So I have just finished reading "The Shack".  I know, I am a little late in the game, but I was just completely blown away by this book.  I won't go into details because I don't want to ruin the story for someone who hasn't read this book. 

The book starts out with a dramatic life-altering event for a family and then goes into how this family healed with the help from God.  It is beautiful.  The only thing I will say is that the book shows who God is to that deeply hurting family. 

I see that so many times God is  placed in this small box of what and who He is.  Many see Him as the Commander in Chief... the Master.  Of course we are also familiar with the Father aspect of our God.  I wonder though....Who is God to you?  What kind of relationship do you share with Him?

See, God is many, MANY things to me.  And I think that He is many different things to each individual person.  The beauty of a relationship that you are developing with God is that you begin to see Him for more than just a Big Man sitting on the Clouds!

I would love to share my intimate relationship with God with you.  See, God laughs...and He laughs hysterically at times. There are times I just feel His presence and I know he is sharing in my laughter.  He is my best friend when I need that role filled in my life.  There are things I can tell Him that I would dare never tell another soul.  He accepts me absolutely unconditionally.  He also sits with me and helps me bare any burdens, grief, sorrows that I have.  He is my Father and I enjoy nothing more than making my "Daddy" proud.  I know He beams with joy when I have done His will and have put to use lessons He has taught me. 

Some may say that this is just my imaginary sense of God.  That is okay...the Bible never said that God is only "this" or "that".  Contrary, the Bible says that God is everything to everyone and that He fulfills your every need and that He desires you for intimacy and relationship.  The more you read the Bible and communicate with God on a DAILY basis...the more you understand how he created us to be in relationship with Him.  It is beautiful that who God is can be completely personalized....He is who you need Him to be for every situation He created you for.

So...yes, I tell God jokes, I tell Him when I am angry or sad, I ask Him to come hold me on the floor while I cry, I feel Him laugh with me and I see Him smiling with such pride at me.  I enjoy taking walks at the Eno River with my God...He particularly enjoys the butterflies and the deer!  LOL!! 

Who is God to you? Why not try to invite Him to join you for coffee or a walk today? Tell Him what you are thrilled about or what hurts you!  Ask Him to hold you....I promise you He will every time!

WOW!!! I was looking back to see how long it had been since I blogged...and it has been a LONG time!  The world of "Twitter" and "Facebook" kind of takes away the person behind the one-liner status updates that are sent out by the millions on a daily basis.  Don't get me wrong... I get a laugh when I hear a friend "just saw a really big lizard" or that another friend "ate the best food she ever had", but I miss personality, emotions, and seeing growth and change.

So, to be totally random, as my thoughts usually are.... I woke up this morning thinking about change and about who I have become and who I want to be.  I was watching a show before bed last night and a woman was asked to describe herself in one word.  I started thinking that I would never be able to do that.  I can't think of one thing that defines everything that I am. This is where it got really cheesy (at least I think so).

I all of a sudden started smiling and just felt happy from head to toe that I could not define myself in one word.  I was absolutely elated at this idea!!!!  See, I have been criticized in the past for not being content with a job or needing to always change my environments, etc.  I always knew that there was nothing wrong with striving to always be something better (and I do not mean by the way of success or riches) but people made me feel that in order to be a mature adult that I needed to be consistent and predictable.

I will always change, not to suit others, but to suit whatever role it is that God places me in.  I have known for a long time that God has gifted me with very intense passion and empathy for people, as well as leadership abilities. However, I have come to learn that God created me with an unquenchable desire to do many things and be many things (and I think this better prepares me for His purpose for me and His Kingdom). Content is not in my vocabulary!

So..here it is....this is what I am in MANY, MANY words (and BEWARE... I may be a whole new set of words next month):

Changeling, never content but always seeking to grow the way God intends, sometimes hyper, sometimes boring, sometimes defiant, sometimes down right fun, artistic, creative, deeply loving, very passionate, motivated...DID I SAY CREATIVE and ARTISTIC???? Christian, Disciple, leader, moody, ever-evolving, mother, sister, daughter, wife, and the list goes on and on!

I think God probably had to wipe the sweat off His brow when he made me....and then thought what a handful I was going to be!!!!!

I love being me!

So...we all have people in our lives that we try with such passion and energy to try to change into healthier or better people.  Sometimes this is a husband, friend, family member or coworker.  I can personally testify that there are times that I have spent at LEAST 50% of my time trying to fix and change people (not that I even knew at the time that I was doing it). I think it is high time that we understand that WE can never, EVER change them.  Only God can mold them into His perfect creation. 

"Insanity has been described as doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results"- Rick Warren

Stop the insanity!  If you are spending 50% of your time on insane actions then 50% of the time you are frustrated and let down.

I planted a garden 2 years ago.  It produced beautiful and delicious fruits and veggies. Last year I planted a garden in the same place and gave it lots of love and care.  It started to produce smalls fruits and veggies and the taste of them left little to be desired.  The difference in the two gardens was the amount of rain and natural sunlight between the two years.  We had a significant drought the last year. 

A farmer can not make the seed grow into a fruitful crop. He can give it fertile soil, give it water, and protect it from weeds....he then turns that crop over to God.  God sends just the right amount of rain, wind and sunlight to make that crop fruitful.  Not every seed sprouts, and some very different from others. 

No matter what you do.....God is the only one that can cause fruit to grow from people.  You can do the things you know you are supposed to do....1) Show God in your life by how you speak and act with others 2) Pray without ceasing 3) Love that person where they are (and yes, you can love people from a distance sometimes)

So stop the insanity.  You can't change them so try a SANE approach!  Turn them over to God and watch HIM do the work!

This came via email to me today and it was very relevant to things that are going on at work, but It also spoke to me on a spiritual level.

Sacrificing individual gain for the team's greater good is the price of admission members must pay…and keep paying…to be on the team.
-- Scott Beare

This is so very true for us as members of the Body of Christ.  There are times we don't take promotions and times we don't received financial rewards.  There are times when we decide to give to someone in need instead of buying buying the new car or the big screen T.V.  There are times when we put ourselves out on the line and take risk...because God calls us too.  There are times we follow where we are led by our leaders...even when we might not understand why the plan is unfolding a certain way. 

I can see where God is molding so many things in my life.  He is calling me to sacrifice and I am willing to do so.  Anything and everything that I have ever considered a sacrifice on my part has always been something that NEEDED to be SACRIFICED.  I am blessed to be a part of such an awesome team..... Go team God! 

I recently read a statement that is very simple but VERY powerful.

"If I have no love for others, no desire to SERVE others, I should question whether Christ is really in my life"

Matthew 20:28 says  "For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”   God commands we are to do as His Son did and to become like Him.  Rick Warren paraphrased the above verse a great way...."Your attitude must be like my own, for I, the Messiah, did not come to be served, but to serve and to give my life."

Serving does not just involve giving of money.  Serving is giving of your times, talents, love, resources and self for others.  Any unselfish thing you do is serving in the Kingdom of God.

Where is your heart and what is your desire?  Is Christ REALLY in your life?

I am so completely excited today!  I felt such intense pleasure and joy when as I walked into my church today with a small Christmas bag with a HUGE token of LOVE in it.  You see, our community group decided to sponsor a child in need for this Holiday Season.  This entire year of study has been completely devoted to God's purpose for our lives.  We have really focused on what God focuses on most... and that is Loving People.  Truly loving people...those you know and those you don't.  Since loving others requires you to give of yourself, we have also focused on Serving.  Serving each other, serving the church, serving the community.  As a leader of our community group I decided that the Angel Tree would be a great way to demonstrate loving and serving our community.

Knowing that the hurting economy is affecting members of group...I set a reasonable goal of $200.00 to collect and gift this child.  We came to find out that this child and mother were in desperate need of heating and food needs. 

I was blown away to find out that out of completely unselfish love and giving....our group collected $500.00!  I mean, can I get an AMEN! 

Our Pastor is always saying to believe God for BIG, HUGE things.  It is always in the times when "everything is impossible" that God shows up in BIG ways. 

If one community group can do something BIG by such small means....then think what you and an entire church or community can do?  Go out and love someone and give as God gives to you!

Our community group is doing "The Purpose Driven Life" by Rick Warren. A few of us have read this book before, but it had been a few years.   We selected this book because we all felt like we needed something that would not be highly involved and would be "easy" to do going into the holidays.  Let me just say that God has a sense of humor. This "easy" book has turned out to be exactly what we wall needed, no matter what season of life we are in.  I see things igniting in some of these women, and in myself, that I had not previously seen.  I think that God probably sat "upstairs" and looked down on me and said "You think your getting easy....I am going to rock your world..one easy word, and one simple book at a time!"  I can just imagine the all-knowing smirk on his face!

A topic that really stood out for me in this weeks reading was Surrender.  The book talked about what it means to surrender.  "Surrender" and "Submit" have negative connotations in our society.  Life today is built on the principle that you have to win big, climb higher, get first place, etc.  To the average person, surrender means giving up, losing, accepting the status quo.  It means the exact opposite. Surrendering is not hiding your personality.  God wants us to use our unique personality...that is why He created us as he did.  Surrendering actually enhances who you are.  The more we let God take over us, the more we become ourselves-because He made us after HIS own image.  C.S. Lewis said "It is when I turn to Christ, when I give up myself to His personality, that I first begin to have a really personality of my own".

How do I surrender?  Surrendering is best demonstrated by obedience.  Saying "yes, LORD".  Surrendered people obey God's word, even if it doesn't make sense.  Sometimes this means sacrificing your life or suffering in order to change what needs to be changed.  God often calls surrendered people to do battle.  It is often making a choice that we really don't want to make or doing something we don't want to do.

What area in your life do you feel God asking for surrender?  Money....lifestyle....job....relationship...? Ask God to reveal his commands and desires to you.... and then be willing to be obedient.  Not partially obedient, but FULLY obedient.

Our church is HUGE and I mean HUGE on community groups.  I was sitting here this morning thinking of how I really look forward to seeing my group every week.  I think sometimes people have the idea that fellowship and Bible studies can not be fun.  It is more than turning a few pages in the Bible or watching the next popular Bible Study DVD.... it truly is doing life together.  It is figuring out how to run this marathon we call life, and doing to with other people who can endure those long miles with you.  We share in the joys, fears, happiness, and tears of each other.  We hold each other accountable and challenge each other to be better people.

If you are not part of a Christian community group, then you are missing out on something BIG.  Just some food for thought this morning!

One of my favorite passages in the Bible is I Corinthians 13:4-8.

    "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

The Bible speaks in many places that God IS love.  Read the passage above again, but this time substitute the word "God" for the word "love".  These are all the things that God is to us and that God does for us.  

The age old concept is that we are to show "God's love".  I would challenge you to look at "love" not as an emotional feeling or response.  I would challenge you to look at all the ways in which you can show God to people.  This passage tells us exactly who God is and how He would look to us.

Start with patience.  I pulled these quotes from a book I am reading called "The Love Dare":

    "Patience brings an internal calm to an external storm....Patience is a deep breath"

    "Patience gives people  permission to be human"

So...today...dare to be patient and show others just how God looks and feels!

        I DOUBLE DARE YOU! 

WOW!  That is all I could think as my husband and I stood among a large group of couples at the front of our church last night.  We all looked very different.  Some old, some young.  Some married for 50 years and some for only months.  Some madly in-love, and some wanting to be madly in-love again. One thing we all had in common was the fact that we were renewing our wedding vows.  Not just to each other, but to Christ.

Something my pastor said during the "HOT" series at church is that our marriage is to mirror Christ relationship with us.  I thought a great deal about that.  Christ loves me unconditionally.  He loves me when I am in the wrong, He forgives me when I need forgiving, He doesn't keep score of who has given more, and He has my best interest in mind. 

A strong and healthy marriage, just like our walk with God, does not come passively.  It takes effort, devotion, and intimate communication on a DAILY basis. 

I Corinthians 13:4-5 says:

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs."

Try keeping this passage somewhere you can see it every day.  It is a great prayer...married or not. "Lord, help me be patient in this situation and show kindness. Guard my tongue from angry words.  Remind me that I need to put others needs before my own.  Teach me to forgive as you have forgiven me."