Fireworks!!!

I love the 4th of July!  I love our country and this special time to remember our independence and freedom.  It's a beautiful thing.  And that is wonderful, the remembering, but my favorite part of the remembering is the "rocket's red glare" part of the celebration, the FIREWORKS!  My favorites are the ones that create a huge waterfall of sparkly copper light.  Last night began this year's fireworks tour.  Started in Appleton this year and it was an amazing show!  So great with a new special light blue color and a light green aqua that were lovely.  Tonight we'll continue the celebration in Waupaca and tomorrow the fireworks holiday extravaganza will bring it on home to Stevens Point.  Looking forward to the RedPoint grill out and then of course the fantastic fireworks at the river front.  They're supposed to be even more incredible this year because it's Points sesquicentennial.   Here's to a phenomenal 4th weekend!  Enjoy!

The Climb

I just got back from an incredible trip to Washington, DC.  What a fantastic place.  I always enjoy visiting.  I love the history, the memorials, the monuments, the buildings, the metro, delicious Mike’s in Springfield and my best friend lives there.  Yep, one of my favorite places to visit.  But this trip was even better because I was at a conference, Unplugged, hosted by National Community Church.  60 pastors came together to talk about leadership in the church and the challenges we face.  It was wonderful.

I wish I could share every bit of information I got because it was so enriching and challenging, but I’ll limit myself to my favorite part.

Jud Wilhite, pastor of Central Christian in Las Vegas, got up and said, “The summit is a state of mind.  There is no “there” there.  You’ve got to love the journey.  Fall in love with the climb.”  Whoa!  Good to have goals, but don’t forget that most of the trek is about the climb.  You get to the summit and spend 15 minutes, maybe an hour, and then you start climbing again.  So love the climb.

“Fall in love with the climb” was like flowers opening in my mind, like amber sunshine on emerald green leaves with the dark grey rain clouds in the sky, it took my breath away.  Love the journey.  There’s never a point where it’s going to suddenly be easier, where there won’t be as many troubles and if we did reach that summit, we would soon grow tired of it and create a new goal, so love the mud and the junk and the pain and the fun and the moment, love the climb.

This is something I want to embrace with my life.

Influence: leggings and the breakdown of society

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about influence.  Much of the time, we don’t even recognize the things that influence us.  And that can be dangerous.  I mean I used to say, “I will never wear leggings, they are so 80’s.”  And then without a conscious turning point I found myself the somewhat humbled owner of three pairs of leggings.  How did that happen?!  I was so dead set against them and now there they are in my closet.  Influence.  Over a period of time the barracades I had set up against the evils of the leggings were worn down by their incessant appearances in advertisements and fashions I saw on tv and in magazines and in stores and on friends.  And I, once a staunchly opposed to the leggings craze, found myself not only liking them, but owning them!

Ok, so leggings aren’t really causing a major break down in society.  That was probably not the worst influence.  But what about all of the other things that we are influenced toward day in and out?  This is something I find myself thinking about a lot.  Especially in regard to kids.  What is the lead character in that television show influencing kids to think is right?  What quality is that ad influencing kids to hold in high regard?  What information is that movie influencing kids to take as moral truth?  It’s not all bad by any means, but it’s not all good either.  We’ve got to be aware of the influences that are all around us and our children.  We need to know how to recognize these influences and not just be undiscerning consumers of media.  Instead of just taking in whatever is set in front of us, we need to be able to identify positive influence and reinforce it or identify negative influence and react appropriately.  Hmmm… easy to say, harder to do, but worth the effort, right?  Let’s keep thinking about this.

WNMD Council

Wonderful!  Pastor Dan, Nathan and I were all at District Council for Wisconsin/Northern Michigan District of the Assemblies of God the first half of this week and it was wonderful!  It was well planned and fun and artistic and a spiritually great event.  Even the business was blessed by an atmosphere of peace and joy.

Diane de La Santos, director of City on a Hill Milwaukee, gave an incredible presentation on the ministry at City on a Hill.  Larry Liebe was elected as the new district superintendent, Steve Tripp was elected as the new director of Youth and Christian Education Ministries and Jon Brown was elected as the new assistant director of YCEM.  And all of it was immersed in and completely filled with God’s Spirit.

I am blessed to be able to be a part of such a wonderful fellowship as the Assemblies of God and to be a part of the wonderful WNM District!  We have great leaders and great pastors that know how to listen to and follow God.

Thank you Lord.  Bless this transition time as our district officials and staff move into their new roles and give them wisdom and peace as they face new challenges and opportunities.  Thank you Jesus for your Sovereignty and plan.  I love you and praise you! Amen.

God bless the WNMD!

Rewind to Palm Sunday

These are some thoughts shared with our congregation on Sunday about the first Palm Sunday when Jesus road into town on a donkey in Jerusalem.  I was trying to put together worship songs and had been praying about making the morning special and then BAM! I finished playing one of the songs and was transitioning to the next and these thoughts came to mind.  I knew it was God’s voice illuminating these thoughts to share Sunday morning.  These thoughts touched me and so I’ll share them with you today too.

“I wonder what he saw when he looked in their eyes that day.

“Do you think that when he felt the excitement of the crowd he thought of the crowd he would see at the end of the week too?  Do you think when He heard people shouting blessings and “Hosanna!”  That he heard a different crowd shouting “Crucify him!”?

“And when they looked in his eyes what do you think they saw? (pause)  When he looked in their eyes I think he saw his mission, his purpose, his reason for it all.  I think when they looked in his eyes they saw goodness, they saw God, they saw Love.”

Praise God for His amazing love and sacrifice.

I love you, God!

words

I started thinking last night more about words and their creative power.  God spoke the world into existence.  Jesus was the Word become flesh.  It’s our prayers that bring about change, our communication, our words with God.  I was reading in Ezekiel this morning about the valley of dry bones being brought back to life.  God spoke to Ezekiel and asked Ezekiel to repeat what God said and when Ezekiel spoke God’s words the bones came together, flesh and tendons formed and then the breath of life came into the bodies!!!  Through the spoken word.

Our words have the same power, to bring death or give life.  God can create and bring life through our words.  I want to be a Word of Life bringer.

Anxiety, a gift.

I had a fantastic idea shared with me today.  God gives us the gift of anxiety as the Holy Spirit’s nudge and reminder to pray.  This just hit me as one of the most practical ways of looking at and dealing with anxiety.  I heard this four hours ago and already I’ve used it.  I think this could be a remarkable tool in my life.  Transforming worry into prayer.  Transforming worry into a reminder to pray for that specific situation!  What a wonderful idea!  Instead of spending my time in worthless fret I can spend my time building and conquering things with God!  This is incredible!  You try it to and let me know how it goes.