Meetings

Meetings.  Some people absolutely loathe going to another meeting.  I tend to actually look forward to them.  I see the opportunity they give for the larger group to get together, recapture vision, share passion and information, and live life together in a “work” setting.  I find this to be especially true of our Staff Meetings at Thrive.  I love that we start off with sharing testimonies of how “God is Big” and what He is doing in each of our lives.  I am so blessed and encouraged through hearing these.  We also spend time on “development.”  We value continuing to learn more, being transformed by Christ, and “developing” ourselves in Him.  Today’s message hit home and I even had a chance tonight to live out my own reactions to confrontation and to my commitment to continue to change and experience life in Christ.  Here are some bullet point thoughts to chew on from the message “Keys to Confrontation” by Danny Silk:

• We need to strategically apply pressure to expose areas that need strength and grace
• Confrontation is an invitation to strengthen a relational bond with someone (so true! through confrontation tonight, I’m excited to further develop relationships)
• Confrontation is not about punishment, but about setting each other up to win and to put us back on the track that we left
• Relationships are where we manifest everything we get from heaven
• Confrontation is about helping people find the need and find the remedy to the need–when you’ve fallen in a hole, you need something–you lost control of you to the thing that put you in the hole!
• Questions to ask: What are you going to do? How’s that working out for you? Do you want help with this problem? I am wondering if…?  …didn’t it?
• Godly sorrow leads to repentance
• Find out what the problem actually has to do with
• Live a life that no matter what external pressure comes, you get to be YOU.

Are You Caught?

“When you look in the mirror, you see who you used to be rather than who you are.”

“Teach me to see me as who I am in Christ because in Christ you are completely forgiven.”

“You are doing things for him because you are afraid that if you don’t he will leave.”

“If there is going to be no commitment, you are better than being treated like you’re something from Rent-A-Center. You are valuable in the sight of God.”

“The easiest thing for her to do would be to jump right back into the relationship when things get tough.”

“He wants to you live the life that he created you to live.”

“Jesus’ passion can overcome your problem.”

“I’m obsessed with who you could be if you would just give your life to me.” -Jesus

-Random quotes from Perry Noble’s sermon “Caught”

Vision

Forgive me, I took these notes from a sermon a few months ago and am just now getting to them.  Unfortunately, I do not remember who gave the sermon….my bad.  So, if you know, let me know because I like to give credit where credit is due.

“the clearer the vision of your life, the fewer the options”

As long as the vision is general then it is not helpful in making decisions.  The clearer and more defined vision you have the easier it is to make decisions based on your vision.  What do I want life to look like in 3, 5, 7 years?  Nehemiah served as a cup bearer before taking further steps toward his dream, his vision for his life.  Visions sometimes begin as a burden.  Nehemiah’s burden was to go rebuild the walls and he based decisions off of that.  Though, sometimes our visions need to be altered.  Our “me-focused” visions get thrown out the window to make room for some even bigger “God-focused” visions.  So, how is your vision?  Are you making decisions on your clear vision?

Passion

What is the greatest passion in your life? What drives you? What motivates you? What is your credo?

Go read Philippians 1:18b-26

Okay, so some of you did and some of you didn’t read the verse.  For those of you who didn’t, the key verse is “For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”  Some would say that’s Paul’s credo.  That’s Paul take on life.  Everything that he lives and breathes is Christ.  He wants to “magnify Jesus in every situation” he encounters.  Dying means perfect and complete fellowship with Christ for Paul.  While, living means that he can be used by God in the lives of others.  He can continue to magnify Christ and help others magnify Christ.  Yet EITHER way Christ is with him.  Whether Paul lives or dies, Christ is with him.  While he is living, the prayers of others and the work of the Holy Spirit help lead him to boldness for the Gospel and for magnifying Christ.  Furthermore, when the primary passion is to magnify Jesus in every situation our prayers change from “Get me out of this!” to “Get me out of this, but help me glorify you in this and cherish you as gain no matter what happens.”  How do You want to use my now?  If magnifying Jesus become my overarching theme how will I use my other passions to encompass that credo?

 So, the real question is what is your passion? What drives you? Is it Jesus? Or is it something else?

 

–Thoughts based off of the sermon series “To&ether for the Gospel: A Study in Philippians.”  Sermon from November 16th, 2008 “What’s your Credo?” by Pastor Andy.  Check out Antioch Community Church for more information or podcasts.  The sermon from today should be posted on the blog later this week.

The King is Enthralled By Your Beauty

The first sermon in the series “Beautiful, a series for women and the men that pursue them” tackles issues such as a women’s identity, culture, beauty, and what God has to say.

Women (and myself!) try to find identity in appearance, “home”, kids, relationships, career and religion.  Yet, when the very thing that one finds his/her identity in is taken away then what… In the sermon Perry indicates that women who are doing this are “tired.”  Tired of trying so hard and falling short.  Tired of going through the three hour beauty routine only to have the rain come and mess everything up!  Tired.  Simply tired.

Furthermore, culture surrounds us with definitions of beauty.  Pictures of beauty abound in magazines, television shows like “America’s Next Top Model”, the internet and every other media outlet.  Culture screams multiple ways to become beautiful.  If only you buy this kind of make-up or that dress, then you will feel beautiful, you will look “sexy.”  Or better yet, eat this frozen dinner and you’ll magically lose those 10 extra pounds that keep you from feeling “beautiful.”  Yet, if you did lose those extra pounds, would it ever be enough?  Can we ever meet or feel like we’ve met culture’s standard of beauty?   Are we always stuck in the “not good enough” category?”

Besides, what is beauty even? Does beauty consist of make-up and high-heels or of skinny jeans and cute tops?  Or maybe beauty comes with the perfect job and perfect husband? Maybe we should turn to scripture instead to find our definition of beauty.  Then, would more women be able answer the “Me, Beautiful?” question in an affirmative way?  Perry’s main verse, Psalm 45:11, states: “The king is enthralled by your beauty.”  God sees who we can be.  God sees us through the lens of Jesus.  Let God show You what He sees about you.

 

God’s Will–I want Direction and I want it now! :)

I listened to Andy Stanley’s podcast about God’s Will today and found myself left with a heap of questions.  Retrospective thinking brings up even more questions!  So here are some of my notes and quotes from the podcast:

• God does not give us direction so that we can take it into consideration
• Do I only want to trust Him with part of my heart so that I can keep my options open in case I don’t like His so much?
• “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6

Personal thoughts:

• I weigh option after option and look at the issue from all sides.  Giving up control is a big stumbling block for me.  I like big-picture plans.  I can be flexible, but I don’t like change.
• I lean on my own finances, abilities, intelligence, and experience more often than not.
• Am I ready to acknowledge Him in all ways and let go of my own understanding? I pray that my heart would be willing.
• Are God’s plans just taken “into consideration” in my life or are they the only way?

Sorry for the questions over thoughts, but here’s to wrestling through the written word.  Blog readers beware.  I’m hoping to listen to Part 2 of the series tomorrow.  More thoughts and questions, I’m sure, to come!

Romans

Apparently not having roomies around turns me into a blogging fiend.  I’m quite surprised with how many posts I have posted so far this month.  Crazy!  Anyway, onto some biblical thoughts tonight

Romans 7:22-24

“For in my inner inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work.  What a wretched man I am!  Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God–through Jesus Christ our Lord!”

Reading through Romans has opened my eyes to everything that we have said in our series at Hope.  The series is titled “Be Killing Sin or Sin Will Be Killing You” or something to that nature.  This verse reminded me greatly that it is WAR and who will come to my rescue? Jesus. Plain and simple.  Jesus will rescue us from this body of death.  

Romans 8:5

“Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.  The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace…”

What am I setting my mind on lately?  Am I thinking about what the Spirit desires or am I thinking about my desires?  Do I constantly seek God or has God been put on the back burner as a nice warm cup whenever I feel like it?

Romans 8:26

“…the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.”

When I am weak and ready to give in, normally I call a friend.  Yes, friends are awesome, but my first cry should go out to God.  For some things, I have become dependent and thankfully friends don’t always answer so I am forced to choose between fighting by myself or turning to God.

Romans 8:28

“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.”

Thank goodness!  Notice the *ALL* things.

Romans 12:1-2

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.”

I absolutely love this verse.  So much so that on the bottom of all my pottery you will find 12:2.  If I had to pick a “life verse” this might be it….or maybe Ephesians 5:2.  Love that too.  

 

p.s. While writing these verses, I kept wanting to write down the whole book because let’s be honest.  Most people get a LOT more out of the entire book in context than a few random verses.  As such, I encourage you to go read Romans  I like it, maybe you will too.

Hiding Behind a Rim

I’m obsessed with crazy, crimped, wavy, flared, pinched, spiked, and well basically every kind of non-normal rims in terms of pottery.  Pretty much every teacher has commented on my love for unique rims.  I’m not artsy in the draw an amazing bird on a vase kind of way so I make up for that in other ways–like rims or glaze.  I also hate wasting clay and throwing away pots.  I will do almost anything to make the clay work itself into something decent.  I’ve forced wavy tops down with a needle tool.  I throw in more clay if I cut through somewhere even though this technique is unorthodox.  All of this to say, I use rims to hide the off-balance, off-centered pieces.  With a wave or a flower type design, you have to hold the pot or be skilled to really notice.  Hence, I hide my inability to center perfectly behind my love of rims–mind you, I can center! Sometimes things just go awry.

In relation and going Bible-y on you, I can totally relate this to my life and the analogy of the potter (God) and the clay (me/you/us).  Often I’m the stubborn clay wanting to be off center and veering out.  I want to bow and thin rather than stay uniform and even.  At church, we’re started a series called “Be Killing Sin or Sin Will Be Killing You.”  As we went over the definition of sin, many of my rebellious and stubborn clay attributes came to light again.  Sometimes I don’t even let the potter spend time with me because I’m too busy flirting with the slip or the glaze.  Ha, I feel like I’m taking this a bit too far and could come up with a ton more cheesy clay jokes/references/analogies so I’ll stop there while my hole is only a bit deep!  You get the idea

Hello My Name is God, I like sunsets, lightning bolts, and when people listen to me

So, I didn’t quite get to go on a road trip today, but I did get to go rollerblading! I hadn’t even planned on going until I thought of going when I was waiting to be let back into my deadbolt locked house (yeah…fun story…I love getting locked out!). I definitely explored some new territory and got myself into a few “uphill” adventures, but still made my way back to my house in one piece. Well, we’ll see what my legs say tomorrow about that!  Either way, I loved the feeling of the wind and the warm sunshine (finally!).  I am so thankful for the warm weather!  Now I just have to find some more trails.

In other news, I went to church (Substance) with a friend (Tiffany! One of my redheads! love her!) today. I enjoyed getting a glimpse into another church and seeing how they do things. I had fun being with new people and being let into her world. Plus, the sermon ended with a couple of great questions:

1. Fall in love with the Promiser not the Promise
2. Focus on God, not your circumstances

“Hello God did you lose your compass?  I thought the Promised Land was over here??”  My heart keeps wondering why I’m heading the direction I am when I want/ed to go a different way.  God led the people into the desert so that they could worship Him.  When the people were led out of Egypt they could have taken the “beach road” but instead they headed down into the desert and then back up.  Sometimes the promise is delayed so that we can learn something in the “desert” and fall more in love with the Promiser before we get to the promise.  In summation, the sermon served as a good reminder to seek and worship God in the times of “desert” and let Him bring me to the Promise Land according to His compass not mine.

Loving on the Driscoll Sermons…

I’ve discovered I really enjoy listening to podcasts on my way to and from work and even sometimes when I go running. The only thing I don’t like is that I don’t get to take notes and write down the fun quotes. This week I’ve listened to the series on Ruth. Love it. Go listen. Plus, the book of Ruth works as a great read in one session story. At the same time, a lot can be unpacked from the book.

The last sermon I listened to challenged me to think about the way I wait. Ruth met Boaz, sparks flew (even though she was dirty and had worked all day and definitely did not look her best), he fed her, gave her a job, and things looked like they were going in the right direction. Except then she just had to continue to work for 6 weeks…and nothing. She didn’t demand to talk about the relationship or demand marriage. She didn’t “pursue” him. She waited and worked in the field. I am so impatient! Especially with boys because I just want to know where we stand and have that be that. Like Dave Barnes calls it: The Inbetween.

Another point that resonated with me today came in the form of the statement that’s said all over and I’ve heard a million times, but for some reason I liked it today. “Marry the girl/guy you can’t live without. Not the one you can live with.” Life lacks color and excitement without them.

The stars gleam

The poets dream

The eagles fly

Without you the earth turns

The sun burns

But I die without you

Every little thing that happens you just want to call that other person and share it with them. My friend in Australia summed this feeling wonderfully: I want him to experience all of this with me and share this experience with him.

Don’t remember that rush of joy

Don’t lose sight of who you are

Every so often we long to steal

to the land of what might have been

but that doesn’t soften the ache we feel

when reality sets back in…

There’s a girl I know

He loves her so

I’m not that girl

I still reach for my phone and hit speed dial 2 only to find the spot empty…even though I know the person who used to hold that spot in my life, my heart, and my phone has moved on to someone else, I still find myself dying a little inside. So here I am, trying to learn how to wait for the next number 2 who can’t live without me and how to become a better number 2 myself in the meantime. Until then, I’ll be calling 3, 5, 6, 9 and 7.

I’ve heard it said

that people come into our lives for a reason

bringing something we must learn

and we are led to those who help us most to grow