shut up in my mind

Silence is often uncomfortable, isn't it?

Recently, I was reminded to not only communicate with God by praying, and to hear from God by reading the Bible; but to choose to be silent in his presence. Being silent means that we stop thinking about a million things, and we be still.

So I decided in the chaos of my day that I would read the Bible and pray for a few minutes and then, I would be totally quiet. I said, "God, is their anything that you are wanting to say to me?"

I tried to stop thinking about talking. I tried to shut up in my mind, and I realized I was uncomfortable. Maybe I was scared to hear what God would say to my heart. Maybe it weirded me out. Then, in my brief moments of calm, I felt loved. I felt like if God were in the room, he would have said, "You are doing a good job." And I guess I needed that because I got tears in my eyes.

Maybe God asks us to be still so he can love on us.

What about you? Take a few minutes to be quiet, and ask God what he is thinking. What is important to him? Somewhere in there, he wants you to know how much he loves you. I'm quite sure of that.

The Bible story I didn't like

Have you ever felt like the story of the prodigal son was unfair? I've heard it over and over since I was a little girl, and I never liked it. Why? Because I felt terrible for the older, faithful son. Remember, the younger son asked for his father's inheritance early and then wasted it on foolish living. When his money ran out, and he fell on hard times, he returned to his father's house and a party was thrown in honor of his return. Of course, when the faithful brother heard of the party, he was upset.

I recently read this story again and, of course I can see that the father loved his foolish son. So what does that mean for us? God IS love. He throws a party when we want to be with him, no matter what we have done. We can always come back. I love that about God!

But what's in it for the faithful son, the one who did what was right all those years?  This is it: EVERYTHING.

In Luke 15:31 "His father said to him, Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and EVERYTHING I HAVE IS YOURS. We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found."

The faithful son got it all. God has the perfect balance, one that we try to achieve; and this story is a beautiful picture of his love and his justice. He loves with his whole heart, and he rewards faithfulness. In Romans 8:17 we read "And since we are his children, we will share his treasures--for everything God gives to his Son, Christ, is ours, too." The father threw a party because he loved his boy, and yet the faithful son received the whole inheritance.

So where are you? Are you the prodigal that needs to come home? God's arms are opened. He will throw a party for you and love you like you never left in the first place! Or, maybe you have been faithful all these years, and you are wondering what is in it for you? Everything. God's love also means that he rewards obedience and faithfulness. Maybe you are like me, and you are trying to figure out God. This is a good story for us. We can copy the Father. He is a good one.
 

Thankful List

I am thankful for family.

Contact lenses

Sunny vacation places--the beach, palm trees and sand.

A faithful man who still makes me laugh--the love of my life.

Getting to see a glimpse of hard work in baseball finally pay off for Taylor, who is one of the finest men I know.

When I find totally cool clothes on a huge sale.

Boots!

Italian food in general.

That I have a heritage of family that knows Christ--awesome parents, sisters and bro.

That Brian takes his day off and we have FUN.

That we found the tiny country of Burkina Faso where we plan to invest for the rest of our lives.

For the amazing people of West Ridge Church!!

That we have never walked alone because God is faithful and will never leave us.

For pre-lit trees.

For my sensitive and wildly passionate Zach whom I adore--my favorite wrestler!!

For prescription strength Secret.

For church planting families.

Braces.

That heaven is free, not by our goodness but because of what Jesus did on the cross for us.

Retin A face cream

Changing seasons warm and cool.

People who know more than I do and humbly allow me to learn from them.

Our awesome staff at West Ridge.

True friends who have stuck beside us through thick and thin.

Starbucks.

381 spoons on their way to Africa!

381 spoons are on their way to Burkina Faso, Africa through The Burkina Kitchen Project!! Some amazing elementary school students in Georgia helped to donate spoons to a school in Burkina! We started The Kitchen Project as a part of Engage Burkina, a non-profit organization that helps the people of Burkina Faso. In this tiny west African country, 1 in 3.4 children die before the age of 10 because they do not have food or clean water. Engage Burkina is helping to dig wells, plant churches, provide sanitary conditions and education for the amazing people who live in these villages. If you are interested in donating to the Kitchen Project, you can easily give online through PayPal at  www.engageburkina.com/kitchenproject. 

influence is a gift

Do you have influence? I bet you do. We influence the people that we are with. Maybe you influence your fellow employees at work or your neighbors in the culdesac. If you are on a sports team or a committee, you most likely have influence. If people come to you and tell you their story, you have influence. If you have been voted or elected to a certain position, you most certainly have influenced others. Recently, people are influencing through social media. Sometimes, however, we do not even recognize that we have been given the gift of influencing others. Recognize it and use your influence to help other people.

Don't use it to manipulate people.
Don't be harsh or narrow-minded. You will lose it.

Jesus had influence, yet he did not promote himself. He served others. He pointed people to his Father.

Leadership for the sake of leadership is futile if we are promoting ourselves or our cause. Our influence must be used to serve and to lovingly point people to truth.

And possibly our greatest area of influence--our homes. May we influence that priceless environment through peace, unconditional love, trust, joy and rest.

picture: early days of west ridge :)

These were the early days of West Ridge Church. Wow, God has done amazing things, and we love to give him the credit for all of that, seeing as we could have never pulled off the life change he has orchestrated in so many, including ourselves!! What a joy it was to celebrate 15 years with all the wonderful people of West Ridge! And can you tailgate?! Dogs with cool shirts, the Big Egg grill, groups watching the games on TV, vendors, people just connecting, kids playing, No program! Fans wearing their team jerseys, cars decorated, cooking sausages, families, friends, lots of corn hole, and unbelievable fire works!

And fifteen years ago? The conversation before we ever moved here that we would never ever compromise integrity. That we wanted to be a part of something that only God could do. God coming through when we were desperate, almost always at the last minute. God drawing people to himself.  4 pioneering families. 47 people in a core group. A little elementary school. A move to a high school. A godly woman who wanted her property to go to a church. Volunteers that exceed expectations. Blessings and heartaches. Loving people. A tiny country in Africa. Water saving lives. Helping other people start churches.  Risk. Growing older with my best friend. Watching God develop my boys into men. God answering prayer. Still desperate for him to come through. Believing he always will.

Books I Don't Read

I typically read books to learn something or to become a better person.  I am not really a pleasure reader. I usually wait for the movie! But...I just read two books I MUST write about because they were awesome. Quite similar, in fact, Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers, and Savannah To Sweetwater by Doris English both were riveting.

Being historical fiction, Savannah To Sweetwater is the story of loss and love in a pre-civil war setting. Political conflict and unrest coupled with spiritual enlightenment make the mysteries of Sweetwater a Georgia plantation favorite!

Redeeming Love is an early American novel of the less modern Biblical character Hosea and his wayward wife. It is a true picture of grace, and the challenge of learning to identify and accept real love.

I'm glad I stepped out of my comfort zone! As novel readers would say, "The books were better than a movie."