Pray for Audrey
We, here at CRCC and Grace Church, recently saw the Lord perform a miraculous miracle in the lives of this family. This family found out that in their second pregnancy, their child (Cohen) was diagnosed with a disease that literally means “bringing death.” It’s extremely rare and in every other diagnosis ALL of these babies have either been born stillborn or died moments after birth. The Lord worked a miracle and 3 weeks after his birth Cohen is alive and well! PRAISE THE LORD!
I stumbled across this family’s website and immediately felt called to pray in the same way for Audrey as we did with Cohen. Let us intercede on behalf of this precious baby and her family. We serve the Ultimate Healer and Miracle Worker! Let us believe that our God desires to heal this child and will restore her perfectly to Himself, whether that’s in this physical world or in the spiritual world. Please pray for this family, pray for this baby.
A Run-Around Kinda Day
As you can tell by the title, I don’t have much of anything important to write about, however I did have a crazy day yesterday. Earlier in the morning I went to Emmanuel’s Salon (run by Phil & Linda Doub and attend CRCC) to get my hair cut and highlighted for the spring…which I can tell is here because my allergies are going insane. 
Let me just tell you, I love their salon. It’s in this amazing old house and is full of interesting architecture and woodwork, lots of fun antiques, and in the midst of this they run a salon in the downstairs area of their home. I love it! After being treated to an amazing scalp massage, I mean shampoo, I got my hair whacked off. I love it! It’s a lot shorter than I’ve had it in the past, so it’s taking some getting used to.
Then I was off to the office to take care of a few things before I ran around town looking for games. Yes, I said games. Our annual volunteer appreciation banquet is coming up in the next two weeks and it’s a Game Show theme. We hired this awesome company out of Atlanta to do “The Big Game Show”. They literally take typical game shows (with the proper backdrops) like Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune, etc., and ask random trivia questions…all the while our volunteers will be the contestants. We also do a potluck dinner and just have a good evening to honor our volunteers. I was assigned the task of finding games to put on the tables as centerpieces…for under $6 a game. So, I spent the majority of my afternoon at Toys R Us, Wal-Mart, Target, Party City looking for games that has some presence. You know what I mean, things that would sit sorta tall but were interactive at the tables. After several hours of running around I settled on: Jenga, Kerplunk, Ants in the Pants, Don’t Break the Ice, Mancala, and Don’t Spill the Beans. It should be interesting to see 300+ people playing these games together. And I kept it under budget, so I am definitely patting myself on the back.
Then I trekked back to the office, the back of my Jeep bulging with games, to do some work. Worked a few more hours and headed home for DATE NIGHT with Hal. We went to Fuddruckers and then went home like the old fogies that we are and watched TV together. But I like it. I’m glad that we’re able to just sit and enjoy each other’s company. Anyway, so that was my day. Today won’t be near as interesting. Hope you guys have a great weekend!
Sabbatical
According to Webster’s dictionary, sabbatical means “bringing a period of rest”. I had a mini-sabbatical this morning. Have you ever had one of those days where you feel so overwhelmed and stressed that you just want to cry….and do? That was my day yesterday. Some of that stress I brought on myself. Some from outside sources. But all of that yuck from yesterday stemmed from the fact that I have a tendency to clutter my mind with stuff and forget how important it is to let go of most of it. I forgot how important it is to restore and renew my mind. By not doing so I end up like I did yesterday. I got frustrated easily, stressed out by having so much on my plate for the week, angry that people wouldn’t just let me do what I needed to do, and overall just felt like I was being walked all over. And it wasn’t like people purposed to make me feel that way, but because of the state of clutter in my mind I was so overwhelmed.
So this morning I chose to take a sabbatical, a mini-vacation from work and life, and spent that time focusing on the Lord and the renewing and restoring of my heart and my mind. I found it especially interesting that I talked so much about this idea of restoration in my previous post and yet I missed it in this part of my life. My sabbatical was spent seeking the Lord and asking for a renewal of my mind and spirit so that I might find strength and joy and peace again. And as always, when we ask something of the Lord he always responds. In my case, He responded by leading me to the following verses.
2 Corinthians 4:16-17, “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.”
Isaiah 40:31, “but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”
Romans 12:2, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
It’s important and valuable to understand when you’ve reached your limit. More important to not place yourself so precariously close to your limit as I did. But if you find yourself in that place, it is vital that you “take yourself out of the game” for a short sabbatical. So that, through the Lord, you can renew your heart and mind. And by doing so will strengthen your daily walk with the Lord. But in my case, has helped me to respond with joy and patience versus irritation and frustration. Might I suggest that you examine yourselves to see if you need a sabbatical, some precious time with the Lord to strengthen and renew and rest.
Tale of Two Trees – Sarah Style
As I’ve studied and spent time reading about the death and resurrection of Jesus, I still find myself blown away by the sacrifice and the gift of reconciliation to the Father.
As I’ve gotten older, I have realized what an incredible battle this was (and continues to be) in the spiritual realm. The armies of the Lord and the armies of satan had been at war since “the fall” of man into sin. It seemed like satan had received his greatest victory when man chose to disobey God and sin, thus it seemed satan had one the first attack. While satan’s battle strategy has always been to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10). God the Father had his own strategy…sacrifice. The sacrifice was the ultimate attack against the enemy, an offering of reconciliation to the people the Father had created and loved enough to sacrifice his own son to take their place. This act of sacrifice gives those of us today a choice. The choice of choosing life (army of God) or choosing death (army of satan). There is only one victor, and that victory belongs to God!
I’ve been reading Dutch Sheets’ book, “Getting In God’s Face”, and there was an excerpt that perfectly defined my thoughts on Easter this year. “Only God could plan such an event–let alone have it turn out perfectly. Only He could marry such extremes in one occurrence. Who but He could shed blood to create life, use pain to bring healing, allow injustice to satisfy justice, and accept rejection to restore acceptance? Who else could use such an evil act to accomplish so much good? Who could transform an act of amazing love into such violence, and vice versa? Only God. Isn’t it fascinating that the serpent (satan), who accomplished his greatest victory from a tree (of the knowledge of good and evil-Genesis) suffered his greatest defeat from a tree (the cross of Calvary)?”
May you choose life this Easter season. May you recognize the sacrifice that was made upon a cruel cross so that you could be reconciled back to the Father. May you find hope and peace amidst this war through a relationship with Christ Jesus…the Risen Savior.
Almost Here…
Easter Sunday morning, CrossRoads, 9:00 am or 10:30 am, Be there!
More of my thoughts from reflecting on the Easter season in a blog to come.
A Request for Healing
I am asking that our prayer warriors pray for me. Since I was a baby I have struggled with many medical problems. The biggest issue being a very low immune system which makes me very prone to illness. It’s very common for me to be sick about 300 days of the year (from minor things like colds and sinus infections, to bigger things like the flu and strep)….not very good odds. I’ve grown up accepting that being sick so often is just a part of the life I have to lead. Growing up, I often called it the “Hill curse”.
However, the Lord has revolutionized my thoughts on this issue lately. I’m moving into a place of believing that this is not what the Lord has for me, that His desire is for my health. I have tended to shy away from asking for prayer for this because, in my mind, there are far more important things that others can be praying for….people with cancer, severe illness, spiritual infirmities, etc. My issue seems so insignificant in the larger picture. I believed that it was probably more important that those people be prayed for because I could handle being sick…it seems that I have all my life. But lately, the Lord has been teaching me and reminding me that all those He created are important and valuable in His sight, that I can approach the throne of grace and ask to be well and it’s not like I am taking the place of someone or something more important. And that it’s ok to ask others to take some moments to pray for my healing of this spirit of illness that rests on me so often.
So my request is two-fold. The first part being that I would cling to and believe that this issue is not insignificant to the Lord and that it’s ok to ask to be well. The second for my actual healing. At the moment my illness issue is an infected ear. It’s not draining properly and I’ve developed an infection that has led to aching and an inability to hear out of this ear. Thank you for taking the time to pray for me…it’s appreciated.
8 babies, 2 teenagers, 1 adult
Last night was CRCC’s Worship Night. A night set apart for prayer, worship, and reflection. All of us on staff spent the few hours before getting everything prepared and ready to go. 3 stations were set up: 1. a prayer station where people wrote down names of friends & family who were far from God on glass boards. This was used to symbolize their commitment to praying for them and their believing that God would restore these people back to himself this Easter season. 2. 4 wooden beams, slips of paper, and nails. This station was used for people to write down the things that were keeping them from walking intimately with the Lord. For example: fears, sins, addictions, pains, strongholds. They then nailed them into the cross. 3. Communion station. Besides the stations, there were times of prayer and times of singing and worship. As I worked on prepping everything, I knew in my heart that this was going to be a night of change and breakthrough for many people. I was ready to participate in whatever way the Lord saw fit.
Where was I, you might ask? In the nursery. Me, being the only adult, two teenagers, and 8 babies. Yahoo! What an experience. The Lord really taught me so much through that 2.5 hour period. That we’re all part of a bigger picture. And if one of those parts is missing, the whole is not made complete. If someone hadn’t been available to rock, hold and love on infants; or someone wasn’t there to entertain the 2-5 year olds…what would their parents have missed out on. From what I hear, there was major breakthrough and rejoicing and victory taking place during the service. I’m thankful that I had the opportunity to rock babies. I’m thankful that the Lord had me participating in a different role last night. I’m thankful that the Lord reminded me that we can worship Him in different ways and that all ways are beautiful in his sight.
I’ll not forget the joy and peace I felt as I held onto Noah, comforted his cries, and listened to the sound of voices raised in worship in the service. I’ll not forget the humor as Zeke would spit up one minute and the next flash you the sweetest grin you could ever imagine. I’ll not forget the sweet contentment of Drew as he just chilled and enjoyed whatever was at his disposal. I’ll not forget Amelia as she delighted in being close to others and often showed “maternal instincts” to the other babies in the room. I’ll not forget Molly and the way she would sweetly offer you whatever she had. I’ll not forget Abe and his independence and how valiantly he fought to stay awake. I’ll not forget Kendall as she just longed to be in the presence of someone who showed her love and care. I’ll not forget Cole as he exemplified a strong, warrior spirit. And my helpers. I’ll not forget Christie and her easy way with children, how she loved them and showed great patience. I’ll not forget Lauren and she valiantly gave her best attempts with feedings and spit-up.
Yes, the Lord taught me many things. I’m thankful God chose me to worship as a caretaker last night. The insights he gave me into each of those babies resonates still today and bring me great hope and great joy.
Active?
Don’t we all just love to be comfortable? We love to settle into our routines, our schedules, our life. And sometimes this need for being comfortable becomes apathy. Simply not caring enough to shake out the cobwebs of mediocrity. Not desiring to pursue something different or change things up despite how beneficial it could be.
I’ve discovered I trend toward comfort in my relationships…in particular my relationships with God and my husband. I tend to get comfortable, stop working so hard to keep things interesting or different, stop the pursuit. And it’s easy to do. Hal and I have been together for over 5 years now, almost 2 of those we’ve been married. We’ve developed certain habits over time. Habits that are typically seen in our daily life. It’s easy to slip into habit and forget that to constantly pursue the person you love is more valuable than comfort. If I’ve had a long day (like yesterday), I’ll come home and cook dinner, then plop on the couch to read a book or watch TV…not much for conversation or investing in our relationship. The same goes with my relationship with the Lord. It’s easy to find yourself in a routine. We choose not to respond to the invitation of intimacy in a relationship that comes from active pursuit. We’d rather be comfortable.
As with any relationship at lease one person must decide that they are willing to be vulnerable with the other and admit that they need more than routine, more than habit, more than comfort…and then to actively pursue each other. Hal and I need that reminder a lot. In fact, we just invested in this. It’s our way of reminding each other to constantly and creatively pursue relationship and intimacy with one another. To invest in one another.
God is daily vulnerable with us…risking rejection, being ignored, and yet still in active pursuit of us. He woos us back with love notes, love stories. Like this story. I’m so thankful that God understands that we often need to be jarred out of our complacency and brought back into actively wooing the one we love.
Philippians 3: 12-16, “I’m not saying that I have this all together, that I have it made. But I am well on my way, reaching out for Christ, who has so wondrously reached out for me. Friends, don’t get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back. So let’s keep focused on that goal, those of us who want everything God has for us. If any of you have something else in mind, something less than total commitment, God will clear your blurred vision—you’ll see it yet! Now that we’re on the right track, let’s stay on it.
“It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone.” Ephesians 1:11-12
The King Responds
Our group: Sarah M (co-leader), Lauren, me (co-leader), Anna, Ruth, Julianna, Abi, Ashleigh, Nora)
Many of you know that I serve with our high school youth group, at CRCC, as the 11th grade girls small group co-leader with Sarah Meszaros. Most of the time I love it, and then there are days I certainly struggle with frustration, discouragement, apathy. However, yesterday the Lord reminded me that He is definitely at work in the lives of these girls. We’ve been going through Dutch Sheets book “Getting in God’s Face”, which is essentially talking about Intercessory Prayer. Sarah and I felt deep conviction this year that prayer is the cusp from which intimacy with the Lord begins. That prayer is vital to our lives and their lives. There is no relationship without conversation and quality time, just as you can’t have relationship with the Lord without either of those as well. Our prayer has been that these girls (as well as us) would discover an unquenchable thirst for more of God through prayer. That we would see God actively at work around us through our choice to pursue him in obedience. And that through prayer the girls would understand that God has given them the authority to release his power through their prayers…that they have the absolute authority to facilitate change (through the Holy Spirit, of course).
And they’re getting it. They’re starting to make parallels between their prayers and the response of the Lord. They’re starting to understand this idea that when God speaks, they have to obediently walk that out…otherwise they might just find that they’ve really missed out! Our pastor, Steve, mentioned a story in church this morning that really struck a cord in them and in me. He was out to lunch with a friend of his, eating ribs and french fries. His friend is a godly man, but was struggling with some physical pain. The Lord impressed Steve to tell his friend to not only come to our Monday night intercession time, but also that he was like a tribe from the Bible that struggled with pride. EEK!!! Can you imagine?? Can you imagine sitting in front of a man that you respect and feeling the Lord tell you to share that? Steve did what most of us would do….”nuh-uh, God…I can’t say that!” So during this lunch, Steve didn’t tell his friend what the Lord had laid on his heart. Days later the Lord impressed Steve to still contact his friend and tell him the same thing. This time, Steve chose to walk in obedience and shared this message with his friend. His friend responded in humility and appreciation.
How often do we miss out on something incredible because we choose not to respond to God’s leading in our lives? How often do we allow fear, intimidation, and pride to keep us from releasing God’s power out into our communities? How often do we miss God’s instructions and his blessings because we refuse to listen? I am proud to say that I’m understanding these things now, that these teenage girls I get the privilege to work with are getting it. Yes, when we seek out the Lord in prayer, the King of Kings always responds. God chooses to be actively engaged in your life, your home, your community. Don’t miss out on what God would ask of you. It might be you that loses.
Reality Check
What an experience this year’s Good News Club has been. I’ve been volunteering at Good News Club on Tuesday afternoons at Simpsonville Elementary for the last 3 years. For those of you that don’t know, GNC is a ministry of Child Evangelism Fellowship. Through these clubs we are provided the opportunity to share with children in public elementary schools the gospel of Jesus through games, songs, and Bible teaching.
We have seen our club become a battleground…a spiritual one. It is a place where the army of Satan will do all it can to thwart, distract, and steal the joy that can be found in a relationship with Christ. We serve children from the age of 5 to 11. And these children are confronted each day with drug-addicted parents, abusive parents and siblings, suicide, death, divorce, being in a tug of war between parents, and on and on the list goes. Some of these things I NEVER dealt with until I was much older. Many of these children are angry, bitter, broken, hurting…and it breaks my heart. It’s all the more reason why we go there to fight for them. It’s one of the reasons that we intercede on each of those kids’ behalf. It’s why we come prepared each week, with the power of the Holy Spirit, to do battle for these kids. It’s why we’ve seen 35 of these children come to Christ since Good News Club started this year. Our God has been so good to show us that His power is greater than any attack the enemy could muster. That despite the pain and desperation these kids often deal with in their homes, that they recognize their need for a Savior, a Redeemer, a Father. So, while myself and my other team member continue to battle, the Lord continues to remind us that we have to be on our guard…satan would like nothing more than to topple us, defeat us, destroy us. By doing so he would create a distraction in the work going on at GNC. My declaration: We will not be defeated! Why? Because we clothe ourselves in the defensive and offensive powers of God.
Ephesians 6:10-18, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.”
Let me be clear, we are in a spiritual battle, where the forces of satan and the forces of God collide. Be prepared. Be on the alert. And push forward. Where the spirit of the Lord is there is freedom.
