Differing Perspectives

I went out to lunch with a couple of teen girls today that I haven't spent time with in awhile. We had a nice time, but as with many of my encounters with them, I walked away thinking, "Is this really my life?" :)
We talked about a lot of things, and they ranted and raved about several different situations in their lives. I finally stopped them and asked, "Don't you ever just get tired of it all?" "Sure", they replied, "that's why we're trying to do something with our lives." That made me pause, because I often feel frustrated with the fact that they seem to be doing nothing with their lives. Apparently they think they are. So who's right? Obviously we are both looking at it from a different perspective...
You do what you know. So maybe, in their eyes, at their age, they're already going "above and beyond" what they've seen those before them do. In their eyes, they are "doing something with their lives".
Maybe instead of always wanting, pushing, and encouraging them to do more, I need to start with acknowledging what's already being done.

The Church Prays...

Church was "good" today. I joined the service team, and today was my first day being an "official greeter". It was the kind of day where you don't really expect many people to come out; rainy, dreary, and cold. Yet, in people came, one after the other, all in fairly high spirits too! I tried really hard not to, but couldn't help but laugh at some of the people who came in with their hair sopping wet, or rain dripping off their glasses, with looks of "What was I thinking coming out in this!" on their faces. It was nice to see people and say hello as they came in. I kept thinking to myself, "Man, there's a lot of people I don't know!". I guess I have some work to do....
Towards the end of the service, our Pastor had everyone stand up who works with youth in our city. Being in that category, I stood up and found myself quickly surrounded by people laying hands on me in prayer. My first thought was, "Wow...this feels kind of uncomfortable." My second thought was, "Wow...I really need this!" For the past several weeks I've been very discouraged, and I haven't really even known what to pray for. It was a blessing to have the CHURCH surround me and PRAY without even knowing me personally, or my exact circumstances. To have people pray on my behalf for things that maybe I can't even pray for myself right now.

Here's to Friendship

Good friends are often hard to come by. Good friends who can also give good counsel, ask thought-provoking questions, and challenge you, are even harder. I found myself sitting at my friends' kitchen table last night experiencing just this. A quick stop by their house turned into a 3 1/2 hr. conversation, over the course of which I was forced to think hard about some things that I needed to, yet didn't even really realize it. I walked away from the conversation not necessarily "settled" about everything, but definitely mulling over some well-timed questions that were asked.

Sadness & Fear Mixed with Hope

I'm not looking forward to tomorrow. We're taking one of our 15-year-old girls to a group home in Indiana where she will possibly remain for the next 4 years of her life. And it makes me really sad. For the past several years, my life has been considerably intertwined with hers. We've spent lots of time together, had many laughs, and several good conversations (along with some really difficult ones). I'm sad that it has come to this. I'm sad that her life sucks so badly. I'm sad that she couldn't make things work here. I'm sad that I feel somewhat like a failure, and I'm sad that I have to say "goodbye". And I'm also scared. I'm scared that this won't work. I'm scared that she'll be miserable. I'm scared that she'll want to come home. And I'm scared that she'll feel forgotten. And yet this teensy, tiny part of me remains hopeful in the midst of all this other emotion. I'm hopeful that this is the break she needs. I'm hopeful she will thrive in this new environment. I'm hopeful she will succeed, and I'm hopeful she will finally become who she was created to be.
I pray to God that the fear and the sadness don't choke out the hope.

"Church" as it should be...

I feel like I've blogged about my church a lot lately, but somehow, I keep having these thoughts that are spurred on by that venue. Take this morning, for instance. Every so often Pastor Peter has an "altar call" (I know, many of you simply cringe when hearing those words :) But the thing that's so refreshing is that people don't bow their heads. They don't close their eyes, "praying" for those who may come forward when really we're all just dying to peek ;) Rather, we're told to keep our eyes open, to look around, to SEE who's coming forward. "Why?" you may ask. Because faith isn't simply a private thing; it's also a community thing. Sure, it's probably scarier for the person coming forward...but it's also way more rewarding. Because it doesn't just stop there. Once people come up, Pastor Peter calls on us, the "church" to also come forward and surround them, committing ourselves to walking with them on this new journey. By going forward to surround them, one is committing to exchange phone #'s, get together for coffee, email, etc... and walk with this person as they begin to discover who Jesus is!
I don't know if my period's coming or what, but I sat there this morning and teared up as I watched 30+ people, the "church", surround the 5 people who had gone up front. This sense of immense joy filled me as I saw a beautiful example of what I believe the church really should be...

"People confuse RELIGION (Morality) with GOD...and walk away from them both."

Religion vs. Gospel

"We prefer religion over the Gospel because if we follow all the rules, we then think we have a 'claim' on God. We think we have earned certain 'rights'..."

Are we followers of a religion, or of Jesus? My pastor posed this question to us this morning...here's a few "telltale signs"...

1. If you follow religion, you trust morality; if you follow the Gospel, you trust Jesus.
2. If you follow religion, there are good and bad people; if you follow the Gospel, we're all bad people.
3. If you follow religion, love is based on obedience; if you follow the Gospel, obedience is a result of love.
4. If you follow religion, one's goal is to get "gifts" (knowledge, understanding, etc...); if you follow the Gospel, you know that God is the gift!
5. If you follow religion, it ends in pride and despair; if you follow the Gospel, it ends in humility and joy.