Tuesday, June 17, 2014
The Family of Jesus
Saturday, May 03, 2014
Living Real- In Real Life
A miracle. Really, it has been. I've spent a year watching the Lord grow a group of women together who were too busy, too quiet, too afraid to step out and see a community waiting for them. Last April, I was one of 3 women who sat around a coffee table in a living room eating chocolate and viewing this thing called "In Real Life" online. We were encouraged. We were inspired. We were led. And then what followed has become the miracle.
Last year we learned how much we need community. How desperately we as women need people in our lives to just surround us during the good, the bad, the hard and the hopeful. So last summer we took the inRL DVD and showed it to more women in our church. More women who sat as they watched nodding their heads because we never knew what we needed until we found it. That group of 5 grew into a group of 7 who desired to keep going and growing together. We have loved. We have shared. We have welcomed 4 new women to a committed group of 11 now meeting each week. We have walked paths together with tears and joy. We have counted a thousand gifts together. And this spring, we sat around a little bigger table and shared our stories. We were real. We learned that without sharing our stories, we cannot walk in true community. And every single story is important.
So now, we continue on. We sit and laugh around a table with Christ in the center. We know the road we each travel and we are eager to walk along that road with one another.
In Real Life changed my heart toward my church. In Real Life brought me to a community of women I wouldn't have reached out to before then. In Real Life brought me new friends and new smiles and a new found appreciation for all the journeys we walk hand in hand with Christ. In Real Life made me get real and has forever changed me because I now have a community. And having a community makes all the difference.
Friday, August 30, 2013
Five Minute Friday
Five Minute Friday is here once again. The end of a week! I have only joined in by reading them in the last few months, but today I'm jumping back in.
WORSHIP
Little hands folded. Little voices singing. I think that's what He hears from all of us. We close our eyes and say thanks, we lift voices in song, we read our Bible and meditate on scriptures that help us navigate through this thing called life. My favorite sounds of worship are hearing "10,000 Reasons" from a little voice in the back seat just because that's the song that has popped in his head at the moment. He's learning how to praise. We stand in church and hear the music, he dances in the aisle. It tempts me to join him, but I'm held back because I know people will watch. My other favorite times of worship have happened outdoors, in the woods, with just a guitar and voices. Sharing in His creation with Him. Night air all around, His presence falling on us as dew falls in the dusk.
As I get older, I'm learning that worship isn't just a corporate group thing. Worship is in the little butterfly that flies over our deck and the exclamation from my small humans that "God made that butterfly so beautiful to fly to us today mom!". It's in the excitement that they have when they go into the preschool classes and see their friends and I utter a "Thank you Jesus" as I give goodbye kisses for a few hours. It's in the everyday, simple, almost taken for granted moments of joy. And it happens more often than I realize. Beautiful worship for a beautiful Father Who created beautiful people, beautiful children and just beauty.
WORSHIP
Little hands folded. Little voices singing. I think that's what He hears from all of us. We close our eyes and say thanks, we lift voices in song, we read our Bible and meditate on scriptures that help us navigate through this thing called life. My favorite sounds of worship are hearing "10,000 Reasons" from a little voice in the back seat just because that's the song that has popped in his head at the moment. He's learning how to praise. We stand in church and hear the music, he dances in the aisle. It tempts me to join him, but I'm held back because I know people will watch. My other favorite times of worship have happened outdoors, in the woods, with just a guitar and voices. Sharing in His creation with Him. Night air all around, His presence falling on us as dew falls in the dusk.
As I get older, I'm learning that worship isn't just a corporate group thing. Worship is in the little butterfly that flies over our deck and the exclamation from my small humans that "God made that butterfly so beautiful to fly to us today mom!". It's in the excitement that they have when they go into the preschool classes and see their friends and I utter a "Thank you Jesus" as I give goodbye kisses for a few hours. It's in the everyday, simple, almost taken for granted moments of joy. And it happens more often than I realize. Beautiful worship for a beautiful Father Who created beautiful people, beautiful children and just beauty.
Friday, July 26, 2013
Five Minute Friday- Broken
Five Minute Friday... Happy Weekend!
BROKEN
They call His name. Loud. They want Him dead. But no one can attest to a law broken. "What is truth" asks Pilate. And the lines are fuzzy. Because that's what we do in this world. We watch those fuzzy lines and wonder how to push just a little harder. As tiny humans we are so quick to defy. So quick to seek the boundary... and to cross it. We are made in His image, yet we are on this round rotating planet where we have free will to explore those boundaries and often lack the self control to stop ourselves. We seek the thrill and find it's often followed by time on our knees. We know, deep inside that the Spirit is trying to be our compass. Trying to guide us back to the line, away from the fuzziness. To a life of obedience and fruit. A place where if we would just say "Yes, Lord", we would not necessarily live in perfection, but in truth. And in wholeness. That rush of wings watching over us, guiding us to the narrow way. The path often less traveled in this place. We are BROKEN. We are a world broken. We need a 'fixer'. A guide. An endless, eternal love that heals. Loves. Gives Hope. As we walk this path, let the Spirit rush in and bring that hope. And embrace the broken. When we embrace it, it is then that we can be healed and loved with an everlasting effect.
STOP
BROKEN
They call His name. Loud. They want Him dead. But no one can attest to a law broken. "What is truth" asks Pilate. And the lines are fuzzy. Because that's what we do in this world. We watch those fuzzy lines and wonder how to push just a little harder. As tiny humans we are so quick to defy. So quick to seek the boundary... and to cross it. We are made in His image, yet we are on this round rotating planet where we have free will to explore those boundaries and often lack the self control to stop ourselves. We seek the thrill and find it's often followed by time on our knees. We know, deep inside that the Spirit is trying to be our compass. Trying to guide us back to the line, away from the fuzziness. To a life of obedience and fruit. A place where if we would just say "Yes, Lord", we would not necessarily live in perfection, but in truth. And in wholeness. That rush of wings watching over us, guiding us to the narrow way. The path often less traveled in this place. We are BROKEN. We are a world broken. We need a 'fixer'. A guide. An endless, eternal love that heals. Loves. Gives Hope. As we walk this path, let the Spirit rush in and bring that hope. And embrace the broken. When we embrace it, it is then that we can be healed and loved with an everlasting effect.
STOP
Friday, July 12, 2013
Present
It's Friday. After a few weeks off (again), here goes a new five minutes! Check out more from Five Minute Friday .
PRESENT
A gift. A present. The present. The moments of sweet silence before the rush of the little feet hit the floor. It's not easy for me to soak in the now. I like to plan and stay "on top of life". But when I let myself go and I sit down in the moment, I feel my spirit refresh. How many times throughout life do I use the words "Not now", "wait a minute", "just a second". How many times do I wish that I could get that moment back from the seemingly important tasks I can check off my list.
I watch her daddy turn her upside down and tickle her feet and soak in the giggles that I know will be gone far sooner than I'm ready for them to be. I see his face light up at the sight of a paving machine on the side of the road and listen with joy at the description of what the machine does and what it will do on the job that day. I have a rare gift of a dinner date out for our anniversary to celebrate the 8 years of adventure we've woven our way through at the guidance of His hand. I build new relationships and realize that He has heard my pleading and now is the time. And I realize that every single day I'm given this present of the present. A time to live into the right now. A gift. A present. THE present.
PRESENT
A gift. A present. The present. The moments of sweet silence before the rush of the little feet hit the floor. It's not easy for me to soak in the now. I like to plan and stay "on top of life". But when I let myself go and I sit down in the moment, I feel my spirit refresh. How many times throughout life do I use the words "Not now", "wait a minute", "just a second". How many times do I wish that I could get that moment back from the seemingly important tasks I can check off my list.
I watch her daddy turn her upside down and tickle her feet and soak in the giggles that I know will be gone far sooner than I'm ready for them to be. I see his face light up at the sight of a paving machine on the side of the road and listen with joy at the description of what the machine does and what it will do on the job that day. I have a rare gift of a dinner date out for our anniversary to celebrate the 8 years of adventure we've woven our way through at the guidance of His hand. I build new relationships and realize that He has heard my pleading and now is the time. And I realize that every single day I'm given this present of the present. A time to live into the right now. A gift. A present. THE present.
Thursday, June 13, 2013
That Summer at Camp
There was one summer that will forever be ingrained in my heart. That one summer I spent being obedient when I really was wondering what kind of out of body experience I had when I applied and accepted the job of counselor. That first day we arrived and I saw more bugs than I had ever seen before. (Except for those summers I spent there as a child.) It was like coming back home, like a piece of me had been there since childhood and always knew I would come back on the other side, the 'grown up' side. And so I did.
I spent what, at times, seemed like the longest summer of my life with some pretty amazing people who became friends almost instantly. We hiked, we swam, we canoed, we sang, we played silly games. There were skits. There was laughter. There was love, lots of love. Love and prayers over every child who entered that sacred ground. I learned a lot about myself that summer. Things that have continued to mold me into who I am as a woman, as a mother, as a child of God. I learned to build a camp fire. I learned to craft. (I could still use some help in the craft area!) I learned that when you're already soaked to the bone in the rain, just keep hiking because there's beauty in the rain. And beauty in the appreciation of dry, warm clothes when the rain is done. I learned to pick up a craw fish. They don't pinch when you grab that little area on their back. I learned how to open my heart to kids. To hear their hearts and to listen, really listen to them because what they say is important and matters. They are all smarter and deeper than they get credit for sometimes. I learned that I could endure. In those early showers and the diet sun drop hidden in a canteen so i could manage to wake up, I grew up. I am now much better prepared for the little hands that cup my face at 5:30am and say "mommy, I'm awake!". I learned that obedience is a blessing, even when it's a challenge.
So on nights like tonight, as I sit here on the deck and see the setting sun and feel the breeze blow by and smell the summertime, I remember so fondly that summer. That beautiful, hot, tiring, glorious summer. And I remember the friends I made. The way we felt the presence of the Holy Spirit each night as we sang out in the cool, damp evening air. Every year I remember. And I'm grateful for those beautiful memories.
I spent what, at times, seemed like the longest summer of my life with some pretty amazing people who became friends almost instantly. We hiked, we swam, we canoed, we sang, we played silly games. There were skits. There was laughter. There was love, lots of love. Love and prayers over every child who entered that sacred ground. I learned a lot about myself that summer. Things that have continued to mold me into who I am as a woman, as a mother, as a child of God. I learned to build a camp fire. I learned to craft. (I could still use some help in the craft area!) I learned that when you're already soaked to the bone in the rain, just keep hiking because there's beauty in the rain. And beauty in the appreciation of dry, warm clothes when the rain is done. I learned to pick up a craw fish. They don't pinch when you grab that little area on their back. I learned how to open my heart to kids. To hear their hearts and to listen, really listen to them because what they say is important and matters. They are all smarter and deeper than they get credit for sometimes. I learned that I could endure. In those early showers and the diet sun drop hidden in a canteen so i could manage to wake up, I grew up. I am now much better prepared for the little hands that cup my face at 5:30am and say "mommy, I'm awake!". I learned that obedience is a blessing, even when it's a challenge.
So on nights like tonight, as I sit here on the deck and see the setting sun and feel the breeze blow by and smell the summertime, I remember so fondly that summer. That beautiful, hot, tiring, glorious summer. And I remember the friends I made. The way we felt the presence of the Holy Spirit each night as we sang out in the cool, damp evening air. Every year I remember. And I'm grateful for those beautiful memories.
Friday, May 31, 2013
Imagine
It's Friday... you know what that means.... Five Minute Friday!
Imagine
GO.
A stick is suddenly a large paddle that takes us on a canoe in the clouds... we have a mission. We are searching for monsters. Not mean ones, "the nice kind, the ones that really aren't real." We take off, we ride with a puppy, a lion, a blue puppy and a blue blanket. Sometimes a purple bunny named Sophie joins us too. As we fly the clouds take shape- a dog, a duck, a bear. We soar fighting the monsters through our back yard wonderland. And then we get them. And we smile. And we fall to the ground laughing. And we go in for a snack because that adventure was amazing and built more memories than our tummies can handle.
And I grasp this memory so tight that I almost squeeze it to death. Because this is what childhood is made of. This is the part we grow out of. The part where we see a stick and it's nothing more than a stick. It fell from the tree and must be picked up from the yard. Another task. But when did we lose the possibilities in the ordinary things? When did we get too big to make those ordinary objects something extraordinary that is never wrong because when you live in a world of possibilities, nothing can be wrong. When we imagine, when we dream... that is where life begins. That is where we remember that we can make a difference in the world. When we live in the world we imagine can be possible, it becomes a beautiful world filled with all the potential of the future. Dream it. See it. DO IT.
STOP.
Imagine
GO.
A stick is suddenly a large paddle that takes us on a canoe in the clouds... we have a mission. We are searching for monsters. Not mean ones, "the nice kind, the ones that really aren't real." We take off, we ride with a puppy, a lion, a blue puppy and a blue blanket. Sometimes a purple bunny named Sophie joins us too. As we fly the clouds take shape- a dog, a duck, a bear. We soar fighting the monsters through our back yard wonderland. And then we get them. And we smile. And we fall to the ground laughing. And we go in for a snack because that adventure was amazing and built more memories than our tummies can handle.
And I grasp this memory so tight that I almost squeeze it to death. Because this is what childhood is made of. This is the part we grow out of. The part where we see a stick and it's nothing more than a stick. It fell from the tree and must be picked up from the yard. Another task. But when did we lose the possibilities in the ordinary things? When did we get too big to make those ordinary objects something extraordinary that is never wrong because when you live in a world of possibilities, nothing can be wrong. When we imagine, when we dream... that is where life begins. That is where we remember that we can make a difference in the world. When we live in the world we imagine can be possible, it becomes a beautiful world filled with all the potential of the future. Dream it. See it. DO IT.
STOP.
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