Wha-shew! Crazy day today at work and with the kidlets. Had a great phone conversation with my dear friend, Janna who owns and runs Touched by a Paw - a local no-kill cat rescue. It is seriously so energizing to talk with godly friends.
We were chatting about the sermons we've been listening to lately. I gotta tell you, my new most favorite is the Be Ye Perfect track off The Others I collection from Relevant Revolution Sermon Jams. Sermon Jams themselves were my new most favorite thing a few months ago. Seriously fed my hunger and I can listen to them all day. But Be Ye Perfect is a GREAT on for folks like me and Janna - here's why...
I am a good person (not even bragging). I am a rescuer - can't say no to helping anyone. Repeatedly get trampled because I think no one is really mean or malicious. I am pretty charitible and volunteer, donate blood - whatever - I am here to make God look good so I am forever trying to let that shine. God has blessed me with lots of energy so its not even like I go out of my way - its really just my very nature.
The theme of this sermon is to NOT do what is good - for the sake of doing what is perfect and ordained by God. He gives the example of a kid he was mentoring picking up a hitch-hiker to witness to. The guy didn't get it and the kid was upset and asking what he did wrong. And the mentor tells him he did a GOOD thing picking up a hitch-hiker. But it was his good idea - not God's. What if God had meant for him to pick up another person 5 miles further down the road, but the kid had filled that guy's seat by picking up the first person he saw.
WOW! That spoke to me. I need to watch this in myself. I am usually running myself slightly ragged trying to do for everyone. One of my best friends told me to say no - "Just because you can doesn't mean you should" Hmmmm. I suppose its sinking in a bit now.
The guy goes on to say that any words out of his mouth that are not from God are all in vain. YIKE! I talk a lot and kind of surprised myself recently when I heard words that I didn't think I could speak coming out. THAT was God! I asked a complete stranger if I could pray for her - out of no where. Allison would be afraid to say that to someone for fear of being called a Bible Thumper or worse. God put those words out there for me and I wasn't afraid and she said yes and as it turned out she was very in need of prayer.
At best, I am good. At worst, God if PERFECT.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Catherine's Daughter
This morning I donated blood and got chatting with the girl that did my paperwork about my kids, etc. She said she didn't know how I could handle 4 kids when she had a hard time with just one. I asked her how old her child was and she flipped over her name badge to show me a picture of her 5 year old daughter.
We talked a little bit more and she told me that for a long time she struggled with infertility and then she started a savings account with her leftover change for her baby. She was not pregnant at this time. She said she had over $700 in her baby account from just her spare change and she decided to start buying baby things as they were on sale. So she was picking up all sorts of clearanced baby items at Wal-mart. Her own mother told her she was crazy, but Catherine said she KNEW God would bless her with a baby. Time went by and she had nearly everything she needed for a baby and God blessed her with a baby girl. She said she knew it was because of her faith in Him - that she knew he heard her prayers. Her only regret? She said she should have tacked an "S" on the end of that prayer for babies. ;-)
I'm not sure how long she waited for her daughter. She told me she had now worked for the blood center for 23 years so it would seem like she had her at least in her mid-thirties.
We talked a little bit more and she told me that for a long time she struggled with infertility and then she started a savings account with her leftover change for her baby. She was not pregnant at this time. She said she had over $700 in her baby account from just her spare change and she decided to start buying baby things as they were on sale. So she was picking up all sorts of clearanced baby items at Wal-mart. Her own mother told her she was crazy, but Catherine said she KNEW God would bless her with a baby. Time went by and she had nearly everything she needed for a baby and God blessed her with a baby girl. She said she knew it was because of her faith in Him - that she knew he heard her prayers. Her only regret? She said she should have tacked an "S" on the end of that prayer for babies. ;-)
I'm not sure how long she waited for her daughter. She told me she had now worked for the blood center for 23 years so it would seem like she had her at least in her mid-thirties.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Brittany
My son wanted to go to camp a little further from home this summer so we sent him to Northern Grace Bible Camp in Gillette, WI. I drove him there and back last week with the baby and found that 7.5 hours in the car was a bit much so to pick him up, we decided to drive up Friday night and stay at a hotel, pick him up the next morning, visit some friends that have moved up there and then head home - just to break up the driving.
We stayed at this dive hotel which we fondly re-named the Oompa-loompa suites. The bathroom feature extreme tiny-ness, which I suppose was great because we were travelling with kids. The bathtub was seriously 12 inches high and the sink could have easily been mistaken for a urinal. Seriously, I'm 5'1" and had to bend over to wash my hands.
Since it wasn't a four star place, I decided to scope out the free breakfast before dragging the whole family downstairs instead of to McDonald's. There is one other person in the breakfast room and the continental breakfast looks like it's some Little Debbies, Froot Loops, and your choice of warm milk or warm orange drink. I must have had some sort of look on my face because the other guest started a conversation with "Yeah...there's not much here."
We talked a little bit. I have an uncanny ability to either find people who are willing to tell me their life story in 3 minutes or I just am very approachable in the life story kind of way. It turns out this girl was living at the Oompa-loompa suites after being kicked out of their apartment. She was 18 years old and 3 months pregnant. Having once been 18 and 3 months pregnant, I felt like I HAVE to encourage this girl. All of the sudden, out of my mouth comes "Can I pray for you?" YIKE! Where was that from?!?! I am NOT a church lady - I mean, I tease my church friends that we are church ladies, but we are sooo not church ladies and here I am pulling a church lady in the breakfast room of the Oompa-loompa Inn. She accepted and we've been keeping in touch through email. She's found a more permanent place to live and she's hanging in there so far.
We stayed at this dive hotel which we fondly re-named the Oompa-loompa suites. The bathroom feature extreme tiny-ness, which I suppose was great because we were travelling with kids. The bathtub was seriously 12 inches high and the sink could have easily been mistaken for a urinal. Seriously, I'm 5'1" and had to bend over to wash my hands.
Since it wasn't a four star place, I decided to scope out the free breakfast before dragging the whole family downstairs instead of to McDonald's. There is one other person in the breakfast room and the continental breakfast looks like it's some Little Debbies, Froot Loops, and your choice of warm milk or warm orange drink. I must have had some sort of look on my face because the other guest started a conversation with "Yeah...there's not much here."
We talked a little bit. I have an uncanny ability to either find people who are willing to tell me their life story in 3 minutes or I just am very approachable in the life story kind of way. It turns out this girl was living at the Oompa-loompa suites after being kicked out of their apartment. She was 18 years old and 3 months pregnant. Having once been 18 and 3 months pregnant, I felt like I HAVE to encourage this girl. All of the sudden, out of my mouth comes "Can I pray for you?" YIKE! Where was that from?!?! I am NOT a church lady - I mean, I tease my church friends that we are church ladies, but we are sooo not church ladies and here I am pulling a church lady in the breakfast room of the Oompa-loompa Inn. She accepted and we've been keeping in touch through email. She's found a more permanent place to live and she's hanging in there so far.
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