Sunday, October 28, 2007

I Wanna Be A Part of it!!!

Publish PostWe are always trying to persuade our students at school to make better choices. At church in Waumba and UpStreet we teach the kids to "Make the wise choice." But sometimes, isn't it interesting that this can trickle UP to adults as well?

I was with a friend tonight who had Andy's series, "The Best Decision Ever." In this series from a few years back, Andy suggests that we ask ourselves this question when pondering tough life choices:

In light of my past decisions, my current circumstances and my future hopes and dreams, what is the WISE thing to do?

Today, sadly, my cousin and I made the wise choice. It was not a fun choice, but we made it. We've been wanting to fly to New York and take in a few shows on Broadway at the end of November. Jennifer Garner is playing in Cyrano and I was sort of wanting to see Legally Blonde The Musical. But after doing an excel spreadsheet of the budget, we decided this trip could wait. Every hotel is in the price range of $300-$500 minimum, and it was just not happening. Sadness. But it was the right choice.

Sometimes, the right choice is the harder choice. Actually, much of the time it is. I guess this is what our parents meant when they said things like, "The right thing to do isn't always the easy thing to do and the easy thing to do isn't always the right thing to do." It used to seem so mystical when they said it. Now I get what they meant. Am I getting older, or just wiser?

Wednesday, October 17, 2007

I love this song!

We sang it at 722 last night and I'm diggin' it big time! It's by Hillsongs.

LEAD ME TO THE CROSS
Savior I come
Quiet my soul, remember
Redemptions hill
Where Your blood was spilled
For my ransom
Everything I once held dear
I count it all as lost

CHORUS: Lead me to the cross
Where Your love poured out
Bring me to my knees
Lord I lay me down
Rid me of myself
I belong to You
Lead me, lead me to the cross

You were as I
Tempted and trialed, You are
The word became flesh
Bore my sin and death
Now you're risen

CHORUS

To your heart, To your heart
Lead me to your heart, Lead me to your heart

Saturday, October 13, 2007

Quote This...

Be the person God wants you to be right now! ~Louie Giglio

When God is silent, He is not still. ~Andy Stanley

Faith is not an emotion; it's a decision. ~Jeff Henderson

Don't be ugly. God don't like ugly. ~Keri Beth Brown

Jesus loves you, but I'm His favorite. ~On t-shirt worn by Keri Beth Brown

Wednesday, October 3, 2007

Whispers & Art

As a verb or a noun, its simplicity is resoundingly simple. God whispers. Not God screams, or yells, or is silent. God whispers.

Louie was wrapping up his series on Hope on Sunday morning and told the story of a girl who was struggling with God over abuse that she suffered when she was younger. She questioned God, saying, "God...where were you when that was happening to me?" Apparently she felt God respond to her by gently whispering, "I was there, weeping." God fully understands the pain we feel. And sometimes we underestimate His ability to empathize with us.

But one of my favorite Psalms reminds us that God knows us inside and out; after all, He is the one who made us! (Psalm 139). And yet, it is so easy to compartmentalize God and put Him up on the shelf with our Bible and only get Him down when we have a need, a request, or something distressing is happening in our lives. It is only when we begin to integrate Him into our daily plans that we realize how much His ideas really do work and that His principles are designed to make our lives richer.

All this is to say that I am working hard on renewing my mind daily and realizing that I am a part of God's bigger story.

Which reminds me of this poster I have in my classroom. It's a photograph of Norman Rockwell's painting, "The Golden Rule." If you aren't familiar with this painting, it is a picture of a group of people, dressed in clothing depicting their varying nationalities. Most of them have their heads bowed in some sense, as if they are all looking toward something. At the bottom of the picture are the words, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." I bought the poster at the United Nations. But before the poster, I saw it for real. Someone has actually installed a mosaic of this painting on a huge wall inside the UN. You could really look at it for a long time, each tile so intricately laid in its right place. It's fascinating really.

When I think about God's plan for me, and for all of humanity, I think about that mosaic. It's one of the best mosaics I've ever seen up close. But just think, what if a big chunk of tiles were missing from it? It wouldn't look the same. It would still be art, but something would be missing. But what if---what if ONE single tile were missing? Would that make a difference worth noting? It would if it were part of an eye, a cheek, a chin, a hand, a piece of clothing. There would be a hole that no other tile would match color-wise. And this is how God feels about us. He valued our relationship with Him so much that He was willing to sacrifice His son so that we can be part of His ultimate story. So that we can be part of his magnum opus---His great work. And I definitely do not want to miss out on that. Do you?

If you want to check out the mosaic, here's a link:
http://www.gcms.k12.il.us/gcmsms/art/art%20appreciation/rockwell.jpg