Chameleons vs. Transformers

What an awesome Sunday! Whenever a month has five Sundays, the fifth Sunday is our all family service. Kids 3 and up join in the adult service. Pastor Dan or Pastor Nathan and I team teach and we create special kids' notes for the sermon, more object lessons and sermon illustrations. Last Sunday was our third time doing it and Pastor Nathan and I pulled out all the stops! We did a message entitled Chameleons vs. Transformers. Our base Scripture was Romans 12:2a "Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind."

There was a fantastic skit, an exploding experiment, awesome notes for the kids AND great content and message! This Sunday had it all, including the wonderful background Nathan created picture above.

I got more comments on Mindy Cooper's portrayal of Kerry Chameleon, a woman who is terrified of standing out in a crowd, than any other portion of the service. Especially emblazoned on the minds of the church was the moment Kerry started trying to make her hair and camo sweatshirt look like my hair style and suit jacket.

Teaching the absolute truth of God's Word in a creative way. What an excellent way to start the week.

It is good to be a part of Highland Church. Love it.

Rockumentary

I'm a big fan of the mockumentary. I'm also a BIG fan of David Crowder*Band. So when Jeff, our youth intern, told me about David Crowder*Band Rockumentary I was apprehensive. If you love two things and then they come together it can either be great like peanut butter and chocolate or it can be bizarre and not great like chocolate flavored popcorn, or fried pickles and peanut butter, or worse yet the pear flavored jelly bellies. These episodes are definitely like a Reese's Peanut Butter cup.

Oxen

This morning I finished The Organic God by Margaret Feinberg. She's an amazing author. I discovered her through a post on Mark Batterson's blog regarding her book The Sacred Echo. I got the book and devoured it! Fantastic. Wanting more of her writing I found Organic God and started pouring through it as well.

While there were many ways God used this book to open my eyes and get my attention, the best take away is her reflection on Proverbs 14:4 in her chapter on God being incredibly wise. Provebs 14:4 says, "Without oxen a stable stays clean, but you need a strong ox for a large harvest." (NLT) Some parts of every job are stinky. There are parts of every job we'd rather do without, but stick with it because it will lead to profit. Her observation is that no oxen=no poop=no profit OR oxen+poop=profit.

There are parts of jobs and projects I would love to do without, but it's way better to keep at it and reap the benefits of a job well done in the end. Good reminder and a great challenge.

Life Themes

I caught this thought from Mark Batterson.

"One part of finding your voice is identifying your life themes. C.S. Lewis said, "Every life is comprised of a few themes." Over time you identify those unique God-given convictions that drive you. For example, there are ways of doing church that no one has thought of yet. That is one of my themes. A life theme isn't something you know. It's something you ooze out of your pores. It's not something you define. It's something that defines you. It's more than head-knowledge. It's a gut-conviction."

It got me to thinking about what I know about myself. What are my life themes? I'm sure that I have them, but when I ask that question I draw a blank, so I've started to think about it and ask God to help me recognize the life themes of my life.

What are yours?

Disney Princess 1/2 marathon

Inspirational. I saw pictures of a friend running with a tiara on her head and was immediately drawn to find out more! Disney hosts a Princess half marathon every year! You get to run 13.1 miles through Disney World! The medals they give out at the end are tiaras on ribbons and if I register earlly enough my running bib can say Princess Laura!!!

It's in March though. Running conditions are really different in Florida in March than they are in Wisconsin in March... It could work if I could run laps around an indoor swimming pool! Hmmm... something to think about.

Is this possibly a new life goal?

The dream and the reality

Here we go for another try. I have dismally failed on this portion on my New Year's resolution, but I'm picking it up again. Pushing through to the inspiration and determination. Let it be so.

I've been reading the stories of Samuel and the first kings of Israel recently. In my journey, Israel has just made the transition from King David to King Solomon. One of the interesting points I picked up on this time through these chapters is the dream of building the temple.

David is the one who had the dream, the goal, the vision for the temple. He looked at his palace and realized how lovely it was and that the ark of the covenant was sitting in a tent. He started to make the plans and then God said, "Thank you so much for wanting to build this for me, but this isn't your job. Your son is going to build a temple for me."

Years later Solomon, having become incredibly wealthy and wise, remembered his father's vision and God's promise that David's son would build the temple. He picked up the dream and made it a reality. The description of the temple is awe-inspiring. The hundreds of bronze pomegranates, the altar, the 15 foot cherubim! God's house was amazing.

But I wonder, what if David hadn't had the dream in the first place. Would Solomon have built the temple without the dream of his father?

This makes me wonder if there are dreams I have that aren't for me to fulfill or what am I fulfilling that had their start in the dreams of others? We're definitely supposed to have dream and goals that we have and carry out, but sometimes maybe we are just the dream carrier, the dream conveyor and someone else carries out the dream and makes it reality.

David and Solomon's temple building story makes me wonder how many other times God has used someone as the dream sparker and another to carry out the plan.

I am a freak

An event took place recently that brought me to a harsh realization: I am a freak. Our weekly pastoral staff meeting generally starts with a pilgrimage to our favorite table and chairs at the Plover Starbucks, some of our absolute best work gets done there.
It was during one of these Starbucks meetings that the full extent of my freakishness was unveiled. I ordered my customary tall nonfat no whip peppermint mocha and then made a decision that changed the course of the entire meeting. I ordered oatmeal as well. It was prepared for me by the jovial barrista with a little milk and brown sugar. Perfect. But when she handed it to me, I got my first inclination that this was not going to be okay. It was in a thick cardboard container. It kind of makes me cringe just thinking about it.
I have a problem and my problem is wet cardboard or wood products. Wet cardboard boxes, popsicle sticks, wooden docks in lakes. When I was handed the cardboard cup with the delicious but wet oatmeal in it there was moment of panic. I quickly told myself to suck it up and get over it. I sat down in my regular chair and tried not to scrape the spoon along the cardboard as I ate my oatmeal. It did not work. I blanched as the spoon made contact with that stupid wet cardboard and Pastor Dan launched into the topics we needed to cover that morning. I tried as hard as I could to keep eating, but I couldn't. My teeth started tingling and I just put the oatmeal down to try and recover. But try as I might, the mere thought of the hideous wet cardboard sitting on the table in front of me controled my thoughts and physical reactions. No matter how I strained, I couldn't hear a word Pastor Dan was saying.
Finally I knew I had to do something about it. I went back to the counter and told the kind barrista that I had a problem. I had a problem with wet cardboard and, if possible, would like to have a bowl or glass cup to put the oatmeal in. As she looked at me with a puzzled expression, I admitted, "Yes, I know. I am a freak."
And here's the spiritual application. God loves you just the way you are. No matter what freakish fear you might have. God created you and loves you, even if you become petrified at the sight of the Starbucks cardboard oatmeal cup. Amen.