Another great one...

From the same site by Pastor/Author Jared C. Wilson.

Worship is love on its knees.
Missions is love on its feet.

Check the post out here.

I guess I am officially a groupie.

Follow the bouncing link....

Sometimes, the best thing you can say is what someone else has already said.

This is the best thing I've read in a while.  It takes all the pressure off.  It frees us to live the life Christ intended by putting all the responsibility on His shoulders.

Two little words.

Enjoy.

Little Foxes...

I love the verse in Song of Solomon...that I'm too lazy to get up and look up at the moment...where the Shulamite woman tells her listeners to catch those little foxes that ruin the vineyard.

Meaning: Sometimes it's not the really big, glaring, in-your-face kind of sin that keeps you from being an effective tool in God's hands.  Sometimes it's the little things that nip away at the fruit.  Those sneaky little foxes.

I wrote a song about 12 years ago wherein I talked about that regret that we can sometimes have when our life doesn't exactly turn out the way we had always hoped it would.  I look at my life now, and I am almost very satisfied.  But the little foxes have been at work, and I got a good look at the damage, and now I'm setting out the traps, by golly!

I love leading worship.  I feel like Eric Liddell ("Chariots of Fire") who said, "When I run, I feel God's pleasure," when I am leading worship.  I feel like I am pulling out every beautiful gift he ever gave me so I can brag about him to everyone else.  I've been desiring to lead more lately, doing retreats or seminars, etc.  So this Wednesday night, I videotaped one of our youth services so I could have a demo to send to a speaker or organization who needs a preview for their program.

What I heard as my co-leader was listening to our finished product was a good sound, albeit a very southern-twanged one.  But what I saw as I watched the video really broke my own heart.  I have allowed poor daily habits - eating two sandwiches when one is plenty, drinking Dr. Pepper when water is better, watching tv when walking 2 miles would be a healthier choice - to keep me stuck in a physical rut.

Our pastor said Sunday, "God created everything, but not everything exists the way God intended it to be."  I started asking myself the question before I ever saw that video - Lord, what was your intent for me when you created me?  How am I getting in the way of your plan?

I feel - in a spiritual, not just a practical way - that my appearance is getting in the way of my ability to be an effective worship leader.  Those who are with me all the time and know my heart may disagree.  And they'd be right in their context.  But for those who get one service or one weekend, I feel that my appearance needs to be both professional AND unremarkable.  Odd?  Well, I just mean that I want my look to be so modest and neat, and to resemble Christ, of whom the prophets wrote - There was nothing physically about him that made him stand out.  By being so overweight, I believe I am giving people a reason to be distracted in worship.  Now, if they continue to let it get in the way of their worship....well, that's on them.  It shouldn't continue to be a big deal after the initial shock wears off and they get to know me.

I just know that I want to direct people to Christ without anything getting in the way.  I also realize I'm saying this after I've already lost 30 pounds since January of 2010.  But we're 20 months removed from then.  I've really taken my time, and gained and lost ten of those pounds three times since then.  As I watched that video Wednesday night, I took full responsibility for my little foxes.  The Lord and I sat down and realistically made a plan that can work around life with two little ones, including time for fitness.  I started running in the spring and was really proud of my progress toward being able to run a 5K.  In fact, I was almost to that point.  I was up to 2 miles.

Then I stopped.  And everyone else I knew that was running kept going....and going....and I kept feeling further behind and left out.  Then the foxes showed up.

So what now?  Well, I have a plan, that I'm keeping between me and God.  I think I know what will make me look and feel better and give a better first impression that leaves people reflecting on the wonder of God, rather than wondering how I'm able to carry a guitar over my spare tire.  I'm not beating myself up, except to say like Paul that I want to "Beat my body and make it my slave so that when I have run the race, I will not be disqualified."

In other words, I want to outrun the foxes.  If there are any of you who want to buddy up with me and start all over on the couch to 5K running plan, comment and let me know.  I'm starting tonight.

I just know...

It's funny. Prayers of faith for others' needs are so much easier to offer than prayers for your own. I think that's why in James 5, it says that the sick should call on someone [else] to pray for them. Maybe it's because God knows our faith often fails us in moments of weakness.

I prayed for someone else last week, and in the prayer, I said, "God, I don't know how you're going to work this situation out. But I just know... I KNOW... that you will."

A big helping of God's love, and a very specific answer to that prayer-in addition to the prayers of others who were also lifting this person up-showed up for her a few days later.

Well, I had one of those faithless days Sunday. It has been a stressful month, with school starting back, taking on extra music lessons after school, seeing the girls so little on certain days of the week, knowing the girls will be starting daycare for the first time this week, and going through a very specific refining process at the moment. It finally became more than I could bear. I received a little more bad news at the start of the church service that morning, and I barely contained myself before the service started.

All I wanted to do was walk out. I had spent time in prayer before church started. Since the girls have been under the weather and were getting in an extra nap, I had a little extra time at home to worship alone, pray about all that was burdening me, and try to leave it all with Him at the house so it wouldn't ride with me to church. But I picked it right back up as I went down the stairs, loaded it into the car with the diaper bag, and it was sitting around my neck for the whole service like a scratchy faux fur stole.

That was my mistake for letting it ruin my worship and steal my joy.  I confessed it to God the whole time, but still couldn't lay it down.  Then I slept and woke up to a new routine Monday morning, still aware of my same problems.  But in that new routine, I had specifically made time to spend with God a priority.  And it's funny how God changes your perspective after reading through the "hall of faith" in Hebrews 11.

In case you are curious what the big deal is....I will share, because I'm not the only one going through this struggle.  There are several adoptive families having the same dilemma, and we all need some prayers right now, along with adoption ministries that are waiting on us.

We filed our taxes on time, in April, expecting to get our adoption tax credit returned.  It was a considerable chunk of money, and we already had ours earmarked for paying on two adoption loans, paying off the credit cards we used for our travel expenses, and having daycare and emergency funds set aside.

It's now September, and we haven't received our refund yet.  Several adoptive families' returns had to be reviewed before they could receive their funds.  Apparently, there were enough fraudulent cases that the IRS had to be real sticklers about receipts, etc.  I get it.  But here is the rub...our last letter from them said we would receive our return by August 23.  So I had the in-laws come stay with us for this month, and scheduled the girls' entrance into daycare based on the expectation that the funds would be available the first time payment is due.

We did hear from the IRS....after we called them when August 23 came and went without a nod.  They didn't approve the full credit amount because our "SIGNED" contract to the adoption agency was not a receipt.  So we are waiting to get that receipt from the agency, only to turn around and wait on the IRS to review our file again!  So we're looking at another two months of living quite literally hand to mouth.

Am I complaining?  Maybe about the IRS, but not about God's sufficiency for our need.

In James 1, He is quite clear about his concern for the orphans and widows.  We stepped out on faith to take that challenge, knowing that things would be tight.  We got unexpected help in some places, while others would take that as an opportunity to criticize how we make purchases and handle finances.

But I hope and expect our story to end like the widow's at Zeraphath (1 Kings 17).  She didn't know where the family's next meal was coming from, and she was willing to take a little step of faith to feed the man of God.  God's response was a miraculous supply of flour and oil that Never Ran Out.

I had really been focusing on that check from the IRS to supply our needs.  But that's not the government's job.

"MY GOD shall supply all [MY] needs, according to HIS glorious riches in CHRIST JESUS." (Phil 4:19).

I must say, we are learning a new level of resourcefulness and responsibility.  I went from my prayers on Sunday being "Supply, supply, supply," to a new prayer:  "Lord, let us take these lessons learned in the dark, and remember them in the light."  This definitely has been a spiritual battle - because, let's think of what's at stake: Not only do we not get money we need, but we can't forward it on to the adoption ministries who take that money to help future families, which means waiting orphans are going to be waiting even longer....which means the devil is winning, the longer this takes.  So pray for the floodgates to break wide open!! Not just for us, but for every family who is waiting.

So, like I told my friend, I don't know HOW God is going to get us through the next two months, but...