Sunday Sum Up

Well, the church train was LOOOOONNNNGGGG this morning!  I was going to second service and the traffic into the church was stop and go from both sides of the Tegner/Tuolumne Road intersection.  I think the greeting time between first and second service attenders will be when we all roll down our windows and visit while passing each other on the road.  :)

I loved the singing time and communion during our worship today.  We recognized Orphan Sunday today by watching a video, and all I could think about was our sweet Gracie girl.  There's not a day that goes by that I don't pray for her and her brothers, hoping that one day we will be able to have a relationship with her.  She is always in my heart; always.  At the end of his message, Dave reminded us that "anyone can be a part of God's family."  That's right, we were all spiritual orphans and when we accepted God's invitation, He adopted us into HIS family with all of the provision, protection, power, and peace that He gives.  Thank you, Jesus! 

Today's message (from Acts 2) was the third message in the Unstoppable series.  I love the second point: "The center point of the message is JESUS.  Dave reminded us of the story from John 9 about the blind man that was healed and gave the most concise gospel message, "I was blind, but now I see."  But I loved it when Dave told us that the unspoken, central part of his message was, "and then Jesus showed up."  "I was blind, and then Jesus showed, and now I see."  That's all of our stories......we were blind (lost, addicted, alone, hurting, etc...) and then Jesus showed up, and now we see!  Thank you, Jesus!

During the third service, I was in a planning meeting for our upcoming Women's Retreat.  Please mark your calendars now because I believe God has some wonderful things in store for us.  You can check out our speaker's website here:  http://www.strengthforthesoul.com/  The dates are March 8 - 10, 2013.  If you save $10.00 a week, starting this week, you'll have the money you need to attend ($145.00).  We will have the entire camp to ourselves this year; it's going to be great!   Let me know you'll be joining us!  

Death is not Dying

Today, on the Desiring God blog, I was directed to THIS AUDIO and THIS VIDEO  by Rachel.  I tried watching the video, but it wouldn't run smoothly, so I decided to listen to the audio.  The audio is approximately 55 minutes long, but I'll tell you what, Rachel presents the gospel in the face of death in a way that is both beautiful and powerful.  

After four and a half years of vigilantly fighting breast cancer, Rachel Barkey, a 37 year old wife and mother of two, was diagnosed with terminal cancer.  But for Rachel, the essence of life is found in her relationship with God through Jesus. And that's why Rachel is convinced that death is not dying.

You will not be sorry for giving an hour of your time to listen to her speech.  It reminds me in some ways of The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch because Rachel hopes that someday her children will watch the video to know what she believed in and lived for.   She gave this talk at a women's event for her church, and I am sure each one left the evening with a changed perspective. 

Please remember to pray for Rachel, as well as the many other people that I am sure, like me, you know who have cancer.

Inauguration Day

PRAY FOR RULERS and FOR ALL WHO HAVE AUTHORITY so that we can

HAVE QUIET and PEACEFUL LIVES FULL OF WORSHIP and RESPECT FOR GOD.

(1 Timothy 2:2)

The Power of Prayer

"For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their prayer." I Peter 3:12

This morning David and I were given the opportunity to pray with a woman from our church who is going in for surgery. Upon greeting her, she was in such good spirits, and she stated that she knew that the prayers prayed on her behalf were giving her strength and peace. Sometimes it is difficult to be on the receiving end of other people's prayers, but when you find yourself there in need, you realize how very important and powerful prayer is. Let's remember to pray for one another and for our church body, for the Lord hears our prayers.

Food for Thought

From my devotional time today: "Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers (and sisters), whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable — if anything is excellent or praiseworthy — think about such things.... I can do everything through HIM who gives me strength." Philippians 4:5-8,13

How many of us really live out these verses?

"Let your gentleness by evident to all." Sadly, gentleness isn't always what we Christ-followers project to those around us. I see a lot of Christians "pushing" their viewpoints, seeking retaliation for hurts suffered, speaking maliciously of others........I ask, is that being gentle? I think gentleness is a forgotten and misunderstood trait in the body of Christ today. Too many people see gentleness as weakness, willingness to be a doormat, permission to be abused, or acceptance of sinful practices.

Truth...."The Lord is near." Thank you for this promise, Lord!

"...the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." I am definitely grateful that although I don't understand it fully, the peace of God is guarding my heart and my mind.

".....think about such things." If anything enters my mind that does not fall into the categories of: true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, or praiseworthy, I should NOT be thinking about it. Wow, I think we'd all have a lot more mental free space if we stopped spending our time thinking about things that don't fit the above criteria. I know this is a growth area for me, and I praise God that I am catching my faulty thinking much more quickly as I mature in Him.

"I can do all things through HIM who gives me strength." It is only through HIM and his grace, but I can do ALL things HE has for me to do. So much of what I think I need to do is not what God is asking of me, so I must live in vital union with HIM so that I clearly sense what is from HIM and what is from my own expectations for myself. My standards for myself are so high that I often feel as if I'm failing, but when I wait on Him and obey HIS voice, He promises that I can do all He has for me through HIM and HIS strength. Thank you, Lord!

Food for Thought

"If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless." James 1:26

"Likewise the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell. All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be." James 3:5-10

"The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit." Proverbs 18:21

Everything we say either brings life, or it brings death. Now, there's more I could add to this (a lot more), but I think I'll just let the above verses be our instruction.