Say “Yes” Quickly, Part Two

Thanks so much to everyone who left encouraging comments about Friday’s post, and my new prayer class challenge! I thought I should give you a little update – it was one of my favorite weekends ever!

My new prayer class began on Sunday, but the pastor of our church encouraged me to attend the prayer event that was happening at church on Saturday morning, so that is where I headed on a chilly fall morning this last weekend.

I wasn’t outrageously excited about going – that whole comfort zone thing was getting in the way again, but I was trying to ignore it. Little did I know what was in store for me…

We started the morning off with some singing, and during that time, our pastor encouraged us to pray quietly, or for someone else, if we felt led to do so. Immediately, a lady’s name popped into my head. And like usual, I said to myself, “No way! I am SO not going to pray for her right now! She will think I’m weird, and everyone else will think I’m just trying to be extra spiritual because I’m leading the prayer class tomorrow. Nope. Not doing it.”

But the thought kept bugging me, and finally it occurred to me that the only thing holding me back from obeying what seemed to be an urging from God was my worry about what other people might think. It became crystal clear to me that this was between God and me, and no one else. I needed to stop caring what other people thought.

Before I could change my mind, I jumped out of my seat, and headed over to her.

Praying for her was amazing. No idea how it impacted her, but it was amazing for me, because I was obeying God.

I went back to my seat with this huge, incredible joy in my heart. I said to God, “Whatever you tell me to do this morning, I’ll do it. Even if I don’t know for sure that it came from You, I’ll do it. As long as it’s good and in line with Your Word, and not illegal or sinful, I’ll do it.”

Oh, my goodness. Those are interesting words to say to God. I did things that morning that I have never done before. Someday, I might tell you all about it, but for now, I have to say that if you want an adventure, tell God you’ll do whatever He says!

It was completely awesome. One of the best days I’ve had in a long time.

I started getting really excited about what He might do on Sunday…

But I was still really nervous before my prayer class began. I didn’t have a plan. I ALWAYS have a plan. I have never taught a Bible study or led a session without knowing exactly what my plan was. I kept feeling that God wanted me to STOP having a plan, though, and just follow His leading on Sunday morning.

So I did, and of course, it was amazing. People shared their stories of how God was speaking and leading them, and I loved hearing it all. I got goosebumps many times over. There is just something incredible about hearing a whole bunch of testimonies about what God is doing here and now, in the midst of our “ordinary” days. He shows up in the simplest things, and suddenly the simple becomes miraculous, and it’s awesome.

We spent time praying that God would show us what He has for us this week, and I can’t wait to hear everybody sharing their stories next Sunday.

Are you having any adventures with God this week? Keep looking for Him, even in the smallest things!

 

When Church Hurts

Today I’m sharing another post from the archives. I’m speaking at a ladies retreat this weekend, and want to focus on preparing for the sessions I’ll be teaching.

I’ve re-posted readers’ favorites before, but those are not necessarily my personal favorites – the ones that came from the deepest part of me, and seemed to bring some kind of healing and truth to my life as I wrote them. I hope you enjoy them, the second time around!

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It seems as though there are many people who grow up believing that Church is supposed to be a safe place, filled with kind, loving people who love Jesus and never make mistakes.

Church is supposed to be a place where everyone is welcome, where there is always someone ready to lend a helping hand, and where we are safe to be ourselves.

That sounds fantastic. Really. But I keep hearing about situations where Church has not been those things for people. I just talked with somebody a few weeks ago who said he had “given up on church”. And that makes me so sad.

When Church is working well, it is a beautiful thing. But when it’s not working well, it is a heartbreaking mess.

What do we do with that? Church is full of people. Therefore, there will always be a bit of a mess involved. People make mistakes, and hurt others out of their own hurt, and do things in Jesus’ name that have nothing to do with Jesus.

And then people give up on “Church”, because Church is supposed to be safe and loving and the Bride of Christ. But sometimes the Bride gets nasty.

I used to be angry with Church. I loved Jesus, but the whole idea of “membership” seemed very ridiculous to me. Why would I want to be part of it? I saw a bit too much of the painful side of Church, the side that can destroy lives. I kept attending Church, but I had pretty low expectations. Church hurt me, too.

But there’s a song we used to sing when I was in Bible school. There’s a line in it that says, “Stand up Church with broken wings. Fill this place with songs again…”

Whenever I hear that someone has been hurt by the Church, that line pops into my head, and I have a picture of the beautiful Church, wounded. She was meant to fly, but she lies there broken.

When we see Church as needing to be the perfect place, filled with perfect people, who always meet our expectations in the perfect way, and always know what to say or do, and never make mistakes, or hurt us, or disappoint us, we have made it into something that it’s not.

We will always be disappointed by people, but we will never be disappointed by Christ. When we look for Christ in people, we will have love for them. When we look for Christ in the Church, we will find Him. He’s there, amidst the imperfection and pain. He hurts, too, along with the Church and with us.

When we look to Christ to meet our needs, rather than people or Church, we will be satisfied.

I heard a message by John Maxwell once in which he talked about happiness in marriage. He said that if we look to our spouse to make us happy, it will never happen. But if we look to Jesus to make us happy, our spouse will add to that happiness in infinite ways.

That’s like the Church. If my life is full of Jesus, it makes me so happy to meet with other Christians at Church. But if I’m expecting the people in the Church to meet all of my needs and demands so that I can then find Jesus, I am in danger of being very disappointed.

I believe that there is a place in the Church for people who can’t find Jesus on their own, and they need some help along the way. But true help will only come from being pointed in the right direction.

But let’s be realistic here – with thousands of years of hurt and bitterness involving the Church, a few little words typed out here is really not going to solve the problem. And that makes me very sad. I have a feeling that “the Church with broken wings” will remain that way until Jesus comes back. He will restore His Bride on that day.

And she will be beautiful, the way she was meant to be. Don’t give up on her!

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Have you ever been hurt by the church when you were expecting comfort and safety?

A Week in the Life: Sunday Photos

Last day. I’m feeling relieved!

But I also feel glad that I did it. I took pictures of many things I might not have thought of, and I know that a few years from now, these pictures will give us a really good taste of what life was like for us right now.

Here’s our Sunday:

Waking up.

Breakfast.

Church.

Lunch.

Playing.

Reading.

Tickling.

Working in the kitchen, making a dish to take to a potluck.

Getting home (after forgetting to take a picture of the potluck!) and working on pictures for the day.

If you’ve been following along this last week, you’ve probably seen a lot more of my family than you’ve ever wished to see! There are a few thoughts that have been in my mind as I’ve gone along with this project:

1) Everybody has their own “normal”.

I post photos of our little life, and our “normal” way of doing things, but it could be completely different from what other people think of as “normal”. I think it’s awesome that we get to choose our own version of “normal”. We do family and home the way we feel best about it, and it’s going to look different for everybody. Thank goodness!

2) Things are not always the way they seem.

My friend said to me the other day, “Your kitchen always looks so sparkling in the morning!”

Two confessions: Sometimes I move a little junk out of the way to make a prettier picture. Sometimes I just leave it.

And…a good camera can blur the mess in the background right out so that no one can notice.

She said, “Oh good, can  you take a picture of me with that fancy camera of yours, and blur out the stuff that isn’t perfect?!”

And I thought of how perfect she is to me, no fancy camera or blurring necessary.

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I love my life, I love my family, I love that I get to spend every day with these sweet girls of ours. It is not perfect. Sometimes the background needs to be blurred a bit.

But all of this, the messy parts, and the shiny parts, the joyful parts and the whiny parts…all of it make up my life right now and I’m so very, very thankful for it!

I hope you’re seeing all of it, in your own life. I hope you see the steam coming off the pancakes, and the sun streaming in the window.

A few years ago, I was walking outside with a friend on an evening when the moon was so full and bright, it was absolutely breathtaking. All I could do was gaze at that moon, not even watching where I was going. Finally I said to my friend, “That is just incredibly beautiful.”

And she said, “What?”

Oh, that I would always have eyes to see the moon, and the little hands leaving little toys in funny places, and the mess that’s made because my family is here in this home with me. My floor is always dirty, and the dishes and the laundry never stay clean for long, but there is so much beauty in our mess.

That is what I’m thankful for this week. That is what I want to remember. That is what I always want to see.

And so, as you start this new week, I wish you many moments of truly seeing all of the little joys before you. May this week in your life be a good one!

Mentor Me (Part 2): Sharing Some Personal Stories

When I look back on my teenage years, I can clearly see that there are two women who profoundly affected my life. They never called themselves my mentors, but that is exactly what they did, during a time when I desperately needed it.

I have always been very close with my parents, and could talk with them about anything, but there is something different about having an adult choosing to spend time with you, even when they have no obligation to do so. My parents kind of have to love me and think I’m wonderful. 😉 These two women voluntarily met with me, filled me with their words of encouragement, and built me up in ways that I will never forget.

The first one was a Sunday School teacher. One fall when I was in junior high, the Sunday School committee had a lot of trouble finding a Sunday School teacher for my class. All of the other classes had teachers – had them for weeks, and yet there was our class, still teacherless.

In junior high, when things are a bit insecure at the best of times, that seemed like a big deal. The girls would get together and talk about this. What was wrong with us? How come no one wanted us? I expressed these thoughts to my dad, who was the Sunday School Superintendent at the time, and he was moved to action.

He approached a woman in our church, and told her about how we were starting to feel like we were the problem, the reason why no one would volunteer for that Sunday School class.

She immediately agreed to teach it.

And she kept on teaching it almost until I graduated. She loved us like crazy. We could just tell. And so we loved being with her. She showered her words of affection on us, and constantly told us how fun, wild, and crazy we were, in the best way possible.

She had us over to her house, she spent tons of time with us outside of the “official” Sunday School time, and most importantly…she took me out for coffee. I felt so grown up. And she’d ask about how things were going in my life, and then she’d really listen. She would speak spiritual truths into my life that I still remember to this day, and pass on to other people.

She passed away a few years ago, and I am so sorry that I never told her how much she meant to me, and how much she blessed my life.

The second lady, on the other hand, is alive and kicking, and still bursts into my life every now and then with the same amount of energy and enthusiasm that she had all those years ago when I first met her.

I met her at a time when I was ready to give up on church. Not God, just church. I had heard the term “church family”, but had never really felt like it was much of a family. But that’s a longer story that you can read about here.

Anyway, she attended the new church I was very, very hesitantly trying out, and she greeted me as though her life was now complete, just because I had walked through the doors of that church. I was shy and insecure, still in high school, and lacking confidence in many ways. And there she was, refusing to let me be shy, laughing at all of my jokes and stories, sincerely interested in every detail of my life, full of smiles and hugs and encouragement.

She is the reason why I went back to that church the second time. By the third time, I was realizing that it was just a really great church in general. I will always be thankful that she took the time to draw me in, to make me feel noticed when I felt invisible, and important when I felt insignificant.

She asked me questions, and took the time to listen to the stuff going on in my life as though it really, really mattered to her. I knew that I could drop in at her house any time, and she would fill me up chips and homemade salsa and joy, and she helped me to see that no matter how confusing or hard life was, laughter could be found in everything.

I think back to the experiences with those ladies, and how they impacted me, and I wonder how many teenagers there are today, feeling lonely, insecure, invisible and insignificant.

I wonder how many adults there are out there who missed out on having a mentor when they were younger, and inside they still desperately need that type of relationship. They’ve learned to hide it better now, but really, they still need a listening ear, many words of encouragement, and someone who becomes a safe place for them.

I know that for me, it is not an exaggeration to say that mentoring changed my life. It is still changing my life. (More on that another day!) And I think that the need for it in the Church today is very great.

I believe that if you want to change the world and impact people in the greatest way possible, you do it one at a time.

This post is part of a series. Here are the links to the rest of the series:

Part 1: Embarking on a Journey

Part 2: Sharing Some Personal Stories

Part 3: So How Do I Find Myself a Mentor?

Part 4: Choosing a Victim

Part 5: What Do We Talk About Now?

Conclusion: The Gift That Keeps on Giving

When Church Hurts

It seems as though there are many people who grow up believing that Church is supposed to be a safe place, filled with kind, loving people who love Jesus and never make mistakes.

Church is supposed to be a place where everyone is welcome, where there is always someone ready to lend a helping hand, and where we are safe to be ourselves.

That sounds fantastic. Really. But I keep hearing about situations where Church has not been those things for people. I just talked with somebody a few weeks ago who said he had “given up on church”. And that makes me so sad.

When Church is working well, it is a beautiful thing. But when it’s not working well, it is a heartbreaking mess.

What do we do with that? Church is full of people. Therefore, there will always be a bit of a mess involved. People make mistakes, and hurt others out of their own hurt, and do things in Jesus’ name that have nothing to do with Jesus.

And then people give up on “Church”, because Church is supposed to be safe and loving and the Bride of Christ. But sometimes the Bride gets nasty.

I used to be angry with Church. I loved Jesus, but the whole idea of “membership” seemed very ridiculous to me. Why would I want to be part of it? I saw a bit too much of the painful side of Church, the side that can destroy lives. I kept attending Church, but I had pretty low expectations. Church hurt me, too.

But there’s a song we used to sing when I was in Bible school. There’s a line in it that says, “Stand up Church with broken wings. Fill this place with songs again…”

Whenever I hear that someone has been hurt by the Church, that line pops into my head, and I have a picture of the beautiful Church, wounded. She was meant to fly, but she lies there broken.

When we see Church as needing to be the perfect place, filled with perfect people, who always meet our expectations in the perfect way, and always know what to say or do, and never make mistakes, or hurt us, or disappoint us, we have made it into something that it’s not.

We will always be disappointed by people, but we will never be disappointed by Christ. When we look for Christ in people, we will have love for them. When we look for Christ in the Church, we will find Him. He’s there, amidst the imperfection and pain. He hurts, too, along with the Church and with us.

When we look to Christ to meet our needs, rather than people or Church, we will be satisfied.

I heard a message by John Maxwell once in which he talked about happiness in marriage. He said that if we look to our spouse to make us happy, it will never happen. But if we look to Jesus to make us happy, our spouse will add to that happiness in infinite ways.

That’s like the Church. If my life is full of Jesus, it makes me so happy to meet with other Christians at Church. But if I’m expecting the people in the Church to meet all of my needs and demands so that I can then find Jesus, I am in danger of being very disappointed.

I believe that there is a place in the Church for people who can’t find Jesus on their own, and they need some help along the way. But true help will only come from being pointed in the right direction.

But let’s be realistic here – with thousands of years of hurt and bitterness involving the Church, a few little words typed out here is really not going to solve the problem. And that makes me very sad. I have a feeling that “the Church with broken wings” will remain that way until Jesus comes back. He will restore His Bride on that day.

And she will be beautiful, the way she was meant to be. Don’t give up on her!

Un-Easter-ish Easter

Yesterday did not feel like Easter. For me, it feels like Easter when I’m in church singing all the classic Easter hymns, spending the day with family while everybody eats ham, Easter bread, and chocolate eggs, and there must definitely be Easter lilies around.

But today we had to stay home. We get Easter next weekend!

So today, we sang our own Easter songs:

And relaxed:

And dyed Easter eggs:

So even though it didn’t really feel like “normal” Easter, it was still a good day!