Playing and practice

I just finished listening to the FBCLR message online from last week. It slightly disturbs me that I am now a good 30 minutes away from the church that totally revived my walk with the Lord and challenged me in so many ways, and then sent me to foreign soil to serve with World Gospel Outreach for three years. Not to say that I can't just get in the car and visit, because I can, I will. It's hard to let go of something so meaningful in one's life, especially when the only reason is distance.

Mark spoke on Daniel 6 last week at FBCLR. The book of Daniel and Daniel's life are powerful. I've always looked up to Daniel's integrity and conviction as a follower and believer in the Lord. Mark made a simple statement that should hit home with all Christians, myself included. Mark played football, so appropriately, his analogy related to sports (and maybe I'll use this one in class with my football players to get them to study some.) Mark said:

"You play like you practice."

That's so true. Take some time and think about anything for which you have practiced. Usually there is some larger competition and you practice and practice so that you can perform your very best.

How are we practicing with the Lord? Do we take intentional time each day, maybe just 15 minutes, or possibly up to several hours, to meet with Him? How many times a day do we stop and pray for the person/people in our direct path? How often do we repent and tell God that we're wrong and sorry for doing that or acting like this? Do we ask Him to reveal Himself to us thru His word? How will He meet us in His word if we are not in His Word, daily?

How are we going to play our best for the Lord if we don't set aside time to practice and listen to the coach?

broken bones

Ok, I have about 8 minutes to write this blog. Then I must continue with my morning so that I can make it to school/work on time.

Yesterday at chapel, the speaker spoke from Psalm 51. This verse, and the illustration that he used, really have made a profound impact on me:

"Let me hear joy and gladness

Let the bones that you have broken rejoice" vs. 8

The speaker told us that this is probably David (author of Psalm 51) relating to his days of shepherding when he spoke of the broken legs. When a sheep would stray too far, the shepherd would have to break it's legs, carry it back to the flock, secure the leg and let it heal. This was in hopes that the sheep would learn not to stray far and to allow it to suffer a bit from the broken leg and inconvenience of hobbling around.

I got to thinking today: has the Lord "broken any of my legs"? I think I would know, and yes, I think He has broken my legs before. Did I learn, maybe a little, and am I still learning, yes!

The more important part, I think, is being able to see the shepherd chasing after us with that threat in his eyes of "I'm about to break your legs, if you don't return to me!" I'm certain the Lord is chasing after me in part of my life and screaming this from behind "Shelly, turn around and come back before I have to break your legs and teach you a lesson the hard way!"

Ahhh!! Lord don't break my legs. That would be too painful and the recovery might take too long! Lord help me to hear you calling me back. Help me to turn around and see you right there, and then take me back into your arms and teach me without needing to break my legs.

There. Done. That's a 7 minute blog. Now time to move on with the day, listening for His voice and turning around before I get my legs broken.

request of a different sort

I'm radical. I like the truth and exposing it, in love of course. I like Derek Webb and I'm looking forward to his new album. He is not afraid to tell it how it is, nor am I. This is what I see in the church today. Open your mind and your heart and hear me out.

In the realm of church and fellowship with one another, we often talk about prayer request and many times sickness and surgery are the first to be offered up. By sickness we're talking about physical and by surgery I'm also referring to physical. I have a thought: what about the sickness and surgeries that aren't physical? What about the spiritual sicknesses that often plague our churches and the surgeries that you and I are put through, if we are honest, probably most daily: are we in tune to the surgery that the Lord is trying to preform?

Have we considered:

pride?

jealousy?

hate?

anger?

drunkenness?

homosexuality?

lust?

adultery?

bitterness?

doubt?

fear?

selfishness?

depression?

The list goes on and on. I'm certain you could add a few of your own, as could I if I sat here all night. When we are talking about our Spirit, aren't these all sicknesses? Why do we, as a church, tend to ignore the majority of the issues and sicknesses that Satan uses to capture us and make us sick in the Spirit? As the church, we are called to love one another, to confess to each other and to encourage and lift up one another so that we all grow closer to the Lord.

What would happen, how would the church leaders respond to a prayer request card filled out as so:

Prayer Request/Sickness: selfishness

Surgery: taking away of self

time of surgery: immediate and lifelong

Hospital: my heart

What would you do, if you were a church leader and you came across this one? What if your best friend mailed this to you and asked you to pray? How would we respond?

As a church, we are called to do these things: confess and pray for each other, and in my opinion this includes physical, mental, emotional and spiritual sickness.

thank you, Wal-Mart lady

After being gone for three years, one begins to wonder what it will feel like to return. I must say, my return has been much easier than expected. That is a different blog entirely.

When thinking over the past two months, and of all the words that have been spoken to me, there are two words that just bring such a smile and a warm feeling to my soul: Welcome Home! I would have never thought these words would mean more.

(Now, if we want to get really theological about it, this is not really my home and my home is neither here or there in Honduras, but we will keep it light tonight.)

A number of people have "welcomed me home" through their words, actions and by other ways that no one girl could have ever asked for.

Just tonight at wal-mart, I was making small talk with the cashier, and she brought so much joy to my night. It's amazing what God will do through each and every person that you encounter. I started out a conversation with her:

"So how did you get stuck with the Friday night shift?"

She responds: "Oh, I've worked the night shift for years. Those college kids like to have friday nights off. I work so they can go to their parties, b/c they really like going to their parties."

How selfless is that? She continued to share w/ me that it made no difference really to her. She said she will just get off work at 9pm and go home to watch Bonanza. She just brightened my night.

Then we got to talking about the bagging system there at Wal-Mart. See, I'm one of those people that brings her own bags. So, I had my own bags, but it was so difficult for her to load them b/c they did not fit nicely onto her lazy susan type plastic bag device. I felt bad.

We were talking about how there needs to be a better system since so many people are brining their own bags these days. She then began telling me this story about how she heard that Wal-mart was thinking about going "bagless" just like they did during the Olympics in China? who knew?

So, get ready, we could have a plastic bagless Wal-mart, which I think would be fabulous!

Oh, so then I was telling her how that in Honduras at one of the stores they stopped using the plastic bags (it was a Sam's club type store). So, she quickly learned that I lived there for a few years. That's where the conversation ended.

As I was leaving, I said "have a good night" and she returned the gesture adding "and Welcome back!"

ahhh, the wal-mart lady welcomed me back! what a great country in which we live. Now, don't get me wrong, there are a lot of things we don't do right, but there are a lot of things that we do right!

Thank you, Wal-Mart lady, for working on Friday nights so college kids can party and so that I could hear you welcome me back to the States.

He can not, He will not

This morning I was doing some reading and studying. Leave is to Beth Moore to make the Lord's word come alive in my heart. What a servant and true woman of the Lord, seeking Him alone and taking others with her on this journey.

In the Esther bible study of Beth Moore, she points out something that should be very obvious to any Christian, but not me. haha! Sometimes I need the obvious to be pointed out.

How many times do we see, in the Old Testament, that Satan tries to destroy God's people? Many times, probably more than I know or could even find in Scripture. This morning, I was reading about Haman and Mordecai and how there was a plot to destroy them. Mordecai's gallows were being made. The following statement brought a renewed sense of confidence to me:

"If the Jews has been annihilated, the promised SAvior could not have come from its bloodline" (Beth MOore, Esther study)

At first my belief in God's sovereignty said "nope, that's not true, the Lord would have found another way. The truth is, this is the "other way." God was constantly able and choose to save His people so that His son could come thru this bloodline. Satan thought he found a foothold but God is bigger than footholds.

Then Beth points out this Scripture:

".... if we are faithless,

he remains faithful, for he can not deny Himself" (2 Timothy 2:13)

He can not deny Himself. How powerful. What a promise! We can cling to that. We can cling to the fact that the Lord not only will not but he can not deny Himself. That would contrary to His nature!

Take confidence in this. Take confidence in Him, and all that He is. We can take confidence in His promises but first take confidence in Him, Him alone!

post-captivity

"I, Paul, myself entreat you, by the meekness and gentleness of Christ—I who am humble when face to face with you, but bold toward you when I am away!— ²I beg of you that when I am present I may not have to show boldness with such confidence as I count on showing against some who suspect us of walking according to the flesh. ³For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. ⁴For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. ⁵We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete." II Corinthians 10:1-6

If you know Jesus, chances are you have come across this exhortation by Paul, the great exhortist (or maybe it's exhorter, yes, exhorter).

Take note of how Paul so purposefully presents the reality of how we battle each day with our flesh and this world! He reminds us of the power that we (as Christians and friends of Jesus) hold to destroy those strongholds. We destroy them, with whatever of our armor (Eph. 6) we see fit best for the fight.

He makes a special point to remind us that our THOUGHTS can be some of our more sensitive places. He exhorts us to "take captive every thought." Sure, we've all heard that, known it and probably we've take captive a few thoughts. But, um, then what? What do you do post-captivity? I never took the the time or care to finish the scripture, which so very clearly tells us what to do with that thought.

take every thought captive to obey Christ -- to obey Christ.

If you are convicted by the Spirit to have the NEED to take captive a thought, chances are that you know what to do to obey Christ. The trick: walking into that obedience! Yup, that's where we fail. We are able to take a thought and capture it and not let it go, but how often do we follow that captivity with obedience?

summer time reading

There are many reasons to love the summers. But let me tell you, at least, this summertime book worm found a cozy and inexpensive spot today to make some quality purchases that will last a lifetime. The Public Libraries of Central Arkansas filled the basement of the Main Library with all kinds of old books, classics and some, well, not so classics. I could have spend hours down there, looking and searching every shelf. I did, sorta.

I walked away with 10 books and I paid, guess, take a guess, I'll give you three:

1. $17

2. $11

3. $5

Did anyone guess $5! I was beside myself.

Not just any ole books, I choose some classics: Screwtape Letters by. C.S. Lewis, My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers, a Spanish Grammar book, and some book with Protestant Reformation writings. How fun! Maybe I'm a dork, but it's fabulous!

Thanks to the Libraries of Arkansas, my personal library is now 10 books larger. One day I want to have a huge room with all my books and one of those cool ladders like you see in the movies! :)

Now,