Meandering Thoughts of MomTo3Kidz: Church

A devotion for the day

Sat, 02 Feb 2008 14:14:08 GMT

This devotion was written by a teacher at my school. Now I know what to say when Devon tells me I am wasting my time:

Several years ago, one of my brothers made the comment that, “I was wasting my time believing in something that did not exist.” I didn’t put much thought on his reply because my brother often opens his mouth without thinking and from the lifestyle my brother lives, this comment was to be expected. We definitely have different lifestyles and different beliefs.

Later, I thought more about his comment and the fact that we have different views. One question kept popping into my mind--who has more to lose if they are wrong, my brother or I?

What if I am wrong? What if being a Christian is wrong? Then I’m wasting my time being nice to people and caring about their future. I’m wasting my time being honest, not stealing, and not killing people. By trying to live a healthier lifestyle, I’m still wasting my time. I’m wasting my time reading the Bible, praying for others, and attending a fellowship with others. I’m wasting my time trying to live for someone or something greater than myself. I’m even wasting my time by preparing these emails. Basically, I’m losing time.

What if my brother is wrong? What if being a non-Christian is wrong? Basically, the answer is the same. It is a loss of time. However, it is not the time spent here on earth. It is an eternity. If he is wrong, or if a non-believer is wrong, he/she misses the opportunity to achieve the greatest gift available—eternal life.

The Bible is very clear that we are all sinners (Romans 3:23) and that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23), meaning if we do not accept Christ as our Saviour and do His will, we will separated from God forever.

The Bible is also clear that if we accept Him and do His will, we become His children (John 1:12), we become heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17), and we shall have everlasting life (Johns 3:16, Romans 6:23).

If you are a non-believer, I encourage you to spend a lot of time reading the Bible. Also spend some time attending church and talking/learning with others. But most importantly, take a second and invite Christ into your life. There is an eternal gift available to you.

Every day I write different quotations on my board for my students to read. I’d like to close with one of them:

“I’d rather life my life believing there is a God and die to find out there isn’t, than to live my life as if there isn’t and die to find out there is.”

Check out the new video I posted

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 18:33:53 GMT

This past weekend one of our pastor's performed an original rap song with video clips from 2007 services and outreach. It is GCC's year in review. After you watch it, you will see how unusual our church is. Unusual but awesome. Now that I know our videos are posted on youtube, I am going to be posting them often. Enjoy!

Just another reason to love my church

Mon, 28 Jan 2008 02:07:44 GMT

Our youth pastor resigned last week. I knew something really bad must be going on because he and his family are loved by all. The students are crazy about him. Sure enough, I was right - it was bad. He had a relationship with someone other than his wife. He went to the pastor and told the truth, confessed to the rest of the pastors, and spoke to the youth group. That had to be extremely hard. But what is amazing is that he and his family aren't being treated like outcasts. While no one approves of his sin, they didn't turn their backs on him. The family is staying in our church. They are going to counseling and working on their marriage.

Wow. Those people know that the leaders of our church really love them - not just when it seems that they have it all together and they look like spiritual giants. Our former youth minister is loved even when he has been slopping around in sin, and has confessed his weakness and brokeness, his imperfection. Sure he didn't keep the standards expected of a leader in ministry and he had to give up his ministry, but that doesn't mean that God quit caring about him, and the leaders haven't stop caring either.

I think that is a wonderful testament to the agape love that our church leaders live out on a daily basis. It is wonderful to see that kind of spiritual maturity. I just discovered another reason for loving my church.

Ahh, look at all the lonely people

Sun, 09 Dec 2007 21:26:32 GMT

Our Christmas series at GCC is "Let it be...Christmas" featuring music by the Beatles. Today's message was entitled,"Ah, Look at All the Lonely People." I am not a Beatles fan. I can guarantee that music will not be found on my MP3 player. However the drums in were awesome during the song today and the message was thought provoking.

Here is my brief summary of the message:

We are made in God's likeness.

God was made in three parts: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

There is constant relationship between the three beings.

People NEED relationships. Relationships are not optional for human beings.

People without close relationships are very lonely and depressed.

Seek God and make your relationship with Him first place in your life.

Even when you are lonely for human companionship HE will not leave you.

When you are hurt and angry He will not leave you.

Even when you don't feel Him, He is with you.

Here is what I thought of during the message:

The second most important relationship in my life should be with my husband. He should be my best friend. My hopes and fears and dreams and problems should be safe with him. He should be the one building me up, not tearing me down. I should enjoy spending time with him instead of wondering if I am going to say the wrong thing - waiting for the insult, the temper tantrum, the false accusations, the impatience, or the jealousy. I hate not being able to have meaningful conversation. Even having a superficial conversation is like negotiating through a field of land mines. I hate it that we don't even like the same things. If we do what he likes, I am bored. If he does what I like, I am bored. So what is a woman to do?

My solution has been to share my hopes and fears and dreams and problems with my best friend. Marilyn and I can talk about anything and everything. If we disagree about something we can do it peacefully, without insulting each other. We can share our faults and know that we won't be attacked. Our friendship is comfortable and peaceful; just what I need. I am sure Craig is jealous of our relationship, but he has set the tone for ours.

The sad thing is that no matter how many times I try to talk to him about the things he does to drive me away, he always has an excuse: a headache, his legs hurt, his ex best friend has him angry, he is hungry, the house is a mess, he is stressed, he hates his job... Usually I try very hard not to retaliate. I don't think it is good for the kids to hear adults fighting. I don't like them hearing their dad's rudeness and sarcasm, but I don't think it will help matters to get drawn into a battle either. I pray that somehow they grow up and realize that Craig's loneliness is a choice that he has made, and I hope that they will not make the same choice.

Maybe that is the way of all of the lonely people.

Back from the Food Drop

Sat, 08 Dec 2007 17:27:17 GMT

Tuesday evening 800 people from our church went to the "Feed the Children" warehouse to load semis with food and personal care items. First they had to fill the boxes, and then load the trucks. They got it done in two hours. Our family was going to help, until I remembered my staff meeting. Anyhow, I don't know how many people showed up at church today to unload the trucks and distribute the food. Over a thousand. The news crews were there and there were photographers everywhere. After loading a truck we went to a church food bank and filled their storage area. It was a bright, cold, sunny, day and I used muscles in my arms and shoulders that haven't been worked for a long time. I am going to feel it later. Craig, Andrew, Victoria, Victoria and I all worked together. My friend Kelly and her family pooped out. ;-P It was a wonderful way to spend a Saturday morning and tomorrow I get to rock babies in the nursery! Yay!

Some people have all the nerve

Tue, 02 Oct 2007 00:47:40 GMT

I am so in love with my church that I am there 3 - 4 times a week. On Tuesday nights Craig and I go to Financial Peace University. Thursday nights we attend the servrice called
"New Community". Saturday evenings we attend the weekend service, and every other Sunday I work in the nursery for the first service. It is a great place to be and if we didn't have to drive so far I would probably join a small group or a bible study.

What I am always suprised at is that people who have never set foot in the place are critical of the church. Last year when I mentioned that I had started attending GCC, a teacher said, "That place is nothing but a cult!" I suppose she thinks that any church that has 5,000 + people attending every weekend must be using brainwashing tactics. Whatever. She boldly critisized one of our new teachers sent out a mass e-mail asking if anyone would like to get a weekly devotion by e-mail. (Not to his face, but to anyone who would listen.) I really need to pray for her.

Today Biomom called to speak to me and wanted to know what church we are going to. Interesting that her daughter has been going there for almost 2 years and she didn't know the name of the church yet. I told her the name and she asked me what denomination. I told her that it is Methodist and she said, "Since when did a Methodist church have church on Saturday?" Maybe she was worried that we have been going to 7th Day Adventist. I explained that we have 5 weekend services - two on Saturday and three on Sunday to accomodate the number of people who attend. "Oh that is way too big. How can you help people with that many people in one chruch?" Gosh let me count the ways: small groups, mission work, food bank, alternative school, horse riding camp for inner city kids, group counseling for tough issues in life such as addiction and divorce, classes on personal finance, bible studies, prayer team, youth group, hospital visits... There are so many groups who work to meet the needs of the people. I didn't get to say any of this before she started bugging me about changing from a Pentacostal church to Methodist. Why on earth would I do that? Ok, now my church is too big and the wrong denomination. What kills me is that she doesn't even GO to church. I refrained from telling her what I thought about her attitude, even though she was trying to agitate me. My self-control is improving.

Note from church last night...

Sun, 23 Sep 2007 12:12:01 GMT

These are the notes from church last night. Naturally there would be a message on love, when I am having a crisis in my marriage. At least I think it it a crisis. Craig seems oblivious to the fact that just last weekend I was contemplating moving out of our home. I don't think he took me seriously, or he just thinks that an apology and some good behavior will make everything ok. I did think I saw some tears in his eyes last night during this message. Maybe he realized that he has been a real Love- Buster.

Let’s Talk About Love Dr. Bob Laurent

Granger Notes September 22-23, 2007

In his book, Love Busters, Willard Harley, Jr. details six ways we relate that

destroy love. See if any of them sound familiar:

Six Love-Busters:

1. Selfish Acts:

We want things our way, and we want them that way now. Self-centered,

controlling, manipulative people strangle love out of a home.

This is just one of the love busters that Craig uses regularly. He barks orders and makes demands and expects that we will jump and ask how high on the way up. Of course, I never do, but he still expects different results.

HE would say that I have the problem with this because when my car is broken down, I want it fixed immediately and I will harp until it gets down. Any woman reading this knows the necessity of having safe, reliable transportation. Oh and my computer is the other thing I want fixed immediately.

2. Criticizing:

We’re more critical of those we love than anybody else in the world.

Why can’t we be as courteous and respectful of our loved ones as we

would a stranger?

Oh my gosh. I don't cook the right food, or clean house well enough. I don't spend my free time doing anything he consideres worthwhile. Dr. Bob mentioned using humor to critisize. Craig's favorite line after insulting me is, "I am just harassing you." His whole family does this and I cannot stand the family get-togethers because of it.

3. Uncontrolled Anger:

We let all the anger from our job, our school and our casual

relationships blow up when we get home. Everybody walks around on

eggshells because they don’t want the time bomb to go off.

Yep, this is what has been going on around here. Any reason to be angry is a reasonable excuse to treat "loved ones" like crap. It has been one peaceful week since I had my talk with Craig. I still wait on pins and needles for the next blow up. I know it will come. I just don't know when.

4. Lying:

If we can’t trust the truth of what our loved ones say, we can’t trust them.

Without trust there can be no deep relationship; there can be no

meaningful love.

Definitely no trust here. Craig always accuses me of lying, even though I tend to be on the brutally honest side. I am pretty sure he just wants to believe I am a liar because of all the lies he has told. If I am a liar, then he feels justified in lying.

5. Irritating Habits:

Why do we keep doing the things that we know irritate those we love?

Irritating habits are no big deal to me. Why sweat the small stuff? Who cares if the toilet paper is on the holder backward? If Craig wants to keep leaving dirty underwear on the bathroom floor that is his business. If I feel like picking them up I will. If I don't, I won't. However, if Craig is in one of his "moods" we can be certain that our irritating habits will be all Craig needs for ammunition with the "You ALWAYS" or "You NEVER" blah, blah, blah. He is convinced that he is perfect, because I don't carry on about his irritating habits. Believe me, he has them and I know I have mine.

6. Doing our own thing:

How can we live in love when we continue to do our own thing and never

consider the needs of those we love? Consideration is the fruit of love

and real love considers others first.

I am guilty of this - big time. After years of being in an unhappy marriage, I make plans without Craig all the time. Since we have children, I do ask if he has any plans before I confirm mine. I have gone on vacation without him twice because he is so difficult to travel with and complains constantly when we get to our destination. It is ok with me if he does his own thing, as long as the kids are taken care of. I know he doesn't want to walk the dogs with me because his legs always hurt. He doesn't want to sit in Barnes and Nobles and look at books and magazines for hours at a time. Scrapbooking and photography don't interest him. He doesn't like to wander a farmer's market and see what there is to see. I decided a long time ago that I am not going to let life pass me by because we have different interests.

So how can we be Love Builders?

1. Through selfless acts of service.

Matthew 20-28 - The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve

and to give His life a ransom for many.

2. By suspending judgment and learning how to count to ten or bite your tongue.

Matthew 7:1 - Do not judge, or you too will be judged.

3. By closing your mouth and learning how to listen.

Ephesians 4:29 - Let no unwholesome word come out of your mouth,

but only that which is fit for building others up, that it may benefit those

who listen.

4. By speaking the truth in love.

Proverbs 26:28 - A lying tongue hates those it hurts.

5. By examining ourselves:

2 Corinthians 13:5 - Examine yourselves to see if you are in the faith;

test yourselves.

6. By becoming a considerate servant.

Romans 12:5 - So in Christ we who are many form one body and each

member belongs to all the others.

Love Verses:

Philippians 2:3-4 - Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but

in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look

not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Matthew 5:43-44 - You have heard that it was said, “Love your neighbor and

hate your enemy.” But I tell you, “Love your enemies and pray for those who

persecute you.”

Matthew 22:37-40 - Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all

your soul and with all your mind—This is the first and greatest commandment;

and the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. These two

commandments sum up all of the Law and the prophets.

1 John 3:18 - Little children, let’s not just say that we love others; let’s really

love them–and show it by our actions.

John 13:34-35 - A new command I give you: Love one another, as I have

loved you, so you must love one another. By this shall all men know that

you are my disciples: that you love one another.

John 15:13 - Greater love has no one than this: that he would lay down his life

for his friends.

1 Corinthians 13:4 - 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; love keeps no record of wrongs. If you love someone you will be

loyal to him; you will always believe in him, always expect the best of him

and always stand your ground defending him - Now faith, hope and love

remain, but the greatest of these is love.

1 John 4:7-8, 10, 12 - Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God,

and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who loves not

doesn’t know God, for God is love. This is love: not that we loved God, but

that He loved us, and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. No

one has ever seen God, but if we love one another, God lives in us and His

love is made complete in us.

John 3:16 - For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son

that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Lift your spirit here

Fri, 24 Aug 2007 10:29:23 GMT

This morning I woke with a heavy heart, so I decided to visit one of our pastor's blogs. He had this link to a video from our church. Click here to see hundreds of people >Turning toward Christ. It never fails to make me happy when someone makes a decision to serve our Lord. In this case, more than 600 people walked through the door from darkness into light. It was awesome and the video is too. Enjoy!

GCC named America's 6th most influential church

Sun, 22 Jul 2007 16:03:17 GMT

Have I mentioned lately how much I love our church? I know it is huge, and I haven't made any friends there, but it is so exciting to participate in the vision the pastor's have for the ministry. I work in the nursery with the infants and I have volunteered in our Second Saturday program twice, with more to come. Last night I found out that Granger Community Church was named the 6th most influential church in America. The churches on the list were recommended by other church leaders as congregations that represent the passion and sense of mission mandated in the New Testament. I think it is pretty awesome that the leaders of so many great churches are watching GCC. Of course our pastor says that the honor comes with a lot of responsibility and high standards in order to survive the close scrutiny - not just for him, but for the entire church body. I say accountability is good.

An e-mail I got today.

Wed, 18 Apr 2007 21:41:05 GMT

Dear Lord,

I thank You for this day. I thank You for my being able to see and to hear today. I'm blessed because You are a forgiving God and an understanding God. You have done so much for me and You keep on blessing me. Forgive me this day for everything I have done, said, or thought that was not pleasing to you. I ask now for Your forgiveness. Please keep me safe from all danger and harm. Help me to start this day with a new attitude and plenty of gratitude. Let me make the best of each and every day to clear my mind so that I can hear from You. Please broaden my mind that I can accept all things. Let me not whine and whimper over things I have no control over.

I know that when I can't pray, You listen to my heart. Continue to use me to do Your will. Continue to bless me that I may be a blessing to others. Keep me strong that I may help the weak... Keep me uplifted that I may have words of encouragement for others. I pray for those that are lost and can't find their way. I pray for those that are misjudged and misunderstood. I pray for those who don't know You intimately. I pray for those that don't believe. I thank you that I believe.

I believe that God changes people and God changes things. I pray for all my sisters and brothers - for each and every family member in their households. I pray for peace, love and joy in their homes, that they are out of debt, and all their needs are met. I pray that every person who reads this knows there is no problem, circumstance, or situation greater than God. Every battle is in Your hands for You to fight. I pray that these words are received into the hearts of every eye that sees it.

In Jesus’ holy name I pray –

Amen

Holy Thursday Service

Fri, 06 Apr 2007 00:32:23 GMT

Some notes from tonight's service...

Five Things the Holy Spirit Does:

John 14:16 (Contemporary English Version)

Then I will ask the Father to send you the Holy Spirit who will help you and always be with you.

1) The Holy Spirit gives us comfort and help.

John 14:26 (Contemporary English Version)

But the Holy Spirit will come and help you, because the Father will send the Spirit to take my place. The Spirit will teach you everything and will remind you of what I said while I was with you.

2) The Holy Spirit teaches us and reminds us of Jesus’ teachings.

John 15:26 (New Life Version)

"The Helper (Holy Spirit) will tell about Me when He comes. I will send Him to you from the Father. He is the Spirit of Truth and comes from the Father.

3) The Holy Spirit points us toward Jesus.

John 16:8 (New International Version)

When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment:

4) The Holy Spirit brings conviction of sin, righteousness and judgment

John 16:13 (New International Version)

But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.

5) The Holy Spirit guides us to all truth.

Church last night

Sun, 04 Mar 2007 12:27:58 GMT

Last night we got a bunch of people to church. Our whole family attended - including Devon, and Andrew's best friend Neil, Craig's best friend Greg and his son Adam (who is Andrew's other best friend) and my cousin Tracy and her son. Greg, Neil, and Adam have gone with us before so we already knew that they like our church. Tracy and her son really liked the service and said that they definitely want to come back. Wooo-hooo. Doing a little happy dance here... As usual the message made everyone feel like it was directed at them personally. I love how God does that - speaks directly to your heart through a single man who is addressing 1,000 people. I noticed that my cousin was tearing up a couple of times during the message. The message wasn't full of condemnation, it was uplifting. I hope my cousin is gaining hope and with further attendence I hope she gains so much more than that.

Here we grow again

Tue, 27 Feb 2007 23:07:04 GMT

Our church is embarking on another building project. First on the agenda is the purchase and remodel of three buildings in the inner city. They are right next to our food pantry. The plan is to make a community center with adult education and an alternative school. After that is the addition to the church. The auditorium will stay the same, but the commons area will be expanded for more tables and chairs for visiting. The idea is that we can bring people who are leery of attending church and sit with them in the commons area for coffee and a bagel and talk and watch the service on the television screens. As I have mentioned in previous posts, our church isn't geared for "churchy" people. The mission is to bring people in from the community - the down and out, the lost, the hopeless, the people who think they are unworthy. At the same time the commons area is expanded we will expand the basement, which is the children's area. I know my daughter's class is packed with second and third graders. It would be so nice to be able to split up some classes and have fewer children in the rooms. The price tag for this expansion? Ten million dollars. Ten. Million. Dollars. I remember when my old church was raising money to build and open our school. I thought that million dollar goal was huge. Then again we had 400 people at my old church and we reached our goal. Now I go to a church with 4,000 - 5,000 in attendance every weekend. I guess the numbers are in proportion, and we will probably meet that goal in the three year time line.

I looked at the church statistics and wasn't surprised by the numbers. In 2006, our weekend services drew 794 more people than in 2005. 630 teenagers came to our youth services each week in 2006. 1,173 children were in our childrens' center each weekend in 2006. 11,012 people attended our 2006 Christmas services. I guess we need to expand. How do you put a limit on the number of people you introduce to Jesus Christ?

The Food Drop

Sat, 09 Dec 2006 21:23:14 GMT

This morning Victoria and I participated in our church's annual "Food Drop." It was a cold, sunny day and spirits were high. We had a meeting inside the church. The mayors of two communities attended, a representative for the mayor from my town, and Congressman Joe Donelly. After given the general logistics of our project we went out to unload semis in the parking lot.

We, the volunteers of GCC, unloaded 165,000 pounds of food from 7 semis. All of the food was moved to smaller box trucks so it could be distributed to organizations and residences all over Michiana. The packages consisted of bags of potatoes, boxes of food, and personal care items. The people around us were enchanted with Victoria's smiling face and eagerness to help. It didn't hurt that she is very small for her age. I cannot count how many people took pictures of her working. She was pleased with the prospect that her face might be on the "big screen" in church during service some time. (Ok, she won't even see it, so maybe it is really me who is excited.)

After all of the little trucks were loaded, Victoria and I went to a nearby trailer park to distribute some food. Somehow I managed to get a map to a distribution point other than the one everyone else in our group was going to. I didn't worry - I just figured that God knew exactly where we needed to be. Victoria and I delivered food to three trailers. Only one person was home. The elderly woman who answered the door had been looking out her window, watching all of the people with boxes streaming down the street. She grinned from ear to ear and was tickled to get a bag of potatoes. She was really suprised when I told her that she had two more boxes coming yet. I carried the food box into her home because it was pretty heavy. I hugged her and wished her a Merry Christmas before we went on our way. Victoria said, "Wow Mom, this is pretty fun!" I had to agree depite the fact that my neck, arms and head were hurting and my toes were stiff with cold. Victoria and I quit 20 minutes early because I had to pee so bad that it was painful.

I didn't want the charitable feelings in our hearts to disappear yet, so we stopped at WalMart and purchased a pair of soft flannel pajamas for a 6 year old girl. I got her ornament off of the giving tree at school. Ahhh, what a wonderful morning. It is easy to forget your troubles when helping others.

On Fire at Last

Tue, 28 Nov 2006 11:14:06 GMT

For those of you who have been reading my blog, it is old news that I changed churches. After 14 years in a full-gospel, holy-roller (I mean that in a good way) church, I started attending a HUGE church in a neighboring city. It has taken some adjustment. We rarely sing a traditional praise and worship songs. There isn't an alter call. Very few people raise there hands when we sing (but I am one of them). No one dances in the aisles, so I be bee-bop in one place. Instead of calling people to be born again, the pastors encourage people to be followers of Jesus Christ. The messages use scripture and apply it to our daily lives. Usually the messages are in a series which focuses on a specific topic - money, sex, stress management...

The church has been in existence for 20 years and the growth has been phenominal. Normally between 4,000 and 6,000 people attend services every weekend. There are 2 services on Saturday evenings, 3 on Sunday mornings, Sr. High Youth on Sunday night, Jr. High Youth on Wednesday night; one longer service on Thursday evenings with more praise and worship, more prayer and more bible study; small groups meet every week, and bible studies that meet various times during the week. There are so many opportunities to serve, that it can boggle a person's mind. I just worked in the nursery this past weekend, for the first time.

I investigated what the church believes before I decided to serve in the children's ministry:

Beliefs

There is one God, eternally existing in three persons — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — each possessing all the attributes of Deity.
Humans were created by God to have fellowship with him, but due to their rejection of God, they need His saving grace, which must be received personally by repentance and faith, in order to end the separation from Him.
Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth and then voluntarily paid for the sin of humans with His death on the cross. This offers salvation for those who trust in Jesus. He rose from the dead and is the mediator between us and God. Christ will return to earth to consummate history.
The Holy Spirit draws sinners to Christ and equips believers for personal growth and service to the church.
The church's role is to glorify God and serve those in need.
At the end, everyone will experience bodily resurrection and the judgment. Those forgiven through Christ will enjoy eternal fellowship with God.

The church's mission is to "Turn irreligious people into fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ”. Let me tell you, that might have been the mission of my old church, but it sure wasn't effecting great change in the community. Their focus seemed to be teaching believers about healing, and supporting missionaries in foriegn countries. I am excited to be part of a church that has a heart for the lost, right here in Northern Indiana.

If you walked into my church, you would not see any men in suits. Some women wear dresses. You would see old people and young people, black people and white people, people in ragged jeans, women in high spiked heels and mini-skirts who think they are dressed properly for church, and disabled people. You might have to sit next to someone with body odor so bad that you consider changing seats. (That happened to me yesterday, but I kept taking sips of my coffee and inhaling the scent deeply to get through the service.) Our 10:15 service is so packed that people sit in the coffee shop area and watch the service on the television monitors. When we have water baptism, hundreds of people are baptized. When we have child dedications, hundreds of parents dedicate their children to God.

Some mature Christians complain that the ministry focuses too much on "seekers" and not enough on believers. Actually, two of my friends left the church for that reason. They wanted to attend Sunday services that teach believers. My church does that on Thursday evening services. At my old church I sat listening to the pastors deliver the same old messages in the same old way. Everyone was dressed in the Sunday best. When people greeted each other they used phrases to describe how blessed they were. It drove my husband crazy that everyone worked so hard to appear perfect. It bothered him even more that no one cared about him enough to get to know him. After two years he stopped attending church.

Amazingly enough, Craig told me that he would like to volunteer with me for the Food Drop on December 9th. We will load semis and deliver food to organizations in the community. I can hardly wait to serve with my husband.

Pregnant with hope and love...

Sat, 30 Sep 2006 22:58:23 GMT

Thursday night I went to church for the first time in 4 weeks. I couldn't understand why the parking lot was packed. When I walked into the auditorium I saw kids everywhere. I had checked Victoria into her class, so I knew there were classes for the kids, but hundreds of children were in adult church with their parents. As it turns out it was child dedication night and there were at least 1,000 people there, which is unusual for a Thursday night. I was disappointed, because I was really looking forward to some great praise and worship. It actually crossed my mind to get Victoria and go home, but I decided to see how dedications were done at this church.

Since there were so many families involved in the dedication there were 6 teams of people to pray for the children. The dedication lasted 45 minutes. The camera men filmed the children and the live feed was showing on the giant screens behind the stage. It was so precious! All those old maternal feelings came rushing back to me. The joy and wonder of having a new baby. The realization that I loved that child more than anyone or anything in the world. The amazing transformation - when I became more focused on my child's needs than I was on my own selfish desires. The big dreams and hopes that I had for my children... Even after the birth of my children, I was still pregnant, with hope and love.

I envied those young parents. I hoped that none of them would find out that something was wrong with their child. I prayed that the joy would live on and they would never feel the devastation of having a child with a disability. Then I saw her - a young mom with a beautiful dark-haired girl who appeared to be around 1 year old. There wasn't anyone with them. No husband/father or grandparents. The girl was wearing a ruffled dress and tights and had an angelic expression on her face. She also showed the distinct facial features of a child with Down Syndrome.

My heart went out to them immediately. I prayed that God will always give that mother comfort, strength and peace when she needs it. I prayed for her to have giving, supporting people around her and that her joy might be full. I asked God to answer that mother's prayers and not be silent like he has been with my prayers for Devon. I surprised myself when I realized that I really meant it. Despite the fact that God and psychiatric medicine have been unable to help Devon, I want good things for that mother and child that I have never met.

Awesome Quote

Sun, 02 Jul 2006 16:41:59 GMT

You never have,

And never will,

Look into the eyes of a person

That Jesus Christ didn't die for.

A guest speaker said this at church on Thursday night, and I haven't stopped thinking about it. Kathleen

The Link is Updated

Tue, 13 Jun 2006 13:17:29 GMT

The latest church service is now on our website - http://www.gccwired.com Drag the bar on Windows Media Player around 2 - 2 1/2 inches to the right. The song "King Without a Crown" is after announcements, the i-Pod give away and praise and worship. Come on - have some fun and watch and listen!

Kathlen

King Without a Crown

Mon, 12 Jun 2006 12:08:45 GMT

As a 43 year old, menapausal woman, I don't listen to music that anyone would consider interesting or unusual. I stick with classic rock, 80's music, praise and worship and contemporary Christian. Our church uses all kinds of music in their messages - not just Christian music. Yesterday a man named Ben Ngoma performed a song called King Without a Crown. The original artist is named Matisyahu (real name Matthew Miller). He is an orthodox Jew, so his music doesn't have anything to do with Jesus. It was still awesome.

Here is a link to the original music video: http://www.muvids.com/matisyahu_videos/king_without_a_crown.html

Our church version is much better. You can go to our website to see it. On the top right hand corner is a link that says "Watch Last Week's Service." Click on that to see a video of our service. Drag the bar over until you see a black man with long braids singing by himself. I just checked it and the posted service was from June 3rd and 4th, so it hasn't been updated. But it is only Monday, June 12 at 8:00am, so maybe later today it will have the latest service. http://www.gccwired.com

I really hope you get to see and hear our church's version of the song. If you do, make a comment and tell me what you think- even if you think the song stinks and I am a complete dork. My kids are always telling me that I am wierd. I just tell them that I am unique and I am ok with that. The lyrics move really fast, so I posted them for you. Enjoy!

Kathleen

KING WITHOUT A CROWN

Chorus:
What's this feeling?
My love will rip a hole in the ceiling
Givin' myself to you from the essence of my being
Sing to my God all these songs of love and healing
Want Mashiach now so it's time we start revealing

You're all that I have and you're all that I need
Each and every day I pray to get to know you please
I want to be close to you, yes I'm so hungry
You're like water for my soul when it gets thirsty
Without you there's no me
You're the air that I breathe
Sometimes the world is dark and I just can't see
With these, demons surround all around to bring me down to negativity
But I believe, yes I believe, I said I believe
I'll stand on my own two feet
Won't be brought down on one knee
Fight with all of my might and get these demons to flee
Hashem's rays fire blaze burn bright and I believe
Out of darkness comes light, twilight unto the heights
Crown Heights burnin' up all through the twilight
Said, thank you to my God, now I finally got it right
And I'll fight with all of my heart, and all a' my soul, and all a' my might

Chorus

Bridge:
Me no want no sinsemilla.
That would only bring me down
Burn away my brain no way my brain is to compound
Elevated my soul you're a flying my sound
Like the sun of a sun ray burning up through a cloud
Torah food for my brain let it rain till I drown
Thunder!
Let the blessings come down

Strip away the layers and reveal your soul
Got to give yourself up and then you become whole
You're a slave to yourself and you don't even know
You want to live the fast life but your brain moves slow
If you're trying to stay high then you're bound to stay low
You want God but you can't deflate your ego
If you're already there then there's nowhere to go
If you're cup's already full then its bound to overflow
If you're drowning in the water's and you can't stay afloat
Ask Hashem for mercy and he'll throw you a rope
You're looking for help from God you say he couldn't be found
Looking up to the sky and searchin' beneath the ground
Like a King without his Crown
Yes, I wanna get down
A King without his Crown
Yes, you keep fallin' down
You really want to live but can't get rid of your frown
Tried to reach unto the heights and wound bound down on the ground
Given up your pride and the you heard a sound
Out of night comes day and out of day comes light
Nullified to the One like sunlight in a ray,
Makin' room for his love and a fire gone blaze

Chorus

Reelin' him in
Where ya been
Where ya been
Where ya been for so long
It's hard to stay strong been livin' in galus (exile) for 2000 years strong
Where ya been for so long
Been livin in this exile for too long