Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Sunday Sum Up

***Note: Started this Sunday evening, and well......here it is finally!

Wow; I don't even have words to express how suprised and humbled Dave and I were this weekend by the incredible blessing given to us by our church staff and family!  We have been at NLCC for 20 years (I thought only old people made comments like that!), and our church family, board, and staff generously blessed us with a vacation and some money. I have to tell you; my first thought was, "We don't deserve that!" and my second thought was, "How can we spread that gift among the staff so that everyone receives some of that blessing because everyone deserves it."

You see, I immediately thought of all the things I DIDN'T do over the years that disqualified me as a worthy recipient of such a gift. There were phone calls and visits that I didn't make; there were cards I didn't write; there were meals I didn't take; and there were prayers I forgot to pray; and there were plenty of people I didn't connect with personally.  That's one of the hardest things for me being a part of such a large church - it is hard to keep up with people and their needs, and I can name off myriad ways I've failed to be the pastor's wife I want to be.  However, when I sit in quiet before the Lord, I am at peace with the fact that I have been called first and foremost to be the wife my husband needs so that he is free to minister as God has called him, to be the parent that is there for our children when weddings, crisises, or funerals pull their dad away, and then to minister where God has called me. So, sometimes I am not free to do all of the things that my mind can come up with to do for people from the church. 

Anyway, all of that to say, "Thank you, sincerely, NLCC staff and family for blessing us so greatly." Your love, honor, and gifts are not taken lightly or with an attitude of entitlement.  It has been an incredible blessing to be able to serve with you all these years.  We love you!

I don't want to sound biased, but I thought Dave did a great job today with the teaching from Acts 1.

Here are some of my notes and my thoughts from his message: An Unstoppable Force

WE are the unstoppable movement of God.    The Greek word "ekklesia" means "the called out ones". Church is not a "building" but a people. Dave shared that after Jesus had risen from the dead, he showed up over and over again to His followers because He knew it would take that many times for them to fully believe it was Him.  I'm thankful that Jesus shows up over and over again to us until we believe, as well!

2) We are called to share what we've seen and heard. It doesn't take a PHD to be able to share your story. We are simply called to be witnesses.  Most concise gospel message? "All I know is that once I was blind, but now I see!"  Everyone has a story, and every story matters!

3) The time to move is now. My job isn't to stand here waiting for perfect circumstances to begin living out my faith and sharing my story. When we go "all in," God gives His power to us. 

Yep; great message. I'm excited to hear the rest of this series.

God bless any dear soul that might stop by this little corner of blogland.  :) 

Saturday, October 13, 2012

Love Note



Aww.....this is what I found when I turned back the covers to get into bed tonight.  Whenever Dave or I have to be away over night somewhere, we often leave little good night notes for one another - one of the things I love about us.  :)

Dave is gone for the weekend with some other men from church for the Men's Retreat. I have been praying for each man who will be attending.  I know that there are quite a few men who are stepping out of their comfort zone to attend, and I admire them for that.  It says a lot about a man that he would be willing to go away with a group of other men to learn more about what it means to live out his faith as a man of God.   Dave will be sharing during one of the sessions, and I am praying that God speaks through him to affect change in each man's life.  I know Dave's been in prayer about this weekend, too, and I'll be looking forward to hearing how God worked.   I am also praying for each woman/mom at home this weekend.  God wants to teach us some things, too, if we'll be on the lookout.  We get to serve our husbands by taking care of things on the home front, even though that can be very difficult, especially for those with little ones.  God will give us what we need as we rely on Him each moment, and we'll reap the benefits of our husbands being encouraged and strengthened from the weekend.  If we'll look at it that way, it's a win-win!