House update

    Well,  we looked at two houses today and think we have found the house for us.  We will be submitting a written offer tomorrow.  I am so excited yet alittle nervous.  I don’t want to get my hopes up.  And I don’t want to pay anymore than we offered but who knows what they will do.  I pray they accept our offer.  Anyway… more updates as they come! 

I’ve got news!!!

     With a title like that I can just imagine what your first thought would have been.   But nope you are wrong!  All I wanted to tell you is that I have THE MOST WONDERFUL HUSBAND IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD!  Some of you may beg to differ but again…wrong!  Today when I got home from work Brett had a hot bath ready and waiting for me!  He made it just for me.  Because he loves me!  What do you think about that?  I love the way he shows me that he loves me even when I haven’t taken the time to show him how much I love him.  It reminds me of the way our Father shows His love for us even when we are too busy to tell Him how much we love Him.  Or when we go all day without getting lost in His presence.  He is still faithful to show His love for us.  Anyway…I didn’t intend to get all spiritual I just wanted to brag on my man!  I love my husband!

Significant other

   Just recently my eldest daughter (16) informed me that she had a “significant other”.  I thought this was funny.  Why chose the phrase significant other?  For years now I have been telling her and her sister that they will not have boyfriends.  They had other things to worry about other than boys.  They are just not allowed to and that was that.  No one out there was good enough fo my girls anyway.  So I asked Sydney if she meant that she had a boyfriend and after much hesitation she said yeah.  Well for a girl who has piano lessons, chess club, key club, band, orchestra, jazz band, CCD, and who knows whatever else she does she sure won’t have alot of time to devote to that boy.  By the way did I mention he is called “that boy”?  Any way just wanted to share.  I have no words of wisdom on this for I was once a teenage girl.  I remember.  The only thing I can say about that is don’t do what I did.  Other than that I am stuck.  God I could really use your wisdom right now. 

Still the same

     This morning after the choir had prayed, Helen shared what God had put on her heart.  Essentially she said that it is up to us (the choir) to praise at the same if not greater level than we did last week when Dr. Myles Munroe ministered.  (Which was amazing by the way.) She shared that just because the speaker may not be the same or the people in the congragation are not the same people from last week we should go before the Lord with great expectancy for Him to do great things because He is still the same God.  The God that showed up last week is the same God that will show up this week so why expect anything less and why give anything less?  With that said I wanted to take it one step further.  The same God who made His presence known to us today is the same God who will make His presence known to us tomorrow.  The question I ask is what will we expect from Him when we show up to work?  Do we expect Him to stay hidden in this little box forgetting to praise him because we’re not at church?  I expect Him to do great and mighty things in my workplace as He did in todays service and as He did in last weeks service.  My expectancy of what the Lord can do should never diminish no matter where I am or no matter who I am in company with.  We serve a great and mighty God.  He was great yesterday, He is great today and He’ll continue to be great tomorrow.  We need to go into our workplaces the same way we enter our churches…expecting a great move of God.  This world is in desperate need of what my God has and we are the tools He uses so expect Him to do great things tomorrow.  Don’t just reserve great moves of God to inside the church walls.  Thank you all for letting me preach a little to myself.  Wow I needed that!

Will it be a house?

     After being renters for ten years Brett and I have decided that we shall become home owners.  WOW.  How scary.  I have never owed such an amazing amount before.  It seems to be a bit overwhelming when you start looking at the figures.  But not so much when you”re  looking at hardwoods and granite counter tops!  I would love to buy a house that needed a little TLC so that Brett and I can add our own personal touch to it.  We love to do that kind of stuff.    Please pray for us that we will not only get the house that we love but that it will be the one that God has for us and that it will be for a great price!

unleash

    It has been almost a week since we were at “unleash”.  What an awesome experience we had.  I was amazed at the energy and the way the people there made you feel welcome and got excited that you were there to worship with them.  And although I had a great time and I thank God for what He is doing at Newspring Church I am thankful that we are not called to be another Newspring but we are called to be The Rock of Wilmington and to reach Wilmington as God gives direction.  I am thankful that we as churches are not all roast beef and that we all bring something different to the table.  I like to have meat, potatoes, vegetables and especially desert!  We got to have desert!  Anyway I want to be the best that God has called us to be and not try to be someone else because I don’t like to double up on my starches.  But this is not what I set out to talk about.  While we were at unleash I had a chance to take in the lighting and staging and see how they did their praise and worship and I have to say it was pretty amazing, pretty luod but pretty amazing.  If you read my previous blog you’d know that I had a problem with us changing our stage and lighting because I felt it would be turning worship into a production or a show and it would become more entertainment than praise.  But to tell you the truth…If what is being sung or what is being taught is the word of the Lord then it is not entertainment.  I had no problem entering in and worshipping my God.  So if I didn’t get anything else out of it I learned that painting the back all black and adding lights is not going to anything but add to the atmosphere. 

Techno geek

    So I have officially entered the world of twitter!   I have no idea what I am doing but I am a fast learner and will catch on quick.  Any help will be great though.  I am not going to let technology rule me!  I shall rule technology! 

Do you really remember?

     Sunday Pastor Bryan shared a very powerful message that really left me feeling a little convicted.   This was the second installment in the series entitled Catalyst.  A catalyst is someone or something that produces a change.  This week he spoke about how we as christians tend to point the finger at those around us who are living in sin.  What got to me the most though is that he asked if we really remembered,  I mean truely remember where we had been.  And the answer I had to give was “no”.  I have not really remembered where I was when God had found me.  I didn’t remember the deep pit that I had dug for myself.  I was at what I would call the lowest point of my life.  In that time of my life what I needed most was not someone pointing at me telling me all the things that I was doing wrong and that I was going to hell in a handbasket.  What I needed was someone who was going to love me even in my sin and show me the way to salvation.  Yes Jesus is the one who saves but He uses us in the process.  We talk about wanting to make a difference in our neighborhoods, in our communities, and in our cities but we will not make that difference if all we do is point to all the faults.  We need to be the love of Christ and not just shout amen at church when the pastor says it.  So where do we start?  Daddy God  start with me.  Help me remember where I came from and help me to remember what I needed when I was there.   And in the words of Pastor B… help me to stop giving the world the finger.  Amen.

Twitter What?

     I know now exactly how my parents felt when the DVD player came on the scene.They would call me up long distance of all things to tell them how to get the thing working.That is not an easy thing to do from a distance.  So here I am surrounded by blogs and websites and twitter and honestly….my head hurts.  As confusing as it all seems I refuse to go down without a fight!  I will learn what it is, how to use it and I will do all this and not call my children for help.  I may however be calling one of you my twittering, blogging, facebooking, myspacing, googling friends.  So answer your phones!  I mean it. 

Praise or performance?

        One of my biggest fears is that I will take for granted the gifts that God has given me.  That I will no longer be on the platform to lead the congregation into the presence of God but to be there only for my own glory.  I am afraid that I will become so comfortable that my worship will turn into performing instead.  That humility will turn into arrogance.  Some times even now I question wether my motivation is pure.  Or am I just wanting the praises of the people for myself.  I don’t believe that is the case and I pray it never will.  This may be why I am having trouble with my church wanting to make changes to our platform.  Their desire is to make it look more like a stage  that one would see in a performing arts center.  The back wall will be painted black and they will be adding more lighting.  All in efforts to reach the lost.  Because our society has become a visual society they feel these changes will have a greater effect on those who are searching.  And maybe they are right.  If they believe that this is what the Lord is calling us toward then I am right there with them.   Yet the other part of me is still afraid.  Will I be able to seperate performing and praise and worship?  One thing I know for sure is that I am called to this ministry.  And I am willing to be used by God in any way He sees fit.  All I can do is trust in my God and remember His greatness and majesty each time I step foot on that platform.  Psalm 56: 3-4 When I am afraid I will trust in you.  In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid…