spiritual stuff

I sold my mac two weeks ago after being prompted by God to use the money to buy World Vision and Compassion gifts.  The total was $800 plus what ended up being $31 for shipping.  I tell you not to brag on me.  Oh no.  Giving glory to God today.  Because today, I received notification that one of my advertisers on onetreehillblog.com had an accounting error over a year ago over several months and OWES ME $1631.  Exactly twice the cost of the mac plus shipping.  Just a coincidence?  Could be.  However, I choose to believe He opened the windows of heaven.  I mean, what’s the chances?  The error was over a year ago.  I JUST sold the mac 2 weeks ago.  The numbers are astounding.  He’s so good.  I was worried about how we were going to pay our tax bill this year for that site and now He has provided!

"Bring all the tithes into the storehouse,
That there may be food in My house,
And try Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts,
“If I will not open for you the windows of heaven
And pour out for you such blessing
That there will not be room enough to receive it." Malachi 3:10

"Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above,
and cometh down from the Father of lights,
with whom is no variableness,
neither shadow of turning." James 1:17

I hadn’t planned to do this.  Not because it’s not a valid thing to do or I didn’t want to.  I think I just didn’t want to not do it justice.  I’m not a resolutions type girl.  And really, I’m quite indecisive so picking just one word to infuse into my entire year was daunting to say the least.  But over the weekend I just can not get my word out of my head.  I feel like it’s already seeping its way into 2011 without me ever committing to it.

I originally thought I wanted to do “giving”.  One thing I do want to continue to do from 2010 is to loosen my grip on my possessions and money and give with an open hand.  My first verse of Beth Moore’s Scripture Memory team is Deuteronomy 15:10. 

“You shall give to him generously and without begrudging it; because of this the Lord will bless your work and all you undertake.”

You may think I want to give for the second half of that verse…for the blessings.  But my true goal is to learn to give without begrudging it.  I never begrudge it when I think the person “deserves” it but I want to learn GRACEFUL GIVING.  Giving when they person DOESN’T deserve it.  I admit, it’s a difficult pill to swallow but I think it’s a Biblical one.  God gives us so much grace and I think we would all do well to extend it more. 

We’re still thinking a lot about adoption.  I know I haven’t blogged much about it.  In fact, I’m not sure I’ve said a word about it since a year ago.  But we talk a lot about it, are discussing it with people, making plans.  We’re still not 100% sure what direction He’s leading us in this area but I wanted a word that would encompass that journey.

There were some other things I wanted to include that honestly, I can barely remember but it all came down to one word.  One word that would suffice for every situation I was thinking of and that is

It feels like a Sunday School answer to the question.  But I’m learning sometimes Sunday School answers are just the right ones.  If I can learn to love my fellow brothers and sisters like Christ loves them, the rest will fall into place.  I will have more compassion, more mercy, more grace, open hands, open arms, an open heart.  And one wonderful year.  May it be so.

This isn’t original content but I watched this and was so moved that I just couldn’t not share.  I don’t know why prayer has been a struggle for me this year but it has and these encouraged me so much.  So proud that these are both local Charlotte leaders!  Lysa Ter Keurst from Proverbs31 and Pastor Steven Furtick from Elevation.  Lysa originally shared these in blog posts back in October when Steven’s book came out so you might have seen these before.  If not, enjoy!

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3 

Sarah Mae talks a lot about raising generations.

We are not just raising our children, but we are raising generations. This is powerful to us, and we want to take up the responsibility of doing our very best to pass on a godly legacy to those will never even know.  We believe shepherding our children as opposed to outside schooling is the best way to do this (in the spirit of Deuteronomy 11:18-21).

While obviously we don’t homeschool, I believe there is merit to the idea that what we do with our children is not just for our children. It’s for their children and their children.

This concept hit me while reading Genesis on Tuesday when reading about Enoch.

22-24 After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked faithfully with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. Altogether, Enoch lived a total of 365 years.  Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.

We don’t know a lot about Enoch except that he was faithful and must have been pretty faithful because God saw it fit for him not to die.  He was just taken away.  What great faith Enoch must have had.  The thing that gets me is this.  Guess who Enoch’s great-grandson was?

Noah.

One of the most faithful men in Scriptures.  Crazy man built an ark and survived the greatest flood ever.  Insane! levels! of faith!

If I did all my calculations right, Enoch never met Noah. In fact, he was born 69 years after Enoch was taken away.  And I can’t help but think that it was through Enoch, and his son, and his son, and then to Noah that this great faith was demonstrated and passed on.  I’m just guessing it would make quite an impression if you knew your great-grandfather was taken away by God because of his great faith.   I love that the same phrase is used to describe Noah just a chapter over, “Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time and he walked with God.”

Sometimes we get caught up on the big! things! we should be doing but sometimes our big thing might just to be faithful and walk with God as an example to our children.  Because who knows.  Your great grandchild just might need enough faith to build an ark.

If you remember, part of the Radical Experiment is to read the Bible in the next year.  As I mentioned in that post and have on occasion, two years ago I read the Bible in 90 Days.  To date, that is still one of my favorite things I’ve ever done.  Yes, it was challenging but SO WORTH IT.  There was a sense of accomplishment, yes, but I loved more that it opened my eyes to the Bible as a whole.  My whole life I’d heard stories but was never able to place them in proper perspective with the whole story.  I always felt like I was missing some pieces.  Turns out, I actually had heard most of it but it’s like all the pieces came together so I could see the whole picture. I came out understanding God a little more, understanding history a little more and probably, understanding me a little more.

All that to say, as I mentioned in the Radical Experiment post, I wanted to do it again once the INSPYs were over.  We are judging the books this week and I have more time to read.  While I have about fifty eleven books on my book shelf waiting for me to devour, I really want to carve out time to do this.  And the best part?  Becky said she’d do it with me!  I did it in a group last time and I can’t tell you how much it helped knowing someone else was looking to see if you were keeping up.

So, I’m posting this to see if anyone else wants to join? I’d love to start an email list to encourage and remind one another to keep going.  If you’re in, I should probably make you aware Becky and I started yesterday BUT the plan has 2 grace days and the important thing is just to make sure you are not falling behind wherever you are in the plan.  So, if you’d like to do it and would like a couple accountability partners, download the schedule and email me or leave a comment below!

This series is about things Jesus is FOR.  Today’s sermon was that Jesus is FOR authenticity.

Matthew 23

Don’t let hypocrites be your excuse not to experience a relationship with Christ.  You may not like how someone else is acting but doesn’t mean you shouldn’t live an authentic life.

There are indicators that you are hypocritical and care too much about exterior such as what you wear, where you go and who sees you, what you are called (title).

Jesus corrected religious more than he corrected the sinful.  The condemned are already condemned but redeemed should act like it.

There are consequences to our hypocrisy:

v. 13 – We keep people out of heaven.  Your faith is not real and not showing others how to have real faith.

v. 15 – You reproduce who you are not what you know

v.16-22 – If you say you’re going to do it, do it.  No need to make promises and not keep them. 

Work on the internal reality not the external show.

If you change your heart, your actions will follow.  When we live out our faith, we open up the gates of Heaven and show people who God is.

Full podcast is available here.

Christmas music played in the next room.  I bent to pick up another bag. This one had baby socks.  I carried them past the radio now playing one of the Beach Boys’ Christmas albums.  I plopped the bag of socks into one of many cardboard boxes lined with the other baby items.  Back in the other room I bent to grab the next thing to distribute.  Maybe some shoes or a toy.  A man appeared in the sunlight of the propped open door.  I was the closest to him so I stopped midway to my target and met him halfway into the room instead.  He thrust a white box at me.  “It’s a full Wii set.  The remotes, a guitar, the drums, everything.”  I gave a Wow big enough to appreciate his grand gesture.  And grand it was.   It was a sacrifice no doubt, but one he seemed happy to take.  He turned to get the rest of the promised items and I spun to thrust the box in another volunteer’s face.  “I FULL Wii set.”  The whites of her eyes registered the same surprise and glee.  The man left along with many thanks.  I picked up where I had left, finding a Thomas Kinkade puzzle.  Off to the puzzle cardboard box I went.  I bent, shuffling the overflowing box around so this one would fit.  The small particles of cardboard from the boxes of puzzles began to fill the air but the dust wasn’t to blame for the tears in my eyes.  It was the deep soul-satisfying feeling that in our giving of prized possessions and borrowed time, a child would know that he was loved.  And that not only he would be pleased, but He would be pleased.

Acts 4:32-34 All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all that there were no needy persons among them.