Simplify, surround and focus
Topic: God things
Here is a quote I found today, from my friend KQ, that I thought was appropriate as a response to the last part of my last post about Miss Hilton:

"What else will do except faith in such a cynical corrupt time? When the country goes temporarily to the dogs, cats must learn to be circumspect, walk on fences, sleep in trees, and have faith that all this woofing is not the last word. What is the last word then? Gentleness is everywhere in daily life, a sign that faith rules through ordinary things:through cooking and small talk, through storytelling, making love, fishing, tending animals and sweetcorn and flowers, through sports, music and books, raising kids - all the places where the gravy soaks in and grace shines through"
~ Garrison Keillor

Can you imagine how difficult it must be to find those placed in Hollywood where there is the 'gravy' of life?

Romans 1:11 I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— 12 that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith.

Faith is a gift...from God to us and through us, to each other. I hope Miss Hilton finds people who will gather around her and encourage her faith and point her to Christ.

1 Corinthians 16: 13 Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong.

In cynical times like those in which we live, we do not need to worry. We just need to refocus our eyes. Are we looking at the evil we can see, or are we fixing our eyes on Christ, who gives hope and strength?

Conquer much lately?
Topic: God things
Note: click on the images to see a larger version.

We have a special service once a month for our youth and college kids at church called Momentum. It usually has a theme. This month, we had a whole weekend event for the youth. The theme was 'conquer'. So they had a lock in and played conquering games and had lessons on conquering through Christ.

It was all kicked off with the Saturday night service. The lock in was that night, so our youth pastor, Josh, had lots of cool things for the youth to do.

First, one of our very dear youth girls, Jessica, gave her testimony of how in the past 2 years, God has helped her have the strength to conquer the cancer that had invaded various parts of her body. Several people close to their family, who watched her live this out, gave their lives to Jesus as a result of Jessica's faith being lived out in front of them.

Then my husband, Charles did the preaching for the service. It was held outside in the parking lot. And instead of a podium to stand behind, he preached from a rock wall. It was brought in for the lock in, but was also a handy word picture tool for his talk that night.

He climbed as Bible verses were read to make a point:



Then he would stop and teach about how in order to conquer the difficult things in life, we must:
1. Get connected with God and with each other. (like being harnessed up for a climb)
2. Get creative. God is Creator and made us new creations. The old is gone, the new has come. The old ways just don't work anymore and we have to find new ways (new holds)...God's way.
3. Get quiet. Listen and find God's voice. He wants to lead you in the best way. He has a plan for our lives and we need to be listening for Him to show us.
4. Get instruction. God's word is our manual for this climb....to conquer.
5. Get committed. The easy way out is to quit. But following through is so worth the climb. His will is for you to conquer in this life. To press on through the hard times, that is conquering. To learn to change the direction your life is going, a lousy attitude or a sin habit that you may have. This is the stuff we must conquer. People who are conquerors keep their gaze on the goal (in this case the buzzer at the top of the wall), and don't let themselves get distracted from it. God is calling us toward a great reward through serving Him.










And if you do fall, God is there, holding on. He won't let you go and He will help you to start again, with new strength. Rising on wings like eagles we will conquer.










When the talk was over, the worship time began. It was lead by a group from Prescott, Arizona, called ARB, a Christian Indie band lead by Angie Raess. They are really good! Mostly a worship band, they really had a powerful message and presence.







Our kids were captured by the worship and testimony. The girl here with the neck brace and crutches is the one I wrote about in this post. She is doing great! She was at church the Sunday after the accident and had to be carried up the stairs by her dad to attend the youth group. She is working on conquering a few things physically and spiritually. Maybe she will let me share her testimony here on the blog soon. She got up and talked in church Sunday about this experience.....it's amazing what God uses in our lives to teach us to take deeper steps with Him!







Afterwards the kids got to climb the wall. This is my daughter Beth on the left. She is learning to conquer a few big things in her life as well and we're so proud of her as she presses on. It takes courage to keep on climbing, but anyone who has reached the top and has stopped to look back over the years of battle, will tell you every step of trembling muscles on the climb was worth it when they look back and see how far God's taken them.

It's time
Topic: God things
On Sunday, my husband was preaching and said the church's goal should be......to be utterly at the disposal of God, consumed, taken over by God's Spirit, so that all men may know Him.

"The time has come," he said. "The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!" Mark 1:15

The time has come people....do you believe it?

Or are you weighed down by every day things, like I have been?

I have seen some who are consumed and utterly at the disposal of God. It is a powerful thing to be consumed by freedom like that. We tend to think we are free if we can do what WE want to do. True freedom is in being able to give your life away....to die to yourself....to be totally at the disposal of the God who is waiting to make you who He created you to be. Doing what we want to do is bondage to selfishness and vain striving.

We get to see people like that at least once a month in our church. The ministry we sponsor called Set Free was in our services Sunday and it is always amazing, uplifting and inspiring to see these men. They once were consumed with addictions or hatred and now are utterly consumed by God's Spirit. They have such a love for each other as I've not seen in a long, long time. It makes the hearts of our church more tender the more they are around these men. Maybe some day we will actually get it....

This life is not about us....it's about God. His kingdom is near....
as my friend Joann says,

"Man up!" (have some integrity, follow through) let's do this thing....

Letting God use your life
Topic: God things
There is a little, tiny village at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. After an 8 mile hike down and through the Canyon, you come upon some wooden rail fencing, you begin to see animals like dogs, a cow, a horse, then a very humble home or two. As you pass, you notice somber Native American faces watching you. These are the Supai people and they have always lived in the bottom of the Grand Canyon, west of where most of the tourists go. I have been on this hike once and it is etched in my memory. It is beautiful there. They live where springs come gushing out of the walls of the canyon, pouring into streams and rivers, then off a sheer cliff, forming a waterfall.

The waterfalls (there are 3 of them I think....maybe 4) carve a pool at their base, which is the destination most hikers are seeking who come to Havasupai Canyon. The pools are a beautiful greenish blue color as they are carved from limestone. From the pool, the limestone forms terraced mini pools and then into a stream again, until it jets off of another cliff, into another pool. This finally concludes at the Colorado River and makes a spectacular place to visit. The Supai Indians run the campgrounds, a store and sell things to hikers. (Hiking is the only way there) They depend on the tourism, but they distance themselves from the toursists as well. They are used to and love their simple way of life there. This was the destination of a group of college kids on a spring break mission trip. My daughter Hannah knew a lot of the people who went on it from a Christian organization on campus.

She called from college last week, a week after spring break was over and seemed out of sorts. She told me that a friend of hers from school had died over the break while on the mission trip. She couldn't wrap her head around that and frankly, neither could I. Looking at this young man's myspace page, it was obvious that he loved the Lord and wanted with all his being to make a difference in the world. Why would God allow this seemingly senseless thing to happen? A young man jumps into a pool by a waterfall and never resurfaces alive. It's tragic and confusing. It's been on my mind and in my prayers all week.

Then she called again and I asked about how her friends were doing. The sudden death of a young person can cause such confusion and pain. She told me that some of the people who were with him on the trip were feeling so overwelmed with guilt about the incident. Please pray for these young adults.

When I read Hannah's blog today, my heart swelled and in a moment, all the details made sense. The Supai people have seen many drownings in their years of letting tourists come onto their land. It is a wild and rugged place. There are no emergency resources to call upon there. If you have an emergency, you have to wait for a helicopter to come. They have seen many groups handle the death of a loved one who drown in the rivers. But they had never seen a group handle a death with such hope and peace and unity as this college group did. As a result, the people listened more closely to what the mission group was teaching them.....and 15 of them gave their lives to Jesus. One of the women even made the journey out of the canyon to attend the young man's funeral.

Don't you know that young man who wanted to make a difference probably prayed with a sincere heart. "God use me in that village to bring people to know You."

And God did....

....and I have to ask myself, am I willing to let God make a difference with my life?

Rain
Topic: God things
I was over at Life in a Fishbowl World today and found this wonderful teaching video. It's 10 minutes long, but it is powerful and I hope you will watch it. The pastor speaking is Rob Bell. I have heard a lot of second hand information about him as a teacher, but this is the first teaching of his that I have seen or heard and I love it.....

All of us go through trials in life and this is a totally cool word picture of how God comforts us through it all.

Modern abolition
Topic: God things
I ran across this amazing interview on CNN with Zach Hunter, a modern day abolitionist today while visiting Crystal's blog. God gave this young man a mission and it is no small thing.

We also went to see Bridge to Terabithia today. It is not what you expect, but it IS a powerful movie....so many good themes running through it to talk about with your kids. I recommend it.

And yes, expect my summary of our women's retreat coming soon. We had a great time....which may be why I am struggling to get my brain in gear. =)

The Most Important Love
Topic: God things


The Greatest Commandment

Mark 12:28 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?"

29-31"The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."

32-33"Well said, teacher," the man replied. "You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices."

34When Jesus saw that he had answered wisely, he said to him, "You are not far from the kingdom of God." And from then on no one dared ask him any more questions.

To be a liberator
Topic: God things
A week ago I wrote an entry on feeling kind of helpless when I see a homeless person asking for help on street corners. My friend Kim, who I went to college with and is a very wise and intuitive person, wrote a comment which I wanted to share with you. She graciously agreed. The following is her comment. She offers very practical advice about how to handle the street corner situation as well as actually making a difference in the lives of these people if they choose to take a step to getting on their feet.

From Kim:

Your Q: But what can you do for a man with a sign at a busy intersection?

Good to pray for God to work. But, is it a situation that only falls in God's bailiwick? Could Christians take it one step further and dedicate time in their busy lives to pray and think critically about developing a personal approach and doing whatever their part is? Save a miracle, these problems will continue to be here 2 years, 5 years, 10 years from now, with Jesus' return as a caviete. So why not prayerfully plan a meaningful response that includes both faith and works? I am not downgrading the prayer approach blessing our friend on the street- but asking to go farther.

Getting out of guilt and developing a thoughtful approach is more equipping. As a former chaplain on skid row in LA- I have ideas. Read if you are interested, if I go on too long, please forgive. Biblical times, which Christians use as a yardstick in our faith - were both somewhat kinder and somewhat crueler to the disenfranchised than our era. At least in the Old Testament there was thought to leaving grain in the field at harvest for poor people to gather with the dignity of their own effort. There was the Year of Jubilee to help people get out of any financial bind they were in (just 2 examples). But, there were many injustices in biblical times as well.

What we face in our large, anonymous American culture is almost no active thinking, no developed social constructs to support disenfranchised people through family, church or law. No prayer for personal direction that is ongoing and thoughtful. Most families and churches do not want to really think about it OR have these people around- I suspect that is one of the first things that Christ might want to chat with our faith-professing people about. As a result we have eliminated any personal, civic or corporate reality to assist them that ever was in place on this continent. As an example: mental institutions no longer received government funding to care for many of these souls in the 70's, I think. We have lost a personal and corporate sense of community care. I knew a woman who would bum change, with her child at her side, and was making about $60 an hour. AND she was higher than a kite while doing it. And she loved Sundays near the mega-church, as they poured out of the service...

This is our generation's shame. Most have not had the collective will to think hard and long and do anything large and bold. Or small and steady. I don't see guilt as a motivator here, there is plenty of it floating around and it actually does not really help these people. If it did we might have seen plenty of results by now. It does make for good fund-raising for homeless shelters, but it is a demoralizing milieu to further subject these people to. I don't know too many people who, after handing change to the disenfranchised feel good.

You cannot blame the disenfranchised - when I worked with them closely, I found that many of them had a greater faith that had been more tested than my own. Many of them had developed belief systems that they could articulate - not a ruse. They had biological problems, runs of bad luck, cruel addictions, lack of cunning or abusive situations that they were trying to escape. It rains on the just and the unjust- and there by the grace of God we all go. Most of us in America are about 3 months away from financial fragility. A run of bad luck or a triggering event or physical or mental illness. This is what we should think about it when we see them - because we can see a version of ourselves in a harder situation, not because they are so "other". Do onto others....

I have found that having a 2 pronged approach - personal and civic- that I have prayed over and chosen to be worked out in my life is equipping. It is a way to be present and courageous in the face of this horrible situation in our country. Dignity and no guilt. I have prayerfully provided in my daily life a certain budgeted approach that I can afford toward this problem through a local agency. I take active interested in seeing our laws change and urging an increase of grants through government given to independent social service agencies that can contextually address specific community shortfalls. In my neighborhood I make a point to know where the social services are located so that I can direct people there. If they ask for change, I will say that I give my money through this particular organization and how to reach them. I keep literature in my car on the agency. Some don't respond nicely- but I have had some speak a blessing over me because of this. And, I receive it gratefully.

If we pray for direction on what our part is- and yours might look different than mine - then we are liberators. There will be moments when a unique situation requires ingenuity and a spiritual power encounter, but truth be told, most of these are generally the same type of scenarios week after week. The guys peering into your car on many off ramps from the freeways. I actually feel more hopeless when I look at LA women driving Escalades or I see previews of the "Real House Wives of Orange County”. Sorry to go on and on- but there is truly no reason for people to be stuck on this issue. And if you pray to get yourself past it into whatever you are going to do, you will do your part. Knowing you, Christie, you will become more and more liberating. We can all grow as liberators.



***Thank you to Kim for allowing me to post this and thank you for reading it. I urge you to pray and think about what you could do to be a liberator! (SUCH a cool word!)

I was going to post the verse she referred to in James chapter 2, but the entire chapter is about this subject. So if you took the time to read this post, you should really take a few more minutes and read what God's Word says about it.

How Great is our God?
Topic: God things
I really liked the speaker at the Chris Tomlin concert. Louie Giglio is a dynamic preacher, who uses a lot of word pictures...just what gets into my brain the best. His theme was the greatness of God, as the tour was called How Great Is Our God, after one of Tomlin's songs. He used the Universe with pictures up on the powerpoint screen to drive home how great the universe is and the God who literally breathed the stars into being. Then he told us about the Whirlpool Galaxy....a far off galaxy that was found using the Hubble telescope. It is a beautiful galaxy, white spirals with red jewel looking spots all through it. But at the very center of the galaxy is the most amazing picture. Usually at the center of any galaxy is a round black hole. This is what they found at the center of the Whirlpool Galaxy:


.....the cross. He was slain from the creation of the world. (Rev 13:8)

John 1:1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning. 3Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

Colossians 1:19For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, 20and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. (emphasis mine)

Then, after wowwing us with word pictures and visual pictures of God's awesome Greatness, he brought it down to how God is also interwoven into the smallest detail in our lives. There is a protein called Laminin which is like scaffolding of our cells...it holds it all together, like the rebar in the cement of our being. Then he showed us a picture of what laminin looks like....amazingly enough, it is in the structure of a cross. Laminin, the very protein that holds our being together, is shaped like the cross of Christ, who holds all of life together.

Colossians 1:17He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. (NAS)

There are so many clues, or confirmations, to us concerning God's presence and the deep meaning of the cross....that horrible instrument of torture and death, our symbol...and God's symbol, I believe, of His purpose of redemption from the beginning.

How Great is Our God.....indeed!

Free to run, free to dance, free to live for Him...I am free
Topic: God things
Some friends took us to a 'concert' last night. It was really a worship service....one of the most powerful ones I've been to. It was held in a very large concert auditorium....pictures of famous rock stars lined the lobby, along with autographed guitars in glass cases. The auditorium holds 5,000 people and it was almost full. Chris Tomlin was the worship leader for the night, along with Matt Redman. And the speaker was Louie Giglio. I looked out at one point and saw a sea of pink faces, beaming with the joy of the Lord.

I don't know why my mindset was ready for a calm, sedate concert. But I was wrong! These guys were energetic!! I don't know if you've ever seen Chris Tomlin live, but he bounces. It's kind of a jumping/moshing kind of bouncing and it gets you excited and pumped up. By the last few songs, my husband and a friend who was with us were bouncing too. ;) For two hours we rocked out, praising God loudly to worship songs and inspired by Bible verses and testimony from the singers. I don't know if it was the set up of the auditorium or just their sound system, but you could literally feel the drums beating inside your chest. It wasn't too loud though. The sound was just right and you could hear every word the singers said. Tomlin kept thanking us all for being there, as if we were doing him a huge favor.....so humble and refreshing. In fact, they had sold so many tickets that last night's performance was sold out and they scheduled an extra concert the night before for the 'late' ticket buyers. Well, it was worth it. The speaker was captivating and dynamic. I have written a blog entry about his talk already, but I will post it tomorrow. He had everyone's full attention through multimedia and professional, yet very real (not forced) sermon delivery. The night absolutely drew us into joyful, exuberant worship of the Almighty Creator.

It reminded me of another worship service we went to last Saturday night. A group of people from our church went to a ministry we are going to help sponsor to attend their Saturday night service. They didn't exactly rock out, but it was true worship. The building would have only held 100 at best, although it was in no way close to being full. The hallways were dingy and the old floors creaked, but the grounds and the buildings were clean and well kept. The building was a church whose original congregation had moved out of the downtrodden neighborhood long ago. As I looked over the assembly there, I saw a gathering of black, brown and pink faces and some shaved heads with tattoos scrawled across them. Some of the people were shaking, all of them looked tired, some looked sick, their faces showed the signs of a hard lived life. When the music began, everyone sang to their own beat, key or 'melody'. There was an elderly man on an electric piano...it had the sound of a '70's rock song electric piano....and a guitar, but they did not play 'together'. It was a little chaotic, no one was on key (even the worship leader) until I nudged my husband with my elbow and said, "Sing! Loud!" My husband has a great voice and a loud, joyful one, so we all got on track and could sing after that. And even though they didn't sound pleasing to our ears, I know it was a beautiful sound to God. The speaker for the evening was not polished, he simply stood in front with his Bible, no powerpoint or videos to show us. But he held our attention, captured our imagination and drew us to God's Word through his testimony and love for the Word. A former biker who rode with a very notorious gang, he is now free from addictions and shame. He is called to lead there at this ministry and God is using him powerfully. This was one of his very first sermons.

Set Free is a ministry to drug addicts, alcoholics, bikers, and skin heads. It began in San Diego, California and this chapter in Phoenix has been up and running for years now. The church grounds have housing for the men in their program. The program involves Christian based substance abuse recovery, anger management, counseling, intense Bible study, and street witnessing for those who have been in the program a while. They also have low income housing apartments for people who want 'clean' living. (no substances allowed and they are strict about it) The people do not have to be Christians to stay there, but it is a very strongly Christian atmosphere, so I'm sure it draws the people to God. They are quite a presence there in south Phoenix. The neighborhood they are in has finally come to accept them and to be glad they are there and some of the neighbors have even started attending the Saturday night services. On Sunday mornings a Spanish speaking church meets there and the Set Free men load up onto a bus and visit various churches around the city. This is how our church got to know this ministry, as they come to our church about once every 6-8 weeks.

You can't miss the Set Free guys when they come to church either! They come filing in to our adult Sunday School classes and into our worship services, smiling and greeting everyone they see. They all open their Bibles, give imput on the Bible studies, offer to pray aloud during prayer request times, praying with fervor and passion, and they LOVE the Lord. In worship, they sing, sway, clap, raise their hands. It inspires and draws the people around them into a more sincere worship as well. And that is how they were worshipping last Saturday night too at their old, small, run down church building, as if God had made them princes......and indeed He has. I had tears in my eyes and a huge lump in my throat when they began singing I Am Free!

Because they are....and somehow it shows so much more on their faces than on the people of most of the churches I've been in....because they know, literally, what being a slave to sin is and they know the deliverance and fresh hope that life in Jesus brings.

Luke 7:46You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. 47Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little."

Cleaning up, Drawing near
Topic: God things
It was good to be in the House of the Lord today.

My husband had a great sermon.

The old covenant had the Law and the Temple, everything so laid out for God's people....for only God's people. If Gentiles wanted to come, they were allowed into the outer court to hear teaching. They could never draw near, but God did promise to remember them for their faith and devotion to Him. (Isaiah 56:3-8)

These outer courts were the very ones that Jesus cleansed with a braided cord, driving out animals and turning over tables of the men who charged the people to get appropriate coins for the Temple offerings.

Here we are, all nodding our heads. I was thinking, wow, this is interesting and I was writing it all down.

Then the zinger:

Charles parallelled Jesus' cleansing of the Temple, driving out the things that didn't belong there....WITH...Him wanting to cleanse today's Temple (our body, mind, spirit) from all the things that do not belong there....SO....that we can really worship Him in spirit and in truth, not just 'do church', but to draw near, actually into the Holy of Holies because He has made us His holy priesthood of believers.

See, we are all free to draw near to the Lord now. All of the Jews and the Gentiles can freely come....and when we do, WE become God's holy Temple, as He comes to dwell within us through the Holy Spirit. We are free from the restrictive Laws and from having to go to Jerusalem to offer our yearly sacrifices. No one is kept out now...

But with great freedom comes great responsibility and caution.

We need to make our aim pleasing the Lord, because we want to hear from Him and truely follow Him according to His way, not ours.....it was very powerful. I couldn't swallow by the end. LUMP CITY in my throat. I am going to keep this on the front burner of my mind so that the changes can take place...

....the repentance....prayer

....the replacing of my ways with His...meditate on His Word

....the shoving over of the tables, stockpiled with things that don't belong in this Temple....listening to the Spirit instead of quenching it.

.....I needed that today.....

Today's hymn seemed appropriate too:

Brethren, we have met to worship and adore the Lord our God;?Will you pray with all your power, while we try to preach the Word??All is vain unless the Spirit of the Holy One comes down;?Brethren, pray, and holy manna will be showered all around.

Let us love our God supremely, let us love each other, too;?Let us love and pray for sinners, till our God makes all things new.?Then He’ll call us home to heaven, at His table we’ll sit down;?Christ will gird Himself and serve us with sweet manna all around.

Mixed emotions
Topic: God things
The capture and execution of Saddam Husein has me wondering what to think. A year ago, I would have thought it would be a relief to have someone who had done such evil things gone. But all I feel is a sadness. God's compassion and mercy toward us is unfathomable, but I think this sad feeling is a hint (a very slight, smidgeon....almost undetectably so) of what He feels. At least that is what I'm thinking today...about that.

Jana at Bread Crumbs put it into words in a very thoughtful way. If you have any feelings at all on the subject, you should go and read her posts.

And now...I'm out of here until Monday night. =)

A year in hindsight
Topic: God things
My mom loves my blog. But she doesn't do the internet thing or know how to work a computer. So last Christmas I printed out my blog and put it in a nice notebook for her to read through for the next year. Which then obligated me to do so again this year. =) Of course. I don't mind and love that she wants it, but it the experience of it was surprising to me.

She is going to have to be satisfied with January through June for a while. As I was going through post after post about moving, then about my dad and his struggles, it all got very heavy in my heart. There is a time to ponder things, but this is not a good time for me to get all heavy. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve and there is celebrating to do. My brother is here in town for a week and we'll be getting together a lot. Maybe for the first week of the year I'll finish up printing those blog entries. July and August will be the most difficult to wade through for me.

I think it is partly my personality type that lets me lay aside something unpleasant for a while, then get back to it. (Hey, I can lay aside something really unpleasant for years and years!) But I realized as I was reading some of the entries today, that God's taken me (as well as my family) on a real journey this year. It's been one of the hardest years of my life. I hadn't realized how hard until I looked back.

And now I am even more amazed that God has given us peace and hope through these times. (after all, I could be a complete blithering idiot by now if it weren't for God's peace) One of the ways God has helped me this year is that I've been so busy, with all the events and new things, which I love. I haven't had the time to stay focused on myself and to do much wallowing. I don't think that kind of living (by the seat of your pants) is the healthiest way to live long term though, and I am trying to get a grip on this big city life now, but it's kept my mind occupied. There was always something else on the horizon, something besides myself to set my focus on. And even though it's been a whirlwind year and time has just flown by, God has made Himself so much more real and almost tangible sometimes to me, especially by seeing my dad go through mental illness and death. God's presence was right there, He was such a comfort.

I am not the kind of person who, as a habit, deeply contemplates my life and the events in it. (although I admire people who can do that...because I find it exhausting!) It's more of a gradual dawning of understanding that I get and it can be months or years after the event that I finally 'get it'. I feel kind of backwards that way, but I've come to accept it as part of who God made me. Hindsight is a very cool thing for me...God shows me things and grows me through it.

So as I go through the rest of the printing of the year's worth of typing and thinking out loud that I've done, I'm hoping to learn some worthy lessons.

Stay tuned.

I hope that you can lay aside whatever it is that you are struggling through for a while and enjoy the peace He wants to bring to your life and your spirit this year. Just take your eyes off of that distracting thing you are focused on...and fix your gaze on Jesus for a while. See if your spirit gets a breath of fresh air....I know it will.

p. s. Patrice, this is just the kind of entry you'll love...it's all personal and intimate....Merry Christmas. ;)

Daniel 1-6
Topic: God things
I just got home from our ladies' Bible study and I am thoroughly exhausted!! But I need to write down some thoughts before I sleep and forget them all. (very very true, I'm ashamed to say) I was so filled up with excitement over this week's study, I just have to say something. Besides, I promised some people I would do some entries on this study and I haven't done any yet! (it's been so long, I forgot who I promised! Good grief!)

We are doing a study on the book of Daniel written by Beth Moore and I come away from watching the DVD each time overwelmed by the information and knowledge I've gained. (and hopefully can retain, since I have to sleep sometimes!) We just finished the first half of the study, which was the first 6 chapters of Daniel, now we have a break until January. Then we will begin on the prophecy in Daniel, starting with chapter 7. I am eating it up, as I have not had this kind of deep personal study in a long time. I love to study the Bible. I love it when things happen in science or archaeology or historic writings that confirms something in Scripture that before, wasn't proven to be fact. I LOVE THAT. This study has already thrilled me like that at least 3 times.

First of all, it is so relevant to today. Right away, she began showing us the comparisons of today's American/Western culture and the ancient culture of Babylon. We are just like Babylon! Yikes, it is so clear. The mindset in Babylon was as described in Isaiah 47, on the fall of Babylon.

You have trusted in your wickedness
and have said, 'No one sees me.'
Your wisdom and knowledge mislead you
when you say to yourself,
'I am, and there is none besides me.'
Isaiah 47:10

I am and there is none besides me. It reeks of pride and self-centeredness and rebellion. Yikes, indeed....

Chapter one is all about the captivity. The prophets of old warned the Jewish nation time and time again that they would be taken captive and lose their land if they did not follow Jehovah. It is interesting that where He takes them is back to where they began. Back to Babel....where the people tried to build a tower to reach Heaven. Their pride brought them down and scattered them to the ends of the earth. Daniel and his 3 friends do not conform in captivity to their captors' society like the other young people do. God uses them in great ways and they will forever be honored for it. What/who is holding you captive? Don't get comfy there.

Chapter two blew me away with it's prophesy and history. The statue that Nebuchadnezzar has a dream about represented the kingdoms, beginning with his, that would be the great kingdoms through history until the time of Christ, whose kingdom is the rock that flew down from the heavens and destroyed their earthly kingdoms. The head was gold, arms and chest of silver, belly and thighs of bronze, legs of iron, feet of iron mixed with baked clay. The minerals decreased in value as they went down, but increased in strength. And do you see how our very culture is increasing in strength but diminishing in value....in morality. And that is just a nutshell! There is so much more.

Chapter three is about the 3 friends, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. I can't even think about them without the Veggies Tales Rack, Shack and Benny scenes going through my head! But I managed to make it through the study on chapter three and actually supress that and learn something. It's actually an awesome story of these 3 young men's courageous faithfulness to God and His bringing them through the fires unharmed. They didn't even smell like smoke! But interestingly, there was one thing that did burn....the bonds on their hands and feet fell off. =) Amen?

Chapter four: "Farewell Lessons from Nebuchadnezzar" was an uncomfortable study. King Neb. (as I will refer to him) was not a good learner, poor guy. After vowing allegiance to the God of Israel in the end of chapter 3, he goes on into chapter 4 making some very bad mistakes. They are mistakes we can make too when we live in Babylon. 1) Losing touch with the poor, (Daniel 4:27) and 2) Losing touch with our own poverty of spirit (Daniel 4:28-30). While standing out on his balcony, viewing his awesome city, he praised HIMSELF and his 'majesty'. Poverty of spirit is knowing that we are nothing without Christ. He is our strength and nothing we do is successful because of ourselves, but because of His grace. King Neb. paid severe consequences when his self-praise came rolling off of his tongue. While the words were still rolling, God told him what was about to happen and it immediately did. One minute you're up on your balcony loving on yourself and the next minute you're going stark raving MAD, eating grass and growing hair all over your body. Ummm, yikes again.....humility and caring for the poor go a long way people. In Beth Moore's words, "....learn [this lesson] in the classroom and not on a field trip."

Now these things occurred as an examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. 1 Corinthians 10:6

Thirty years pass before chapter 5 comes to begin. Now Belshazzar has come to be king and he is a piece of work! He throws a huge party and brings in the gold vessels that the Babylonians had pillaged from the Temple in Jerusalem and brought back with them when they brought the Israelites into captivity. All these years, the articles from the Temple had been in storage…until Belshazzar’s wild party. They pour their wine and toast their gods with the very vessels that God had consecrated for holy use. A hand appears…spooky….and while they are all freaking out, God writes a little message to Belshazzar on the plaster of the wall. He tells him he has been examined and found wanting. That very night his kingdom would be taken. Then the Medes and Persians come in, kill him and take over the kingdom. Wow, very abruptly, the Babylonian kingdom comes to an end.

20In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble. 21If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.

26and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.
2 Timothy 2:20-21, 26

We are God’s vessels, set apart as holy by Him for His purposes. Satan wants to use you for his purpose and defile you just as Belshazzar did with the Temple articles. In what ways has Satan tried to put you to use to defile you and to dishonor God? Has he used you in any way to distract and thwart the work of His Church? It's amazing all the things He showed me as I went through this week's study on ways Satan's tried to use me, to defile me. It was very eye-opening.

Chapter 6, “In the lion’s den” find Daniel in trouble for having holy habits. He prays several times a day at an open window, specifically, it says he ‘gave thanks’. The corrupt men who attend the king trick him into making a rule that no one is to pray to any other god but the king. (twisted, but a culturally accepted thing…..it vaguely reminds me of our culture’s insistence on being politically correct and giving your honor to society instead of to Truth) Daniel’s holy habits though, have prepared him to stand the test of faith, to refuse to bow and consequently to be thrown into a den of hungry lions. God delivers Daniel from the lions, shuts their mouths, and the king then honors the God of Daniel. Our enemy is also a prowling lion. (1 Peter 5:8-9) We need to develop those holy habits of faithful praying and of sharpening our only weapon against him…..the Word of God, our sword of the Spirit. Then when trials hit us in the face when we least expect it, our tendency will be to call on the Lord and trust Him instead of panicking or becoming paralyzed by fear. There is too much in this part of the study to convey here too.

I’m so glad to be a part of this study…so glad to be learning something so very relevant and fresh, yet thousands of years old. God has a way of working that is so cool…He gets people from all over the world interested in certain things…all at the same time. I know so many people who are studying the book of Daniel right now. It is the forerunner to the book of Revelation and it has been promised to us by Beth Moore herself, to be a really interesting ride through the prophesy section of Daniel. I can’t wait!

You can find this study for sale at lifeway.com. I’m not trying to sell it, but you may be interested in it after my little spiel here.

And yes, Hannah, I loved her story about her dogs. Beth Moore told a story on tonight's dvd. She was all set to do a phone interview with a radio station, live, at her house. Her kids and husband were not there to give her total concentration and she put one dog in the house in a room and the other outside with the curtains closed. The phone interview got underway and the dogs started barking…all the way through the interview. She eventually backed herself into a small closet and shut the door in order to be able to concentrate and do the interview and stayed there until it was over, an hour later! It was such a funny story because I can see it all perfectly. My dogs are pills too. She was so mad at those dogs that she didn’t speak to them the rest of the day. She replayed the whole ‘conversation’ that the dogs were having, loudly, during her interview. She got up the next morning to give them their morning biscuit and said, “ok, which one of you is the bad dog? Wag your tail.” And of course they were both wagging like crazy. She sounds just like me, talking to/about my dogs. I’m glad I’m not the only freakishly strange dog interpreter in the world. =) (I wonder if she sings to them too?)

Ringing in the holidays
Topic: God things
Today it was just me and Maggie here at home. Our two teen daughters and Charles attended the Acqire the Fire youth evangelism conference with our youth group. So Maggie and I cut and baked bunches of gingerbread men (and a few ladies) and we hunkered down with blankets in between batches to watch some movies on the Halmark Movie Channel. This afternoon from 3pm til 8pm, the channel had 2 American Girl movies. That's five hours people! In order to make room on the video we were recording for both movies, we were trying to catch all the commercials and pause the tape so we didn't have a bunch of commercials to fast forward through.

In the midst of commercials about refrigerated cookie dough, restaurants, shopping online, cereal, men enjoying their soup waaaay too much, popcorn, candy, jewelry, cell phones, cavemen being offended, holiday movie ads, and ads for men with special needs that really should not be shown during children's movies (!), one commercial kept catching me off guard...every time! I've seen this commercial before, but it captures me, it just about sends me to my knees and definitely brings tears to my eyes, causes a catch in my throat, and a prayer to my mind. It is a Salvation Army commercial. Have you seen it?

A disaster scene with fire.... a bell rings and as the camera pans out, you see a Salvation Army bell ringer standing amid the flames ringing the bell. Then you see a man, collapsed from alcohol consumption, a bell ringer standing near, ringing. A flood scene and a family on a roof trying to escape the waters, and there is a bell ringer beside them, ringing. The ringer is shown in many traumatic, desperate situations, ringing as if to get our attention. I see those scenes in my mind now, as I walk past bell ringers in front of stores. I hear them ringing as we're getting out of our car and I search for change for Maggie to put in the collection bucket.

The commercial brings it all together, it makes a connection between the anonymous ringer with the red kettle and what the money is helping to accomplish. The Salvation Army really is there during disasters or for people who are hurting with no one to help them. That they do it in the name of Christ is absolutely the icing on the cake!

They're doing the work of the church....throw your change in and make change happen.