Craziness!!!!!

So, life has been busy... and I have a feeling it is going to stay that way until after the holidays. As my luck would have it, it probably isn't going to slow down until next summer, but a girl can hope! So, I apologize once again for the delay on the post, but if your life is anything like mine busy and crazy may be constant companions these days.

How do we balance our lives? Do you spend so much time at work and leave nothing for the family? Do you come home from work and spend it all on loved ones? Do you spend it all chasing one project or fun thing after another? Do you leave time for yourself? Do you spend time with friends? family? God?

My life seems to be one giant balancing act. I've gotten to be pretty good with Google calendar and have it synced on everything! (even my lesson plans!) Despite the fact that I do schedule and divide up my time, I still try to keep some quiet time for myself... and some quality time for my Savior. I've learned that if I'm not grounded then I can get easily distracted or discouraged by my fast paced lifestyle or the next deadline. However, when I'm grounded in how awesome my God is, everything seems to fall into place, well almost. Hey, I'm only human and sometimes I get in the way! Go figure! Not to mention, sometimes God just has to let me waddle around until I do exactly what He told me to do in the first place.

Over the last few months, I've had a renewed peace in my life, and I can attribute part of that to my quality time with my Savior. Whether I'm brainstorm or writing for a blog post, counseling someone the Lord has placed in my life, or just driving, God has a way of sneaking into my thoughts and blowing my mind. I've enjoyed the crazy trains of thought that have ensued, but mostly I love spending time with my Heavenly Father. A few months ago, I started making a conscious effort to have a more scheduled and focused quiet time with God. I don't really even remember why. Maybe it was simply to challenge myself or because I was challenging the students I teach. Anyway, I did it. Sometimes I forgot, sometimes I didn't really feel God... but other times, I was blown away. I've learned that I can't depend on a Sunday School class, Bible study, or a sermon to teach me, to help me connect with my Savior. I have to earnestly seek Him, to yearn as a baby Christian thirsts for knowledge. We can't forget the excitement of our Christian youth... when was the last time you sought our your Heavenly Father? Dove into His word searching for something, anything to speak to you?

Glory in his holy name;let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.Look to the Lord and his strength;seek his face always.Remember the wonders he has done,his miracles, and the judgments he pronounced,
1 Chronicles 16:10-12

The Lord knowns my future, of this I'm certain. Over the last few months, I've been tested, my faith tried, not to mention, patience. I can't say I wouldn't have made it without my quiet times and seeking Him out, but I can definitely agree having a quiet time has helped me to be more in tune with the Lord's will in my life and helped me to be more accepting to the obstacles and changes in my life. He's still working on me, a song I sang as a 5 year old in church. He's not done and only He knows what challenges I will still have to face in the near future, but of this I'm certain he knows my future and He's going to be with me every step of the way. As 1 Chronicles 16 and most of the Bible echoes, He is our strength, He is to be our focus, and He is still the Almighty God, performing miracles to this day.

The next time you think you are too busy or things are just too crazy, ask yourself, who am I going to turn to when I'm overwhelmed? exhausted? stressed? troubled? Am I seeking Him out? Where did my thirst for knowledge go? ... It is never too late and He is always waiting for you to find Him. Call out to Him.

Hunger for Change... Part 2

So first let me apologize for the tardiness of this installment, my life got a little busy when this school year ended...

If you missed the last post, I asked a lot of questions, mostly about change or evolution of our church.

I want to start this post off by telling you about a little church sitting atop a hill in the middle of nowhere... technically the church building is there, but as for the church you can find us there on Sundays, Wednesdays, and as luck would have it, all last week for vacation bible school! 

My journey with these body of believers started at birth. Ironically, as I grew up my family actually attended another church, but I've always had some connection with it because my extended family is here. About six years ago, I took on a leadership role and responsibility to impact the youth and young adults of our church and community. Over these six years, I've seen many church leaders and members come and go for various reasons. It's heartbreaking, and it hasn't been an easy time for me either. During college I got a taste of community with other young adults and I've seen all the modern flare that worship can entail. Most of the time, I don't have that kind of worship experience. I miss the feeling I had during worship, but mostly just the ability to get lost in worship. I still find time to do just that, but I have to do it on my own. As for the lack of young adult community, that is changing as well as students mature and others move back home. Six years of hard work is starting to pay off. However, it isn't my hard work that is making a difference, but God's. 

Six years is a long time and there have been many days where I wanted to stay home, go on a long vacation, or just find a new church. The Lord nixed the first thought pretty quickly - I'm currently the only pianist at church. I'm there every Sunday... or they have to sing acapella. (They hired a organist and piano fill in. She's starting next week!) As for the second option, nowhere to go, no one to go with, and no money to go on. Wow, our Lord can really keep me on the straight and narrow. As for the last one, I have felt like Paul many times with his desire to go to Rome and the Lord saying No!  Every time I think He might be releasing me from my responsibilities, something amazing happens and I can't bare to leave! 

I get asked a lot about why I stay, why I chose to worship here. My answer simply is because God said so. Ultimately, God has given me the desire to work for Him and He brought me to this body of believers. I will never forget the first year I spent here; it felt like home. My parents were living several hours away from me. My grandparents were geographically easier to visit for weekend getaways (aka cheaper! Gas is expensive!!), and so I joined my grandparents for church services when I visited. Not only did I have my grandparents looking after me, I had several pairs of great religious warriors who made me their new project. I like to think of them as warriors, you had the prayer warriors and the encouraging warriors. They were so strong in their faith, peaceful, and content, all things I longed for in my spiritual walk with Christ. They made me feel so special, wanted, loved - just like home. A lot has changed over the last six years many of these warriors have gone on to be with the Lord, but that feeling is still here. That feeling is Christ pouring through believers; it is what happens when we forget about self and allow our God to use us as he sees fit. For many of us, we simple describe this as love or a sense of community. That is what our churches were created to do, provide a place for believers to  worship, learn, and deal with the world - together. 

I'm proud to say that my God is awesome and He is using this little church of believers that meet on the top of a hill in the middle of nowhere to impact our community. My advice to Christians everywhere, be true to your instincts. Let God lead you. It doesn't always feel like what everyone else would choose, but deep down you know you are making a lifestyle decision that God is asking you to make. Whether that decision be singleness, a place of worship, clothing style, or missionary post, the Lord has a reason and a plan for you. It won't be easy. It will be difficult, but He will always be there to lean on and to guide you. Take a leap of faith... when was the last time you did something and didn't know how it was going to turn out... take that baby step, then just leap! He'll catch you, in his timing.

Prayer for this week: One Day At A Time by Christy Lane

Hunger... and Change

Lately, I've felt a hunger to be around people my age. Hanging around pre-teens all day is really taking a toll. Between my college friends' schedules and living so far away, we are lucky to get together more than twice a year. Unfortunately, outside of work, I haven't met that many people my age in my area. Church would be the natural place to look, but ... I find myself looking around and wondering where are all the twenty-somethings?

Ever noticed how many twenty-somethings are missing from the church? The Lord has been opening my eyes the last few weeks, helping me see my church and community differently. Is change the only answer? and how much change? I've been searching, racking my brain, for something to do that will spur change. I can't stand sitting around doing nothing, watching my church family struggle to fill positions another year, knowing that those of us who do serve are running ourselves ragged. Things have to change.

Now the hard part, what needs to change?

As a leader of our church, we have tried changing programming, small changes to worship, etc. Now research and anyone in the ministry will say programming doesn't work, but what else is there to do? My church faces geographic obstacles, but bottom line, how do we reach the twenty-somethings in the area that are unchurched and possibly lost?

Well, I don't have an answer...yet... I'm asking you, my friends. What draws you in? What keeps you coming back to worship? What fuels your faith?

I have some insight that I want to share on the subject, but I want to hear from you FIRST! Shoot me a message, or post your thoughts below.

Stay tuned for more... and most importantly PRAY!

My prayer for this week: FIND YOU ON MY KNEES by Kari Jobe