Controversial Disbelief

FYI - You may disagree with what I'm about to say here, but I'm posting it because it's been on my mind all evening. I am open to comments and your point of view if you'd be willing to share.

This evening my father reported to me that a local church would not be hosting Christmas day church service; therefore, we would not be following the tradition of attending Christmas Eve service at this particular church. I wasn't sure how to respond. I was speechless and lost in the thoughts that flooded my mind. A Christian church not having service on Christmas day??? I stood in disbelief, not sure whether to be angry or let it slide. 

Later, there was discussion on the radio with listeners' comments about churches cancelling church services Christmas day. There were comments both approving and disapproving. I didn't listen long in my less than 5 minute drive, but I did hear two comments that got me thinking.

1. God doesn't call for organized religion. He calls for a relationship with Him. Without a church service worship can be done in a family setting Christmas day.

2. Christ is the reason we celebrate, and the Christian church was formed because of belief in Christ. Therefore, the church should take advantage of the opportunity to corporately celebrate His birth.

I personally, believe that cancelling church on Christmas is absolutely ridiculous. The whole reason I attend church is because I believe in the birth, death, and resurrection of Christ. I feel that it is a privilege that Christmas falls on a Sunday this year, and I want nothing more than to attend church and worship the Lord with other believers on this very important day in history. The day my Savior was born, the very reason my life has purpose and meaning. 

Just last weekend I asked my parents how Christmas would work this year hoping they would say that they planned to attend church on Sunday morning. My mom responded by saying we'd attend Christmas Eve service somewhere as usual as well as on Sunday. She later told me we'd need to figure out when we will open gifts. Either we wake up extra early and open them before church or we wait until after church. My response was that it didn't matter to me, as long as we have Christmas breakfast and attend church :)

My thoughts may not be well written, or you may disagree with me. But please, whatever your thoughts are, let's not forget the true reason for the season. It's not about spending tons of money or opening that gift you been waiting months to hold in your hand. Honestly, while it's fun to be with family, even family isn't why we celebrate. CHRIST is the reason for Christmas, and HE is the best give we could ever be given. 

Bursting at the Seams

I cannot even begin to express the churning of my heart at this moment. Since completing the November Gratitude Challenge, my eyes have been opened even further to the blessings the Lord has poured out upon my life. I cannot even begin to give the appropriate thanks that HE deserves. I want to scream it from the mountaintops that Jesus is Lord. I want others to love Him the way that I do. I desire that my life be a reflection of the one true God. 

Recently I purchased the Hillsong Spanish CD that was released on November 1 of this year. It's amazing how many of the songs have sparked something within me. Normally on a CD I enjoy a few of the songs, but on this CD every single song gets me. I've been in tears a few times listening to the album. The one that keeps playing through my head currently is has a phrase that goes something like this, "Dios hazme transparente. Refleja en mi tu amor que toda gloria sea solo para ti." (In English: God, make me transparent. Let your love reflect in me so that all glory is only for You.) Yesterday, throughout the day, this phrase along with other lyrics from the song were vibrating from my lips. I caught myself many time whispering these words or thinking on them and then altering my actions or spoken words to reflect just what the song was reminding me to do. 

I love that when I ask friends in Peru how they are doing they respond with a truthful response, and then add that "Gracias a Dios" or "pero Dios tiene el control." Meaning "thanks to God" or "...but God is in control." I think for some of them it is said out of routine, others are truly grateful to the Lord. Either way, I see this response as surrender and reverence to the Lord. I love that they acknowledge the Lord's work in their lives and their need for His divine intervention. Too often, I "forget" that without God, I am nothing, and I get an attitude that I'm fine on my own. 

I desire that every breath I take, every word I speak, and every activity in which I participate be an opportunity for me to demonstrate the love of the Lord. I desire that my life be a life of complete human abandonment and total surrender to Jesus. I want to be consumed by the Creator. I will not settle for anything less!

I Stand in Awe

At the beginning of this month, I was given a challenge by more than one person to write a daily Facebook post of 3 things I'm grateful for at the end of each day. I didn't start it right away because despite my addiction to Facebook (for the reason of communicating with Peruvian friends), I don't prefer to do posts every single day. However, after about the third or fourth time being given this challenge, I decided to take it on and see what happened.

At first the challenge was easy. I didn't have any problem coming up with three things to be grateful for. I mean it's obvious, I have a great family, wonderful friends, a job I enjoy, more things than I really need, and add to that the love of the Father, and I'm covered. What more could I ask for? I began the challenge using up the obvious thanksgivings. However, I soon realized that those obvious things, only lasted a few days, and I found myself struggling to come up with new ideas. I also realized on the days I had great days with little complaints, it was much easier to be grateful than on the days that things didn't go exactly as I had planned. 

Needless to say, I have learned a lot this month in the way of thanksgiving, and I'm excited to continue the lists for the remainder of the month.

I'm in awe of the goodness the Lord has poured out upon me. He's given me way more than I deserve, and the opportunities He's presented to me are far greater than I ever would have imagined for myself. 

I am amazed that God would choose me, a sinner from a small town in northern Indiana, to spread His word and minister through living life side by side with Peruvians on the other side of the equator. Even though I have been there only about a total of 8 months, the impact Peru made on my heart will never be forgotten, and I pray that is true of my impact in Peru. I stand in worship and gratitude for God's goodness in providing money to send to Peru for the Oasis Christmas Outreach. I never imagined that after a week, the church would have given 3/4 of the money needed, and we still have 3 weeks left!! I'm grateful that even though I am physically distant, I am still able to help the Peruvian children and my Peruvian "family" that are dear to my heart.

I'm in awe of the one and only Savior who promises to always be with me and who guides my path each day. I would not who I am or where I am today without His love pressing me onward. 

Just as the children's song goes: God is so good. He's so good to me!

Weather and God

Weather...

One of the mighty ways

the Lord connects with creation.

Each day, a fresh start,

a reminder of God's faithfulness,

and a reason to be thankful.

Sunshine...

Shines so brightly on my face

as if it were God himself smiling upon me. 

Warm, welcoming, happy,

like a child dancing to a favorite song.

He's happy because I am joyful, too.

Wind...

Whistles as it whips on by,

throwing my hair into a mess of curls.

God's reminder to me

that even when I can't see Him,

He is still there. 

Clouds...

Bring me back down to Earth,

as I consider the pain of those around me.

Dim, sad, mellow days bring 

compassion for the lost, suffering, and needy.

God loves them; I do too.

Rain...

Tears flowing from the eyes of my Lord.

The pain He suffered for my sin.

I'm sorry for the mistakes I've made.

Yet I'm grateful that tears cleanse the soul.

Rain restores Earth just as Jesus restores me.

Snow...

As the snow glistens,

a cold crisp curtain hangs in the air

waiting to be shattered. 

Just as I am broken,

the Lord cleanses me and heals.

Be Available, Be Intentional

This past weekend, I had the opportunity to travel to Chicago to visit some of my favorite college friends. When first planning the trip, I thought to myself, "This is a horrible time to be leaving...I have report cards to do, a field trip to prepare for, our class fall party to plan, and parent-teacher conferences to organize." However, this being the only weekend out of many that would work for both of my Chicago-land friends and myself, I decided to set aside my work, forget about my stress, and enjoy a nice weekend, relaxing in the city. I can't help but know without a doubt that God's hand was in this trip every step of the way. He had a plan for my weekend far beyond what I had ever imagined. Surprisingly, I left school on Friday with only one stack of papers to grade, my field trip and fall party all planned out, and most things I could organize ready for parent-teacher conferences. I never would have imagined I'd have that little to do with so much going one.

Throughout the weekend, I had some great conversations with both Karen and Hadassah, and we enjoyed many fun activities...apple picking, a nice dinner out at a Spanish supper club complete with salsa lessons, a trip to the Peruvian grocery store, and a walk around a lagoon/pond where we enjoyed the calm setting surrounded the busyness of the city. Although, the thing that sticks out most to me was the church service on Sunday morning.

Hadassah and I had planned to wake up early and attend her normal church service at Moody. However, after talking until nearly 2 a.m. we decided to sleep in a little and attend a church closer to her home. Totally a God thing...you see the church was kicking off their missions' conference. The speaker made two main points: Be Available and Be Intentional. How ironic it was (or wasn't) that these two things have been on my mind A LOT recently prior to this specific service.

The man spoke of worship as the goal of missions. He spoke of missions in our own backyards and communities, and he spoke of missions abroad in other nations. While he quoted scripture from 2nd Corintians 5:13-20, God took me to Philippians 1:21-27 -- some of my favorite verses. Here Paul says, (summary) "For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me...I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; but it is more necessary for you to remain in the body...so that through my being with you again your boasting in Christ Jesus will abound on account of me. Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worth of the gospel of Christ."

Here Paul lives his life intentionally to produce "fruit" in and of the lives of others. He doesn't waste a second. He's always available to the call of the Lord, and he is intentional in his relationships to further the kingdom. As I pondered the scriptures and the words of the speaker, I began to feel convicted. I began to ask myself these difficult questions.

Am I available to take on any opportunity/challenge God places before me,

or am I too focused on my plans and my goals for each day/life?

Am I intentional in everything that I do to be a witness for Christ?

Is my life here on Earth producing a fruitful labor?

I would have liked to answer yes to all three of these questions, but I know if I did, I would be lying. You see, our lives here on this Earth are a daily mission, and if worship is the goal of missions then we must live in a constant state of worship. Our ministry is the place where God has put us and the people that surround us, "Christian" or not. The depth of our worship is how we use that mission to demonstrate our love for Christ, the one and only Savior of the world. We should be living every single day available to take on any opportunity/challenge God brings before us. We should be intentional with our words and actions to authenticate the unfailing, steadfast love of our Father. If we do both of the aforementioned items, our lives will most definitely produce a fruitful labor.  

God has blessed me with some pretty incredible opportunities during my short time (soon to be 25 years) on this Earth, and I hope that along the way I have made some sort of Godly impact on someone. I don't want to waste a moment, but I want to live a life like Paul...available to whatever God has planned for me and intentional with each and every second of every day. 

Nothing is a coincidence; every encounter we have is a God appointed opportunity. Don't miss out!

(Let me just say, that as I read through the Bible study lesson for tomorrow, I realized we'll be talking about this very topic. Wow, God's just hammering this one in to me. I hope I learn and never forget what He's trying to teach me!)