I’m Back! September 21, 2008

I got lectured today by a certain someone about slacking in the blogosphere, so here I am!  I have had a really busy couple of weeks and lots of things that were blog-worthy.  I just never took the time to write about them.  This certain someone also recommended that I not overwhelm my readers (I know there are so many of you out there!) with everything that has happened all at once (like my last post…I know, it was a lot of info!), but to give you little bits to digest at a time.  So, here’s to you, Mrs. Blog-Advise-Giver…

Church was amazing this morning.  Byron started a series called “I Wish Jesus Hadn’t Said…”  Today he spoke from Luke 6:27-36 where Jesus talks about loving our enemies.  Sure it’s easy to love our neighbor and the people who are lovable.  But what about our enemies, those who are really un-lovable?

I’ve never really thought of myself as someone who has a lot of enemies, but as I think back over the past few years, there are definitely people who I have been hurt by, who I feel have in some way betrayed me or my trust.  As Byron spoke this morning, I was reminded again that I must CHOOSE to love.  And the only way to truly love is to forgive.   I am called as a Christ follower to love and forgive those who have betrayed me.  And every time I relive the hurt and betrayal in my mind, I am reminded to forgive.

I am so thankful for my Heavenly Father who, no matter how many times I have hurt or betrayed Him, He chooses to forgive and love me. 

On another note…

We think Jackson got stung by a yellow jacket this evening.  The kids were playing outside with the babysitters while our community group was meeting when he started screaming.  His cheek right underneath his eye began to swell up almost immediately.  Heather came to the rescue with some Benadryl and it looked a lot better before he went to bed.  Poor little guy…he sure was a trooper.  He looked like someone punched him right in the eye!  (On the bright side…he’ll probably sleep REALLY well tonight thanks to the Benadryl!)

Livin’ on a Prayer August 17, 2008

That was the theme of today’s service.  Josh and the band did a great job setting the scene with this Bon Jovi classic.  Byron’s message was awesome…or should I say “totally rad”?!  Here are some things that he said that really made me re-evaluate my prayer life:

• What if prayer became more about building a relationship than getting an answer?
• TRUST…even when God says, “wait” or “no”.  He really does have my best interest in mind.
• Is my relationship with God more important than any other relationship that I have here on earth?  Is that evident by the amount of time I spend in communication with Him?
• Prayer should be about an eternal purpose, not a temporary answer.
• My attitude towards prayer should be, “How can I fall more in love with God?”

And probably the most meaningful part of the service to me was at the end.  Several of us stood around the movie theater to pray with those who wanted to pray with someone.  While the band played and sang the song “Healer”, I was reminded of the truth of the words…

I believe You’re my Healer

I believe You are all I need

I believe You’re my portion

I believe You’re more than enough for me

Jesus You’re all I need

Nothing is impossible for You…

As I looked around the room and saw the crowd of people praying, lifting up their requests to God, I was reminded of my relationship with God.  What an AWESOME privilege we have as Christ followers to be in constant communication with our Creator.  I thought about how often I take that for granted.  As I begin a new week, I will be reminded of God’s deep, abiding love for me and do my part to fall more in love with Him.

I’m Still Alive August 16, 2008

Yes, I know it’s been a while since I’ve blogged. Not because I don’t have anything to say, just because I’ve been totally addicted to the Olympics. That’s all I’ve done after putting the kids to bed for the last week. And I’ve been staying up way too late watching them.  And by the way, why do they put all the good stuff on so late? I’d rather watch swimming and gymnastics than synchronized diving!  Don’t get me wrong, those divers are good and all, but I’m just sayin…

Anyway, thanks Monica and Alison for making me feel loved and missed! I’ll take my responsibility as a blogger a little more seriously this week.

I’m like totally excited about the new series starting tomorrow at C3, Bodacious 80’s.  Hope to see some of you there…it’s gonna be rad!

Weekend Review July 21, 2008

We had a weekend filled with lots of fun.  Friday night we spent some time with some good friends and said goodbye to Chris and Lisa Markham.  Chris and Lisa have been great friends to us over the last few years and they are moving to Jacksonville.  We are so sad to see them leave!  Chris and Lisa, y’all are in our prayers as you move away…God has big things in store for you guys!

Saturday we celebrated Kelsea’s 4th birthday with some bouncing fun at SliderZ.  The girls had a great time.  It was so cute to see Ansley and Kelsea playing together…they hadn’t seen each other in about 3 weeks and they were glued to each others’ side…BFFs!

Church was awesome yesterday.  I missed out on Byron’s first sermon in the series “Hey Jude”,  but I was able to be there for the second one and can’t wait for next week.  The service was challenging to me personally and reminded me that Christ has given me EVERYTHING I need for life and godliness.  I loved the worship set we did…especially “Cannons”… awesome words…you can check them out here.

Sunday night Barry and I went out with some friends to celebrate Staci’s birthday.   We had dinner at this place…quite an experience.  The food was great, but the atmosphere is what this restaurant is known for…belly dancers, fire dancers, everybody dancing on tables, loud music…crazy fun!

It was a great weekend but I was pooped last night…it was way too late to blog.  Now it’s Monday and the day is almost over!  (Where did the time go?!?)  Gotta go think about what I’m making for dinner now…I REALLY need to go to the grocery store.  Hmmm…what can I make with black beans, peanut butter and chicken?  

Hope everyone had a happy Monday!

Missed Opportunities June 1, 2008

I’ve been thinking about Byron’s message a lot today. He spoke about seeing people as Jesus saw them…harassed and helpless (Matthew 9:36).  I had been thinking about this a lot this week, even before I knew what he was going to speak about.

The other night I was at Target with my mom.  It was late, close to closing time and we were just about to check out.  We put all of our stuff on the belt and I noticed the lady in front of me was crying and very upset.  She turned to me and we made eye contact.  I wasn’t sure why she was so upset, but I was assuming it had something to do with her not being able to pay for her items.  I asked her if I could please help her and she said, “No, but thank you.” 

As she walked away, all I could think was, I have to get to her.  I didn’t know how I could help, but I felt like I needed to do something.  The cashier told me that it was the lady’s daughter’s birthday and she had spent more than she could afford and that was why she was so upset.  I gathered my items and ran out to the parking lot only to find her pulling out, going the opposite direction from where I was standing.  I was too late.

I’ve thought about that lady all week.  I don’t know her story, but I know she was hurting.  It made me realize…everybody has a story.  We don’t always know what’s going on in peoples’ lives, but God does and He cares.  Just as Jesus looked at the crowds and had compassion on them, I want to have that same compassion.  It doesn’t come naturally for me to just go up to someone and start a conversation, but I want to be intentional about looking for needs around me so that I don’t have any more missed opportunities to show the love of Christ.  There are so many needs around me and I know that I can only do so much, but this is my prayer…that I would see people as Jesus saw them, harrassed and helpless, and that I would make the most of every opportunity.

I love the chorus of a song we sang this morning:

There are things yet to come,

And there are things that are still to be done

In this city.

It was a reminder to me that there are needs ALL around me, every day, everywhere…even at Target on a Thursday night at closing time.