Pondering this week

I love this time of the year as well as every believer should. It's a time of reflection and appreciation for the many blessings afforded to us in Jesus Christ. This week Len and I watched "Walking With Jesus" on the Discovery Channel.
Ponder this:
Jesus did not do anything in his ministry that wasn't planned
He had control of everything that occurred from entering the gate on a donkey to being crucified on the cross
He had a total understanding of the reactions that he would cause during this significant time of celebration by turning over the moneychangers tables
He knew the actions of his friend Judas
He knew the hearts of men then and He knows the hearts of men now

It gives me great peace and comfort to know that He will be in complete control in the days before His return.

I invite you to consider all that He did and count the ways He is in control.....beginning with your life.

God's power - only love

Hey, I was catching up on my devotional reading this morning, yeah "my bad"...I read where Philip Yancey has joined the writers of Our Daily Bread. Cool Beans, I thought, I love his writing. Well, I have been thinking all day about how he writes simply but deeply about the things of God.

Hear it now. He was writing on the ability of God's choice to curb His own power. Think on the following and see if you aren't amazed at this principle of God's restraint. If you read Luke 4:3,9-11, you will be reading about the temptation Christ faced after his 40 days of fasting. The final proofs that we often yearn for or like the Pharisees demanded (Matt. 12:38; 16:1)offer no obstacle to an omnipotent God. Here's the kicker that made me go WOW "More amazing is His refusal to perform, to overwhelm. God's terrible insistence on human freedom is so absolute that He granted us the power to live as though He does not exist. Jesus must have known this as He faced the tempter in the desert, focusing His power on the energy of restraint."

He continues to mention that no "pyrotechnic displays of omnipotence will achieve the response He desires...only love can summon a response of love....Love has its own power-the only power capable of conquering the human heart."

Wrap your mind around this and then your heart, fall in love with God anew. There's nothing like it.

Weight Training

Monday night Len and I met with Ron, our personal trainer at SuperFitness to begin our weight training regiment. Ron is a retired school teacher of 35 years, teaching health and physical fitness. A really super guy and definitely one of those teachers you wish you would have had when you were in school. Something that stuck with me from our first session is that diet, cardio and weight training all work together for the best health program. Ron mentioned that if you just use one or two of them you won't get the best overall benefits. Diet provides the fuel into the body, cardio provides the conditioning to go the distance and weights provide the strength it takes to endure.
A great bonus from using cardio and weight training is that when you rest after doing both you will burn calories twice as long.

While talking with my friend Gwen about this a correlation occurred to me between our new disciplines and our spiritual life. When we receive a message from the Word of God either by preaching or devotional times, it provides us fuel (diet) for our walk with God. Getting involved in serving is like cardio helping to condition us so we can go the distance. Finally, being involved in a Small Group will offer you strength for the distance. The verse Ecclesiastes 4:9 comes to mind:
"Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed."

I hope you're getting the proper diet, cardio and weight training for both your body and your spiritual life.

Discipline

My husband, Len, and I have committed to change our lifestyle disciplines. Namely, eating and exercise habits. It's challenging and some days are harder than others. We are in the 4th week of our new program. Fortunately, we are reaping some of the benefits already it brings us together more, we are eating healthier, dropping some weight, and feeliing better. Oh there's aches and pains and sometimes complaining going on...I think that's normal. No one likes change no matter how often you go through it. It's still difficult to embrace.

It's always difficult when you first begin to change disciplines. You seem to be working on everything you do. You realize what a mess you were and see that priorities must change and this is difficult work.

I see how that can relate in our intimate walk with God too. You must set your mind to rethinking how to live your life before God. Old patterns have to be broken and your priorities must change. You find that you must process life through a different filter. You know the outcome is going to be better but you're experiencing some aches and pains in the process.

Romans 12:2
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Your not alone or the only one going through the aches and pains of change. We may be at different levels but we're all in the process.
Don't give up, stay encouraged and press on.

Upwards Basketball

Upwards Basketball

Last Saturday I missed getting to Josh and Paige's Upwards Basketball game. It's a great time to watch these young kids learn the skills of team sports and to see all the parents and grandparents cheering ALL the kids. What a great program. It's great to see many of my longtime friends from a church we attended once called our home church. We still consider them family. Looking forward to seeing many of them this Saturday.

The Aqua Team is HOME

Chuck and I went to pick the team up this past Monday. I was sooo happy to see them. They really looked tired. It had been a very busy time for them. They went to areas I had never journeyed and I wanted to hear all about it.

Thank God, John knew my excitement to hear their stories and along with Lissa, Mandy, some input from Jared and Grant they caught me up on their day-by-day journey. WoW - WHAT opportunities they got to enjoy from the hand of God.

Check out: thinkingoutsidethebunn

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Aqua Team Serving Orphans

Finally I'm taking time to followup and tell you some news on the Egypt team. Sorry, I left my pictures at home but I will post them tonight.
They got off last Thursday with amazing answers to prayer. Here's some GOD sized wins:

• All the money they needed for the trip (and more) came in before they left


• The orphan program stuff all fit in the suitcases


• The trip to the airport, good weather allowed the team to be there on time without any lines


• Several luggage bags were over the 50 lb. weight limit - no charge

Here are a few things I know:

I received word from DW that they had a delay in their flight arriving in Cairo, a longer ride than expected on the train to Luxor. They are tired from traveling but their spirits are high. They are looking forward to what God is going to do in and through them.

For sure they will learn a new definition of flexibility. From my past experience with mission trips I know they will be changed individuals when they return. It's an exciting adventure when you choose God's ride.

As I track their itinerary each day I pray for them for the activities they will be doing and the traveling they have ahead of them. Ifyou choose to remember them in prayer keep in mind that they are 7 hours ahead of us.
Team members names to lift in prayer: John, Jared, Grant, Amy, Day, Lissa, Miranda

Learning to be a sender

Today my family and I had the opportunity to participate with the team that is preparing to go to do ministry in an orphanage in Egypt in less that 2 weeks. WOW...it's hard to believe that I'm not going but here it is...time for me to learn how to be a sender.
You see, I really believe if you can't go, you need to participate in the sending. Get involved in the sending either by donating to the team or help with preparations for them to go. There's lots to do. If you have no idea about how much is involved in planning, shopping, packing, praying - well you need to see my lists. Seriously, if you believe in investing in the Kingdom - go online to NewPointe.Org and give a donation to the Egypt Orphanage team. No gift is too small. If you can't do that, please prepare a note and send it to the attention of John Bunn saying you will support them in prayer.
God Bless you for being obedient to the action of encouragement:

Hebrews 3:13 (New International Version)
New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society
13But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness.

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Listen to this passage : Hebrews 3

Choices

Christmas can be a very depressing time for many people. Thoughts of unhappiness, lack of what they have or even suicide can hang over people like a black plague.
For years I battled depression. Some months were so dark that I could barely count a good day.
What I have found over the years is, there is hope...you can survive depression! Here are some of the ways I have found to turn my dark days around:

Remember goodtimes, smile check this hyperlink out..did you know this: A smile costs nothing, however it brings great richness to the recipient. I SMILE MORE.

Be thankful for family, friends, food, shelter, freedom, health, sight, physical abilities. There's always someone who is in a worse situation or condition than you. I count the ways I am blessed.

Concentrating on the truth . I know that I am loved by God with a never ending love proven through Jesus Christ His Son. I focus on my personal relationship with Christ, God, the Holy Spirit which helps my relationship with others.

I read more of the Word of God so I can filter all the negative thoughts and happenings through God's truth and not through my feelings.

I Choose each day to follow God's way, to trust my life, my well-being, my future to His care. I choose to change the way I think, the way I act, by renewing my mind. This results in actions of love toward myself and others.
Am I perfect? No..but I have hope of being made new into His likeness more each day.

2 Cor 3:18 All of us, with no covering on our faces, show the shining-greatness of the Lord as in a mirror. All the time we are being changed to look like Him, with more and more of His shining-greatness. This change is from the Lord Who is the Spirit.
New Life Version (NLV)
Copyright © 1969 by Christian Literature International

Road Trip

Knowing there are families out there leaving their homes and comfortable routines to go home for the Holidays, here's what it may look like...for those brave moms and dads.

Whose got your back ?

Today I got up with such high hopes of making it to work early. That was my early morning goal...until I worke up with the beginning of a headache that turned into a migraine.

Well, it changed the schedule of my day.

Thanks Cindy and Jessica. You were my eyes and my connection to NPCC base. It's great to have co-workers who care about you. Cindy does a lot of behind the scenes work which appears as visuals to convey messages for all of the various environments at NewPointe. She is quite impressive with her creativity. Jessica has grown so much over the past year since she came on staff. What a fantastic addition she has been to the Family Life department and our church staff. Thanks ladies.

Olympic Games 2008

Hey, this past Summer I was blessed when I made the decision to go to China to help with an orphan camp. Check this out. My good friend David Bolt and and these kids are awesome!

Waiting room stuff

Today I went to the hospital to pray with a friend and volunteer in The ReignForest who was going to have her retina reattached for the 2nd time in less than three months. She's an amazing young woman with a heart that loves God, a faith that will enable her to make it through this difficult time. After praying with her I sat with her husband in the surgical waiting room. We had been sitting there an hour when Jason got the call that they were starting the surgery. It's going to be a while. We spoke of politics, religion and family life over the next couple of hours. We discussed how kids today- well most everyone wants service or stuff - right now. They don't want to wait. We need answers now, plans now, toys now, food now, better bodies now and relationships in 10 minutes or less. Genuine relationships take time to nurture and grow. You can get a lot of things by driving up to a window...but relationships - well they're not on take-out menus or at drive-up windows.

I learned alot about Jason that I didn't know. He is a deep thinker, a sensitive yet strong and protective step-dad, a loving new Father, an admiring husband and a follower of Jesus Christ. Sometimes we want a quick relationship with God but God wants so much more. He is a quality creator. Jason is a bright intelligent thinker with strong moral fiber and a heart that recognizes where his blessings come from. Lately, the rainstorm of problems has been coming in sheets and not letting up.

When the doctor came and discussed the outcome of the surgery with Jason, the doctor mentioned that he had to go all out and risk it all to make the best possible situation out of a very difficult one. I was impressed by Jason's questions to the doctor and the confidence he had in this doctor. When Jason asked if there was anything he could do to make the scarring less for Theresa. The doctor amazed us with "You need to pray". Pray that there will be minimal scarring.

In a book I handed to Jason to read you will find 4 certainties that children of God can count on:
1) God will make you well 2) God hurts when you hurt 3) God knows why you're suffering 4) God is in control (pg. 6)

Thanks Jason for the great conversation and allowing me to share time with you "waiting".
Thank you God for the awesome outcome of Theresa's surgery and for reminding us what the waiting and the rain is all about.

Hope in Times of Trouble

I'm reading this little book by the above title...
I'm rememebering my friend Theresa, whose retina has detached for the 2nd time, a new mother, concerned about her husband...
he may be mad at God over his wife's possible loss of sight, she wants him to trust God...



I'm reminded of a friend who is struggling with not feeling right, she needs someone to walk beside her to assure and remind her God's timing is perfect, His plan is perfect...
I think of a volunteer, a gifted teacher whose recent surgery didn't go as planned and now her plans are being rewritten for the holidays...
or thinking about being a good neighbor, taking the time to reach out to make new friends because God's revealed a door of opportunity...
I think of my daughter who is pregnant her hormones all over the place, she's sick most of the time and barely able to work, she even doubts her ability to be a new mom - the concern over her well-being is out of my hands - I place this into hands that are much more capable than mine...
it's great to be reminded that at the end of the day it's all about having hope in the power of God being revealed for His glory...
so live in the moment of worshiping God and find refreshment, encouragement for your soul.

Grief is desirable?

I read this chapter of Zig Ziglar's book, Confessions of a Grieving Christian and I was reminded of a saying "the bottom of the barrel is under-rated".

Grief, I believe is bottom of the barrel stuff, we don't want to experience it. We forget the best teachers -are not easy ones.

What Zig Ziglar writes is sensible heart talk from God.

Check out the whole chapter, buy it or get it from the library. This book could be lifechanging for you.

Zig lists two things that grief brings us to the point of:
1. Realizing the vastness of our love, and of God's love for us.
2. Grief puts us into a position to trust God alone for our healing and restoration.

He states, "He awaits our turning to Him for comfort and healing." In Psalm 56:8, you can read about how precious God even considers our tears. So much that he stores them in a bottle. So whenever you think no one cares and that your grief is more than you can bear...remember God notes your sadness and HE remembers it!
A turning point as Zig mentions in his book is "the moment we turn to Him, God acts to begin the healing process in our hearts."

Here's a some heart talk from a little guy, who sums it up with humble wisdom:

Lifehouse Everything Skit

When I watched this I held my breath and my heart raced. I found myself crying for those that really struggle against the things of this world. Yes, I could relate to the times I struggled like this fighting my way back to the one true love of my soul.

God remind me to intercede in prayer for those that are struggling to find their way to the truth?
Remind me to cheer for those struggling in their fight to find their way back to Christ?
Amen.

Healing Words

Are there ever times in your life when you think you're just not able to do one more thing, you really feel your age or that what you are doing is not making a difference?

Sometimes it's difficult for others to see that ministry leaders have these struggles too. We too are capable of getting discouraged and feel like no one's listening and no one cares.

I just received an email from a friend of mine. She sent me a note that encouraged me and lifted me up.

"...I will tell you that I'm proud to know someone who works hard at what she believes in for the sake of the One she believes in. You are a blessing to others for who you are, not what you do and that's why my heart is blessed to know and love you."

Here's what God says words can mean to those who are discouraged:

Proverbs 16:24

Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.

My Hairdresser, My Beautician, My Friend

Today I went to a funeral with my friend Daylene. Day had mentioned Mary Lou's mother passed away from the church she used to attend. I made the connection that she was my beautician's aunt. Since she was going to the funeral of my friend Debbie's grandmother, Miriam Laubscher, I asked if I could go along.

They read Psalm 23. I found the little girl to the right on GodTube and thought it would be a nice tribute to Miriam. She was well loved by her family, even her son-in-law and well loved by her church family. She had a commitment to Christ and lived it out in talk and walk. This was testified by family and friends. The church was small and traditional with warm friendly people. A safe journey back to familiarity in my past upbringing.

My friend was surprised to see me there. It was nice to be with her, to meet her mom, aunt and some family members. She's a busy businesswoman and a mother of three awesome kids.

During the service there was a moment when I reflected on my mother's life and remembered her beautiful voice singing songs of praise. My mom's been gone five years but I rejoice because she's in heaven singing and enjoying the best of the best. I hope my mom gets to meet Miriam - I think they'll like each other.

Continuing Story of Cassidy

A few months back I shared a story about sharing Jesus Christ with others ... so easy a 2 year old can do it. Here is the continuing story of what has happened to that woman in Wal-Mart as told by her mom.

"Cassidy’s WalMart woman came to see me in The ReignForest. She wanted to introduce me to her baby girl. She named her Grace Marie. Grace for God’s grace and Marie just because it came to her in the hospital. When I told her that Cassidy’s middle name was Marie, we both cried!
This woman has reconnected with her parents. She is moving right across the street from them and her Mom will help take care of Grace. Her job at WalMart transferred. She will be going to the church her parents attend—NorthPointe (this church is in Alpharetta, Ga. and a positive influence in our church model).
We hugged and she asked me if she could pray with me. She did the praying! (She thanked God for NewPointe, our ReignForest, Cassidy and good timing.)
I still do not know her name."

Cassidy is a 2 year old daughter of the Zone Co-ordinator in The ReignForest at NPCC.