Coming Back Around

My church has just purchased a new facility (new to us that is). Actually, we've purchased more than that. We've purchased a piece of history. Parts of the building are 97 years old. A church has been meeting there all of those years. Those are prayer soaked, worship filled walls.

Today, we had a first/last service with the members of the congregation we are purchasing it from. They called it a "baton" handing service. It was a bit of an emotional service as they said goodbye to a place filled with memories, hopes, and dreams and we said hello to a new area of ministry. They prayed many years ago for the parking lot to overflow. Today it did. We were forewarned that we would be parking on the street and walking. (It was a lovely day for a short walk.) I know that it looked differently than they anticipated, so that makes it bittersweet.

It will be different for us -- going from a mutlipurpose warehouse with 2 bathrooms (yes, lots of standing in line) to a bigger building with 27 bathrooms, a balcony, lots of beautiful old wood, a wing of classrooms for the kids, . . . The biggest change will probably be being in a neighborhood instead of off the highway going out of town. There are lots of ministry opportunities there.

It was a bit of coming around for me. My parents were not overly religious but we belonged to a United Methodist Church. I was baptized as an infant. While I don't know that my parents were faithful to the promises made that day, I do know that God was. We went on Christmas and Easter and a few other times. The Sunday they were giving third graders Bibles, we "happened" to go. I remember it distinctly as it was the first time I had held a Bible. And since I loved reading, it seemed like a challenge -- a book that had to be read.

Several years later, we were told we needed to go to confirmation class. My parents took my twin and I and dropped us off. Over a couple of weeks, we found we enjoyed the nursery and soon we were going to youth group as well. One night after a Sunday school lesson earlier that day had talked about giving your life to Christ, I prayed and did just that.

While I've gong to various denominations since, I guess my roots are United Methodist. While we are not a United Methodist congregation, it is interesting to find myself back in a building with those roots as well.

We officially have the keys, but won't have a grand reopening until September. There is lots of work to be done until then.

I'm thankful for all the faithful people who have been in that building before us. As that old Steve Green song says, "May all who come behind us find us faithful."

Question on Gifts, Abilities, and Service

A couple years ago, my church was short on people to run Power Point (ppt) for the main service. I saw the announcement and thought, "I can do that." And I did. In my mind it was an act of service. It wasn't necessarily a gift. Simply, it was something that I knew how to do and that needed being done.

While I was more than able to put together and run the show, I found I didn't enjoy it all that much. The big piece was that I found it to be very lonely. Thursday night practice consisted of me in the loft upstairs watching the musicians chat and have a grand time while I waited for them to run through a song. (I couldn't join in the chatting without yelling.) More chatting. Run through another song.

Sunday morning, I watched everyone chat and worship. It was just me and the sound guy. Occasionally, they would have a prayer time. Sometimes I wanted to go down for prayer but I couldn't leave my post. Someone told me once to just ask the sound guy. The problem with running ppt though is that if I stopped and did that the slides would stop appearing.

Lonely. That is what I found ppt to be.

And, it was fraught with conflict. To be fair, I won't air all of that here. So, I decided to leave the ppt team.

So, when I quit, someone from our KidStuf worship asked me to run ppt for them. I was hesitant. There was definitely a lot less conflict but I still feared the lonely part.

She was very complimentary on how I run things. I have good timing and all. She called it a gift. Maybe. I wonder if it is just an ability -- something many people can learn.

We met this week to talk about next year. I found myself agreeing to help out, but now I am having second thoughts. We are moving to a different building. As we talked it came out that ppt might be in one place and sound in another. Thus, I would really be even more alone doing ppt.

I believe in KidStuf, but I'm not sure that I'm passionate about ppt.

And I definitely don't want to be alone. As a single who lives alone, I get up alone, I eat most meals alone (everyone at work takes different lunch breaks since it is a small office), I spend most evenings alone, I go to bed alone. (Unless you count the cats!) That is a lot of alone.

I think I feel the alone piece even more in social type situations where I, for whatever reason, have to be off by myself.

So, ppt has been an act of service on my part-- maybe more than others realize.

My question for you is what is the difference between gifts and abilities? Where do my feelings of not wanting to be alone on a regular basis come into play? Do I need to do it just as an act of service or should I find something different after a few years of doing it? Would it be selfish to say, "I don't want to do it if I have to sit by myself." (I do realize that might sound childish, but it is a real question.)

Your thoughts as I sift through this are welcome.

Finding a Bigger God

I've been reading the Chronicles of Narnia for fun. I read them along time ago, but I've found there are so many things I didn't remember. It has also been interesting to read them in order. Though I found The Magician's Nephew a bit slow at first, it picked up and was fun to understand some of the history of Narnia. For example, I know know why there is a lamp post in Narnia and how all the trouble with the White Witch began.

I'm now in the midst of Prince Caspian. (Yes, the movie makers took some liberties.) However, I was delighted to come across this passage:

The great beast rolled over on his side so that Lucy fell, half sitting and half lying between his front paws. He bent toward and just touched her nose with his tongue. His warm breath came all around her. She gazed up into the large wise face.

"Welcome, child," he said."

"Aslan," said Lucy, "you're bigger."

"That is because you are older, little one," answered he.

"Not because you are?"

"I am not. but every year you grow, you will find me bigger."

I don't remember it being in the movie, but it caught my attention in the book because it felt so true of God. It seems that the older I get the more I should understand about God. Perhaps, I do understand more than when I became a Christian at thirteen. But, the more I know about God, the more I am struck by how much more there is to know about God. In that sense, as I grow I find God bigger and bigger.

Hopefully, the bigness of God will always make me stand in awe.

The Parable of the Sturdy Pillar

Once there was a big beautiful palace. In the center of that palace was an ornate room of the kind you only find in fairy tales. In the middle of that room was a large and very sturdy pillar. It was beautiful pillar, but it it was just a pillar. And as with some stable things in our lives, it was sometimes taken for granted.

One day, the king looked at the pillar and called for the carpenter. "Here now, I think I need a bit more room in here. Be a good chap and shave a bit off the right side of that pillar." So, that is what the carpenter did. He painted it all up and no one ever knew the difference. They barely noticed the slight wobble in the floor above.

Many years later, the queen was planning a ball. She wanted plenty of room for dancing. She called for the carpenter. "I need more room. Please take a bit off the left side of that pillar."So that is what the carpenter did. He painted it all up and no one ever knew the difference.

Several years later, the prince was having a fencing tournament. He thought he needed more room. So, he gave a royal command to the carpenter to take just a bit more off that pillar. So, that is what the carpenter did. He painted it all up and no one ever knew the difference. Though, when the wind blew off the ocean in just the right way and one was on the floor above, some thought they could feel the floor shake just a bit. But everyone knew this was nonsense because it was a well built palace and had a nice sturdy pillar in the middle of the room below.

As you might have guessed, there was also a princess. She was getting married. So, of course, she wanted her wedding in that very special room with that pillar. But there were so many guests that there wasn't quite enough room for all the chairs. She looked at that pillar and called for the carpenter. "The wedding is only a few days away. Quick now, I need more room. Take some off the pillar." So, though he thought better of it, that is what the carpenter did. But he was beginning to wonder how much more he could take off that pillar and still call it a pillar.

The night of the wedding all the quests were assembled. The bride and groom exchanged vows. So that everyone in the kingdom would know the wedding had taken place, the king commanded that 100 drums and 100 trumpets ring out. So, at just the right moment just before the kiss, the king gave the signal and the drums and trumpets rang out. They were so loud the whole room, the whole palace reverberated.

With a sudden crash, the ceiling gave way. The guests below just barely escaped. And the king called for his carpenter in a fury. He asked, "How could you let this happen? I thought this was a solidly built palace and with a sturdy pillar at the center!"

The carpenter stood tall. "I only obeyed royal orders, sire. But it seems that every few years someone commands that I take just a bit more off that pillar. But no one ever stopped and asked or gave a thought as to what that pillar might be holding up!"

The moral of the story: Before you move a pillar or shave anything off, be sure you know why it was put there and what it might be holding up. If you are careless and whittle a pillar away, you may find yourself scrambling when the ceiling gives way.

There are, of course, many pillars in our lives: diet, exercise, learning, and such. But more importantly, are the spiritual pillars like time with God, prayer, and meeting with other believers. But just like the royal family, we whittle away our pillars. We get up too late for a quiet time. When a friend asks for a prayer, we promise to do it later but other things crowd it out of our mind. Sometimes we think, "Sunday is a day of rest, so I'll just stay here a bit longer. God wake me up if you want me to go to church." Or we may think that listening to Christian music is enough to turn our minds to God and things above.

But God is our pillar. When we let things whittle away the spiritual pillars of our lives, we shave away important pieces of our life with Him.

Be careful not to move a pillar without finding out exactly what it is holding up or you know exactly what you are giving up! Thus ends the parable of the sturdy pillar.




Disclaimer: Can't say that I've ever tried to write a parable before, but the thought stuck with me and I thought I would try it out on all of you!

A Measure of Self-Control -- Hope Chronicles 55

Okay, I know I probably shouldn't use "self-control" in the title because it will scare some of you off. But if you can get past the word, please read on!



Mali is one of my cats. I got her as a six month old kitten. She had been a stray before turning up at the local Humane Society. We have routinely gone round and round in food battles. (Click here for more info on those.) She has been incorrigible and bold enough to try and steal from my plate. (No she is not allowed on the table, but if it involves food she will try anything.) If I do happen to give the cats a morsel of people food, Katy will sniff it trying to decide if it is edible. Before you know it, Mali has snagged it.



Katy does like cat treats though. So, I give them to both Katy and Mali and physically keep Mali from snagging all of the treats. Both cats scamper to me when they hear the lid to the cat treats come off.



I'm daring to hope that Mali has gained some measure of self-control, that it has sunk into her heart that she will always get fed. The other night, I opened the treat jar. Katy came right away. Mali lounged on the back of the couch. I rattled the jar. She still wasn't interested.



Last night I dared to brown some taco meat and eat without putting Mali in the other room. She wound around my legs and I admit to keeping a watchful eye. Amazingly, she didn't pop onto the counter or the table! I think my little monster has learned a measure of self-control. (For those of you for whom this raises concern, her other behaviors has been normal and she has eaten normal amounts last night and today.)



Needless to say, this has gotten me thinking about self-control in my own life. Can someone look and see or hear the difference in my life.



I think our thoughts have a good deal to do with self-control in any area. For example, two areas I need self-control over are eating and exercise. I find that I do well for awhile and then I fall into the trap of "I've done so well for this amount of time, indulging now won't hurt." That must be twisted thinking to reward yourself in the behavior that you have been working on.

I used my concordance to look up self-control in the Bible. I was particularly challenged by these verses in 1 Peter 1:13-15:

Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self-controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed. As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy."

Too often I think of self-control just as a refraining from something -- like the M&Ms in the snack machine. Really, it is much more proactive than that: prepare your minds, be self-controlled, set your hope. Planning what I am going to have instead of the M&Ms or more than one meal in advance or when I will exercise is really the heart of self-control. If I just refrain, I'll feel deprived. If I fix my eyes on something more -- on Jesus -- even when it comes to exercise and eating and harsh words, I will have filled that "hole" with something far more fulfilling.

What do you do to enact a measure of self-control in your life?

Compassion International and Gifts

Hi all.

 

I am excited to hear about those of you sponsoring children through Compassion and World Vision. That is very cool.

 

I did want to clarify something. I am only able to send gifts because I know someone who is going to Ecuador and can hand them off to Compassion there.

 

Typically, you can only send things that are flat and do not change the shape of the envelope.

 

This is what I usually send:

• pictures
• a postcard
• stickers
• a piece or two of bright colored paper
• a small bookmark

Anything that changes the shape of the envelope too much may get confiscated -- hence the rule.

 

If you do send anything, remember that everything must be labeled with your child's name and ID and your name and sponsor number.

 

It is a real treat for me to be able to send these things. Pray that you will meet someone traveling to your child's country that can carry things for you. Or join me in praying and saving for a Compassion sponsored trip to my child's country to meet them in person.

 

Oh, and don't forget that you can designate extra funds as a birthday, Christmas, or family gift.

 

Pray and write. Those are great things!

 

Amy

From America With Love -- Compassion International

Think it might feel like Christmas by the time this all makes it to my sponsored child, Delia, in Ecuador. With money a bit tight, I spent several hours going through my house looking for good gifts. Most of the things I found were in great shape and very use able. I found a pocket size photo album and a couple bracelets and a silk scarf (things for her mother and sister.) I got a few household things at the Dollar Store. One of the gifts I am most excited about is a locket I found from when I was a child. It has Washington DC on it. It is a nice size and I was able to glue my picture in there. I hope Delia will wear it and that it will remind her that I love and care for her.

I also found Prince Caspian in Spanish and picked up a tiny stuffed lion to go with the book. Then there are binoculars for her father and an t-shirt for her brother. There's also an assortment of candy and gum for her friends.

It all went into this backpack that I had used many years ago. It is in great condition. That in itself probably works as a gift.

But honestly, the best gift is the letter that is going along with it.

Do you have a Compassion Child? Do you write regularly?

A friend recently went on a Compassion trip. She said that the graduates told how much the letters meant to them. She was sad to learn that 30% of sponsors don't write.

That made me sad. To think of a child watching other children get letter after letter and never getting one.

Letters don't have to be big deals. You can do them on line even. They are life lines to hungry souls because they say, "I believe in you. I am rooting for you!" I try to write every couple of weeks even though I know that I will probably only get a letter back every quarter. Still, it seems the right thing to do.

Yes, all the things I'm sending are great. I love the opportunity because it makes her seem real in a new way. But, the best gift in the bag is the letter that tells her I love her and pray for her.

So, if you have a child -- write. Write about what you do in simple terms. Write about your church. Write about shoveling snow. Write about your pets. Write about how you came to know Jesus. Remember you are building a chain of hope in those letters.