30 Days

Every day during November I am wearing one shirt.

Why? Because there are kids in Haiti who are starving and when I purchased the shirt, I fed a child for an entire month.

All across the state of Illinois there are students and youth leaders wearing the same t-shirt to raise awareness and to gain sponsors for each day we wear them.

You can sponsor me! It's not too late!

My thoughts today...in form of Haikus

Fall
The colors of fall
The smells of the air are crisp
A favorite time

Yum
A love for Gus's
Doughy goodness I will eat
Pretzels, brats, mustard

Jesus
Paid the highest price
He is all I need and more
He is soon-coming

What a day that will be!

"My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame but wholly trust in Jesus' name."

I love this song. And I love Hillsong's update to it.

I was sitting at my desk listening to this song as I am studying for my ISOM class this weekend. As it plays, I read "The divine love that never lets us go in our earthly life will certainly be just as strong through the eternal ages...His names and titles indicate that He will be both human and divine...In the Old Testament, Messiah is called "the son of man" (Daniel 7:13) and a "servant" (Isaiah 42:1-6). But He is also a person of divine authority. He is our judge, our lawgiver and our king (Isaiah 33:22). He is "the Anointed One, the ruler" (Daniel 9:25). He is the "Prince of princes" (Daniel 8:25). He is "the Redeemer" (Isaiah 59:20), "the sun of righteousness" (Malachi 4:2), and the "Sovereign Lord" (Isaiah 40:10)." (p.147, Eschatology: A Study of Things to Come by Zenas Bicket)

All I could think of is how much I love Jesus. How much I adore my Heavenly Father for who He is and all He has done for me.

So many of us read the Word and come across the passages that tell us we are more than conquerors and overcomers. But I didn't really get that before. It wasn't until after Donny's accident and we made it through the toughest 2 years of our married lives (well, probably our entire lives!) that I got what it means to be more than a conqueror! Through the hand of God and the comfort of His peace and the provision of Jehovah Jireh, my family made it!

And then I read, "Christ himself stated the criteria for those who will reign with Him in the Millennium. "To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne" (Revelation 3:21). Positions of authority under Christ will be assigned as a reward for faithfulness in whatever Christ may have called believers to do in this life...Christ knows our faithfulness even now, and He never forgets to reward appropriately, if not in this life, then certainly in the Millennium and beyond." (page150-151)

This creates in me an ever increasing desire to be in His presence, both now and forever, giving Him all praise and honor because of what He's done for me, in me and with me.

"Christ alone, cornerstone. Weak made strong in the Savior's love. Through the storm, He is Lord, Lord of all!"

"Lord of endless light. Let Your glory shine forever! All the earth, all the earth sing Your Praise! Hope of every heart, let your fame be lifted higher! All our hearts, all our hearts will sing Your praise!"

One day, it will be too late to tell this world of the greatness of God. So until then, Paul says it best.

1 Corinthians 9:16

New International Version (NIV)

¹⁶ For when I preach the gospel, I cannot boast, since I am compelled to preach.^(A) Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!

Who Am I?

The summer is gone and although I know I did many, many things, I sit here and wonder how it went from April to almost September so fast?!?

My summer was filled with wonderful church activities and ministry and youth camp and family time and now school is back in full swing and my brain hasn't had a chance to slow down...does it ever stop?

I mean, one minute you celebrating the beginning of summer and it seems like I blinked and we were packing lunches and doing homework.

I am so grateful for the consistency of God in my life. When this life takes over and spins us in a whirlwind of trials, hardships, victories, burdens, worries or concerns, His love and grace and mercies are new every morning and never failing.

And in the midst of those crazy days, kids are still kids and tell you things that make you pause....and say, "huh?"

Like yesterday, Noah told Donny after football practice, "Dad, when I grow up I am going to work 2 jobs." Donny said he asked him what 2 jobs he is going to have and Noah promptly responded, very matter of fact, "I am going to be a fire fighter and work at Wendy's."

Noah, we are glad for the high hopes, buddy.

Or, realizing one day that my baby is using full sentences to tell us things! When did that happen?

And at the same time, they say things that cause you not only to pause but then to do a reality check and a quick inventory. Things like "Mom, you work too much."

ouch...

God,
Help me to always put my family first. Help me to keep my husband and my boys above the things of this world and even my ministry. God You come first, and help me to keep my family second and before anything else.

Of course, the ministry (it's not a job...it's my calling!) is full of it's own rewards...for example, this past Sunday was host to close to 40 kids and youth in our worship service. How awesome is that? But the best part was watching them enter into worship and not only enter but to lead!
As I lead the song "Your Love Is Deep" to a close, those kids and youth continued to sing it, hands raised and voices strong. It broke me.

I ramble on only to say this, may we never become too busy for our kids or even other kids and miss the opportunities before us to pour into them and love on them and show them who God is and all He has in store for them.

I share this out of love...

I am not a stranger to change. I see it every day. I live it every day. It's not always easy. It is, however, necessary. So when I see my friends out and about or on FB posting about changes in their lives, I can identify.

But one change I have begun to see more and more of seems to be changes of the heart.

What?

Let me explain it this way. See, in the past year or so, I have had friends who walked with God, faithfully served Him, super involved in their church, talked about God's goodness often, all of a sudden...change.

And this change concerns me. It seems to be a change that is creating distance between them and our Creator instead of bringing them closer.

I AM NOT A JUDGE. Hallelujah. I don't want the job. That being said, we know that the Bible talks about people falling away from the faith, people who have an air of godliness but no relationship with God, and so on.

I don't know what's going on. I don't know how you could see God's hand over your life then walk away from Him. But I do know that as hard as you try, you can't escape Him. So stop trying and come home...come back to His heart.

Plugging In

I recently had a conversation with someone about the importance of the Holy Spirit (yes, I am talking about speaking in tongues) in the lives of believers.

It's funny how things work out. This conversation came at the same time I began my April ISOM course on the book of Acts, which, for those in the church, knows is all about the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the work of the early church. Coincidence? I think not.

Now, we are all entitled to our own opinions and I am not here to debate that. But I am here to say that I believe, contrary to my friend, that we are not giving enough attention to the vitality and importance of the Holy Spirit for full effective Christian living.

I am a firm believer that the only way one can truly receive salvation and spend eternity in heaven is through the blood of Christ. Faith in His salvation, that's it. However, our spiritual rebirth and new life does not end there. There is so much more meant for us.

In my text book, written by George O. Wood, the General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God, he takes the opportunity to point this fact out several times. But the one that stands out to me most in the first chapter. He says, "The Holy Spirit wants to work through all believers today. His fullness gives us the boldness to serve and witness for Jesus."

Boldness! BOLDNESS! That is exactly what the church needs today. We need the boldness to stand for what's right and defend the Gospel. We need boldness to stand against the things of this world that are creeping their way into the body of Christ. We need boldness to share our faith with everyone we come in contact with because time is growing short and we need to do everything we can to further the Kingdom.

Not every follower of Christ is called into public ministry but we are all commissioned to share "the good news" about Jesus.
"Every member of the body of Christ should have a ministry. Each believer should answer the question, "What am I doing to serve God and others?"

So, ask yourself what you are doing...are you doing anything? Are you effective? Have you been baptized in the Holy Spirit by evidence of speaking in tongues?  In the words of the Apostle Paul, "Having believed, did you receive the Holy Spirit?"

If the church is going to be powerful, we have to begin with a powerful core. It's time we plug into the power source and allow the energy to run through us, making our light the brightest it can be!

Trying new things

To many people's surprise, I am somewhat apprehensive when it comes to trying new things. I'm not afraid of change so much as afraid of failure.

But that's a topic for another day altogether.

So when I decided to attempt making my own laundry detergent, I really had to work myself up to it. And thanks to a dear friend, I had all the ingredients necessary. So, I did it and I am going to share the easy process with you!

 Here's what you need:

1 Fels-Naptha Soap Bar (Rural King for about $1.79) 

4 Cups hot tap water

1 Cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda 

1/2 Cup Borax

 1- 5 gallon bucket

 Empty, clean laundry detergent dispenser 

Grater (if I would've been thinking I would have bought one from Dollar Tree)

Saucepan 

Long spoon or stir stick 

Here's what you do:
-Grate bar of soap and add to saucepan with water. Stir continually over medium-low heat until soap dissolves and is melted.

-Fill a five gallon bucket half full of hot top water.

-Add melted soap, washing soda and Borax. Stir well until all powder is dissolved.

Fill bucket to the top with more hot water.(I forgot to take a picture of this step, but, is it really necessary?) Stir, cover and let sit over night to thicken.
 -Stir and fill a used, clean laundry soap dispenser half full with soap and add fill the ret of way with water.

-Shake well before each use (will gel).
Optional: you can add 10-15 drops of essential oil per 2 gallons. Add once soap has cooled.
Yield: liquid soap recipe makes 10gallons.
5/8 cup per load for top load machines
1/4 cup per load for front load machines

Easy as that!!

I try so hard to come up with quick, fun, encouraging, light hearted things to share on my blog. It doesn't happen as often as I want.
Sometimes that is because I've blogged on my church's website and it sort of steals the thunder. It's all good! I enjoy blogging there, too.

That's why, for my blog today, I am sharing that blog. You can read it by clicking here!

I hope you find it as awesome as I did!

Timing

One thing I have learned is that there are no coincidences. Nothing just "happens", but everything happens for a reason and all things are brought together for a purpose.

Since starting my studies with Illinois School of Ministry, every class has somehow related to what is happening in my personal life and in my church. So why should this one be any different?

January is a big month for us at GCFirst! We are spending this month in an Awakening! 21 days of prayer and fasting is where we believe the start to an awesomely blessed new year starts!

From our kids fasting video games, movies, television to our youth fasting Facebook, video games, television to our adults fasting their own games, food and so on, the people at GCFirst are making their relationship with God top priority.

So, what does this have to do with my ISOM class this month? Well, I will tell you.

My class this month is Relationships and Ethics in Ministry, by T. Ray Rachels. This study has been encouraging and eye opening to me as I read about ways to maintain my family relationship while being in ministry and even how lay people in the church view my position and how I should reach out to them.

But one section of this study is about personal priorities. We all know without proper priorities, we can fail in areas we need to be strong in. Prayer is one of them ( and here it comes all together!).

I am going to share some tips given by Mr. Rachels regarding a prayer life.
1. When you pray, write down your words.
       Being ready to pray at any time is important, and let's face it, if the need hits while driving down the highway, we're not going to be writing things down. However, during our personal study time, writing down our words keeps us focused and more precise in our petitions and gratitude. Prayer is a discipline, "and writing your inner thoughts gives a direction that otherwise is too easily confused."

2. Whey you pray, learn to listen.
      "Someone has said that when some people pray, they hammer so loudly that they never hear the architect who is discussing the plans." God doesn't need loud, booming voices that ramble on and on. Sometimes, our most productive times in communication with Him begin simply with, "Here I am. Speak to me."

3. Practice what you pray.
     "Be willing to back your prayer with action."According to Rachels, we are the limits God places on himself. We can't ask God to put love in the hearts of those around us and practice prejudice ourselves. We can't pray that our church impact our community and yet, not be involved in the process.

4. Do not pray lazy prayers.
    "The soft and sloppy prayer is an insult to God's integrity and to yours." Wow. "Prayers deserve intensity because you are dealing with power that can change the world." I'm pretty sure I need to add nothing to this. I'll allow you to think on this one on your own.

5. Believe God is attentive.
    Prayer is not a time for anxiety. When we bring ourselves- our needs, desires, hurts, fears- before God, we can leave them there. We don't have to worry! We can trust that God hears our prayers and then get on with the matter of living. "In simple terms, trust in the Lord and then act like you do."

6. Know the God to whom you pray.
    "A young cynical medical intern, known for his atheism, once mockingly asked the hospital chaplain to pray that he might receive money because he was very low on funds. The chaplain replied, "If you had just met the chief surgeon, would you have asked him for money?"
    "Well no," he replied, "I would wait until I knew him a little better."
    "Exaclty," answered the chaplain and walked away."
We will NEVER stop learning about God. We can't ever forget that. Read the Bible. See the gorgeous sunset and be grateful.

7. Be obediently patient.
   God's timing is so unlike ours. His view from eternity is much better than our view from the clock.
       "He asks for strength that he might achieve.
         He was made weak that he might obey.
         He asks for help that he might do greater things.
         He was given infirmity that he might do better things.
         He asks for riches that he might be happy.
         He was given poverty that he might be wise.
         He asked for power that he might have the praise of men.
         He was given weakness that he might feel the need of God.
         He asked for all things that he might enjoy life.
         He was given life that might enjoy all things."

8. God already knows your thoughts.
    Ever had someone, maybe your child, come to you and share something with you that, really, you already knew? Wasn't some major revelation but more of a cementing of your relationship? That's how it is with God. "Your prayer is not the unveiling of your secret. It is rather the establishment of your relationship. Praying is participating in a miracle."

So, as I hit the floor on my knees this new year, I pray that you, too will find time to spend in quality communication with God. Use these tips to keep your focus on Him and to make the best of each opportunity that you have to talk with your Heavenly Father.