Big Stretch!!

A new school year means a new start for mom, too! Last year my kids were not only on different vacation schedules, they also started school hours apart. That translated into 2 breakfasts and 2 send-offs every morning. It wasn’t horrible, but it was pretty crazy. The big challenge was having a consistent quiet time at a consistent time. This year we’ve resynchronized, and I don’t have an excuse any more (not that the previous excuse was particularly legit).

Monday morning I set my alarm for an hour before anyone else was rising. I bounced out of bed, tip-toed downstairs (If I wake up the dog I have to take her out, but if I’m quiet she snoozes right through my time. I’m adding that to my prayer list!), and spent a glorious time reading Psalms and praying. I used my prayer journal and was horrified at the last date recorded. (I’ve been praying but not journaling.)

Tuesday morning I woke up before the alarm went off. I dragged my body out of the bed, stretched myself awake and hustled downstairs. Jesus is the rewarder of those who earnestly (and sleepily) seek Him, so the time was sweet even though I prayed through yawns.

This morning I wished that I could start my coffee intravenously slightly before my alarm went off. Does anybody know of a contraption for that? I got fired up reading Acts, though, and God showed me a neat truth. In chapter 27, as Paul faces shipwreck, God sets him apart as a leader even in that secular situation. The sailors and centurions hadn’t listened to Paul at first, but as he faithfully spoke what God was telling him about their circumstances he gained credibility. It’s a neat application for us as believers in our workplaces and other spheres of influence.

The main point is that recommitments are always a little tough until they become habits. Is anybody else recommitting to something to which you’re called? How’s it going? Any tips for a girl who’s struggling to get “blanket victory”?

Unto You

My friend Tara said that as she watched me during church on Sunday that she could tell that I was "in the zone". (She also told me that my hiney was tiny which cracked me up and made my day!) Anyway, Tara was right. Sunday God did a lot of speaking to me through the music and message at church. Even though I try to be intentional about arriving at church expectant for what God wants to say, there are those Sundays when I leave the building largely unchanged. It's not the staff's fault and certainly not God's fault, but so often I have that gap "between the altar and the door" with which all of us struggle at times.

God had been working overtime to prepare my heart for Sunday. He knew the topic ahead of time even if I didn't. I came into the building with my heart feeling tender and sore. I've been writing about a couple of the things that have brought me to a place of humility and need. My kids' transition into middle school and high school has brought me face to face with how fast time is charging ahead. God has also been speaking to me loud and clear about sharing my faith with those who are lost and floundering around me. That's a good message, but I had begun sinking into a little despair. I was mired down in pondering lost opportunities and worried that I'd never actually be able to do and say all that I feel called to do and say.

One more big event left me sorrowful and hurting Sunday morning. On Saturday, my Uncle Dick had emergency surgery, and he was diagnosed with colon cancer that has spread to some of his organs. He is a rugged, athletic outdoorsman who sends wickedly hilarious cards to my mom on her birthday. Everybody loves him, and nobody expected something like this.

So I drug myself into church needy and hurting--in just the state God loves to be able to speak His grace and mercy to us. The topic? THE CROSS. The whole service was about the cross--its purpose, it's power, its mercy, its grace, its sufficiency. And God spoke to me. He reminded me that to feel a failure about evangelism is still making it about me. Focus on the cross. He gently encouraged me that His care for my children is even greater than mine and that He provides for them. Focus on the cross. He declared that His great exchange at the cross bought hope for a fallen world: my sin for His righteousness, my failings for His power, my upheaval for His peace and my physical and spiritual sickness (and my uncle's) for His healing.

The believer's only response to The Cross can be worship. Our pastor, Nathan, shared that an old phrase for being saved was to "be seized by the great affection". Let's just say I was "re-seized". I was "in the zone". It was an outpouring of repentence, gratefulness, love and peace. Unto You, Lord, be all the glory, honor, power and praise. We thank you for The Cross. What do you need from The Great Exchange today?

Bitter Sweet Thoughts

Today is middle school open house, and I'm going there with my baby, Nolan. Here's a picture of the cutie-patootie.

Tomorrow is open house at the high school for Anson. When we went for orientation, I couldn't believe how old all those moms look! Sadly, they were all probably looking at me thinking the same thing. How did we get to this point? This is such a cute picture of Anson, but I remember the days when he still fit in that car.

Can you tell that I'm feeling a little melancholy? I absolutely love the time with my kids. They have grown up into people that I truly enjoy, and I can't think of a bigger blessing than that.

Anson has developed into a deep thinker who presents me with challenging thoughts. He loves to laugh, but he is a little on the serious side. He's an incredible musician like his dad.

Nolan is quirky and hilariously funny. He loves to cook. Honestly, I've never seen him as excited as he got over a zester one day. A juicer is at the top of his gift list, too. I think I'm going to let him take over in the kitchen. Both of them are people that I'd schedule an entire week with in a minute.

But then I think back to the sweet look on Anson's baby face after he'd been fed. I remember how his laugh went from his mouth to his toes with a good long stop at his belly when he was a toddler.

I remember Nolan's serious baby face and big, big eyes. I think about him flying down our hill in his bubble car as a little boy. I can't believe that those days passed so quickly. I can't imagine how fast the coming years will go.

My full heart aches. Funny how that is... Bitter sweet for sure. Please say a prayer for my melancholy heart today. I'll be praying for all the moms heading off to open house in the next few weeks.

Celebration

Today I'm celebrating with my friend, Luann Prater. She's a woman who shines with the glory of God and a tremendous example of a redeemed life. Luann appeared last week on the 700 Club, and over 350 people gave their lives to Jesus!!! I'm so excited to see once again how God uses everything, even the hard places in our lives, to bring glory to Himself. You can watch the clip of Luann's story by clicking here and clicking on Luann's picture and the clip entitled "In Need of Forgiveness". If you ever feel like God could never use your life because of your past, you can't miss watching Luann's story. Rejoice with us!

Laughter is the Best Medicine

I had such a good time laughing at my friend Zoe's blog the other day that I decided to share my favorite jokes. Now I have to explain that even though I love, love, love to laugh that I don't "do" funny very well. If you want really funny, don't miss Lysa's blog about the Olympics. I had to cross my legs when I read that one!

Here goes the first one. Disclaimer: This was told to me by my 7-year-old nephew, so don't go there.

Question: Why does the ocean roar?
Answer: If you had crabs on your bottom, you'd roar too.

One more for today:

Knock Knock
Who's there?
Interupting cow.
Interrupting cow---
MOOOOO!

Get it? The cow interrupts? OK, so that one definitlely loses something when it's written. Try it on a 5-year-old today. They'll love it. Do you have a favorite joke? I obviously need a new collection!! Have a happy one!

Home Alone

Last weekend was quite a treat. I got to be home alone with my honey while the kids spent their yearly weekend at the beach with my parents. I love those boys, but some time by ourselves was so much fun!

On Friday night, we drove Anson to the beach after band camp. Nolan had gone Thursday afternoon, but Anson couldn't miss a day at camp as a rookie. My parents were shocked when Barry and I dropped Anson off at 11:30 pm and announced that we were heading home. We just wanted to wake up in our own bed and spend a lazy Saturday at home. Barry loaded up with Starbucks and a Redbull, and we got home safely at about 2:15 am.

Saturday morning we slept in, watched a movie and changed out of our pjs at 2:00. 2:00!!! I can't remember the last Saturday that I layed around that long. We played some tennis (it was really ugly, so don't be impressed) and then headed to a Durham Bulls game where we ate, cheered and talked with friends. I love you bloggers, but those are all the details that I'm giving you about the day! :-)

I think that the thing that really struck me from the day was how much I truly ENJOY my husband. We both agree that we'll be sad when our kids are grown and gone, but we are both sure that we'll also enjoy more days home alone.

Starting Over

I saw a magnet with a saying that I loved while we were up in Blowing Rock last week. It said, "I thought about giving up chocolate, but I'm not a quitter!" It was especially funny since my sister-in-law Denise and I were in the ice-cream shop where it was for sale for the second time that day. Even though we had ice cream for lunch during our shopping trip, we couldn't say no when our father-in-law offered to treat the group after dinner. That just wouldn't be good manners, right?



Here are some pics of the whole family crew in the mountains and then one of our sweet kiddos. (I just love that my brother and brother-in-law and their wives keep giving our family new babies to squeeze!)



I've rededicated to Weight Watchers, and I've been diligently journaling and counting points all week. I feel so much better when I eat this way, but it's still really hard not to indulge! (I just can't work up any remorse for the double-ice cream day.)


I also went and bought some new running shoes this week. I ran a 5K last year, and I've hardly run since. It's just pitiful to realize how fast I lost my stamina. Oh well, at least I've started over. Hopefully just writing it down will motivate me to keep going. I look forward to cooler days for this running thing!

What This World Needs

I have The Altar and the Door CD from Casting Crowns in my car right now, and it has been fueling the cry of my heart to be a bolder witness for Jesus in this world. If you need some passion-fuel today, listen to the words on this link.

As a follow-up to the Bearers of Light devotion, I've been thinking a lot about spreading the news of Jesus Christ. I know that there is a gap between what I desire to do and actually doing it, though. I've done pretty well as addressing relationship-building and consistency of life, but there is a final piece that's been largely missing in my outreach to unbelievers. It's at the point when I actually put the gospel into WORDS! Romans 10:17 says, "...faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ."

Relationships are so important, but there will come a time if we are praying for opportunity that God will tell us to open our mouths and tell our friend about Jesus. In Out of the Saltshaker (I'm currently rereading--everybody really needs to read this book!), Pippert breaks witnessing down into 3 parts: displaying God's love (check!), declaring God's Truth ( ummm...), and demonstrating God's power (wow...). She says that all 3 are required for an unbeliever "to connect our kindness to the source of our love" and for us to direct the unbeliever's attention to God's work in their life.

One painful memory particularly spurs me on toward boldness. When my first child was very small, I began walking with my next door neighbor. "Julie" was also a young mom and college student who was living a life apart from Christ. We developed quite a nice friendship while we walked and talked, though, and I had a huge burden to tell her about Jesus. One day, Julie told me that she had tried to commit suicide a couple of years earlier. As I prayed for her that afternoon, God told me to ask her why she had tried to kill herself. I knew even as He told me to do it, that this was the "crack" (see July 30th post) that He would use to show her His power and her need. I am sad and ashamed to say that I never obeyed. I prayed for it to come up again so that it wouldn't be so difficult, but Julie never talked about it again. And I never asked. To this day, it makes me cry to think about it.

I believe that God is bigger than my roadblock, and I still pray that someone who will be obedient will cross Julie's path. I know that He was seeking her, and He is irresistable. I was called to play a part in her salvation, though, and I will always grieve the missed opportunity. From then on, I have worked to be obedient to God's specific promptings.

I know that I still need major work, but I have hope that Jesus is able to complete the work He has started in me! I hope I've left you with some things to think about as you evaluate your own boldness and passion for the lost world around us. I want to leave you with a final story that can be found at this link. It's about 9 minutes, but I promise that it will be the highlight of your day. It's the story of the power of ONE LIFE who is committed to Jesus and the spread of His truth. I hope that it leaves you as inspired as it left me. Jesus is Lord! Go spread the Good News!

Whew! I'm Out of Breath!

It took a lot of time to train for the 5k that I ran over a year ago, and I've barely run since. Pitiful! Anyway, now I've been included in a game of tag. I'm so glad that this version doesn't literally involve running!!

My fun, fun, fun friend Melissa Taylor virtually tagged me. It was so such a blast reading her post that I had to jump in and play.

Here are the rules:

1. Link to the person who tagged you --- Melissa at http://beautifulp31.blogspot.com/2008/08/we-interrupt-our-regularly-scheduled.html
2. Post the rules on your blog (check - you're looking at them)
3. Write 6 random things about yourself (see below)
4. Tag 6 people at the end of your post and link to them (see below)
5. Let each person know they have been tagged and leave a comment on their blog
6. Let the tagger know your entry is up.


Here are 6 random things about me:

1. I love playing 3 truths and a lie, because I have the best truth that everybody thinks is a lie. I worked in an ice cream parlor when I was in high school, and I worked with Sandra Bullock. No lie! It was before she was famous, of course, and she was going to ECU right in little 'ole Greenville, NC. Oh dear--now everybody who reads this knows--you're not allowed to tell!

2. I am such an avid reader that I have to schedule time to read or everything around me goes to pot. My children go hungry, the toilet bowels look like science experiments and my husband wonders if he'll ever see anything besides the top of my head again. I love deep stuff, but I adore a fluffy summer read, too.

3. I've just added Blowing Rock, NC to my list of favorite places in the world. The temps were in the 70s there while it was 100 degrees at home. There are beautiful flowers everywhere. Also, I know that my life would be just like the Mitford series if I moved there. I just know it! Any other fans? The Episcopal church there is just like I imagined it with Father Timothy in the pulpit. Gorgeous!

4. I am 40 but struggling with teenaged skin breakouts. Yuck! Any suggestions?

5. I had a dog that was the bane of my existance for 14 years. I had decided that I wasn't a "dog person" and that I never wanted another dog. But then we got Hilde, the cutest miniature dacschund that you've ever seen. I'm CRAZY about this little dog. She even has her own Carolina sweater and seat belt. I have become one of those people!

6. One of the greatest treasures of my life is how much I love our extended families. Both of our summer trips this year were with first my family and then Barry's. It was so much fun!!! If you're reading this, I love each one of you. BIG HUGS TO YOU!


Here are the 6 girls that I've decided to tag. They're each wonderful women, so don't miss reading some of their thoughts:


1. Maggie Mraz--I haven't talked to Maggie for so long that she's going to kill me for sending this game her way. Her passion for Jesus and her cute little runnin' self keep her in my thoughts often, though. Send her some encouragement as she plows through seminary. http://paperpineapple.wordpress.com/


2. Gigi Kale--Gigi is truly one of the world's best wives. She is a military wife who has moved with her family to South Korea. She's adorable and funny and REAL. Check out her blog. http://www.gigireally.blogspot.com/


3. Zoe Elmore--She is my wise, hilarious, blingin', yummy friend. She is encouragement, fun and wisdom in the prettiest princess package that you've ever seen! http://www.zoeelmore.blogspot.com/


4. Dawn Ward--Dawn is so funny, and she's my stylin' friend, too. Take some time to check out her new blog design. Cute, cute, cute! http://www.dawnward.net/


5. Angela Parsley--Angela is one of the purest women that I know. She looks like an angel (with a few freckles), and her sweetness truly refreshes my soul. Her heart for teen girls is amazing, and I know that God has a powerful plan for her life. http://www.refreshmysoulblog.blogspot.com/ Check out one of her devos for girls at http://radrevolution.blogspot.com/2008/04/i-am-princess-by-angela-parsley-1-peter.html.


6. Cindy Winter-Hartley--My friend, otherwise known as Lil' Mama, is the proud mother of a West Point freshman. It's hard, though, in the transition while her precious Nathan is in basic training. Make sure to give her some encouragement and send some prayers Nate's way. Her blog is an awesome example of moms keeping their sons close even when they're far away. http://myawesomeoliveshoots.blogspot.com/

Have fun with our game of tag. It's almost the end of summer, so I picture us all playing together as the street lights go on. Run go get your jars to catch some fire flies!

Consistency of Life

Rebecca Pippert, in her must-read book Out of the Saltshaker, tells the following funny story.

"When I worked with college students, I gave many evangelistic dorm talks. I remember one in which a skeptical but seeking student asked me, 'What does it mean to be a Christian?'

A Christian student who really desired the other student to understand replied, 'It means you have to be washed in the blood of the Lamb.' The fist student paled and looked confused. The Christian continued, 'That way you will be sanctified and redeemed.'

Another student, seeking to help his Christian brother, said, 'And the fellowship is so neat. Praise the Lord! Your really get into the Word and get such a blessing.'

By the end of the evening, it was clear from the skeptic student's face that he felt Christians came from another planet!"

Have you ever been in a similar situation or realized that you left the hearer of your testimony with more confusion than ever about Jesus? I know that I have!

In thinking through evangelism, I think that consistency of life is an essential element. What do I mean? After reading Pippert's book in college, I realized that I was a very different person with my believing friends than with my unbelieving friends. I used different vocabulary ("Christianeze"), talked about different topics and even behaved differently. I felt much more comfortable with my Christian friends because they were more like me, and I know that my discomfort around non-Christians often showed.

Out of the Saltshaker challenged me to begin working toward a consistency in the way I lived. In my Christian settings, I had taken on a somewhat fake personality in order to fit in and be fully accepted or even admired. In the secular world, I wasn't interacting in a winsome way or even speaking in a way that an unchurched person could understand. I needed (and need) work!

I began working to eradicate "Christianeze" from my every day speech. Don't get me wrong, words like redemption, justification, holiness, etc have their own power. They have very specific descriptive definitions that help to describe God and His work. I just started trying to follow with a simple definition if I used them. With my unbelieving friends, I started working my faith into conversation. It is the biggest part of me after all! When everybody talked about their weekend in class, I made sure to tell about going to church or what I learned there. I prayed that God would use these little seeds to give opportunities for deeper conversations. Rebecca Pippert says, "Truth is truth, and its appeal is universal. Of course, we need to speak truth in ways that are relevant and arouse the curiosity of our audience, but in most instances we should be able to tell both groups the same stories or experiences or thoughts. We should not assume that our unchurched friends will not be interested in our spiritual side."

In church, I also tried to recognize when I wasn't being genuine. I've gone to church all my life, so much of the Christian culture is second nature to me, but I realized that I was doing some things to impress instead of out of obedience to God.

As I've been praying, thinking and writing about evangelism in the last week, I realize that I've slipped a little in my consistency of life. I'm going to work on some of these areas again, because my heart's desire is to please God and introduce others to Him.

In the next post, I've got some inspiring people to tell you about and a tremendous link to share. Join me again on Wednesday!