Give God your paintbrush!

Andy Stanley has done it again! Every time I listen to one of his message series, he teaches me things and shows me areas of my life that I need to grow and improve. Being an artist, I was excited to hear his analogy was art related. Andy was talking about how hard it is for us to let God paint our lives for us. That it's so hard for us to just hand over the paintbrush and let him do the painting. He pointed out that when we go in for surgery, never do we tell the doctor that we'd like to hold the scalpel. Of course not!!! The doctor is much more capable at performing the surgery than we are and we never even question it. We put our faith in that doctor that he's going to do the right thing for us. When we have money to invest, most of us if we tried to make investments ourselves, with out any knowledge, would lose money. The outcome is much better when we trust our money to someone who knows what they're doing. We trust these mere humans whom God has given the wisdom to, to handle big things in our lives without much question. Yet when it comes to letting go and letting God, we have a really hard time relinquishing that paintbrush. To see evidence that God is a Master Painter we merely have to open our eyes and look around us. Not only is all of nature breath taking, but the blessings we've all been given while we're still holding onto that paintbrush are astounding. Can you even begin to imagine how amazing our lives would be if only we'd take our hand off, and let God have total control of it?

If you're interested in listening to Andy Stanley, you can in several different places. They post the weekly messages on the church website here, Northpoint is also now on YouTube, and if you have an IPod you can d/l podcasts off of Itunes.

A constant

I have been so busy lately I haven't had much time to blog. The really awesome thing about it though is alot of my busy-ness is doing things for God.

I'm leading a bible study, which is going so well and I'm so excited about it. I'm also trying to read the book "Simple Church" which is very interesting but I'm not finding the time to get it done. I've also just finished listening to The Shack on my IPod, I just love that book and ITunes had it for $5.95 so I bought it. I have several Andy Stanley Podcasts on my IPod I need to catch up on. I also go to a Thursday morning Women's Coffee Fellowship which is so fun. Not a structured study or anything but just connecting with other women from my church. I also help lead the youth group on Sunday evening which is beginning to grow on me a bit as that becomes more structured. Teenagers are such an adventure! I'm also working on the church website and trying to get those pages all set up and running. I'm also trying to make time to finish some of the scrabble charm necklaces that I'm going to sell for a fundraiser for the Youth Group. They want to go to a Youth Convention in Washington DC this summer. I'm also on my own time trying to study the book of James. That book has just really spoke to me and I'm truly enjoying it.

Even though I'm super busy, my busy-ness seems to revolve around God. I'm not having the bursting at the seams excitement all the time, but, I'm always thinking about God or talking to Him or reading His word. It's like I'm wrapped in a blanket of God and God's love, I always feel it, it's always there. I can't imagine spending my time or my days any other way than immersed in God and His love.

Not Exactly What I Meant

Yesterday was a very trying day for me. I'd finally had it with picking up after my kids and husband and all the things that I felt that I shouldn't have to do. I've talked till I was blue in the face about trying to get them to take responsibility for their own messes but it always seemed to fall on deaf ears. My frustration with this is, as you may or may not have read in previous posts on this blog, is that I struggle with the day to day household chores on a constant basis, I just don't like to do them. When I walk into a room and I have to clean up after everyone elses messes before I can even get down to the bones of cleaning, like dusting and vacuuming and such, it just deflates me and I end up just walking out of the room and become irritated! Yesterday I told my kids that I no longer would be doing this, that I wouldn't be doing for them, if they didn't feel they could do simple things for me as I asked them to. As you can imagine, that went over like a lead balloon. My wonderful husband pointed out that maybe I was sending the wrong message. The message that you shouldn't do things for others if they aren't going to reciprocate. He's right, that's not the kind of message I want to send to my kids. He also pointed out that by not doing the day to day things, I'm not really holding up my end either. So what has all this gotten me? I big old slap in the face with some reality. This is what God has been trying to tell me all along. It applies to so much more than just housekeeping, it applies to many other aspects of my life. There are things I don't like to do, yet am always looking for excuses or reasons to get out of doing them, and even better if I can blame some one else for my short comings. I love the way God works, makes you think you've got everything under control and you know exactly how to make everything work. Then just when you're at the top of your game he knocks you down a peg or two to remind just who really is in charge.

Bursting with Excitement!!!

Have you ever been so filled with the Spirit and the joy and love of God that you just feel like there's no way you can contain it? That you just want to tell every person you see how awesome God is? I get this way often, so excited about God, so excited about what He's done for me, that He loves me and that He just makes my life so full. I see the way He's touched my family, the way He's put people in my life that "help my being". The opportunities to serve and share He's put in my path. I'm so excited about leading this upcoming bible study, about doing the church website. I'm so excited about how these things can help bring people closer to God, and how these things can help me learn more about God and His word.

At the leadership meeting we had at church on Monday night we discussed the process of how Lakeland Community Church strives to accomplish bringing our members, and new comers, to God and growing in their faith, by utilizing the 3 C's; Celebrate, Connect, and Commit.

Celebration is the act of worship, Sunday morning services, celebrating God's love and just how awesome He is. Learning what God has to tell us through the Bible. We discussed that some people skip this step once they've moved onto the others and I have such a hard time understanding how they could do that. To me, this is my favorite step, and one that leaves me feeling deprived if I have to miss it for one reason or another, which doesn't happen often. I've said it before, if Pastor Dave and the music ministry would Celebrate every day, I'd be there!

Connect is small groups, bible studies and home groups that help bring you closer in your walk with God, but also helps you connect to other people who want to do the same. Thus building your Faith Community, which only helps you grow as a Christian and makes you stronger. I love my Wednesday morning women's bible study. Even though we've been doing a book I'm not thrilled with, I go every week because I love the connection I have with the women that are there. I have learned so much from all of them and look forward to our Wednesday mornings.

Commit; commit to serve by giving your time and your tithe to the church. Committing to serve in anyway is a true reflection of God's love. Service can be anything from leading a small group to shoveling snow. As my husband recently discovered when asked to serve on the youth group team of leaders, that he was at church 3 times each week and all 3 times, he was receiving, he needed to serve, he needed to give back to our church, to help so others could receive. I truly feel that service is something that will just come naturally, if you faithfully continue to Celebrate and Connect. Tithing is also an important part of Committing, I know no one likes to talk about it, but you must remember that first and foremost, your money is not yours, it's Gods. Matthew 6:21 tells us "For where your treasure lies, your heart will be also". Which means if you feel that your greatest treasure is your new car, your boat, your latest gadget, that is where your heart also lies. This is a great spiritual way to look at things, however, if you just have a hard time getting your heart and head wrapped around it that way, look at it from a logical stand point. Do you like your church to be warm when you go in January? Cool when you go in August? Do you like light to follow along in your bible on Sunday mornings? Do you like having a roof over your head to worship in April when it's pouring outside? What do think your tithes pay for? They are what pay for the up keep, the staff, and the outreach of your church. If you don't tithe on a regular basis, these things can't happen.

To take the Commit one step further, service for God doesn't stop at the doors of the church, oh no, when you open the doors of the church and step out into the world, the service opportunities just multiply! Again, service doesn't have to be some thing large and complicated, opening a door for some one, kind words, encouraging others, paying for the latte for the person in the car behind you in the Starbucks drive thru, small things count too. However, if you're able to do large things and the opportunities arise, by all means, jump in with both feet and show the world how awesome our God is, simply by your actions.

I sometimes feel my enthusiasm bubbles over and out in such a way that it scares people, even some people from my church LOL , but how do you contain it when you're so filled with the Spirit and love for God? I just don't think it's possible!!

I challenge you to do a self check for 2009, are you doing the 3 C's? Are you Celebrating weekly? Are you Connecting with other Christians on a regular basis? Are you Committing to Serve in some way for the glory of God? If not, make some adjustments, only good things can come from it. God Bless!

Excited, Nervous, Anxious

For several months now I've been doing a Wednesday Morning Bible Study at my church with some wonderful women. Well that particular study has now come to a close and it's time to move on to our next study. We've chosen to do the Beth Moore Bible Study, Living Beyond Yourself; Exploring the Fruits of the Spirit. The reason I have all these mixed emotions about it is because I've been asked to lead it. I know that with God's help I will do just fine, however, the butterflies in the tummy I'm sure will be in full flight when it starts.

Part of my excitement is that my sisters and my mom are going to do this study with me. Yet another way my family is there for each other on this amazing faith walk we're on together.