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My Lifegroup has only met twice and it is already becoming something amazing! We have had some pretty cool discussions, but something stood out to me on Monday. We have been watching the Nooma videos by Rob Bell, and we recently saw one entitled Luggage. It deals with forgiveness, which is one of the hardest and most difficult thing for some people to deal with and talk about, but it turned into more of a conversation about storms in our lives.
After the video, we were talking about some of the things that have happened in our lives that we have had trouble dealing with and forgiving. Some people may ask, “Why is God putting me through this? Is He punishing me? What did I do wrong?” But a guy in the group said he didn’t look at it that way. He said, “I don’t think God is punishing me in any way, I think I had to go through some things because it is the only way He could get it into my hard head.”
So true. We have to go through certain things in our life so that we can truly see what perhaps God has been trying to get us to see for a while. Or for us to see truly understand and appreciate something to come in the future. But this trial or rough stretch is the only way He could get through to us or show us.
This is definitely not easy to grasp when you are smack in the middle of one of the hardest times of life, but just knowing that God is there with you every step is something in itself. He is there.
There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his own son, all the way until you reached this place. Deuteronomy 1:31
Without the rain there would be no rainbow, right?
Okay, okay… I get it, I need to update you on the whole puppy situation and I will. Here is the story of our dear beloved Sully. I don’t have him anymore. He was mine for a week, however it was not the right time, place, etc. Puppies are hard work, so I had to sell him to a nice lady in Fayetteville. But, she changed his name to Tyler. Yes he is a dog, and his name is Tyler.
I have been getting a lot of slack from certain people that will not be named, but I think it was the right thing to do. It was sad and hard to give him away. Maybe an older dog that was already trained would have been better, but there’s nothing we can do about it now. I hope you all don’t think less of me now, but that’s what happened.
He arrives on Thursday! I am so excited. It is the cutest thing you have ever seen in your life, well maybe not, but it’s pretty darn cute. He is a nine week old Cock-a-Poo, which is a cocker spaniel and poodle mix. He will be around 12-15 pounds. When I walked into the breeder’s house today, I wasn’t for sure that I was going to get one. I was going to wait and see how I felt about the breed. But when I saw him, I just knew that he was the one that I was supposed to get. There were 3 other dogs to choose from, and all were adorable, but it was no question. His name is Sullivan Rufus Poston, and will go by Sulley.
I am going to pick him up Thursday night in Maysville, NC, which is about an hour outside of Wilmington, but it is going to be so worth it. I know that a puppy is a big responsibility, so I chose to not get him today and wait until Thursday. I want to be prepared for the big arrival! I have a trip to PetsMart to pick out a collar, leash, dog bowls, toys, treat, food, etc. I need to find a place to train him too. I am so excited! Thanks Amanda Vestal for helping me out with this puppy emergency and picking out the best dog. I will definitely be putting up pictures when he arrives and keep you updated on the training process.
Oh yeah, if anyone has any tips on crate training or dealing with a new puppy, let me know!
So if you haven’t heard by now, actor Heath Ledger from The Patriot, 10 Things I Hate About You, Brokeback Mountain, etc. sadly passed away yesterday. While listening to the details of what happened, it was brought up that a church has said they are going to “picket” and “protest” his funeral. Why are they doing this you might ask? Because he portrayed a gay character in the Brokeback Mountain movie.
Seriously? This just makes me so sad. First of all, this man’s family, friends, and especially his daughter are deeply and tragically affected by it. And you are going to try to take away from this by protesting at a time like this?
Secondly, this is why the majority of people know more about what Christians are against than what they are for. This church is going to spend their time, energy, money, efforts into ruining this guy’s funeral to prove that they are against homosexuality? Even if these people don’t end up following through with their protest, it has still been publicized enough, that many people in the country have heard about it. And what if this is their only exposure to what Christianity is all about? Sad. What I, as a Christian, am worrying about is doing everything I can to make sure that people know the real message of Jesus. And that is not anti-homosexual, rule throwing, hypocritical. It is a message of hope, grace, forgiveness, and compassion.
I am so glad that we are doing a series at Lifepoint starting next week called Shattered. You will just have to come to see what it is all about, but I am excited that we are going to learn about shattering the stereotype many people have of the Christian faith, not adding fuel to it’s fire.
It is easy to say, “Well, God is in control so I’m not going to worry about it.” But it is extremely difficult, at least for me, to believe this and not worry. To truly not let things creep into my mind and believe that God is going to take care of it with my whole heart. Worrying just comes from the smallest things, and has come up a lot for me over the past couple of weeks. But a few days ago, I came across this:
So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.
Matthew 6:31-34
I needed to hear this. If I seek God with everything that I am, I know that I already have everything that I need. So the lesson is: Don’t worry, be happy that God has already taken care of it.
Hey guys! I apologize to all my loyal readers about not keeping up with this blog thing too well. I’m sure you all know how it is with weddings, parties, banquets, Thanksgiving, shopping, traveling etc. But I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas.
With all the craziness that has been going on, there has also been some really cool stuff as well. Lifepoint is doing a series called “Shine.” This Christmas we are not worrying about our wants we are going out in our community and shining the light of Jesus in little ways, however they make a huge difference. I am amazed at the stories that I am hearing about. People are doing some awesome things, and I am happy to be a part of it. We may think that a lunch, a cup of coffee, $20, cookies, a note of encouragement is not a lot, but for the people who have received these out of love, it is making their Christmas special. This is what Christmas is all about! I just love this time of year!
We are wrapping up the series this Sunday, and I am excited to see what happens. On Monday, starting at 5:00 a bunch of people are going to volunteer at Water Street Restaurant in downtown Wilmington to serve dinner to the less fortunate and homeless in the area. It is going to be a blast!
I hope that you and your family have a great Christmas! Talk to you in 2008, and I will try to do a little better at the blogging 
It is getting colder outside and Christmas is just next week, so here is an idea for a craft to do as a family.
What you’ll need: Craft sticks, assorted buttons, glue, markers if wanted.
What to do: Have family members each create a stick person representing themselves using three craft sticks each (one for the body and two arms.) You may use other materials if you wish, yarn for hair, button for face, clothes. Smaller families can create extra stick people to represent extended family member, such as grandparents, aunts, uncles, etc. When everyone’s finished, glue the feel of the stick people together to for a snowflake.
What to say: Did you know that no two snowflakes are alike? They may look alike, but under a microscope, each one is special and different. God created each of us unique, which makes the family one of a kind, just like our new snowflake. If all families were the same, how would the world be different?
Afterward: Hang the snowflake in the window, or on the Christmas tree as an ornament to remember to give thanks for the uniqueness of the family God’s given them.
Now that you know how important family meal time is, here is an idea of something you can talk about at the table…
Everyone has a high part of their day and a low part. Start a tradition as a family during meal time where you discuss everyone’s day. Have family members each share their highest point in the day, and their lowest point in the day. What emotions do they connect with each, happiness, excitement, sad, mad, frustration? Are they still upset over the low? This is a great opportunity to talk about issues happening in their lives.
This prompt will help everyone reflect on their day and identify feelings with experiences. It might be hard for children to know what to say at first, but after a few nights, they will open up and start thinking about it before they even come to the table. Just try it!
A couple of weeks ago, we went to the Catalyst Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. It was one of the best experiences ever. The environment, music, speakers, everything was amazing. I am so grateful I had the opportunity to go.
One of the speakers was Craig Groeschel; it was the first time I have heard him speak, and it was great. What he said has been replaying in my head over and over. His prayer was “Disturb Us Lord.” To let us not be complacent with where we are in life, and let us not forget where we are going and what we are here for. In my ministry, home life, walk with God, family, relationships with others, I pray that God disturbs me so that I am continually challenged and always looking to make it better. That I am constantly dreaming; dreams that other people might think are crazy or impossible. That I am going for things that scare me so much, and dreams that I know I cannot do alone, so that I have to rely on God to get me through it.
He ended with a prayer from Sir Francis Drake that sums it up:
Disturb us, Lord, when We are too well pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we have dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.
Disturb us, Lord, when
With the abundance of things we possess
We have lost our thirst
For the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision
Of the new Heaven to dim.
Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wider seas
Where storms will show your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.
We ask You to push back
The horizons of our hopes;
And to push into the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love.
There are always going to be people older and a little more wise…but being a young’n shouldn’t stop me or give me an excuse to fall short and not give my best. This verse really caught my attention and gave me a check today:
Let no one show little respect for you because you are young. Show other Christians how to live by your life. They should be able to follow you in the way you talk and in what you do. Show them how to live in faith and in love and in holy living. 1 Timothy 4:12
People are looking to us to see how we are acting. So, no matter how old or young, how are we living?
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