June 14, 2018
2 Corinthians 5:20 says, “So we are Christ's ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, "Come back to God!. “ This has a lot to do with Attitude.
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June 01, 2018
Through our connection with the people around us we are encouraged and give encouragement remembering that we have help and support and a family to share our lives.
This summer we are running after MORE. We desire all that the Lord has for us to be and to do as a body. What is our assignment? How can each piece fit together and change our community. As we grow in our ministry, as we become equipped, we are seeking the Lord for MORE…More direction, More impact, More change. Please join us as we pray!
August 16, 2017
Cooking is part of my soul. Kitchens are where connections happened in my family and I wanted to be in the middle of the connection so I would spend time in the kitchen. I have many memories in my grandmother’s kitchens on both sides of my family and memories cooking with my mom and my dad. We created breads, cookies, muffins, spaghetti sauce, coffee cakes and countless birthday cakes where I happily licked beaters and bowls waiting for the finished products to emerge from the oven.Holidays were especially fun as we visited family and enjoyed the loud laughter throughout the house, spending time with cousins, playing games and watching each other grow up. Eventually it was my turn to be the hostess. My first Thanksgiving was in 1992, I was 8 months pregnant with our second son and so excited to host Thanksgiving for the family. Being an early riser, I made the stuffing in the morning, got it into the bird (this was before stuffing a bird was ever controversial) and moved onto the table settings. At 5pm the rest of the family would descend on our home, close to 40 people in all. They would provide the mashed potatoes, the pies, and the variety of vegetables…but there was always one component of the Thanksgiving meal that eluded me…Gravy. On this particular Thanksgiving Day one of my aunts entered the house with great confidence and authority taking over the stove top mixing and pouring, whisking spices and flour into Gravy. I was struck by her confidence, the assertive way she moved around the kitchen without fear. Mixing and whisking making the perfect gravy.There is something kind of magical about gravy, it has to be done patiently, never rushed and intentionally. Gravy doesn’t just “happen”. It is a balance between stock, butter, flour or cornstarch, the proper whisk, sometimes ice cubes, spices and time. It is intimidating. One wrong move and it can be lumpy, too thick or too thin, too greasy, too starchy tasting or the perfect combination of silky and smooth. At my house you would often here someone remark, “the gravy saved the meal” which was to mean that even if the meat is tough or dry a good gravy can cover a multitude of sins.It has been a life lesson for me. How to approach the pot, how to handle the gravy? It is as if the gravy knows if I am confident, as if it knows who has the authority. No matter the situation in life, my dad has often said to me, “Jane, step up to the gravy.” Don’t be intimated by the task at hand, stand in your authority, in your ability, in God’s ability. It is our saying. I know what he means when he says it to me and it makes me pause, adjust myself and approach the task from a place of assurance.This is how we are to be in Christ. We have the power of the living God on the inside of us. Step up; stand in this place and approach your circumstances from victory, your gravy will turn out every time and so will your trials!
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May 31, 2017
I think maybe because people tend to adhere to the belief that things only happen to them and not everyone else they stay quiet about their struggles. For several years we have been studying the topic of connection I assumed that because I am an extrovert that I had connection with people. But then something very unsettling began to happen about 3 years ago…LOSS!! I have not experienced a lot of loss in my life until now and never had a context for it. But now that is no longer the case.Honestly, it has driven me further into my connection with the Trinity. I have learned through ministry training that often we relate to each member of the Trinity the way that we relate to each member of our family. For example, we relate to the Father God as we do our natural father. He is strong, present but distant, provider, maybe playful but unreliable. We automatically transfer our impressions onto Father God. Jesus is subconsciously related to our sibling connections. Maybe they did not stand up for us, maybe we had a close bond and find ourselves talking to Jesus more than the Father God in most of our prayers. The Holy Spirit we relate to our mothers. If mom tried to manipulate us or control us that is how we may view the Holy Spirit so we shy away from Him.For me, having grown up being encouraged to develop my relationship with the Godhead, these definitions were easily adapted. I have talked to Father God about my connection to Him and am working on my connection with Jesus but feel most comfortable relating to the Holy Spirit. Go figure! With my recent losses it has caused me to turn to them, my support system. I run most everything past the Trinity. Not like a long drawn out conversation but rather matter of fact, just including them in my decision making process and asking their opinion about everything.I had a best friend for years. She was very accessible and lived with us for many years. We were close. Now she lives out of state and I talk to her once a month and it remains surface due to time and proximity. My siblings all live states away, we do not participate in each other’s lives so our connection is very thin. My mom and very close relative passed away last year, never thought that would happen at the same time. I find myself thinking of them often and instead of being sad, I tell the Trinity to relay a message to them for me. It makes it all so real to communicate with God knowing that He is communicating with them.My children are awesome, they are all home again and I love it. They are growing up and developing their own relationships, marring and having children and my role in their lives is changing. They are super respectful and kind, they welcome my input and love but it is not the same as it was while they were growing up. Our interactions are real but they have a new center. Their spouse has become their everything and their confidant. It is beautiful to witness and I celebrate this but…it is a loss nonetheless.So what do we do with all the changes and the losses? Many would say that we are not losing, loss is part of life and I agree, it most certainly is. People come in and out of our lives every day and we learn to adapt and adjust. But…there is a constant, the one who is closer than a brother, the one who never leaves us or forsakes us, the one who was there when we were being formed and the one who will be there when we enter His kingdom. This relationship is the longest lasting, outstanding and durable. I can honestly remember talking to God at nine years old, when I first met Him and throughout my life, He has been at every major and minor event. He was there during tests in school, first loves, and heart breaks. He was at track meets and volleyball tournaments, He helped me get my first job and pass my driver’s test. He came to my wedding and was there on my honeymoon. He was in the delivery room with each birth and held my hand as I walked the children to school for the first time. He helped my buy my first home, preach my first sermon, and lead my first worship set. He was there as I traveled the world, in Africa, Myanmar, Peru, Columbia, Brazil, England in airports and bus stops, in taxi cabs and restaurants. He is my dad, my husband, my brother and my best friend. Connection is so important with people because God put people in our lives to help meet our needs but for me, truthfully, my best connection is with the Trinity. They have been at every event and will continue to be with me and the best part for me is that I will never lose them. There will never be a loss. They want to be with me as much as I want to be with them.
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