Church Shopping Simplified

Photo courtesy of FBC Meridan

Since we move a lot, "church shopping" is something we do WAY more often than I would like, but in all of those moves, there are few things I've learned that may help you next time you find yourself needing to find a new place of worship and accountability.

BEFORE YOU GO:
-PRAY PRAY PRAY! Ask God what your family needs in a church body to help grow everyone's relationship in Christ.  Ask Him to help make it clear when you should stay at a particular church.

-Make a list of what you/your family needs from church (IE types of small groups, kids programs, etc.) It is important to know what your priorities are in order to make sure all of your family members are being spiritually fed and encouraged.  Also, making this list will help you realize what small things you are willing to compromise on and what big things would be "deal breakers".

-Make a list of what serving opportunities you want to take part in.  God calls all of us to serve and our church body is where that should be happening.  If you feel led to teach young children, but the church doesn't have a program for that, you have 2 choices, you can ask God if He's calling you to head up that ministry, OR ask God if you should try another church where your gifts will be utilized for eternal impact.

-Look at the Belief statements of the church.  Know what you believe, and know what the church believes.  It doesn't matter how great the music is or how many awesome programs a church has, if there is a theological rift in your beliefs, you will not be able to reach your full spiritual potential in that body.

WHEN YOU GET THERE:
-PRAY PRAY PRAY! Before you get out of the car, ask God to give you clear eyes to see and a soft heart to not only take in the church, but enjoy the worship and community with Him for the morning.

-DO NOT start itemizing good/bad as soon as you walk in the door.  It does not matter if the building looks old, the nursery is hard to find, or there are still hymns in the chairs.  You are there for the entire church experience (which is worship, service, and fellowship), so don't start letting your human expectations creep in and cloud your spiritual judgement of good, Biblical preaching, meaningful worship, and kind fellowship.

-Visit the Welcome Center.  This is the brains of all the "extras" this church has to offer. Anything from small groups to service opportunities will be answered here, so pay close attention and gather as much information as you can.  That will help you know whether or not this church as the things on your list and is a place that will give you opportunities to serve in areas of your spiritual gifts.

-Enjoy true worship and take in what God has for you in that moment.  Even if you think, after only 5 minutes into the service, "We are NOT coming back here", worship God, listen for what He has for you.  God's word never returns empty and all worship is meaningful, so take it in for the moment and be thankful for the freedom and opportunity to worship The Everlasting God of the Universe!

AFTER YOU VISIT
-Debrief with the family. Ask how everyone's time was, what they learned and what their thoughts were on going back again.  If you loved it, but your teenage kids didn't connect, you may want to try another place where they feel more comfortable.

-Contact church members to see what ways you can get plugged in.  Use that information you get at the Welcome Center to contact the people in charge of the ministries you are most passionate about.  This will give you an idea about whether or not these ministries and groups really will meet the "requirements" for your family on the list you wrote before you even started the church hunt.

-PRAY PRAY PRAY!! Ask God where you should be and really listen for the Holy Spirit's guidance.  Don't dismiss a church right away, take next few days to really pray about it and let God speak to your heart.  If a church doesn't feel right, that's OK, don't feel badly about it not working out, do a little research and try again next week.

God has the right place for all of us somewhere, it's just a matter of following the Holy Spirit's prompting, knowing what your family needs to mature in their walk with Christ, and being will to compromise on the little things (Obviously, you should NEVER compromise on the big things, like your personal beliefs about the sovereignty of the Bible, but compromising in such things as "I don't really like the service times").

Remember, church is supposed to be about worship, service, and fellowship that will encourage us to continue our maturity in our relationship with God!

I've Got All the Pieces

 

This past weekend we went to the Lego Store.  They have anything and everything you could possibly think of in Lego form.  My husband loves Legos and my 4 year old, Natalie, wants to be a part of that b/c she is a Daddy’s girl to the core.  

We got in the car and Natalie pulled out the Lego Christmas Catalog they gave her.  She began flipping through and talking about how cool all the large castles, pretty cars, and neat spaceships were.  After about 15 minutes of perusing, she said, “Oh, you have to build it?!”  All I could do was laugh! Of course you have to build it, silly girl!

While thinking about that, God put a thought into my head.  Natalie’s realization that the Lego sets don’t come pre-built is the same realization I often need in my walk with Him. You see, I look at the box with the completed picture and of course that’s what I want for my life.  A want a full, intimate relationship with my Savior with Heavenly Glory beyond my imagination!

But then I open the box and find pieces….The Holy Spirit, The Bible, Worship, My Church Community, so on....Hmmm, this doesn’t look like the picture AT ALL! Why, b/c I have to build it.  I want the picture on the box and God has given me all the pieces, the instruction manual, and He's even there to guide me.  So what’s the problem? Well, in my life, it’s me! I look at the picture of completion longingly, but look at the pieces and steps with disdain.  I want that intimate relationship with my Savior and my full-on, Heavenly Glory right now.  I don’t want to have to study the word, pray, serve, and wait to get what God has for me.

I’m selfish, impatient, but mostly I'm just plain human.  I want things to be easy, but God did not call Christians to easy! Quite the opposite. He calls us to follow Him and actually guarantees that the path will be hard.  So I give my longing heart over to God, get on my knees, and know that putting those pieces together won’t always be easy, but I don’t have to do it alone! When I reach Him in Heavenly Glory I want my life to match His picture of completeness for me, then my joy really will be complete.

I challenge you to step back and ask God what pieces you are struggling with.  I am  asking him to help me stop and wait for His instructions.  I want to use all of the pieces He’s given me for the purpose He has!

Psalm 25:5

 Lead me in Your truth and teach me, For You are the God of my salvation; For You I wait all the day.

I Got This....

I’m what some people (my husband, namely!) would call an excessive planner- I like to know what’s going on next, where we’re going to be, what we’re going to be doing, how long it’s going to take, how many changes of underpants are required, what snacks to bring, and any and all possible roadblocks that might derail the aforementioned answers.

It was the week before I was going solo with the kids on a 22 hour road trip to meet my husband in Florida where he's working temporarily.  Everything was falling into place and I was ready to take on a task I thought would be relatively easy: putting on the rooftop carrier.  My wonderful husband usually does this, but since he’d left 6 weeks earlier, it was on me and I was going in with the ultimate, She-Hulk, I got this, amazing wife attitude….

I have a small SUV-it’s actually more like a station wagon-but it has a sunroof, which really ups the "cool factor"! I hoisted the carrier up onto the top of my roof rack.  So far, so good! Then I opened it so I could secure the hardware to the roof rack.  You guessed it, that’s when things got complicated! I couldn’t get the hardware secured around my roof rack, so I figured if I climbed onto the roof, put my body partially inside the plastic top carrier, I could get a better look.  Did I mention my driveway is a hill?!  Sounds foolproof, right?!

Just as I straddled the hood of my car and climbed up the windshield, the top carrier slipped.  I grabbed it and in the process, flipped off the front of my car. At this very moment, my sundress found it’s way from conservatively below the knees, to completely over my head (yes, I was THAT confident, that I was doing all of this in a dress).  Everyone on the block was now seeing MUCH more than usual while walking their dogs, riding their bikes, and playing with their children-let’s just say, I don’t think I’ll be getting Christmas cookies from the neighbors this year!

After dusting myself off and reclaiming the smallest shred of dignity I had left (I know, I had no dignity at all, but I was pretending I did so I still appeared to be in control of the situation, so sad!) I got the roof carrier secured and loaded.  It was at this moment, I wish I had asked someone for some help instead of insisting that I could do this myself!

That story is the perfect example of how I all too often say to God, “I made a plan, so I got this! I’ll call you when it’s something I REALLY can’t handle, but until then, I don’t really need you today!”

The part I so often miss in my fleshly pursuit of control is that God WANTS me to ask Him for help! His plans are abundantly better than anything I could think or imagine (Eph. 3:20) So why do I continue to work so hard to just fulfill my mediocre plans when I can have His Abundance Plan?

In my life, this will always be a challenge b/c we’re constantly on the move, but for those of you who may never move to a new place, I challenge you to stop and ask God to reveal His Abundance Plan in your life! Don’t get so caught up in the planning and listing, instead get caught up in the praying and watching. 

His word Says: (1 John 5:14-15)

¹⁴ This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. ¹⁵ And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.

Just Be a Kid Today!

Me (age 5) With my family :)

Many of you probably had “that toy” when you were little, you know, the one that was just more special that the others-your unrivaled favorite.  I enjoyed playing house with all my dolls, but none more than my Cabbage Patch Boy, Andy.  I saved up all of my money to buy him myself.  I even sent in his “official” adoption forms so I would get a certificate saying I was Andy’s “real” mom.

 Last year my parents drove to my house and brought a large box full of my childhood toys and in that box was my precious Andy with all of his clothes and his “official” adoption certificate.  Upon the sight of all these things, memories flooded my mind.  I truly loved Andy-he was my son.  I couldn’t wait to finish school so I could go home to him and we could play together.  I spent as much time as I could holding him, loving him, and enjoying him.  It sounds silly to say now, but the innocence of my childhood playing with Andy was so wonderful.

Those days of playing, however, have long past, and now life is full of all those adult things to do.  It seems like in today’s world there’s an expectation to be “Super Mom”.  We should be able to do all things and still look cute, maintain our sanity, and never grow tired.  I often find myself checking in on Facebook or Pintrest and instantly feeling inferior-It seems like all of my friends have perfect kids, clean houses, matching outfits, and gorgeous hair and make-up when my biggest accomplishment of the day is changing from one set of pajamas to another.

I’m not upset with others for doing well, I’m blaming myself for looking at it incorrectly.  God gave me my life-a life that I’m thankful for and love very much! Everyone has tough days and that’s OK-the trick is not letting Satan take those tough days and use them to make you feel that you’re anything less than God’s amazing creation.  No, I’m not perfect, but b/c I have Jesus, I don’t need to be!  All I need to do is ask and God will be my strength, my patience, and my encouragement.  

I get caught up in the “to-do” lists, the piles of laundry, the demands of the world.  I forget what it means to stop and completely focus on the beauty of my own children’s childhoods.  I often hear about how quickly it all passes.  Before I know it my children won’t be kids anymore and I will be longing for those sweet snuggles, requests that I play, and silly laughs at the little things.  I forget that they are God’s creation too-and I need to spend the time He’s given me with them, not with piles of dirty dishes!

So today, I encourage you, Mommies, let the lists go-stop worrying about the chores, the errands, and the stresses of adult life.  Ask God to be your strength, patience, and encouragement.  Take time to stop and enjoy childhood again with your own kids!

One thing that helps me do this is praying scripture for myself and my kids-here is my prayer for today-I encourage you to try this too! There is nothing more powerful than speaking God’s promises over your life and your family to remind you about what’s really important today!

This verse is a prayer/praise to God from the people of Israel-As Christians we are now God’s chosen people, so this is amazingly powerful when you plug in your own name, family, or children and pray this aloud back to God!

1 Kings 8:57-60
⁵⁷May the LORD our God be with NATALIE as he was with our fathers; may he never leave HER nor forsake HER. ⁵⁸May he turn NATALIE’S heart to him, to walk in all his ways and to keep the commands, decrees and regulations he gave HER fathers. ⁵⁹And may these words of mine, which I have prayed before the LORD, be near to the LORD our God day and night, that he may uphold the cause of ME, his servant and the cause of NATALIE according to each day's need, ⁶⁰so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is God and that there is no other.

Magically Forgiven

I am teaching Awana tonight, so I thought I'd share my object lesson-I practiced this presentation on my 4 year old and she thought it was super cool too :) It's super easy to do-just check out the directions, verses, and pics! 

This is a visual lesson on Hate/Sin and Forgiveness

You get 4 small, clear containers and one floral vase (the kind that fits one flower)

-In 3 of the containers mix ¼ cup water and with 1 drop of food coloring (1 blue, 1 green, 1 red)

-In the last small container, mix ¼ cup bleach

-Put ½ cup of water into the bottom of the floral base

As you explain each color, pour it into the large floral vase-as you do it will make the water dark and then you explain the forgiveness as you pour the bleach in-it takes about 2 1/2 -3 mins, but when the bleach is done working, the water will be clear again.

Presentation

GREEN: Jealousy

         -Proverbs 14:30-A tranquil heart gives life, but a jealous heart makes bones rot

-Exodus 20:17-You shall not covet/envy/be jealous of anything that is your neighbors

Blue: Anger/Frustration

         -James 1:20-Man’s anger does not bring about the righteous life God desires

         -Ecclesiastes 7:9-Do not be quickly provoked, for anger resides in the foolish

Red: Selfishness

         -Philipians 2:3-Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but rather in humility value others above yourself

Result of all these things is HATE-these are all sins that taint our lives

HOW DO WE FIX this?

CLEAR: Forgiveness

         In your life: Ephesians 4:31-32-Get rid of all bitterness, rage, and anger, fighting and slander along with every form of malice.  Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other just as Christ forgave you.

From Jesus: 1 John 1:9-If we confess our sin He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness

All you have to do is believe that Jesus’ forgiveness is enough-we are all sinners, we have all done things wrong, but all we have to do is believe that Jesus died, and rose from the dead for our sins, and that his forgiveness is the only way to get eternal life.