dance is one of joyous celebration. He is singing over you, His princess, His beautiful bride! He is totally head over heels, crazy about you! And He desires to be your all in all!

His hand is reaching out to you... Will you join Him in the dance?