Drive-by

This is me. Stopping by my own blog to say, "yes": I am alive. I still like to write on this blog. And I will write a REAL post soon!

The thing is, in ministry you spend too much time waiting for a "break" - like a real weekend or day off, something like that. And, much like the rest of life, you just have to stop waiting and apprehend the moment sometimes. In fact as I update this, I am typing at a ferocious pace because in about 45 minutes, neighborhood kids will be tapping on our glass doors waiting for us to let them in for Kidz Club (an outreach our young adults launched to show some love to the families who live around our church).

Never a dull moment. And I love that fact. But I also love this place; it's serene and honest and encouraging. So I shall return! By Monday at the very latest...(throws car into drive and stomps on the gas pedal)...see you then!

Making Room

As I write this, the clock just turned from 12:59 to 1:00 am. Sleep is evading me tonight. My overactive and generally restless mind just won’t stop. Many of us have brains like this and they function a bit like toddlers: it’s best to keep them occupied with sensible things or they will inevitably bring unimaginable destruction and havoc.

Tonight, my mind is occupied with surveying the horizon for what God is doing. What is He doing in the world? In the Church? In our church? In me…?

There is one element that I know for certain: He is calling His people to a new level of depth and spiritual reality. Nearly every person I know who is “out on the edge” of the move of God is (and has been) sensing this. It has happened in waves all throughout history and I firmly believe we are standing at the surging of the next wave. God is cranking open the spirits of those who make Him their first priority. He is making room for more faith, more expectation, more growth…more sacrifice. And the Church as a whole is growing discontent (a very good thing). We are crying out for “more”.

Today, though, I realized something very important through a very practical situation…

My apartment is 600 square feet. It’s small. But it’s all I need. It’s just me here. (And the occasional group of 15 or so young adults huddled in my living room.) But, when I returned from Arizona after my grandmother passed away, I moved my TV from the living room to my bedroom because I was having trouble sleeping. I needed some “white noise” to drown out my thoughts long enough for me to nod off.

However, somehow, the rest of my activities followed and my bedroom became the “hub” of my house. The chair in my room was now my prayer chair, dinner table, phone booth and the seat of honor for my guests. And in the last two and half months, my apartment went from 600 to 100 square feet.

For the first time in 18 months, my apartment felt small. And I didn’t know why! I didn’t realize I was living in my bedroom! These past two weeks, I started asking the Lord when I would be able to move into a house. I even browsed local “For Sale” homes! I had no idea why the sudden urge to have “more”. Until today, when I became so convicted about not using all the space I have.

And then, the spiritual correlation hit home. I’ve been asking, “God, enlarge my territory.” “God, use me more!” “God show me more of You!” “God, give me more to give away!” “God…” “God…” “God…”

But, am I really using all the space I have? All the resources I have? Walking in the knowledge I already have of Him? Using all the gifts I have? To the fullest?...Or have I become so familiar with all of those (and so tired of using things like “patience” or “long-suffering” or “sacrificial love”) that I want something new for novelty sake?

God’s not interested in my amusement. He’s interested in my faithfulness and obedience. He’s watching to see what I do with what I’m given. And, to be honest, at times I can be enough of a selfish brat to behave as if I have “nothing”.

I once saw a documentary on lottery winners. Did you know that the vast majority of these people suffer immense devastation in their lives after the big win? Divorce, drug addiction, financial ruin, death. Because they didn’t know how to manage “little” before “much” was dumped into their lives.

As I stand at the edge of what God is doing, I pray that I am found faithful with “little”. I want to be a workman trusted and approved, handling even the “smallest” things with great care and integrity. Making use of every resource He gives me.

He will enlarge our territory. He will bring more. For His beloved people, He always has. He has given His Word to those who rejected it. Extended His love to those who mocked Him. Provided richly for those who squandered. The “more” of Him will come. I must get busy with the “now” before this moment has passed…

“Look carefully then how you walk! Live purposefully and worthily and accurately, not as unwise and witless, but as wise (sensible, intelligent people). Making the most of the time [buying up every opportunity], because the days are evil. Therefore do not be vague and thoughtless and foolish, but understanding and firmly grasping what the will of the Lord is.” Eph. 5:15-17 AMP

dreaming today.

My friend Paige, phenomenal photographer, writer, musician, and pretty much anything-else-er, inspired me today with a Facebook status. She just said, "If you could do anything today, what would you do?"

It was like striking a match on the "dream" side of my brain. Of course, being the realist that I am, I started with "sit at a quiet beach and read a great book". But then, I realized. She said, "anything"...

And the wheels of my brain started turning, "Hmm. OH! I'd embark on my own Eat, Pray, Love trip! I've been rolling over ideas of where I'd go if I got the chance! See, in Liz Gilbert's book, she spends three months in three different places. Three months eating in Italy. Three months praying in India. Three months loving in Bali. All the while, writing. Observing. Participating. Musing. And writing. My immediate thought, "I want to do that!"

So, today, if I had the chance, I'd embark on my own nine month journey: "Eat" in France, "Pray" in Israel, "Love" in Ghana. Julia Child learned to cook and really eat in France, so why not! Israel holds wealth for my faith that I can't wait to see with my own eyes (and I will one day!). And for some reason, Ghana just draws me. As I've heard stories about the people there, I have always wanted to meet them. So, pull my passport out of the drawer and stuff the suitcase!

What do you have to do in life to make that happen!? A full nine months of exploring and enjoying! Well, if you're Liz Gilbert, you get a hefty advance on a surefire NY Times bestseller and take off! For the rest of us, a couple decades of planning and saving are probably in order. "POP! Hiss...." (That was the sound of the dream balloon bursting just above my curly, brunette head.)

Polk County will have to do for now. Come to think of it, I think our church may have ALL of these three elements rather fully covered...

Two months.

Two months doesn't seem like much time. Only eight weeks; just 60 days. And as I get older, the months pass without so much as a wave hello or goodbye. Summers were long and luxurious when I was a kid. Now, I blink and seasons have passed.

But not these last two months. No. I have felt the full 1,440 hours of these two months. Not each hour bad. Certainly not all of them good. But it seems as if every hour has meant something. And somehow, these two months feel like they may have been a decade in and of themselves.

Today marks two months since my Grandmother slipped away to spend all eternity with her Forever Love. And today, that moment is as fresh in my heart as it can possibly be, regardless of each hour that has passed in between.

I sat this week and listened to the words she wanted all her family to hear and believe about her walk through cancer. Words she recorded just seven days before she passed away. She told us she, "found out His Word is true. He will keep me. I have no fear. He will carry me through this end." How gracious is our God? And what a treasure to have these words, these memories, to keep and to cherish. They sometimes cause phantom pains; where that which you ache over feels present, but it is gone.

I have wondered why our Christian world seems so uncomfortable with "death". We much prefer, "went home to be with Jesus", "passed away", "graduated to Heaven", "promoted to glory". As if our faith will be shaken because something "bad" has happened so we endeavor to make it sound as "good" as possible.

While all of these things may have happened for my grandmother, before she experienced that, there was a very real, finite moment. A moment when she died. Death is swallowed up by life in Christ. Death is a whole new birth. But death is. It is. It may be a gateway - but it is.

I sat with my sister just before Gramma passed. As she struggled so for breath and the minutes felt like days, I told Lisa it felt like labor before childbirth. Like we were in the delivery room suffering through the hardest part before new life could be embraced. She labored and struggled and then, release came. And with it, life.

But it doesn't negate the pain. And while I'm sure that pain is such a distant memory for my grandmother, it isn't for me. I didn't "graduate", or get "promoted" to Heaven. For me...she died. She is gone. For me, she is no more. Not right now.

"Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints." Because it means "together". It means no longer do we imagine Him and all the expressions on His face. Or what it might feel like for Him to embrace us. That death is as precious for Him as the moment of birth is for us. We've imagined this child. We feel so close to them as they grow in the womb. But then...finally...we see them. Our arms hold them. Our hands wipe their tears. We are "together".

My grandmother has been experiencing that togetherness. But the rest of us "groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies" (Romans 8:23). This is why the Spirit intercedes for us. We cannot even express the depth of our longing to be close to Jesus. We groan. We wait eagerly. We experience pain as we are separated from loved ones. We have pangs of hunger and desperation as we await our Hope.

But we have this Hope. And, today, I'm grateful I don't have to grieve without Him. I tell Him all I know how and, beyond that, the Spirit within me makes my heart known. And, soon, I will see Him.

But not yet. Now, there is much to be done...

I Feel it in the Atmosphere...

God does such profound things in our lives. I'm grateful for constant evidence of His leadership of and involvement in my journey. In these past few weeks, it feels like everything has shifted. Ever have a moment like that? It's like you wake up and somehow, you've got new eyes. You're looking at the very same things but seeing things you never noticed before...

That "shift" is part of the deal when we surrender our lives to Jesus. As the "Author" of your faith, He's takes creative liberty to throw twists and turns in the story whenever He sees fit. Such an incredible adventure! Any other path must be so very dull.

I really believe that being sensitive to even the smallest tweaks and turns from the Holy Spirit is an irreplaceable part of Christian living. Those "small" adjustments can have immense implications, just a the slight shift of the rudder on a boat can change its course entirely.

Part of the shift right now for me is simply a new level of surrender. Maybe a little more than a year ago, Molly Buccafurni shared the letter below with our congregation. Such truth in these words. Heavy truth; but truth that has come back up in my heart these past few weeks as I've asked, "What am I really willing to do?"

If God is speaking to you about small changes (or even big ones) take courage, friend! Step out! He will not leave you without support!

THE HIGH CALLING

If God has called you to be really like Jesus in all your spirit, He will draw you into a life of crucifixion and humility, and put on you such demands of obedience, that He will not allow you to follow other Christians, and in many ways He will seem to let other good people do things which He will not let you do.

Other Christians and ministers who seem very religious and useful may push themselves, pull wires, and work schemes to carry out their plans, but you cannot do it; and if you attempt it, you will meet with such failure and rebuke from the Lord as to make you sorely penitent.

Others can brag on themselves, on their work, on their success, on their writing, but the Holy Spirit will not allow you to do any such thing, and if you begin it, He will lead you into some deep mortification that will make you despise all your good works.

Others will be allowed to succeed in making great sums of money, or having a legacy left to them or in having luxuries, but God may supply you daily, because he wants you to have something far better than gold, and that is a helpless dependence on Him, that He may have the privilege of providing your needs day by day out of the unseen treasury.

The Lord may let others be honored and put forward, and keep you hid away in obscurity, because He wants to produce some choice fragrant fruit for His coming glory, which can only be produced in the shade.

God will let others be great, but keep you small. He will let others do a work for Him, and get the credit for it, but he will make you work and toil on without knowing how much you are doing; and then, to make your work still more precious, He will let others get the credit for the work which you have done, and this will make your reward ten times greater when Jesus comes.

The Holy Spirit will put a strict watch on you, with a jealous love, and will rebuke you for little words or feelings or for wasting your time, which other Christians never seem distressed over. So make up your mind that God is an infinite Sovereign, and has a right to do as he pleases with his own, and He will not explain to you a thousand things which may puzzle your reason in His dealings with you.

God will take you at your word; and if you absolutely sell yourself to be His slave, He will wrap you up in a jealous love and let other people say and do many things that you cannot do or say.

Settle it forever, that you are to deal directly with the Holy Spirit, and that He is to have the privilege of tying your tongue, or chaining your hand, or closing your eyes, in ways that others are not dealt with.

Now, when you are so possessed with the living God that you are, in your secret heart, pleased and delighted over this peculiar, personal, private, jealous guardianship and management of the Holy Spirit over your life, you will have found the vestibule of Heaven.

No matter what scales we use, we can never know the weight of another person’s burdens.

Given to Molly Buccafurni by a missionary – 1986.

"Feel Good" File

By the very wise admonition of a former boss, Pastor Chris Daniel, I keep a file in my desk at work that's called my "Feel Good" file. It's full of notes, cards, pictures, sermon notes that inspired me...whatever might be a pick-me-up for a rough day/week/month...year. Yesterday it was imperative - I had to bust out the feel good file. It'd been months since I perused it, which always makes for great surprises and warm tinglies.

I found childhood pictures. Notes from old college friends. Birthday cards. Quotes that re-inspired me. It was a good moment. And it reminded me how very important a little encouragement can be.

None of these little notes had a check for a thousand dollars in it. None of them came with a gift. They weren't flashy or neon or unforgettable. In fact, most of them I had forgotten about. Encouragement is a lot like that. Easy to forget. Even the greatest moments of comfort and encouragement from the Lord can be washed away by troubles if we allow it.

Words have always been so important to me. I forget birthday gifts. But the cards? I'll keep forever and read over and over and over. So I've made it a habit to keep words of encouragement and comfort before me. In my home, on my desk, through the music in my car. And, in moments like these past few weeks, those words from God and from others, have made ALL the difference.

Want to encourage somebody? Do it! Whatever it is may sound insignificant in the moment, but the "feel good" file (whether mental or literal) can be referenced in the most necessary of times.

Thank you to my "Barnabas" friends...

"I don't know what to do."

I recently perused the book "Eat, Pray, Love" and Liz Gilbert's straight-talk in the memoir was moving. I am a firm believer that anyone who is honest and sincere in their search for God deserves our attention. And Liz represents thousands of people seeking God and, instead, finding "god" or "Buddha" or "Allah" or "themselves".

A portion of the beginning of her story really affected me. She writes about being in the middle of a difficult situation and she finds herself on the bathroom floor, sobbing, when she decides to pray. "God, I don't know what to do. Tell me what to do. I'll do it. Please. Just tell me what to do..." and then, she listens.

She really didn't know to Whom she was speaking. But her rock-bottom transparency and honesty are a hallmark of real searching. And she heard an answer; though I believe she attributed it to the wrong person. But discrepancies aside, this part of her story felt far too familiar for me to ignore.

As a believer in Christ, I find myself quite often in a puddle of my own tears saying, "God, I don't know what to do. Please. Tell me what to do. Please, tell me what to do." And He is faithful to lead me. Even if I simply walk forward quietly and blindly, just following His whisper.

The key is, I must come to Him and admit that I don't know what to do. When I've pressed on every door. Tried to pry open every window. Pounded on every wall for a soft spot that I could possibly break through. And...nothing. I glance around the room half a dozen more times. "Perhaps the solution is right in front of me and I'm missing it." But, nothing. So finally, my hands drop to my side and I look up..."I don't know what to do..."

When I was in elementary school, a teacher sent a note home with me for my parents. This was never to tell them you were bright or exceptional or something else favorable. And I was nervous. I had never brought one of these home before! I racked my brain; what had I done?! Did I talk too much? Not work quickly enough? Didn't pay attention to some rule?

I got home and handed the note to my mom. "What's it say mom? What did I do?" "Well, Amanda. It says, "Amanda needs to learn to ask for help when she finds a problem she can't solve. She refuses to ask for help"."

I'm not going to say that note changed my life. I'll still carry a dozen Wal Mart bags up to my apartment by myself. I'll still take care of myself when I'm sick. I'll still find my own solutions before I consult anyone. Before I consult...Anyone.

I remember a lady showing up at my Gramma's door a few days after she'd gone to be with Jesus. She talked about having come to Gramma's house because she, "didn't know what to do. I didn't know where to go. My mom said, 'Just go see Ora Mae,' and so I came to see Ora Mae." She had knocked on the door with confidence that this lady could do something about her situation. Maybe she pictured Mrs. Clause. Or some fairy godmother doling out the goods. Or maybe just a sympathetic and kind woman who would find some way to help her. Whatever the case, she felt like an answer was behind the door.

Bottom line? This woman had more faith that a total stranger could help her than I sometimes have that God can help me. She got desperate and, "being a burden" or "admitting helplessness" weren't obstacles for her any longer.

That's how I knock on the door today. Today, I just sit and whisper, "Jesus, I don't know what to do", and wait...