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!
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