Found

I have a huge burden for young people.  I love the young-really young kids, babies- but my burden is for the teenagers.  My burden is for what they go through every day and the things they will face in the future.  My generation has become so absorbed in their own “self” they can’t or won’t relate and help the teenagers today-their own children.  So we have kids helping kids.  That’s a good thing that they are so willing to help, but in many cases they are not equipped to help and have no clue as to where to go or who to turn to.

Psalm 34:18 New International Version (NIV)

¹⁸ The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
    and saves those who are crushed in spirit

So that’s it!  He is their resource!  The one they turn to!  But in today’s world, our kids don’t even know that!  Our parents stay in bed on Sunday morning because they have worked all week or they are working and kids are at home.  I know our world is going down the crapper-literally!  No one cares about scheduling people to work around church.  There was a time that was important!  I miss those days because I can still remember them!  Even when my kids were young, we didn’t schedule sports practice on Wednesday evenings because folks went to church.  Easy as that. 

Our kids today are looking for something.  They aren’t finding it in video games anymore!  Drugs aren’t fulfilling them either!  They are so worn out with sex the “normal” way- the way God has designed it-that they turn to homosexuality!  Just anything they can find.  It’s still our job to lead our kids.  Show them the right way to go!  Guide them!  The Bible tells us so!

Proverbs 22:6 New King James Version (NKJV)

⁶ Train up a child in the way he should go,
And when he is old he will not depart from it

A Mothers Prayer

Oh give me patience when wee hands tug at me with their small demands and give me gentle and smiling eyes.  Keep my lips from hasty replies and let not weariness, confusion or noise obscure my vision from lifes fleeting joys.  So when in years to come my house is still, no bitter memories its rooms may fill.      Author Ida Hall Brown              

All leaders are learners.  The moment you stop learning, you stop leading.                    Pastor Rick Warren    

I told a friend this weekend at our next youth meeting we should let the kids teach and we learn.  There is so much in their world that we don’t even know or realize is going on!  I am afraid if I knew it all I would be in shock.  But sometimes we as teachers, leaders, even as parents, have to step back and go, “OK I know you are going through adult stuff, so teach me so I can help you!”

Kids like facts.  Their world is so full of repeat that sometimes it all gets confused.  In video games, they kill the enemy how many times?  They get new lives how many times?  The new thing now is Vine-where they watch and rewatch and rewatch and rewatch a 7 second video.  You get the picture.  Everything in life is expressed as a game or something that is disposable.   Just get a new one is their answer to everything.  Well this is what they need to know- and this isn’t disposable!

I know there’s a God who knows my name and a son who died to take the blame

I believe that Jesus is coming back ‘cause promises are promises and facts are facts.

As sure as there’s a law of gravity that says what goes up must come down,

This is the ultimate reality that God Is, and God Loves, and God can be found!   Steven Curtis Chapman

He is just waiting to be found!  He is the “fix” all these kids are looking for and when they find Him I want to be a part of it!  Last night Jacob attended Young Life at the leadership of Ryan Longenette.  When I arrived there were kids everywhere!  They assemble for fun and friendship but they also find out about God.  They don’t hear about Him on a church pew, from a hymnal in their Sunday best or even from a Bible with pages!  They may hear about Him through a BibleApp on their phone.  A video on YouTube sitting in a crowded living room on the floor.  The most unconventional way is probably how they are going to learn that Jesus loves them!  And they are going to remember that when they are in their darkest hour.  When they are in a situation that they don’t know how in the world to get out of, they are going to remember an evening of fun when they were surrounded by friends and there was a crazy guy there that agreed to dye his hair pink just because there were 60 kids that came out!  You know, it doesn’t matter how we get kids to assemble, what matters is that we tell them Jesus loves them in what little time we have with them.  We tell them we are available for them 24/7 but when we aren’t there- Jesus IS!  He has the ultimate Wi-Fi connection.  He holds them in the palms of His hand.

Isaiah 49:16 New King James Version (NKJV)

¹⁶ See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands;
Your walls are continually before Me.

As they begin to call up on Him for those simple everyday things in their life; math tests, ballgames, relationships, He is teaching them and getting them ready for those times when their faith will be tested.  And they will remember….they will call upon HIM! I love this song by Sidewalk Prophets!

Help Me Find It    (Sidewalk Prophets)

I don't know where to go from here
It all used to seem so clear
I'm finding I can't do this on my own

I don't know where to go from here
As long as I know that You are near
I'm done fighting, I'm finally letting go

I will trust in You
You've never failed before
I will trust in You

If there's a road I should walk
Help me find it if I need to be still
Give me peace for the moment
Whatever Your will, whatever Your will

Can you help me find it?
Can you help me find it?

I'm giving You fear and You give faith
I giving you doubt, You give me grace
For every step I've never been alone

Even when it hurts, You'll have Your way
Even in the valley I will say
With every breath, You've never let me go

I will wait for You
You've never failed before
I will wait for You

If there's a road I should walk
Help me find it if I need to be still
Give me peace for the moment
Whatever Your will, whatever Your will

Can you help me find it?
Can you help me find it?

I lift my empty hands
(Come fill me up again)
Have Your way my King
(I give my all to You)

I lift my eyes again
(Was blind but now I see)
'Cause You are all I need

If there's a road I should walk
Help me find it if I need to be still
Give me peace for the moment
Whatever Your will, whatever Your will

Can you help me find it?
Can you help me find it?

A friend and I have an ongoing theory about putting microchips in children when they are born just to “find” them.  Praise God He doesn’t have to have a microchip or a cell phone number or a Wi-Fi connection when we want to call His name!

Nahum 1:7 New King James Version (NKJV)

⁷ The Lord is good,
A stronghold in the day of trouble;
And He knows those who trust in Him

Jesus Christ knows us-each and every one!  Father God knows His children and when we put our trust in Him He will be there for us.  All we have to do is reach out and grab hold.  He will deliver us from our times of trouble.  He will laugh with us when we are happy, He cries with us when we are sad.  He comforts us, holds us and loves us!  That’s all our kids need to know!  And who knows, maybe they can teach us a thing or two!

Philippians 4:13 New King James Version (NKJV)

¹³ I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me

Move Over!

I have never thought of myself as an adventurous person!  I am very predictable.  I get up at the same time every day, whether I work or not.  I eat the same thing for breakfast every day; a bagel or oatmeal-YES I know I am also very exciting!  Oh and coffee!  The high test kind no decaf for me!  When I walk I go the same place, when I listen to music I rarely put it on shuffle.  I often get a song on my mind and it’s on repeat for 2 miles!  I watch the same movies on TB, I even find myself reading the same book of the Bible!  If I find a verse I really like, I stay in that chapter until I wear it out then I venture out into the rest of that book until I exhaust it.  I do get a little crazy with my beverages now and then.  It’s usually a diet coke but on occasion I mix it up with a diet Mountain Dew!

But when it comes to my faith, I am steadfast for sure, that doesn’t change.  But I have in the last year learned to not control it.  I have become adventurous!  And I did it when I wasn’t looking.  I have to analyze everything to death.  Why-when-where-when-when-when!  I am trying to do that thing everyone says, “Let Go and Let God”.  But I am here to tell ya it is not as easy as it sounds.  That’s where my adventure comes in.  I have just let “stuff” I am praying about go!  I ask questions and He never leaves me without an answer!  So I finally caught on!  OK, ask and ye shall receive, right?!  It’s that easy!  He has answered every question and not with that, “Oh yeah I think I got it” or a warm and fuzzy feeling!  I have been given scripture by Jesus Christ to answer all my questions.  And I have come to rely on that.  I am tired of answering my own questions when His answers are so much more!  He promises and He delivers!

I had to step out on that unwavering faith though.  And it was scary; like I would have imagined Peter when walking on the water.  But I stayed on that water.  I didn’t look back!  And what He is telling me is so much more than I could’ve ever imagined!  God is just so good!

1 Corinthians 2:9

King James Version (KJV)

⁹ But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him

He wants us to have everything, like it is Christmas every day.  But we stand in our own way.  It is beyond me why we do it!  This week I have literally moved over so that He can stand right beside me and He whispers in my ear, “Now is the time” and I have to say, it is an amazing feeling.  To trust someone so deeply that you can walk hand in hand, heart to heart!  Knowing they always have your best interest at heart.  You never have to worry about what someone is going to say about you because if God is working His plan, He has everything ahead of you worked out already.  Just makes things less messy.  No clean up, no cover up!  If we could all just get in the center of His will and do what He says life would be a Utopia!

When you really want to do the Lords will-what He has planned for your life-He will move Heaven and earth to show you the way!  No matter what He does- for example a relationship- He will take that relationship to heights you can never imagine if you stay I His will!  Let Him be the guide, not you.  He will use you to do great and marvelous things for His kingdom.  All we have to do is get out of the way and let Him lead!  Let Him whisper in our ears and then obey Him when He says, “OK its time, this is what we’re gonna do!”

“I just want to be more like Jesus to lose my selfish desires and to be found in Him”     Unknown

Matthew 21:21

King James Version (KJV)

²¹ Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, If ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; it shall be done

I am faithful to my God!  I do what He asks of me, even though I don’t understand sometimes why.  He always reveals to me the why-in His time!  Relationships always have puzzled me and I am beginning to understand why.  It is because we are in the way.  We want what we want.  We pray for what we want.  Even though we don’t know what’s best for us and then when we don’t get it, we take it out on God.  It was never part of His plan in the first place, it was our plan.  I know what His will is for my life now; I have endured and stayed the course.  He has revealed to me what, and so now I just wait to receive the promises!

Hebrews 10:35-36

King James Version (KJV)

³⁵ Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward.

³⁶ For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.

For I am greatly blessed, highly favored, and deeply loved       Matthew 5:3

Isaiah 64:4

New King James Version (NKJV)

⁴ For since the beginning of the world
Men have not heard nor perceived by the ear,
Nor has the eye seen any God besides You,
Who acts for the one who waits for Him.

 

Fwd:

Update from pastor Vince on baby Oakley ;)

Jim says she continues to improve slowly. They are concerned about pneumonia since she is on a vent. With all the prayers, she is moving slowly forward. God bless you!!

The Pew

Have you ever wondered about your seat or pew that you sit in each Sunday morning at church? Is it a random bench that just happened to be empty on the day you came and then it became "yours"? Were you "born and raised" on that pew? Your Mom and Dad sat there and so you sit there? Maybe you prefer the back seat or perhaps you are a front row christian. Irregardless of which seat you sit, God is there with you.
I was one of those that started on a seat when I was 10 or so. I sat there with friends and "grew up" on that bench. I married the friend I sat next to and that bench grew to include all our children and their "stuff"! Yes we were one of those families that had the whole pew! It didn't matter what we came to church for; regular service, funeral, wedding...it was known as our bench and most everyone in our church has their own pew-their own seat. You wouldn't think things like the simple place a person sits would be that big of an issue. But guess what? Yea it was for me! After Danny died you have no idea how hard it was just to go to church where I have to look at the front of the church where he last was. Very lifeless. But then again you all-we all-have lost loved ones. So, yes, you do know! So instead of becoming a church "hopper" I became a pew hopper. Every Sunday I tried a different seat. I couldn't feel at home in any of them. Sure people wanted me to sit with them, but it didn't feel like my home-my pew-my seat. I struggled the same in life trying to find my place. We are creatures of habit. Even in my king size bed, I don't move from my side-neither does my dog. As I tried to find my place in this world without Danny one day I was sitting in church and I realized I had stopped pew hopping! I have been sitting in the same pew for 10 months. My life is kind of like that. Its like one day I woke up and I realized life is going on, holidays go by, birthdays come and go, major events happen and I find myself laughing and looking forward to life. Its then that I realized that my pew hopping-life chasing-regrets-sadness- was in the past and I can thank Danny for that. He loved me with a love that can never be replaced, but also with a love that said you were cherished and can be again. He loved me with the love of Christ as his guide. He loved me for me! Even with all my flaws! When I begin to really miss him, especially the holidays, I can feel the love of Jesus wrap me up!
When I became choir director I changed my seat so I could be close to the piano, so I guess you could say I moved purey for laziness! Little did I know, 10 months later, that seat would mean so much to me. It symbolizes so much I have overcome! One little bench! We have pew issues in our church-just like every church we are a little quirky! But hey, thats OK 'cause we are Quirky for Christ! We as humans beings put our hope in things that really don't matter. That reminds me of the song On Christ the Solid Rock I Stand: My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness, I dare not trust the sweetest frame but wholly lean on Jesus' name. On Christ the solid Rock I stand all other ground is sinking sand, all other ground is sinking sand!
When I sit on my pew-that I now call mine- it's me and Jesus! It feels like home!

Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you says the Lord for a hope and a future

He has restored my broken dreams and I know He has hope and a future for me, because He loves me!

1 Peter 5:10
And the God of all grace...will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast!

Pages

The More I Seek You- Kari Jobe

The more I seek you
The more I find you
The more I find you
The more I love you
I want to sit at your feet
Drink from the cup in your hand
Lay back against you and breathe, feel your heartbeat
This love is so deep its more than I can stand,
I melt in your peace, it's so overwhelming

This song has been calling to me all week. Its so simple. It's friendship. I have friends that are acquaintances but I don't know their story. And then I have friends that I know their story and I love them all the more for their story. For what they have gone through or are going through. I love that they have chosen to let Christ bring their Beauty from Ashes! I love that they share their story with me! We are all open books with pages yet to be filled with the ink from the Masters Pen. Sometimes when I think my life is over and there is nothing left for me to do or times when I feel like, "God what can you do with me!?" He reminds me to look at my book. My pages are only half filled. There is so much life left. My pages are no where near being filled. When God dips his pen of love in my heart- that's when He will complete my story! Its hard to wrap my mind around the part that God already knows my story. He knows how it all ends. If He would write our stories and give us the book, we couldn't absorb it. So He gives us bit by bit, page by page, chapter by chapter. In the meantime we have the most wonderful opportunity to develop a friendship with our Savior.

Proverbs 3:32
He offers his friendship to the godly

I have done a lot of soul searching this week and I don't even begin to see why He wants to be my friend. I try to pray to what I think is His will. But this week I have had to be honest with Christ! I just don't know what to pray. I know HOW but I don't know what! I have become more honest with Him. Sometimes I get tired of waiting, so I tell Him. When I don't understand my situation, I tell Him. When I feel helpless or hopeless, I tell Him. He listens and I pour out my complaints and worries. And as I seek Him, I find Him and then I just love Him, because He knows all my secrets, my fears, my regrets and my desires. And while I am there loving Him, He is loving me! Even knowing all He does He still loves me- loves me because He knows my story. He loves that I share my story with Him. He loves it when I give Him those pages of worry, pages of fear and regret. The more He knows the closer friends we become.

James 4:8
Draw close to God, and God will draw close to you

There is no one who doesn't desire a best friend that you can get mad at, blame everything on, confide in, be completely honest with; and then they still want you to call them! Well praise God I have that friend. And he sticks closer than a brother- and I have some really good brothers!

Psalm 142:2-3a
I pour out before Him my complaint; before Him I tell my trouble. When my spirit grows faint within me, it is you who watch over my way

If I am being honest, I can't say I actually ever got mad or blamed God for my circumstances but I have wished they were different. I have questioned Him and I am still waiting on those answers. But as He continues to write the pages of my book He reveals those answers to me. Each time He writes upon my heart, I am blessed and I feel such overwhelming peace and love- I couldn't stand it if I got it all at one time! So I just trust Him with each page as He writes my story. And as my pages become chapters I am overwhelmed with how much He wants me to be loved and to love. If I get nothing else out of my life here on earth I want it to be love. I have so much love to give and I know it's because I have received...by Mommy and Daddy, my brothers and sisters, Danny, my kids, my church family, my friends-I could never begin to bottle it all up. If this love was ink I would have a never ending well! None of that love was deserved but given freely through Christ! And that's how I want to repay my friend-give it all away! It isn't love until you give it away!

John 15:9-11
Jesus said, "I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. When you obey me, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father and remain in His love. I have told you this so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!

I want to do it out of love-everything out of love, because He first love me. I want to do great things for God, but I also want to do those small things that may not have a great impact on the world or leave a trail for all the world to see. Things like being a friend when my friend feels like they have no where else to go or no one else to turn to. I want to love that child that no one else loves. I want to fill the evening of someone who has no one- to take away the loneliness. I want to be the laughter of someone who is so sad. I want to be the voice for that someone who is afraid to speak up for themselves! None of these things would impact the world, but they would impact an individual. I know because I have been impacted by individuals loving me and doing those small things. My friends and sometimes strangers have done everything that I have penned here. They have filled my lonely days and nights by phone calls, Facebook and visits. They have sat with me, cried with me, watched silly movies, prayed with me! And they have loved my children when they needed love or didn't feel love. They have been my laughter in the face of sadness and they have been my voice when I couldn't find my voice. When I didn't have words! And when I found words and have so much to say, so many feelings that I sometimes can't express- my friends are there listening to me! Offering me scripture, feeding my soul! And my soul is hungry. I eat every morsel that is tossed my way!
As I become best friends with my Savior, I care about what He cares about. I want to do the things He requires of me; love others, help the needy, forgive, lead others to Christ, keep our lives clean! Love is our motivator! I want to live my life in His presence every day. I have become dependent on Him for everything. I have become Addicted to Jesus! He is just like the drugs on the street or any other addiction. I have called upon Him everyday in every situation and He has never let me down. I cannot imagine facing my day without Him to turn to. No hope! No Peace! No love! No forgiveness! That to me would be most devastating!

Psalm 63:3
Your love means more than life to me

Friendships and relationships- whether they are friends or family- are the most important thing in life. They are what matters in this life and the eternal life, because we will live forever with Christ! The most important relationship and friend you can have of course is Christ Jesus! If He is your closest and dearest friend your other relationships will be icing on the cake! Paul told Timothy in

1 Timothy 6:21
Some of these people have missed the most important thing in life-They don't know God!

Gods love never wears out! That's why you have to have Jesus in all your relationships if they are going to last.

Ephesians 3:18-19
And may you have the power to understand, as all Gods people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully.