Cory's been playing bass on the worship team this summer at church so he has to be at church an hour before the early service begins. He usually rides his scooter and LeYanna and I follow an hour later in the car because LeYanna doesn't wake up in time for us to be ready to go by 7:45...except for on mornings like today, when she is awake at 7. A good, half an hour (at least) before she normally wakes up. These mornings I wake up early, a little grumpy, but decide I'd rather drive with Cory to church, drop him off, drive to McDonald's to get breakfast and a Coke, then drive back to church and hang out until church starts.
These mornings, I am unaware of what God is doing and how he is orchestrating all things, including my daughter's early morning waking to fit with his plan.
Shortly after I got to church today a new family, a mother and two of her daughters, arrived 40 minutes early. I was there to meet her and show her around the church. Two weeks ago the same thing happened, except that it was a married couple that time. Two weeks before that I found myself in the nursery not realizing I had nursery duty and was able to connect with a mom who had a daughter almost the same age as mine, it was her second week.
So, every time I've been woken up early by my daughter waking up early and every time I've decided to just get ready quickly and go to church early with Cory there has been someone new to the church for me to connect with. Cory tells me that on the other weeks he hasn't seen anyone wandering into the sanctuary looking lost so it would appear that LeYanna's early Sunday morning wakings are connected to the need to have someone extra at church to welcome the new people who randomly walk in 40 minutes early.
God has been leading me, totally unaware, to be a contributing part of his church. He has done this, not by speaking to me directly and telling me what to do but by waking my daughter up and having me, in my grumpiness, get ready and go to church early. In this moment I don't have any brilliant application or challenge, I just think it's really cool that he does that.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Be Nice to Your Chimney Sweep or Maybe God has you at Les Schwab for a Reason
I met a nice lady at church today. Because we had both arrived early (more on that in another post) we had some time to sit and chat together. I asked her how she came to our church that morning and was encouraged and challenged by her story. I'm just going to give you a snippet of it, since it is not my story and I'm going to rename my new friend Jane (to protect her privacy).
Jane and her husband had owned a chimney cleaning company. God gave one of her customers a burden for her. This lady prayed for Jane as God brought her to mind. Then God told the customer to go to Jane's house and share her own story with her. She obeyed and went, multiple times until she found Jane at home. She shared her story of God's grace and comfort in times of depression and divorce. Her story deeply connected with where Jane was at and she was also deeply moved at the woman's persistence in pursuing her.
Jane and her husband are now separated. Jane and her kids have been living in a shelter and were recently able to move into an apartment. She's out of work and doesn't have much money. One day, recently, she discovered a hole in one of her tires. With only $30 she spent a lot of time trying to find a used tire she could afford and was unable to do so. She went to Les Schwab looking for a tire she could afford and was discouraged to find none. Another customer overheard her talking and was moved to action. She offered to by Jane a tire on the condition that Jane paid her back. Jane agreed and was on her way with her new tire. When Jane got her monthly check she called the lady so she could pay her back. The lady invited Jane to lunch. Jane paid her back. They lady paid for lunch and took her shopping, spending more than she had on the original tire.
Jane shared these two stories and indicated that they were a signifcant part of her journey to God and her journey to church. She ended up at our church because, somehow, her kids had gone to VBS here last year. By the grace of God we were both there early and able to chat. I'm very excited to see what God does in her life as he connects her with a body of believers. I am honored that I got to be part of her journey this morning. I am so grateful for the woman who obeyed God's nudge to go share her story with her chimney cleaner and for the woman who bought Jane the tire. Both of those women have played a huge role in Jane's life by showing the love of Christ.
The encouragement? Neither of those women are likely aware of the impact they have made or are making in Jane's life. They may never know that she took the step to enter a church building for the first time since she was a kid. They may never know that God is working in Jane's life as a direct result of their obedience, risk and sacrifice. I also wonder if there is someone praying for Jane who has no idea what God is doing in her life right now. We might never know how God is orchestrating little moments of divine interventions in the lives of those we love and pray for. We might not ever know the rest of the story in many of the lives we touch. God uses multiple people to reach one person.
You are one of those multiple people.
The challenge? To be obedient when God says, "drive to the lady's house who cleaned your chimney and tell her about your story," or when he says, "buy that lady a tire." These are things that take us out of our comfort zone, where we wonder if it's really God talking...and it just might be. Isn't it worth the risk to find out?
Jane and her husband had owned a chimney cleaning company. God gave one of her customers a burden for her. This lady prayed for Jane as God brought her to mind. Then God told the customer to go to Jane's house and share her own story with her. She obeyed and went, multiple times until she found Jane at home. She shared her story of God's grace and comfort in times of depression and divorce. Her story deeply connected with where Jane was at and she was also deeply moved at the woman's persistence in pursuing her.
Jane and her husband are now separated. Jane and her kids have been living in a shelter and were recently able to move into an apartment. She's out of work and doesn't have much money. One day, recently, she discovered a hole in one of her tires. With only $30 she spent a lot of time trying to find a used tire she could afford and was unable to do so. She went to Les Schwab looking for a tire she could afford and was discouraged to find none. Another customer overheard her talking and was moved to action. She offered to by Jane a tire on the condition that Jane paid her back. Jane agreed and was on her way with her new tire. When Jane got her monthly check she called the lady so she could pay her back. The lady invited Jane to lunch. Jane paid her back. They lady paid for lunch and took her shopping, spending more than she had on the original tire.
Jane shared these two stories and indicated that they were a signifcant part of her journey to God and her journey to church. She ended up at our church because, somehow, her kids had gone to VBS here last year. By the grace of God we were both there early and able to chat. I'm very excited to see what God does in her life as he connects her with a body of believers. I am honored that I got to be part of her journey this morning. I am so grateful for the woman who obeyed God's nudge to go share her story with her chimney cleaner and for the woman who bought Jane the tire. Both of those women have played a huge role in Jane's life by showing the love of Christ.
The encouragement? Neither of those women are likely aware of the impact they have made or are making in Jane's life. They may never know that she took the step to enter a church building for the first time since she was a kid. They may never know that God is working in Jane's life as a direct result of their obedience, risk and sacrifice. I also wonder if there is someone praying for Jane who has no idea what God is doing in her life right now. We might never know how God is orchestrating little moments of divine interventions in the lives of those we love and pray for. We might not ever know the rest of the story in many of the lives we touch. God uses multiple people to reach one person.
You are one of those multiple people.
The challenge? To be obedient when God says, "drive to the lady's house who cleaned your chimney and tell her about your story," or when he says, "buy that lady a tire." These are things that take us out of our comfort zone, where we wonder if it's really God talking...and it just might be. Isn't it worth the risk to find out?
Friday, August 5, 2011
Not-So-Frazzled
I don't want to live life rushed and constantly stressed. It doesn't feel good. One of my goals for this year is to live in a non-frazzled way.
Instead, I want to be peaceful.
Here's how I plan to get there:
Instead, I want to be peaceful.
Here's how I plan to get there:
- I will prioritize. Early in the week, I will ask myself & ask God what my priorities need to be that week. I will then mourn the things I really want to do but aren't priorities and I'll do the important things.
- I will not let other people dictate my schedule. I will say things like, "I'd be happy to help you with that. I can't do it right now, when would be a good time for you this afternoon?" or, "That is a great question, I don't have time to answer right now, but how about later tonight?" And then I will choose not to feel bad about it.
- I will remind myself that God intends for us to take a sabbath and, in his perfect plan, intended for us to sleep. So I will choose not to feel bad when I take a sabbath or when I go to bed in time to get my 8+ hours.
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