Changing times

Have you ever noticed how change really bothers some people? Like nothing should ever change, we should live the same life over and over, like a horrible version on "Ground Hog's Day" which was terrible enough by itself. Why are we so afraid of change? We see it every day. Nothing is ever really the same. Even if we tried to make it so, it would be different.
Having a baby really shows you how much change is prevalent in our lives. He is certainly not the same kid he was a year ago and I wouldn't want him to be. Although he was a cute baby and at 6 months old was not mobile, which had its benefits, it would not be wonderful for him to be a year and a half still not moving around. He now uses words I can understand, some I can't, but most that I can. He is becoming his own little human, with thoughts and ideas of his own. Why would we want that to stop changing?
I understand that it is good to have things that are stable in our lives. Living in chaos is not ideal and makes us crazy. However even the things that are stable should also be changing. If those things never changed, be it a relationship with a spouse or friend, it would get stale rather quickly. Think of how many shows you have stopped watching or games you haven't played for a long time or books you only read once because you now know the story. We don't go back to those things because they are boring and they are predictable. There is a difference between reliable and predictable and I for one get rather bored with predictable pretty quickly. They say that the average American now has an attention span of 8 min. So why are we not wanting things like the church to change? What worries us about that change?
The truth is, God's reliability never changes. The way we talk about His unconditional love sometimes changes but the truth of His unconditional love doesn't. It is always there, it is never changing. However our relationship with God is ever changing or at least should be. As humans we make mistakes, we wonder off and we find something new and shiny that grabs our attention and takes us away from our relationship with God. Then we must work on making it better again. God never falters because He is God. He is a perfect being that loves without condition and knows that we will make mistakes and waits for us to return. He is much like a dog, always sad to see us leave and always happy to see us return, no matter what has happened in between. I guess that is one more reason that dog is God spelled backwards.
Life is ever changing, our relationships are ever changing, the church itself should be ever changing, growing, morphing into better disciples for Christ. The church is not the building, it is the people inside. God does not care about your church building, I hate to say, God cares about us. God cares about what we are doing and how we are changing. We should embrace the changes around us, knowing that it means we are growing. It is our job to make sure that we are changing ourselves and the world for the better. How are you changing? I look forward to hearing your thoughts.
Until next time,
~Michelle

The Main Thing

This last week I was Annual Conference for the Great Plains Conference of the United Methodist Church. The first morning there our Bishop Scott Jones gave a sermon about keeping the main thing the main thing. The main thing being the Jesus died for all our sins and to love one another. It was a fantastic message and a great way to start the week. Throughout the week as debate and decisions were made, many people kept referring to this thought of "keeping the main thing the main thing."
On Saturday, the last day of conference it all came to a head. We began debating a petition that would be sent to the General Conference(the world gathering) of the United Methodist Church in May. If passed this petition would suggest a change in the wording of the doctrine of the United Methodist Church. It would allow Pastors to marry couples no matter their sexual orientation, it also would allow all people that feel the call to lead in the church to be ordained regardless of gender, age, race or sexual orientation. If this change actually took place it would be a huge change and one that many believe needs to happen.
Back to the story, as we were debating this petition, many that were against brought up this idea that if we pass this petition we are not "keeping the main thing the main thing" any longer. We are letting society tell us what is right and not God. Mostly I was confused about how being an inclusive church is getting us away from the idea that Jesus died for all of us! Are we not all sinners? I know that often times people like to think that the leaders of our church, especially the pastors are perfect, are not sinners and live a righteous life. Let me tell you friends, that is not true. We are all sinners, every last one of us.
The true hope is that those that are leading the church are on the path of following Christ, are working to follow His word and have answered the call to serve God in a leadership position in our churches. They are however not perfect, or sinless. Nobody is.
We all have a duty to follow Christ, it is what makes us Christians. We all have a Calling, we all have special gifts and talents that make us unique and able to answer the Call that God has set before us. And even though our Calls maybe different the goal is still the same, for us to share the word of God with others, to show His unconditional love and show others how amazing it is to live a life with Christ.
Now none of this is easy and because we are humans we will fail time and time again, but it is in the trying that great things will happen. We can accomplish amazing things when we work together, remember we are not perfect and remember to "keep the main thing, the main thing." Jesus died for all of us! Not just the white males in the United States or the Africans in Sudan or the Jews, but ALL OF US! He died so ALL OF OUR sins could be forgiven! I have never found a place in the Bible that says that God loves everyone except this particular group. The Bible says time and time again to repent and you shall be forgiven.
So are you "keeping the main thing, the main thing?" Are you sharing love for all and knowledge that in Christ we are all equal, loved and called to serve? I look forward to hearing your thoughts.
Until next time,
~Michelle

Complaint file

I don't know about you guys but I have known to complain a little every so often, and sometimes more than just a little. It seems like a natural part of life, things don't go my way, I complain and move on. However, have you ever thought what it would be like to not complain at all? I try to be a positive person overall and try not to complain too much although there are times I catch myself in a rather foul mood where I am like the complaint train. I think on a regular basis though staying positive has better effects that going negative.
Anyway, I saw a thing on Facebook yesterday that challenged people to be complaint free for one day. I kind of shrugged it off at the time, I mean I don't usually complain that much right?? But the more I thought about it, the more I realized how even when I don't realize it I complain about stupid small stuff all day. About my kid not listening to me when I tell him not to go behind my chair, or that lunch didn't turn out exactly how I thought it would, or how I have to write 2 one page essays before tomorrow! I know that those are just small baby complaints but I also realize that small complaints easily turn into bigger complaints and before we know it the complaint train is rolling steadily down the tracks.
 What do you think God thinks about us complaining about stuff all the time? Sometimes, sure we have really terrible days and the rain clouds of doom are raining down on us but usually are things that bad? I used to have a friend that would constantly say "It could be worse" to every complaint we had and he is right. 99% of the time things that I have to complain about are nothing compared to what others are dealing with. So why do it? What does it gain us? How does it help in our relationship with God?
What if instead of complaining about what is wrong why not pray for help, for patience, for guidance or strength? What would happen if we stopped complaining for one day? If instead of complaining we looked for a positive in the situation or looked for a different perspective? What is this situation trying to teach us? I think overall we would find that they are lessons in how we can more fully rely on what God is trying to teach us.
So here is the challenge, this week take one day and try not to complain, about ANYTHING! I know it will not be easy, I think in a way society has trained us to complain about things. But this week we are going to do it differently, don't complain, pray. Ask for a different perspective. Certainly we might fail, we are human after all but keep trying. Then let me know what happened. I will be sure to update you all as well. Baby steps is all we are asking for. We can't change ourselves or the world without first starting with baby steps. Good luck and I look forward to hearing about your adventures this week.
Until next time,
~Michelle

Gratitude

I was inspired by my little sister for this weeks blog. She posted on her Facebook about her experience at the Garth Brooks concert on Friday night. I appreciated her post and I felt like I would also chip in about my experience as well.
Friday night my husband Nick, a friend Carrie and I went to the Garth Brooks/Trisha Yearwood concert in Omaha, Nebraska. I had seen Garth Brooks in concert many years ago and have watched his concert specials and such when I was growing up. My older sister was obsessed with Garth Brooks so in turn I have grown to love him as well. I appreciate his music and have always felt that he puts his whole soul into his music. And his concerts are amazing. You can truly tell that he loves what he does.
My little sister was pointing out the other day about how grateful that Garth is about what he does and the privileges that he has. He is a person that seems truly grateful to be doing the exact thing that he loves. And he appreciates the audience for coming out and playing with him. Friday he shared one of his new songs. When the song was over he smiled and thanked the audience for treating his new stuff with the same excitement that they treated the old stuff.
To me it is a lesson in gratitude. Sometimes we forget to be thankful for the things that we have. I am thankful to get to work the job that I have, a job that I love and feel led to do. I know that we are not all in that boat, I have worked the crappy jobs too but we need to remember to be thankful that we have a job at all. And when we land that dream job we definitely need to be thankful that God has put us in such a position.
Garth Brooks is like super crazy rich, in an interview with Barbara Walters in the 90s he said that he has more money than his children's children could spend. I am not sure if that is really true. I mean I know he is not hurting for money. And with the assets he has he could not care what other people think, he could not care about adding more shows to his tour if his shows sell out so that everyone that wants to see his show gets to. I know that he makes more money with every show he does, but how many artists do you know are willing to do 2 shows a night to please the fans? With everything he has and has accomplished he could just sit on his high throne and look down upon the rest of us but instead he appears to be genuinely grateful that people want to come to his shows. He seems grateful for the opportunity to play.
So I challenge us this week to find what we are genuinely grateful for. Whether it be our jobs or our families, whatever it might be. I believe the more thanks we give to God for what we have the more blessings we will receive. We need to start putting out more postivity in the world, more thanks for our blessings for even when the world does not seem to be going our way, there is always something to be positive about.
Emerson loves Garth's music, since he was an infant, Garth's voice has calmed him down when he was upset. Yesterday as I was listening to Nick's phone play music a song called "The Change" came on. It is not a song that Garth sang Friday night but it is one of my favorites. The chorus goes like this "I hear them saying, you will never change things, and no matter what you do it is still the same thing, but it is not the world that I am changing, I do this so this world will know that it will not change me." It really struck a chord with me yesterday. I thought this is exactly it. If we can show the world that we are grateful and that we care about others, it might not change the whole world but it will show that there is still hope and that there is power in not letting the world jade us.
Okay, I will get off my fangirl box for now. The real message is just that we need to be more grateful, more positive and thank God for the wonderful gifts that he has put in front of us. The more we do that, I believe the better our lives will be. What are you grateful for today?
I look forward to hearing from you.
Until next time,
~Michelle

A conversation with God

I have worked with a lot of different people in my life and am often found in a place of teaching others about God. Probably because it is my job but also because I choose to be a disciple for Christ and we are all called to share the good news. Anyway, one of the things I often hear from believers both new and old is that they struggle with prayer. I, myself, have certainly have had my times where I have been distant with God and have chosen for one reason or another not to talk to God but I have always known how. I am not really sure who taught be or when I learned. And truthfully I would never say that my way is the best way or the only way, it is just my way and I have found it to be effective in my life.
To me prayer is just a conversation. A conversation with God, one that can really start anyway you want to and for me often does not start the same way. Maybe this all stems from my childhood on the farm, there often times is nobody to talk to so it is kind of like talking to yourself except instead of answering yourself, you listen for the answer from outside of yourself.
There are no components that a prayer has to have. It is not like a speech that you are giving to the President or in class. It is just a conversation, like you would have with your best friend.
In Matthew chapter 6 verses 5-6, Matthew encourages us to pray alone, in private. Stating not to show off by praying loudly or in the church. I think that he is saying that the things we do in private and without the acknowledgement of others has a greater impact that those that we do in public.
My high school principal used to say that character is how we act when no one is watching. I think prayer is the same way. Who are we when we are alone, when no one is watching, when we have the opportunity to be our true selves without judgement? We should strive to be the best we can be at all times and part of that is our prayer lives. Do we think to pray when nobody else is around? When we are struggling or having the most amazing day are we thinking that we should bring that to God?
I am not saying I am perfect by any means, trust me I am still human and fail every day, but it is a goal to be better, to turn to God in all situations. It all starts with a conversation and when we enter in that conversation, it is amazing the rewards that we will receive. Remember it doesn't have to be fancy, we just have to say hello and be ready to listen.
How are your prayer lives going? I look forward to hearing from you all.
Until next time,
~Michelle

Intentional Community

When I was placed in Atlanta to do mission work, the whole thing was set up for me, where I would live, what I would do, everything. And honestly in where I was in my life it was the perfect fit, I would have had no idea how to figure all that out on my own. I was assigned to live in a house called the Community of Hospitality. It was a house that was set up by people in the neighborhood for mission workers and volunteers to live in. All resources were pooled, we were given a monthly allowance of $80 and a weekly stipend for groceries of $25 a person that we pooled so we could buy food. It was an intentional community. As we read from Acts this week it made me think more and more about my experience there. I really had no idea what I was getting myself into. I moved in sight unseen and my mother often says that she about didn't leave me there. I was the only girl in a house of four guys, my room was dark and dingy and the house was infested with the largest cockroaches I had ever seen. But I was 22 and thought this was going to be a grand adventure, which in many ways it was.
I had read Acts before I moved there and really have read the Book of Acts many times since then but it really wasn't until this week that I truly saw what was going on there. The goal was for us to live and work in the neighborhood, to pool everything we had and share, as a community to meet each others needs. It might have been successful at one time and in some ways it was successful when I lived there but at the same time it was 5 young adults in their early 20s that were assigned to live there, the goal was not really explained to us, and if it was I have no recollection of it. Part of the deal was eating at least one meal a week together and doing one activity a week together, it was an interesting experience. Things were by no means perfect, conflict arose because of course we all had our own personalities but at the same time, it was amazing.
8 years later here I am again, listening to a story in the Book of Acts, about intentional community and how people flocked to this idea to live together and share the good news. We didn't know then in Atlanta what we were doing, our work was with the homeless and in many ways I think we did spread the good news but I imagine it was different then how the disciples were doing it in the Book of Acts.
Community of Hospitality no longer exists in the same form as it did when I lived there. I believe they are now a home for the mentally disabled. But for me it is an experience that I will never forget and if given the opportunity I suppose I would be willing to do it again, and hopefully I would be wiser and be able to help it be more successful.
The New Visions Community is trying to be intentional in our interactions as a community. I don't ever see us living in a commune but we can still be willing to be generous with our gifts and willing to help those around us with what we have in abundance, whatever that may be. The door is wide open, we just have to be ready to walk down the road that is in front of us. We have to be ready to be intentional about our interactions with each other and others in our community. Are you ready?
Until next time,
~Michelle

God sighting

Last week as country group, Lady Antebellum was traveling to Dallas, Hillary Scott's bus started on fire. Luckily she and her family were able to get off the bus but she lost all of her stuff. All but one item. Her Bible. She posted this on Facebook:

I just got this picture from the scene of the fire and HAD to share this. Today, when our bus caught on fire we had quite a few personal belongings in the back (where I was asleep before evacuating the bus) one of them being my Bible. I kid you not, EVERYTHING in the back lounge was destroyed from the flames, except my Bible. The outside cover was burned and messed up but NOT ONE PAGE was missing. Yall, God's Word will always stand. He is FOR YOU, WILL PROTECT YOU, AND HIS LOVE FOR YOU WILL NEVER FADE. My faith is forever deepened because of today. I hope this story deepens yours. - hills

This just struck me as something so amazing! I was overcome with the awesomeness. I then started reading the comments and heard story after story of firefighters and people that have experienced a house fire and they said everything was gone but the family Bible.
Now I know the skeptics will say that all books that are made of similar things as the Bible will also burn slowly or not at all but I don't think that is true. To me it is sign of how strong the Word of the Lord truly is and all that it can overcome. If we rely on it think what we could overcome! A book that is living and breathing, a book that has been around as long as the written word has been, and really even before then. It is a book that continues to be relevant, a book that continues to guide us down the path of a better life. A book that can be protected from fire, is a book that I want to get behind.
This was my God sighting this week, it was something that renewed my faith and vision. Something that reaffirmed that I made the right decision all those years ago to give my life to God and follow the path that he has set before me.
What was your God sighting this week? I look forward to hearing from you. Have a great week.
Until next time.
~Michelle

Step it up

The challenge for this Easter season is to step it up for God. But what does that mean? How do we step up? How do we change what we are doing and do it better than before?
God is not expecting giant steps. He wants to see something, some change, some deviation from our old ways.
Roman Catholics believe that when they sin they must go to confession but one should only confess for a sin that you never plan to do again. To see a change, to work towards not making that mistake again.
Big ideas change the world but so do small ideas. We often get overwhelmed with the big ideas that we aren't able to do anything. We freeze, not able to move forward, not able to change so we stay in the same pattern. Doing the same things and no change happens. But God doesn't expect the big steps, at least not right away. You start with something small, a small idea, a small change and if you continue to take one small step at a time you soon have traveled a distance and that small idea has turned into something big.
Watching Emerson develop and grow has been a great example of this for me. He didn't learn to just walk. First he rolled everywhere,  then he scooted, crawled, stood up and slowly walked around the furniture.  It took him a long time to gain the confidence to walk on his own but now he is a walking fool. He is walking farther everyday and with more confidence.  We are that infant, I mean literally and figuratively. In our Christian journey we must learn how to roll, scoot, crawl and then walk. Each move gets us closer to our goal of living the ultimate Christian life but we must first be brave enough to make the move.
How are you going to step up for God? I would love to hear your thoughts.
Until next time,
~Michelle

#Holyweekhangover

Holy Week is over. The tomb is empty and after such an intense week of activity. I am feeling hungover. I didn't want to get out of bed this morning, I felt that it was too much. I mean Jesus died on the cross, he was laid in the tomb and on Sunday morning the tomb was empty. It is amazing, a miracle. A fulfillment of the scripture. It was everything that Jesus had been telling us about. Jesus died on the cross for us. But now what? How could things get any better?
The crazy part is that it does get better. The book of Acts shows us that. The more the disciples spread the Good News the more people were saved, the bigger the Christian community became. The same is still true today. Churches that are growing are ones that aren't afraid to share the Good News. Those that aren't afraid to share what they believe and that Jesus allows us to make mistakes and He still loves us. We as Christians can't move forward or grow in our faith if we don't share what we are learning and who we are. You don't not tell your friends what you do in your everyday life right? So why are we keeping our prayer life a secret. Why are we so afraid to share what should be the most important part of our lives? If someone doesn't accept your life as a Christian do you really feel that they are worth being around? I am not saying that you need to only talk about God, and your relationship with Him but are you talking about Him at all?
We need to move past our fears and speak out. In the end of the Gospel of Mark the ladies that found the tomb empty ran away in fear and didn't tell anyone what they had seen. If they had really kept it a secret, we probably wouldn't be sitting here now talking about our need to continue spreading the word.
I think that a little let down after Holy Week is normal but we can't let it stop us from moving forward, spreading the word and letting others know the Good News that the tomb is empty, Jesus is alive and we have been forgiven! To not tremble in fear but shot the Good News from the mountain tops for all to hear. HE IS RISEN!
Until next time,
~Michelle

Overwhelmed by the decision

The last few weeks I have really be struggling. I have been struggling with the feeling of being overwhelmed. As I think about Lent and the completion of it this week I think I realize why. I am overwhelmed by the power that Jesus had to say yes to dying for us.
Jesus came to this Earth, took human form, tried to teach us the way to God and then died on a cross, not a real pleasant death I might add, for our sins. He knew it was the only way, the only thing that he could do to give us a path to his Father and Heaven. Have you ever thought of the strength that must have taken? I mean he could have said no, he could have refused to die on the cross. He could have commanded the angels to lift him into Heaven as he is tempted to in the desert but instead he makes the ultimate sacrifice, to die for our sins, to suffer for us.
I once read an email about a father that would have his son pound a nail into their wooden fence every time he did something wrong, and when he asked for forgiveness for all these sins, they removed the nails. The father was illustrating to the boy that even though he had been forgiven that damage had still been done. The story goes on to say that Jesus is the one that pays for our damage. Yes we have to deal with the hurt and pain here but Jesus deals with the eternal pain of our wrong doing. He takes all that on so that we may go to Heaven to be with God.
Could you do that? If someone came to you and told you that if you died by being crucified that your children would get to go to Heaven? Not that they wouldn't experience pain, or suffer or make wrong choices, because they are still human. But that you will feel all of their pain, suffering and wrong doing and they will get to go to Heaven. I would like to be able to say yes I would make that sacrifice, but man it would come with some serious doubts. I mean Jesus, whom lived on this Earth, was perfect, and knew from the beginning exactly what was going to happen and accepted that as his fate, even he had doubts. He was/is a divine being and had doubts! No wonder we have problems with this! I mean seriously, how crazy do you have to be to make that kind of choice, that kind of sacrifice! But still even in his doubt, Jesus knew exactly what he had to do. He had to die, on the cross, so that we could have salvation. What an amazing gift! One that we can not repay. The only thing we can do is strive to be better, to be obedient to his word, to follow his teachings and be thankful that Jesus did this for us!
We are blessed to have such an amazing God! Happy Holy Week all. Let us be thankful for the wonderful sacrifice and gift we have been given this week! I look forward to hearing from you all soon.
Until next time,
~Michelle

Your body is a temple

John 2:13-22
In the gospel of John there is the story of Jesus going to Jerusalem on the Sabbath and finding people running a market there. He gets angry and kicks everyone out and when questioned told the leaders that they can tear down the temple and he will rebuild it in 3 days. The leaders don't understand that Jesus is talking about himself as the temple not the actual physical building.
This idea of your body as a temple is one that I think is important. We as humans tend not to take care of our body like we should. We let it get lazy, out of shape, we ingest bad stuff all the time. We don't think to value this gift we have been given. We forget that we were given this body to do the work of God, just as the temple building in the scripture was meant to do God's work as well.
We are charged to be a walking temple, a holy space that worships God, does his good works and show others the way of the Lord. We are responsible for taking care of the wonderful gift that God gave us, our human body. A body made in His image, He breathed His breath, His spirit into Adam, the first human. We share God's breath. Are we doing right by that? With such immense responsibility how are we supposed to succeed?
We can only do what our humanness allows. We can't be God, we are not perfect because Adam and Eve committed original sin. But we can strive to do the best we can and to honor God every day. There are certainly times we will fail but in this time of Lent, we must spend time reflecting on what we have done to both succeed and fail and what we can do better in the future. God is forever forgiving of our short comings, so failing doesn't mean giving up. Failing is showing you a way that didn't work, it eliminates a possibility, so you just move on to the next one. It is not easy but it is our duty.
God made your body, gave it to us as a gift to take care of and do His good works. What are you doing with your gifts? I look forward to hearing from you.
Until next time,
~ Michelle

Even a broken crayon colors just as bright

The other day I was coloring with some kids at Foodnet. We got a new set of twisty, crayon/colored pencil type things. Do you know what I am talking about? Anyway, we were talking about how cool they are because never break, and even if they do they are still pointy. One of the girls said that makes her so happy because she doesn't like crayons after they lose their point or they break. It got me thinking, what is wrong with old crayons? Do they not spread color just as well as new crayons?
I think often times we treat people kind of like crayons. We like the new shiny ones and they are so much fun to play with and are pointy...:-) But then we grow up and get a little older, and we aren't as pure of a color as we once were, and we are not as pointy...although some of us become more pointy...all about perspective I guess. But the point is once we grow and get some life experience under our belt, we are often aren't as appealing to people. Especially if those life experiences leave us like a broken, mis-colored, old crayon.
The thing we forget is that even the broken, old crayons that don't look as shiny and new as the ones in the box are still crayons and they still have great potential and they can be sharpened and will color our pages just as well as the new ones. People are the same way, we all make mistakes, fall and become broken and what we need is someone to believe that we can still be useful, that just because we are broken doesn't mean that we are should be discarded.
God provides those people to us, exactly when we need it. When we are broken, God puts people that believe with us and help us find meaning again in what we are doing. But God also puts broken people in our lives for us to help, to believe in, to work with to find purpose and to work in conjunction with.
Crayons, even broken ones, color just as bright, and will color the page just as well as a new one. It might not be exactly what we thought it would be, it might not look like we thought it would when we started, but sometimes those are things are turn out the best.
God has a plan for us, and even when we are broken we still have a purpose. God doesn't throw us away when we come to him broken and used, he uses our brokenness and he puts us back together. We will never look like we did before we were broken, when we were new and shiny but we can be put back together, we can be made whole again and we can find our new purpose. Don't give up my crayon friends, you have purpose and you can be sharp and will continue to be colorful. Keep working forward, keep coloring the world for God.
I look forward to hearing from you. Have a great week.
Until next time,
~Michelle

Lent

It is the first full week of Lent. 40 days until Easter. Lent is supposed to mark the 40 days before Easter but it is actually 44 days long, Lent doesn't count the Sundays. It seems odd to me that an entire day each week doesn't count but then again we have to exam the why.
Lent is a time of repentance, mourning, and preparation for the death and resurrection of Jesus. Easter is a great celebration, a day where the tomb is empty and our savior is alive.
So what about the Sundays not counting? Well Sunday is supposed to be a time of celebration,  a mini Easter if you will. It makes sense, Sundays are supposed to be a day of rest every other week so why should Lent be any different?
We are supposed to spend these days leading up to Easter, in sorrow, contemplation,  and repentance. That can be exhausting, so it was determined that once a week we should take a break and celebrate. A mini Easter if you will. A time to step away from the contemplation and sorrow to celebrate what you have accomplish so far and remember why we are taking this time, to celebrate Jesus giving his life for us.
So are you taking the time to reflect, repent and give this season? I look forward to hearing from you.
Until next time,
~Michelle

From the ashes

This week marks the beginning of Lent.  A season of morning and preparation for Jesus to die and rise from the dead. Wednesday is Ash Wednesday,  a day that marks our humanness.
The ashes have a couple different meanings, one to remind us that we came from the ash and our bodies will return to the ash. Our spirits will rise to Heaven but our physical body will return to the ground the dirt and the ash.
The other meaning is to show that we are in a time of contemplation and morning. It marks the first day that starts the end of Jesus' journey here on Earth. As He prepares to die for our sins on the cross, we are supposed to prepare ourselves as well.
Many people will give up something for Lent, others will take on an extra mission for the season. I have personally never taken on an extra something, I am usually a giver upper kind of person. But this year I am really going to strive to go out of my way each day to do something nice for a stranger. A kind of pay it forward kind of situation. We will see how it goes.
What about you? What are you getting involved in this Lenten season? I look forward to hear about your journeys.
Until next time,
~Michelle

When in Rome

Have you ever noticed that the more time you spend with someone the more you become alike. At least for me this happens. I find myself saying shared phrases or making similar facial expressions. I of course see this a lot with Emerson as he grows and develops, he picks up on more of Nick and I's queues.
This habit works both ways, I know when I have been hanging out with more negative people because my attitude becomes more negative and vise versa. I am not really sure what got me thinking about this earlier this week but the more I think about it the more useful I think it could become.
We make choices as to whom we hang out with and what we do with these people. We begin to share habits and phrases. So think what if we choose to spend more time with Jesus?
As Christians we are supposed to strive to be more like Jesus. To follow down a similar path of servant leadership, to be Christ like. How does one really do that? To become more like someone we spend time with them. So we must in turn spend more time with Jesus. The more time we spend with him, the more we learn about him and from him the more we will become like him. And in theory the more we will want to spend time with him.
How often do you talk to your best friend that is living on this Earth? I know I talk to my best friend at least once a week usually for a least an hour at a time. We used to work together so I used to see her at least five days a week. We have a lot of similar likes, dislikes, mannerisms, etc.
Now, how often do you talk to Jesus? Shouldn't He be our best friend living in Heaven? Shouldn't we be spending as much time if not more with Him as we do with our on Earth best friend?
Just a thought. I would love to hear yours. Have a great week.
Until next time,
~Michelle

A new light!

I have a confession to make this morning. I figured this is the place to do it. I can be judgmental at times. I mean really who can say that they never judge others? But the point is that I have been judgmental of this one particular person that I deal with on a very regular basis. This person tends to be rather negative about everything and I often find myself dreading having to deal with this individual because I really don't handle negative people well. However, last week I saw a completely different side of this person. For the sake of the story let's call this person Hank.
There was a situation where someone, Georgia, needed some immediate help. Georgia was in a really bad situation, her family had kicked her out of the house and she has made some bad decisions in her life leading up to this time that has caused many to turn their back on her. She is a few months away from graduating from high school and appears to be really trying to turn things around and make better choices. Georgia came to Hank the other day and asked for help. In a completely different response and attitude then I have witnessed from Hank he opened up. He talked to Georgia about what as going on and instantly offered her any service that he could provide. He does have some boundaries with his job that doesn't allow him to do absolutely anything but I found myself stepping in where he couldn't. We worked in tandem to help make sure that Georgia was taken care of at least for the next few days and had a plan to get herself to a safe place. Hank then shared with me how much Georgia reminds him of another young person that he had helped long ago and that he really just wants Georgia to be able to see her full potential and knows that she really just needs someone that will believe in her.
This whole experience opened my eyes to Hank in a whole new light. Usually I view Hank as closed off and bitter about life but in this situation I saw compassion and love. I also saw what happens when you find something that people are so passionate about. Hank really just wants to make sure that Georgia is safe and can continue down the right path. It made me wonder what would happen if we could really tap into that passion and compassion. But overly it reminded me that I need to check myself when I find myself judging others. We don't know what those other people have experienced and what they are or have gone through.
I attended a training a few years ago that talked about seeing people in the green when you interact with them. The thought being that green means go, or that you can see their potential. God also encourages us to see others "in the green." We all come with flaws and to judge others is to judge ourselves. There is a story in the New Testament about a women that is brought before Jesus for committing adultry. A crime that should have condemed her to a death by stoning. Jesus simply tells them "He who is without sin, should cast the first stone." Everyone slowly walks away and Jesus tells the woman to go and repent and do better.
So today in my confession and am saying that I made a mistake and judged Hank as cold, bitter, sour and harsh. I forgot to look at him "in the green." And remember that Hank is a child of God. So this week I shall strive to see all people in the green and challenge you to do that same. How can we capitalize on the potential that we all have inside of us as children of God?
Let me know what you think.
Until next time,
~Michelle

Come be fishers of men

This week our sermon at church was the calling to service of the disciples as told in the book of Mark. I appreciate this scripture because it shows the dedication of the disciples to Jesus?And it always makes me wonder, if I was in the same situation would I be so willing to drop everything and just follow this person? And then I realize, we are in the same situation. God is calling us to move into action. To follow someone, Jesus, whom we have never met before blindly into the world. We must trust that He will lead us the right way and not into any danger that we can not handle. Are we willing?
Our pastor challenged us to think of a Bible story or verse that we relates to our personal story. I have a few that I could relate I suppose but the one that came to me yesterday is similar to the commissioning of the disciples. There is one version that talks about a man coming to Jesus and asking what he must to do follow Him. Jesus says the man must drop everything and follow. The man hesitates and asks Jesus for some time before he follows, saying that he needs to take care of a few things first.
 I think often times that is me. I will feel the call to do something, but instead of my first reaction being, "Okay, let's do this God." I am more of a "Ah, okay I will totally do that, but first I would like to do x,y and z." I know that may come as a shock to some because I have a rather spontaneous nature and am usually up for anything but when I comes to big projects or things that I am uncertain on, I hesitate and wonder if I will be able to do it before I jump in.
If I am striving to live a life fully dedicated to God, I need to remember that all of the other stuff will be taken care of. God has a plan for us and if we are living with an open mind and an open heart, we will be lead in the right direction and everything will be provided for us. This not to say that there will not be work involved because there always is. This is just to say that if we don't worry about the small stuff, the journey will be better.
The challenge is always to put our full trust in God and what he has in store for us. For his plans are greater than anything we could come up with, and when we really jump feet first into something the results are often beyond our greatest imagination.
I admire the disciples that just dropped their nets and followed Jesus when he called them by name. They were willing to drop everything when asked and to not worry about what was going to happen. I strive to have that same mentality, to be willing to go in whatever direction I am called to. Because let's be honest, I would have never imagined I would be where I am today, and it is a better place then I would have put myself without God. So the challenge this week is to listen to the call and be willing to jump in without worrying about the consequences and without worrying about all the small stuff. To put in the work necessary to be ready for when the call comes, because you better believe that God has the most powerful cell phone and that call always comes through!
Until next time,
~Michelle

Friends are friends forever

I really like the daycare that I have Emerson at. It is a church/christian based daycare, the teachers are super nice and very approachable. But the things I like the most is that they call everyone in the daycare friends. My nephew also goes to daycare there, he will be 4 next month and when I was going to start taking Emerson there, Xander said to his Mom, "Emerson is not my cousin, he is my friend." Even though Emerson is still his cousin, I thought it was adorable that Xander called him a friend. Everyone is a friend, sometimes their friends hurt them, or do bad things, and sometimes their friends play nice with them and share their food and toys but they are always friends. We could learn a lot from a bunch of kids in daycare and kids in general.
Kids don't care where you came from, how your day is going, how much money you have or what you look like. Kids just care if you are there to play with you and how you treat them and others around you.They give love and affection without much thought to it and are always excited to see you again.
In the New Testament, there is a story of children wanting to see Jesus and the adults were trying to stop them. Jesus told the people to let the children go to him. He says that we must have the mind of a child to get into Heaven. Jesus was calling us to think more like children. We are suppose to be open to new ideas, new paths, and new adventures. Think about kids, they just want to learn everything and figure out how everything interacts and they always want new friends. To find joy in the moment to worry less and to love one another.
How can you not love someone that you call a friend? When you talk about someone being your friend it is someone you respect, trust, love and enjoy spending time with.
If we are truly following God's word we would treat everyone with those characteristics. Jesus is the glue that sticks us all together. We strive to follow his path, to be as much like Jesus as possible. Maybe the challenge this week is to refer to everyone we meet as friend? Sure people might look at you a little strange when you greet them but maybe not. I am curious to see how this would change your outlook and the way you treat those around you. I am going to take this challenge and encourage you all to do that same.
The wonderful thing about friendship like love is that there is more then enough to go around and it multiples and spreads. So will you take the challenge? And greet everyone you encounter this week as friend? I hope so, and I look forward to hearing how this affected your week.
Keep walking the faith, and share your thoughts, feelings and reactions. I look forward to hearing for you friends!
Until next time,
~Michelle

Struggling

Last weekend I was in Grand Island with about 1200 other people. We were there for the Great Plains Conference One Event. An event created to bring the youth of the Great Plains Conference (Kansas and Nebraska) to one location to praise God and unite the two states.
For me the most outstanding part of the event was an illusionist named Danny Ray. I have always been fascinated by magic and this was no different. He did some mind blowing card tricks, and one with a quarter, a can of Diet Coke Lime, and a lime but the one that sticks out as most powerful was a trick where he escaped from a straight jacket, one that was too small for him to begin with. He brought an incredible message about struggle. That even through life's struggles with God and when we rely on God the impossible is truly possible.
As we watched him struggle on stage to get out of this straight jacket, I began thinking of all those in our community that are struggling and the hopelessness that often occurs in the depths of our struggles. It took me to a place of deep despair and worry. I thought about the youth that surrounded me and what they must be thinking while watching this. I wondered if they felt as I did like there was no way for him to get out, that we were going to watch him exhaust himself on the stage. But as the struggle continued and he began to make progress on his restraints I started to feel hope. I remembered that all things are possible in God and that even in our darkest hours, God is there to show us the way out.
No situation is truly hopeless as long as we have God on our side. And the good news is that God never leaves us. He walks along side us, he carries us when we need a lift, he brings light to the darkness. And that to me is great news! Danny Ray escaped from the too small straight jacket and it was amazing! He was out of breath and looked exhausted, showing us that it wasn't easy but working through the struggle never is. But he gave a message of hope, a message that it is possible to break free, it is possible to accomplish the impossible. And that really there is no such thing as impossible when there is God.
There will be times of struggle, there will be times where things seem hopeless, but those are the times that we need to remember to rely on God. The help may come in many different forms, but it will always come. What are you struggling with this week and how are you going to rely on God to help you through?
Until next time,
~Michelle

Church appropriate vs Outside world appropriate

A month or so ago, in my youth group I was showing a video from Shrek 2. The kids loved the clip and we had a great discussion but they brought up a video that I had to watch. They said that it was amazing and were astonished that I had not found this video before. (This is where I know that I am getting old, because I don't spend endless hours on You Tube, I don't see the point.) So, the next week, they asked me if I had checked out this video. I told them I had forgotten but that I would get around to it.
Two weeks ago, I was helping one of my youth organize some food for our Foodnet program. She had again asked about the video and I said I would go right upstairs and watch it. She looked at me like I might be crazy, which then lead me to ask if it was church appropriate. There was an adult volunteer that was helping us and she asked is there a different between church appropriate and home appropriate? My youth quickly answered with a yes. Which lead this same adult to ask why and should there be?
I have really had to stop and think about those very questions. I mean church appropriate is such an interesting concept isn't it? I mean what really is church appropriate, how does one deem what is and isn't church appropriate? I was talking to a couple of other young people the other day about this very thing because I am still rolling it around in my head. One of them said, "Yes, there is a difference because you can't bring everything to the church." That comment was like a slap to the back of the head. "What do you mean there are things you can't bring to the church?" I asked. She says "Well, like there are some videos and such that are hilarious that will make you feel better if you are sad but they aren't videos you should watch at church."
She walked away before I could ask her what those videos would be, but it made me think even harder about all of this. We want the church to be a place where people can be themselves, bring whatever is troubling them, or whatever is bringing them joy and share it with others. Yet, even a 12 year old girl already believes that you can't bring your true self to the church. When did we become another place where people have to put on a mask and not show others when they are struggling. If this is really what is happening, the church has failed. We are supposed to be the place where you can bring your sick, weary, and tired. Where we will all gather around each other and help each other out. Not a place for people to come to show off how well everything is going and then go and struggle in silence and loneliness.
Sorry, I went off on a tangent, a blog for a different day. Back to church appropriate. What do you think? Are there things that shouldn't be shown or discussed in the church? And if there are is it okay for you to discuss them outside of the church? Jesus says that our bodies are a temple of God. We sing songs that talk about us being the church? So is there really a difference between church appropriate and outside world appropriate? And if so how to we distinguish what those things are and when each is appropriate to discuss? I am still rolling this all around in my head, and am not sure where it will all land, but I would love to hear your thoughts.
Now, I still have not seen this video, I keep meaning to because I am curious as to what they are talking about but I keep getting distracted by the cute kitten videos. :-) I hope your weeks are starting off well and I look forward to hearing from you all soon.
Until next time,
~Michelle