I have NO idea what would have triggered this particular memory for me this morning, so I choose to believe that the Holy Spirit brought it to my mind to encourage me. I'll share it here so that it might encourage you too.
When my dh and I first met, we attended a church that averaged attendance of about 100 to 150 on Sunday mornings. We weren't really big enough to have both a teen ministry and a young adult or college age ministry. This church had a "family" atmosphere anyway, so the teens and early "twentysomethings" often hung out together.
My relationship with my husband began this way~attending the same church, same Sunday School class, and the same church activities even though we weren't "officially" together. He later told me that he had very little interest in most of the church "get togethers" that we went to, but he went anyway, just so he could flirt with me. :) But, I digress........
At one of these "get togethers", we played board games. Dh came and joined a group of us at a round table where we were playing Jenga. If you're not familiar with Jenga, it's a game that involves a tower of intricately stacked wooden blocks. The object of the game is to remove one block during your turn WITHOUT making the tower fall.
I began to notice that I was doing much better than usual at this game. I usually manage to knock down the tower on my first or second turn. This time, we had made 4 or 5 rounds, and the tower was still standing, even though I moved a couple of blocks that I just KNEW were going to make it fall.
Then, my dear, sweet husband ( though he wasn't my dh at this time) got caught. He didn't move his hand quickly enough when my turn was over. I saw him pulling his hand back, and I realized that during the whole game, he had been slyly reaching over with just one finger, holding up the tower of blocks so that it wouldn't fall on my turn. :) I think I must have been the only one at the table who didn't realize what he was doing the whole time! :)
I thought it was very sweet then, and when, for whatever reason, it came to mind this morning, I thought again that it was a very sweet thing to do . My very next thought was this:
Our life is, to put it plainly, a little bit of a mess right now. I mentioned in a post yesterday that we've had some things to tear up in the house lately, other things to just stop working, our van needs some repair work and new tires, and because of very tight finances, we've not yet filled our propane tank for the winter. But, we are managing. God has met each days needs as they have come.
God is doing for us just what my dh did for me that evening so long ago. God is holding up our block tower with just one finger. We may move the blocks. We may shuffle them around a bit, and we may choose to move the wrong ones, but as long as God has His finger on the block tower, it's NOT going to fall!!!
This is my prayer today:
Father, thank You for holding our teetering block tower together. You know every detail, Father, and You are in control of it all. Our needs seem great to us, even overwhelming, but they are not so to You. You are able to meet each need by simply speaking the Word. Our needs are not a surprise to You, and I thank You for that.
Guide me today, Father, in all that I do~in my words, my actions, and the use of my time. I ask You to touch dh today. Encourage his heart, Father, that he may KNOW that You are in control, and that You are moving in our lives at every moment. I ask that you bless us and our loved ones with health and protection today.
Thank You, Father, for meeting our needs, and for reminding me this morning that You ARE holding it all together with one finger.
I ask these things in the precious, sweet name of Jesus,
Amen.
Vicki
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Tuesday, October 30, 2007
Stay By the Stuff
From the time I graduated from high school until about 4 months before our first child was born, I worked "regular" job. So, I was used to adding to the income in our home.
Since I stopped working a paying job 10 years ago, my husband and I have experienced many financial hardships. I always had mixed feelings about this. First of all, it's frustrating to go through "tight" money times under ANY circumstance. Beyond that, I have often felt frustrated as I watch my husband work SO hard while I stay at home. This is because, since I left my last job, I have gotten phone calls every few months asking me if I'm interested in coming back to work. I allow myself to become frustrated because I find myself thinking "I COULD be working, bringing in a paycheck, then we wouldn't have these financial pressures, and money wouldn't be so tight all the time."
Then, I fall even further into thinking "I shouldn't be sitting here on my behind at home all day while dh works his tail off for us".
Now there IS a part of me that KNOWS how silly that is. I DON'T sit on my behind all day. Most days, I don't sit much at all! I cook, clean, take care of the bills, care for the children, and oh, did I mention that I also teach Kindergarten, 2nd Grade, and 4th Grade ?! Furthermore, my husband believes that as long as he is physically able to provide for us, it is HIS responsibility to do that, while my main responsibility is the care of our children and our home. I agree with that, and yet I still allow satan to whisper in my ear "Shame on you, staying in your nice warm bed while your husband gets up at 5am and heads out the door!"
But, Praise the Lord for that Voice of Truth!!! As I read my Bible a few days ago, I came to I Samuel 30:21-25. In this passage, David and his warriors have returned from battle and are about to divide the spoils among themselves. One soldier speaks up and says that the soldiers who actually went to the battlefield should receive a larger share of the loot than the ones who stayed behind to guard everyone's belongings while the battle was going on.
David said no to this. He told the soldier that those who fought would receive the same share of the reward as those who "stayed by the stuff".
The Lord used this to speak to my heart. That is what I do! It's what every Mom does who is called by the Lord to stay at home full time. We are "staying by the stuff"! I may not be out there on the front lines, facing the world every day like my husband does, but that is not my calling. My calling from the Lord is to be at home. I'm through listening to satan's lies. I consider it my duty and my honor to "stay by the stuff."
In His Love,
Vicki
Since I stopped working a paying job 10 years ago, my husband and I have experienced many financial hardships. I always had mixed feelings about this. First of all, it's frustrating to go through "tight" money times under ANY circumstance. Beyond that, I have often felt frustrated as I watch my husband work SO hard while I stay at home. This is because, since I left my last job, I have gotten phone calls every few months asking me if I'm interested in coming back to work. I allow myself to become frustrated because I find myself thinking "I COULD be working, bringing in a paycheck, then we wouldn't have these financial pressures, and money wouldn't be so tight all the time."
Then, I fall even further into thinking "I shouldn't be sitting here on my behind at home all day while dh works his tail off for us".
Now there IS a part of me that KNOWS how silly that is. I DON'T sit on my behind all day. Most days, I don't sit much at all! I cook, clean, take care of the bills, care for the children, and oh, did I mention that I also teach Kindergarten, 2nd Grade, and 4th Grade ?! Furthermore, my husband believes that as long as he is physically able to provide for us, it is HIS responsibility to do that, while my main responsibility is the care of our children and our home. I agree with that, and yet I still allow satan to whisper in my ear "Shame on you, staying in your nice warm bed while your husband gets up at 5am and heads out the door!"
But, Praise the Lord for that Voice of Truth!!! As I read my Bible a few days ago, I came to I Samuel 30:21-25. In this passage, David and his warriors have returned from battle and are about to divide the spoils among themselves. One soldier speaks up and says that the soldiers who actually went to the battlefield should receive a larger share of the loot than the ones who stayed behind to guard everyone's belongings while the battle was going on.
David said no to this. He told the soldier that those who fought would receive the same share of the reward as those who "stayed by the stuff".
The Lord used this to speak to my heart. That is what I do! It's what every Mom does who is called by the Lord to stay at home full time. We are "staying by the stuff"! I may not be out there on the front lines, facing the world every day like my husband does, but that is not my calling. My calling from the Lord is to be at home. I'm through listening to satan's lies. I consider it my duty and my honor to "stay by the stuff."
In His Love,
Vicki
Around the World Day 2007
Last Friday, we participated in our homeschool group's Around the World Day. This is our 3rd year to participate in this fair, and it's always a lot of fun. Looking back over our 3 ATWD projects, it's amazing to me to see how my children have grown and matured.
Two years ago, the children chose China as our project. Many of the ideas were theirs, as was some of the work itself, but a lot of the work was mine. I recall that we included some Chinese fairy tales in our display because that is the one thing we learned about China that interested my girls the most at that time.
Last year, they chose Australia. They did more of the work on the Australia project, but I was still very involved, and sort of "directing" the whole project. I wanted to encourage the kids to do what they were capable of doing for themselves, with help from me to include all that they wanted in the display.
This year, the girls decided they wanted to do seperate countries. I agreed to this, but I told them that the ONLY way we could make this work is if they were willing to display things that they each could do almost entirely by themselves.
Well, I have to say, they did it, and I am so proud of them! My 9yo chose Italy, and she did a great job. She included a salt dough map of her country, several pictures with interesting facts on them that she cut out of some old encyclopedias, did several drawings, and even did a poster about Christmas in Italy. She even painted her own version of the Mona Lisa! My only contribution to the project was to help her find information, and to do some printing for her because she was afraid people might not be able to read her handwriting. Our displays always include a food from our chosen country, and she made chocolate chip biscotti almost entirely by herself! I thought it was delicious, and it must have been pretty good because we didn't have any left to bring home!!
My 7yo chose to study and do a display about Panama. She is fascinated with Panama because she has often heard my parents and my 2 sisters share stories of the time they spent living there. They were there from 1967 to 1969 because my Dad was an Army MP in the Canal Zone.
My daughter did all her own work for her display, again with the exception of some handwriting work. She made posters, drew the Panamanian flag, and did most of the work involved in making her VERY yummy Panama Canal Cake!
My girls displays were not elaborate by any means, but they were "theirs", fully and completely, and I think they enjoyed this ATWD more than the ones they've done so far.
Incidentally, we HAVE decided to go back to having the whole family do just one country next year. We are, Lord willing, planning to visit Disney World this spring. So, we've decided to study one of the countries represented at Epcot. This will give us a chance to actually meet and speak to someone from that country, and to bring back some items from the country. Unless they change their minds, the children have chosen Morocco for next year's study.
I"m so thankful to the Lord for leaing our family to homeschool, for making it possible for us to follow His leading, and for giving us such a great homeschool group that provides opportunities like this for our children.
Also, I have to say that EVERY display at ATWD this year was GREAT! All the food was good, and at EVERY booth I visited, the children were eager to tell me what they had learned and answer my questions, and they all did a fantastic job!
Blessedbeyondmeasure
Two years ago, the children chose China as our project. Many of the ideas were theirs, as was some of the work itself, but a lot of the work was mine. I recall that we included some Chinese fairy tales in our display because that is the one thing we learned about China that interested my girls the most at that time.
Last year, they chose Australia. They did more of the work on the Australia project, but I was still very involved, and sort of "directing" the whole project. I wanted to encourage the kids to do what they were capable of doing for themselves, with help from me to include all that they wanted in the display.
This year, the girls decided they wanted to do seperate countries. I agreed to this, but I told them that the ONLY way we could make this work is if they were willing to display things that they each could do almost entirely by themselves.
Well, I have to say, they did it, and I am so proud of them! My 9yo chose Italy, and she did a great job. She included a salt dough map of her country, several pictures with interesting facts on them that she cut out of some old encyclopedias, did several drawings, and even did a poster about Christmas in Italy. She even painted her own version of the Mona Lisa! My only contribution to the project was to help her find information, and to do some printing for her because she was afraid people might not be able to read her handwriting. Our displays always include a food from our chosen country, and she made chocolate chip biscotti almost entirely by herself! I thought it was delicious, and it must have been pretty good because we didn't have any left to bring home!!
My 7yo chose to study and do a display about Panama. She is fascinated with Panama because she has often heard my parents and my 2 sisters share stories of the time they spent living there. They were there from 1967 to 1969 because my Dad was an Army MP in the Canal Zone.
My daughter did all her own work for her display, again with the exception of some handwriting work. She made posters, drew the Panamanian flag, and did most of the work involved in making her VERY yummy Panama Canal Cake!
My girls displays were not elaborate by any means, but they were "theirs", fully and completely, and I think they enjoyed this ATWD more than the ones they've done so far.
Incidentally, we HAVE decided to go back to having the whole family do just one country next year. We are, Lord willing, planning to visit Disney World this spring. So, we've decided to study one of the countries represented at Epcot. This will give us a chance to actually meet and speak to someone from that country, and to bring back some items from the country. Unless they change their minds, the children have chosen Morocco for next year's study.
I"m so thankful to the Lord for leaing our family to homeschool, for making it possible for us to follow His leading, and for giving us such a great homeschool group that provides opportunities like this for our children.
Also, I have to say that EVERY display at ATWD this year was GREAT! All the food was good, and at EVERY booth I visited, the children were eager to tell me what they had learned and answer my questions, and they all did a fantastic job!
Blessedbeyondmeasure
Monday, October 15, 2007
Confederate Roses and Flying Fairies
Sometimes we have the most fun when we are totally NOT planning it! We were all kind of "bummed" this morning because dh was off from his part time job all last week, which means he was home at 2:15 every day. Now, he's back to working until 7:30. But still, it was a good day. The children, much to my surprise, were willing and enthusiastic this morning about helping get the house straightened up. I think they are finally beginning to grasp the idea that if we clean up a bit each day, we almost never need to spend one whole day cleaning the house.
In the midst of that, I got sidetracked because someone at our mortgage company fouled up some paperwork and caused a problem, but hey, it only took me a couple of hours to straighten it out :)
Once that was done, we set to work on studying the countries we have chosen to present at our hs group's social studies fair. This is our 3rd year participating in this fair, and my girls just LOVE doing it.
Then, we decided to head outside to enjoy some of this absolutely gorgeous weather we've been blessed with! The kids are SO excited because the Confederate Rose bush that they planted 2 years ago FINALLY bloomed! The flowers are beautiful, and the kids love them because they bloom white, then, within a day or two, they turn pink! Right now, we have one pink, and one white. It's so cool!
Then, my oldest munchkin found an old board in the yard, and a really big rock. She laid the board on the rock like a see-saw, and the kids started putting things on the lower end, then stepping on the raised end to make the objects fly up in the air. The first few things they tried were too heavy and didn't go very far. Then, my middle munchkin got the bright idea of bringing her tiny little toy fairies out and putting them on the board. Littlest munchkin STOMPED on the end of that board, and those fairies went FLYING!!! This brought squeals of laughter from all 3 kiddos, and kept them entertained for nearly an hour!!
Now, dinner is sending out a wonderful aroma from the crockpot, munchkin #1 is in the shower, and dh will soon be home. My husband, who is often just a little bit of a "scrooge" around the holidays, has actually gotten into the spirit VERY early this year, and he and the kids watched The Santa Clause last night!!! Tonight, he promised that they would watch The Santa Clause 2 when he gets home. That will be fun for them, and it will leave me free to go into the other room and watch the MLB playoff games in relative peace.
Even in these "little" things, God's grace is so very evident in our lives, and for that, I am SO thankful.
In His Love,
Vicki
In the midst of that, I got sidetracked because someone at our mortgage company fouled up some paperwork and caused a problem, but hey, it only took me a couple of hours to straighten it out :)
Once that was done, we set to work on studying the countries we have chosen to present at our hs group's social studies fair. This is our 3rd year participating in this fair, and my girls just LOVE doing it.
Then, we decided to head outside to enjoy some of this absolutely gorgeous weather we've been blessed with! The kids are SO excited because the Confederate Rose bush that they planted 2 years ago FINALLY bloomed! The flowers are beautiful, and the kids love them because they bloom white, then, within a day or two, they turn pink! Right now, we have one pink, and one white. It's so cool!
Then, my oldest munchkin found an old board in the yard, and a really big rock. She laid the board on the rock like a see-saw, and the kids started putting things on the lower end, then stepping on the raised end to make the objects fly up in the air. The first few things they tried were too heavy and didn't go very far. Then, my middle munchkin got the bright idea of bringing her tiny little toy fairies out and putting them on the board. Littlest munchkin STOMPED on the end of that board, and those fairies went FLYING!!! This brought squeals of laughter from all 3 kiddos, and kept them entertained for nearly an hour!!
Now, dinner is sending out a wonderful aroma from the crockpot, munchkin #1 is in the shower, and dh will soon be home. My husband, who is often just a little bit of a "scrooge" around the holidays, has actually gotten into the spirit VERY early this year, and he and the kids watched The Santa Clause last night!!! Tonight, he promised that they would watch The Santa Clause 2 when he gets home. That will be fun for them, and it will leave me free to go into the other room and watch the MLB playoff games in relative peace.
Even in these "little" things, God's grace is so very evident in our lives, and for that, I am SO thankful.
In His Love,
Vicki
Friday, October 12, 2007
Are You Serious?!
I can't stand it. If you read that sentence and you know me at all, then you know that a rant is on it's way, so press on at your own risk, dear reader.
My family and I are currently visiting various churches. We actually began this "church search" in January of 2006. We had a brief "sojourn" in one church, but for the most part, we've been "wandering" for almost 2 years.
Since we've been at this for so long, I have almost made a hobby out of not only visiting churches, but also watching church services on television, listening to church radio broadcasts, and visiting church websites.
Today, however, I was NOT doing any of those things!! I am in the throes of baseball playoff fever, and I was feeding my frenzy by listening to ESPN radio. Imagine my surprise when I heard the following:
My name is XXXX and I'd like to invite you and your family to join us at XYZ Church. We are a sports oriented church with a Christian emphasis. We have softball for adults, and for boys and girls beginning at age 16. We have AWANA Olympics for the younger children. For more information, please contact me, XXXX, at this number......
Oh, come ON! This is a CHURCH advertisement for goodness sake!! Where's the location? Where are the worship times? Where is ANY mention of God WHATSOEVER??!!
Oh, I can just see it now. Where do you go to church? Oh, I go to XYZ Church. It's the SPORTS ORIENTED church with the christian emphasis.
Yeah. That's the testimony I want about my church.
For the love of chocolate covered cherries, you have GOT to be kidding me.
Vicki
My family and I are currently visiting various churches. We actually began this "church search" in January of 2006. We had a brief "sojourn" in one church, but for the most part, we've been "wandering" for almost 2 years.
Since we've been at this for so long, I have almost made a hobby out of not only visiting churches, but also watching church services on television, listening to church radio broadcasts, and visiting church websites.
Today, however, I was NOT doing any of those things!! I am in the throes of baseball playoff fever, and I was feeding my frenzy by listening to ESPN radio. Imagine my surprise when I heard the following:
My name is XXXX and I'd like to invite you and your family to join us at XYZ Church. We are a sports oriented church with a Christian emphasis. We have softball for adults, and for boys and girls beginning at age 16. We have AWANA Olympics for the younger children. For more information, please contact me, XXXX, at this number......
Oh, come ON! This is a CHURCH advertisement for goodness sake!! Where's the location? Where are the worship times? Where is ANY mention of God WHATSOEVER??!!
Oh, I can just see it now. Where do you go to church? Oh, I go to XYZ Church. It's the SPORTS ORIENTED church with the christian emphasis.
Yeah. That's the testimony I want about my church.
For the love of chocolate covered cherries, you have GOT to be kidding me.
Vicki
Thursday, October 11, 2007
A Daily Rate
This is something that I've shared before, but I"m not sure that I"ve shared it here. If so, it was a long time ago. The Lord has brought it to my mind this morning, so I"ll share it again. This is a poem by Grace Livingston Hill from her novel A Daily Rate. The poem is based on 2 Kings 25:30 which says:
And his allowance was a continual allowance given him of the king, a daily rate for every day, all the days of his life.
Charge not thyself with the weight of a year
Child of the Master, faithful and dear.
Choose not the cross for the coming week,
For that is more than He bids thee seek.
Bend not thine arm for tomorrow's load
Thou mayest leave that to thy Gracious God.
For daily, only, He says to thee,
Take up thy cross and follow Me.
I LOVE this, and pull it out a LOT to remind myself that I am a child of the King, and that I have an allowance from Him~a daily rate of not only physical provision, but mercy and grace enough for EACH day, EVERY day of my life. I often think that I need tomorrow's grace today, but I am finally learning that today's grace is enough, because the grace for tomorrow will be there when I need it, and not one moment before.
I am reminded of the chorus of an old song that I've heard in church for years~
There is grace for every need
Grace for you, grace for me
Keeping true, keeping free
Precious saving grace indeed
Flowing from the throne above
Grace to cover all my sin,
Grace to all who believe, oh this grace receive!
Full forgiveness ALL may win,
Yes there's grace in the Lord's perfect love!
In His Love,
Vicki
And his allowance was a continual allowance given him of the king, a daily rate for every day, all the days of his life.
Charge not thyself with the weight of a year
Child of the Master, faithful and dear.
Choose not the cross for the coming week,
For that is more than He bids thee seek.
Bend not thine arm for tomorrow's load
Thou mayest leave that to thy Gracious God.
For daily, only, He says to thee,
Take up thy cross and follow Me.
I LOVE this, and pull it out a LOT to remind myself that I am a child of the King, and that I have an allowance from Him~a daily rate of not only physical provision, but mercy and grace enough for EACH day, EVERY day of my life. I often think that I need tomorrow's grace today, but I am finally learning that today's grace is enough, because the grace for tomorrow will be there when I need it, and not one moment before.
I am reminded of the chorus of an old song that I've heard in church for years~
There is grace for every need
Grace for you, grace for me
Keeping true, keeping free
Precious saving grace indeed
Flowing from the throne above
Grace to cover all my sin,
Grace to all who believe, oh this grace receive!
Full forgiveness ALL may win,
Yes there's grace in the Lord's perfect love!
In His Love,
Vicki
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
We took today off so we could....
Go To SCHOOL!!! LOL!
My kids have got to be the only ones in the world who take a day off from their work at home so they can go to school!
Both my parents work at a local elementary school. The students are on Fall Break this week, so we spent the day at the school with Grandma and Poppy. It is gloriously beautiful today, so we spent lots of time outside on the REALLY neat playground that they have there. Then, we had a picnic lunch, then went inside to play in the gym.
We played a little baseball and a little kickball, the kids had a ball using those great big bouncing balls with a handle on them that you can hold on to, and scooting across the gym floor on something called "turtles". We unrolled a mat that looks like a bowling lane, set up the pins, hunted up the ball, and had some fun bowling in the gym.
We ended our day with a "scavenger hunt" for candy. Many of the teachers in this school keep jars of candy on their desks~things like Skittles, Starburst, candy corn, etc., that they give as rewards to their students. My Mom led the kids through the "maze" of classrooms, and once they found the teacher's candy jar, they each got a piece or two.
What they were really supposed to be searching for was Poppy (their grandfather). They found him standing in the hall with the keys to the ice cream freezer, ready to open it up and let them each pick something out of it. Needless to say, the children had a GREAT time!!
Then, we came home and played in the front yard. Now, the kids are all happy because they've had a terrific day, Daddy's home early, (he's off from his second job this week) and we're all going to watch a movie together.
I am just so very thankful to the Lord for giving us days like this one.
In His Love,
Vicki
My kids have got to be the only ones in the world who take a day off from their work at home so they can go to school!
Both my parents work at a local elementary school. The students are on Fall Break this week, so we spent the day at the school with Grandma and Poppy. It is gloriously beautiful today, so we spent lots of time outside on the REALLY neat playground that they have there. Then, we had a picnic lunch, then went inside to play in the gym.
We played a little baseball and a little kickball, the kids had a ball using those great big bouncing balls with a handle on them that you can hold on to, and scooting across the gym floor on something called "turtles". We unrolled a mat that looks like a bowling lane, set up the pins, hunted up the ball, and had some fun bowling in the gym.
We ended our day with a "scavenger hunt" for candy. Many of the teachers in this school keep jars of candy on their desks~things like Skittles, Starburst, candy corn, etc., that they give as rewards to their students. My Mom led the kids through the "maze" of classrooms, and once they found the teacher's candy jar, they each got a piece or two.
What they were really supposed to be searching for was Poppy (their grandfather). They found him standing in the hall with the keys to the ice cream freezer, ready to open it up and let them each pick something out of it. Needless to say, the children had a GREAT time!!
Then, we came home and played in the front yard. Now, the kids are all happy because they've had a terrific day, Daddy's home early, (he's off from his second job this week) and we're all going to watch a movie together.
I am just so very thankful to the Lord for giving us days like this one.
In His Love,
Vicki
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
About the Title
I have titled this blog "I Am No Stranger To Grace". I chose that title because it's the name of one of my favorite songs. I'll share the lyrics with you here.
My first thougth this morning was of my great riches
What substance, such treasure the morning di bring!
There was joy beyond telling, and hope beyond failing!
I"m familiar with all these things.
I am familiar with mercy,
Know my share of victory
I'm covered with compassion every day along way
Of sweetest love, there has been plenty
Forgiveness when need be
And I am no stranger to grace.
Early this morning, as I tried to thank Him,
His peace fell around me, the same as yesterday.
Even though my tomorrows may have sadness and sorrow
I will still be no stranger to grace.
I am familiar with mercy
Know my share of victiory
I"m covered with compassion every day along the way
Of sweetest love, there has been plenty
Forgiveness when need be,
And I am no stranger to grace.
End of lyrics
I AM no stranger to God's grace, nor to His love, His mercy, His miracles, and the wonder that He is. I am more blessed than I deserve, and more grateful than I can say.
In His Love,
Vicki
My first thougth this morning was of my great riches
What substance, such treasure the morning di bring!
There was joy beyond telling, and hope beyond failing!
I"m familiar with all these things.
I am familiar with mercy,
Know my share of victory
I'm covered with compassion every day along way
Of sweetest love, there has been plenty
Forgiveness when need be
And I am no stranger to grace.
Early this morning, as I tried to thank Him,
His peace fell around me, the same as yesterday.
Even though my tomorrows may have sadness and sorrow
I will still be no stranger to grace.
I am familiar with mercy
Know my share of victiory
I"m covered with compassion every day along the way
Of sweetest love, there has been plenty
Forgiveness when need be,
And I am no stranger to grace.
End of lyrics
I AM no stranger to God's grace, nor to His love, His mercy, His miracles, and the wonder that He is. I am more blessed than I deserve, and more grateful than I can say.
In His Love,
Vicki
Monday, October 1, 2007
The Purpose of the Church?
Recently, I had occasion to be in the presence of a group of 10 adults, 11 when I include myself. Each person present is a christian, and all have been saved for at least 5years, some as long as 40 years.
The question was asked: What is the purpose of the church? 5 people answered "to reach the lost".
This opened up a fanatstic discussion with a person whose opinions and thougths on Scripture I value very much. Out of this dscussion, I have drawn some conclusions. I'm sharing them here only to share my thoughts, and to see if, perhaps, they will serve as food for thought for someone else.
I think that the folks who stated that the purpose of the church is to reach the lost are wrong. That sounds almost surprising, until you take some time to look at Scripture and to really think about it.
Christ's command in Mark 16:15 to "go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature" was given to INDIVIDUALS. The commands given to the New Testament CHURCH were to love one another, to exhort one another, to share with each other as there was need, to worship the Lord, and to teach and learn from each other.
We are EACH responsible to reach the lost for Christ. The CHURCH is where we go to become equipped to do that.
I see a lot of churches today that look just like the world. They want things to be comfortable. People often dress for church EXACTLY as they would dress to go to a movie or a ball game. The music in many churches sounds very much like secular music.
All of this is done so that the lost will feel "comfortable" in the church, so that they will come to church, and hopefully, accept Christ as their Savior.
All of that SOUNDS great, but I"m not so sure that was Christ's intention for the chruch. It seem to me that a lost person SHOULD feel uncomfortable in church. They should KNOW that there is something there that they won't find anywhere else. They should KNOW that the people there are different, and they should realize that they are missing something that these poeple have.
Now, I am not at all against evangelism. The church should most definitely be doing things like having visitation programs, missions trips, and other events that they invite the community to so that they can share the gospel with the lost. But we should never lose sight of the fact that the church itself is FOR THE BELIEVER~it is our home, our haven. It's a place for learning from other christians and growning with them, fellowshipping with them, and worshipping with them. This then equips us to go OUT of the church, into the world, and share Christ with the lost.
Think of it this way. If you want to catch fish, you don't go buy bait, pile it in your living room floor, then open your front door and yell "Here, fishy, fishy, fishy!" You go to the store and get your bait, then you take the bait to the lake WHERE THE FISH ARE, and you catch the fish.
In the same way, we do not need to turn our churches into a "haven" for the lost. We need to keep the church as our haven, our "re-fueling station" so that we can then go and share that "fuel" with the lost WHERE THEY ARE~out in the world~in the grocery store, in the mall, in the doctor's office waiting room, at the ball field, in the park.
There's nothing wrong at all with inviting the lost to church. But when they get there, they desperately need to see the difference.
Blessings,
Vicki
The question was asked: What is the purpose of the church? 5 people answered "to reach the lost".
This opened up a fanatstic discussion with a person whose opinions and thougths on Scripture I value very much. Out of this dscussion, I have drawn some conclusions. I'm sharing them here only to share my thoughts, and to see if, perhaps, they will serve as food for thought for someone else.
I think that the folks who stated that the purpose of the church is to reach the lost are wrong. That sounds almost surprising, until you take some time to look at Scripture and to really think about it.
Christ's command in Mark 16:15 to "go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature" was given to INDIVIDUALS. The commands given to the New Testament CHURCH were to love one another, to exhort one another, to share with each other as there was need, to worship the Lord, and to teach and learn from each other.
We are EACH responsible to reach the lost for Christ. The CHURCH is where we go to become equipped to do that.
I see a lot of churches today that look just like the world. They want things to be comfortable. People often dress for church EXACTLY as they would dress to go to a movie or a ball game. The music in many churches sounds very much like secular music.
All of this is done so that the lost will feel "comfortable" in the church, so that they will come to church, and hopefully, accept Christ as their Savior.
All of that SOUNDS great, but I"m not so sure that was Christ's intention for the chruch. It seem to me that a lost person SHOULD feel uncomfortable in church. They should KNOW that there is something there that they won't find anywhere else. They should KNOW that the people there are different, and they should realize that they are missing something that these poeple have.
Now, I am not at all against evangelism. The church should most definitely be doing things like having visitation programs, missions trips, and other events that they invite the community to so that they can share the gospel with the lost. But we should never lose sight of the fact that the church itself is FOR THE BELIEVER~it is our home, our haven. It's a place for learning from other christians and growning with them, fellowshipping with them, and worshipping with them. This then equips us to go OUT of the church, into the world, and share Christ with the lost.
Think of it this way. If you want to catch fish, you don't go buy bait, pile it in your living room floor, then open your front door and yell "Here, fishy, fishy, fishy!" You go to the store and get your bait, then you take the bait to the lake WHERE THE FISH ARE, and you catch the fish.
In the same way, we do not need to turn our churches into a "haven" for the lost. We need to keep the church as our haven, our "re-fueling station" so that we can then go and share that "fuel" with the lost WHERE THEY ARE~out in the world~in the grocery store, in the mall, in the doctor's office waiting room, at the ball field, in the park.
There's nothing wrong at all with inviting the lost to church. But when they get there, they desperately need to see the difference.
Blessings,
Vicki
Spoon feeding and Spiritual truths
It seems that I've been hearing a lot lately about spiritual gifts, and the importance of discovering what your particular spiritual gift is. There are many christian websites that have quizzes that (they say) will tell you what your spiritual gift is.
I think those quizzes can be good indicators, but they are exactly that~INDICATORS. I think that the only way to truly discover your spiritual gift is to study the gifts in the Scripture, and spend much time in prayer asking the Lord, through His Holy Spirit, to reveal to you what your spiritual gift is.
I saw a preacher on television last week tell his congregation that they should put their name on a sign up list in the church lobby and he would then set up a time to meet with them, test them, and tell them what their spiritual gift is.
I'm sorry to disagree, but I simply don't believe that a pastor can "spoon feed" a thing like that to a member of his church. Certainly, he can share Scriptures with people, and perhaps even ask them questions that will give him INDICATIONS as to what their spiritual gift might be, but I believe it is misleading, and incorrect, for any pastor, preacher, or teacher, to tell another person that they can say with certainty "X IS your spiritual gift.
A pastor can spoon feed the "milk" of the Word to his flock, but discovering your spiritual gift is the "meat" of the Word, and to eat the meat, you have to be able to chew it for yourself. It can't be spoon fed to you.
On a similar but slightly different train of throught, I think that far too many pastors today are spoon feeding their congregations. But, that is fodder for my next post.
Blessings,
Vicki
I think those quizzes can be good indicators, but they are exactly that~INDICATORS. I think that the only way to truly discover your spiritual gift is to study the gifts in the Scripture, and spend much time in prayer asking the Lord, through His Holy Spirit, to reveal to you what your spiritual gift is.
I saw a preacher on television last week tell his congregation that they should put their name on a sign up list in the church lobby and he would then set up a time to meet with them, test them, and tell them what their spiritual gift is.
I'm sorry to disagree, but I simply don't believe that a pastor can "spoon feed" a thing like that to a member of his church. Certainly, he can share Scriptures with people, and perhaps even ask them questions that will give him INDICATIONS as to what their spiritual gift might be, but I believe it is misleading, and incorrect, for any pastor, preacher, or teacher, to tell another person that they can say with certainty "X IS your spiritual gift.
A pastor can spoon feed the "milk" of the Word to his flock, but discovering your spiritual gift is the "meat" of the Word, and to eat the meat, you have to be able to chew it for yourself. It can't be spoon fed to you.
On a similar but slightly different train of throught, I think that far too many pastors today are spoon feeding their congregations. But, that is fodder for my next post.
Blessings,
Vicki
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