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