Invest In Your Marriage
One of the very best things you can do for your marriage is to go a marriage retreat once a year. In fact, studies show that couples who take time for a marriage retreat each year are 70% more likely to stay together than those who don’t. It’s that “checkup” that re-centers your focus and your priorities, and makes all the difference in the world! This year we are honored to have my friends, Justin and Tricia Davis, lead a Marriage Retreat here at The Village. I went to school with Justin and Tricia and have been friends for over 20 years. Going through some struggles in your marriage? They have gone through the ultimate struggle and found God’s grace and will share ways to overcome! Their story can help YOU! Going through financial hardship or family stress? They are church planters (which means you are perpetually broke) and just adopted 2 kids (in addition to their three biological kids). They can relate and help us as we all struggle with these things. Need someone real to talk to and relate to, not some couple with a canned message? They are as real as it gets, and actually really funny! They will have you laughing one minute and close to tears the next. What else could you be doing on a Friday night that would not only help your marriage right now but also give you a boost for a better relationship in the future? I can’t think of anything and oh by the way…..IT’S FREE! Get a babysitter and make this event a priority. Invite friends from church and outside of church to come with you. Make it fun and head out for a movie or something fun afterward on Friday night. See you March 9 – 10th for an incredible boost to your marriage!
Prayer – What Is It? Part 1
We all need to know about prayer! God gave the gift of prayer to us so we can stay in touch with him. Many people desire to pray but do not know how. They may even feel like they are unworthy to pray because of certain things they have done in their lives that causes them to feel as though God will not forgive them. Scripture says this about forgiveness: If we confess our sins, he is just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar. 1 John 9-10 Prayer is like talking to your best friend on the phone. It’s very easy to talk to someone when you know they love you. Yes, Jesus loves you even more than you can imagine! The Bible tells us: For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 Prayer is the way we communicate with God. It’s a time for you to talk to God as your friend. A time to tell Him what’s in your heart, what you’re thinking, feeling and struggling with. The Bible encourages us in our daily walk with Christ and helps us to experience the power of prayer. We read our Bible and talk to the Lord in that process, with that in mind! We learn how to pray, we learn why we should pray, and also learn God’s purpose for our life. If you desire or would like to experience life change, life growth, and life purpose, then open up the gift of communication. You do not need a cell phone for this call. This is a direct wireless line to have a little talk to our Lord through prayer. Learn more About Prayer Note: This is the first in a series of blogs on Prayer. Read Part 2.
Surprise Me
Surprise – some people love to be surprised and some don’t. I tend to fall in the “I’m not a fan” group. Well, recently I made a choice to be more open to the unexpected. Here’s what happened… One of our church’s key initiatives for 2018 (and in my opinion the most important) is for everyone to Pray Daily for an open door. An open door to share with another person about Jesus. This past Sunday we handed out a card to every person and asked them to write 5 names on it of people they would like to ask God to provide an open door to share about Jesus. On my card, I wrote 3 names and on the last 2 I wrote: “Surprise Me.” What Happened Next So…sometimes God answers our prayers pretty quickly. I was invited to speak on the radio this week about Spiritual wellness. An old college classmate runs the show and allowed me the opportunity to share about Jesus, the church, and spiritual wellness for 30 minutes on air with no censorship! Crazy, right? I was on a panel with three other people and afterward, each one had great questions that opened up a door to share. Please understand, I didn’t break out the bible and thump people on the head! ? I simply shared how walking with Christ was working for me and invited the others to consider how that might work for them. All three work/live in the city of Chicago. I got to share and plant a seed. That’s our job, just share and plant a seed. God provides the opportunity, we just say a few words, and then God does the rest. I like how the writer in 1 Corinthians says it… It’s not the one who plants or the one who waters who is at the center of this process but God, who makes things grow. Planting and watering are menial servant jobs at minimum wages. What makes them worth doing is the God we are serving. You happen to be God’s field in which we are working. – 1 Corinthians 3:7-9 (MSG) Trust me on this…if you pray for God to open a door, HE WILL! Don’t be nervous, just share your heart, rely on him, and you get to be a part of people’s lives changing forever! Pretty cool!
Calling All Men
Men, this isn’t going to be a normal Blog post. I am not here to write about something I have read recently, or how a message from our Pastors has affected me. I am here to drop the gauntlet. I am here to swipe my proverbial glove in your face and to challenge my fellow brothers in the church family to a duel. As we enter 2018, I simply want to know “Where are the Village men at?” We have the Family Blitz event, Yoga, Village Adventurers, Kid Village, Life Groups, events for crafting, and cooking. The only event that we have listed for men is basketball. While this isn’t bad, certainly we can and must do better! So, what’s the issue? Why am I so fired up about this? Well Proverbs 27:17 is a starting point: As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. Let’s take that a little further and look at Deuteronomy 22:10: Do not plow with an ox and a donkey yoked together. While this last verse is geared towards farm work, we can also apply this to our walk as Christian men. In my life, I am the ox, and my wife is the donkey, although she may disagree with that (in fact in most cases with Lisa, I am usually the donkey). The point is that as a man, I need other men in my life to help me carry the burdens of being a man. The donkey has no idea what it means to be the ox and vice versa. Iron does sharpen iron, but it is more effective if the iron is the right iron. The takeaway from this: Get to sharpening! I need you, and the other men in this church need you. We need your accountability. Your honesty, integrity, and leadership are needed. We need your life stories because another man in our church may be hurting and your story could be the tool that the Spirit uses to change his life. Action Step Get your donkey to Men’s Group! Saturdays 7 AM. Church Office. And to be clear, this is for every man in our church. Let me share with you my story. For 11 years I have attended the Village. I have played drums for about 10 of those years. I have been in Lifegroups with other couples. For 10.5 years I have made excuses for why I couldn’t attend Men’s Group. It was too early. I needed my sleep. I have kids that have activities. Brothers this was all donkey excrement! In 6 months of attending this group my life has been changed for the better. I am less afraid of sharing my faults. I have a group of brothers who care about me, forgive me, and love me. I am held accountable, and my ability to fight sin has been strengthened through my attendance. Stop making excuses. This group is for everyone. Do you play guitar in the worship band? Does that instrument sharpen you like a brother can? Do you lead a Lifegroup? Are you spending the time needed to be a better man? Get there boys; trust me when I say you will be a better man for it. But I am not done here. Again, I ask where are we men? We are called to lead. As Christian men, this means that we lead in our marriages and family, just as we lead in our church. What are we doing as the men of this church that clearly states that we are here? What are we leading?
Listen and Obey
I’ve learned so much about Heart for Africa, that without even going there, I fell in love with the mission. God placed it on my heart to get involved. Then I made the choice to listen and obey even though I had no idea why. That has been one of the BEST decisions of my life. I had the opportunity to travel to Heart for Africa open up to me in August, and I gladly said yes. I had no idea what to expect. Little did I know, God knew there would be MUCH more for me to learn and experience. The most profound experience on my trip was having the opportunity to rescue a baby in a hopeless situation. The mother gave birth on a Friday and died Monday of malaria. There was no formula or means to feed him. Without Heart for Africa taking him in, he would have died. We found out about Wilson from a social worker giving Heart for Africa a call; that’s how they find out what babies need a home. Through this time, the presence of God was evident. The power of prayer helped the family slowly hand over the baby, which was difficult since it was the last thing they had to remember their sister/daughter. Watching God answer our prayers in a critical time allowed my faith to go even deeper. There were so many little signs throughout that 6-hour journey that He was present. For example, the baby’s name in Swazi is Lindani, meaning “we’ve been waiting for you,” and we waited 45 minutes in the hospital parking lot and 30 minutes at the homestead. Then on the way back, we crossed a river that was the same name as the town where Janine Maxwell (the co-founder of Heart for Africa) and her childhood friend, Lori (pictured). Please pray and ask what can you do to get involved. Maybe it’s holding babies, gathering donations, selling ornaments, taking the trip, or giving a monetary donation. I can tell you one thing from my experience: listen and obey. It doesn’t have to all make sense, for there is a purpose for you and He needs you to play your part. Find your joy in obedience. “Praise the Lord, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word.” Psalm 103:20 (NIV)
GivingTuesday – Give in Gratitude
Have you heard of #givingtuesday? Here’s a challenge for you, and it starts like this… Yesterday was a fun day a church. A friend told me that he was able to sell his house and move into another. He was so grateful that he decided to give a special gift. In gratitude to God, he gave a special gift of $2000 to Destiny Rescue, a mission that rescues girls from human trafficking in Cambodia and Thailand. On #GivingTuesday I can’t think of a better cause to give towards. In 2016, Destiny Rescue rescued 485 girls out of human trafficking. In 2017, they are well past this number of rescues and anticipate being close to 600 girls rescued! Take a moment to think about that. 600 young girls being rescued from human trafficking! Incredible! The key part to the rescue is the after care. After care includes a home to live in, food for each day, emotional and physical counseling, an opportunity to learn a new trade, and then a transition back into society. The goal is to get the girls to a point where they will not return to trafficking. While the increasing number of rescues is outstanding, the funds for after care are not enough to handle the amount of rescues. So…will you consider making a $20 gift to The Village that will go directly to Destiny Rescue? Here’s the challenge: If we can get 100 people to donate $20 each, that will be $2000 going to provide after care for these young girls rescued from human trafficking! We add that to my friend’s generous $2000 gift and we have a total of $4000 to donate to this life changing mission! This is a challenge for #GivingTuesday only so act now! You can give at The Village Christian Church. All gifts are 100% tax deductible. Share this with your friends so we can hit our goal! Give Now
When Tragedy Strikes
2017 has been a tough year with disaster and tragedy becoming a common occurrence. Hurricanes, earthquakes, wildfires, shootings, attacks, and the list goes on and on. You haven’t recovered from the last one when the next one hits. So much loss, so much devastation, so much hurt. It can be overwhelming and exhausting, and sometimes you may feel like the battle is being lost. Can you relate? Do you ask yourself, “When will it stop? Why does this happen? What am I supposed to do?” Evil is real. It’s a cold, hard fact of our world. You can’t run from it, hide from it, or escape it. We’ll never know why the bad stuff happens. It doesn’t make sense. What Can I Do? When that evil rears it’s ugly head, take time to remember. Remember that in the end God wins. Remember that God’s love is stronger. Remember that God’s grace is bigger. Remember that God’s plan is better. Take time to turn to God’s Word, the Bible, for direction and encouragement. Download the Youversion app on your phone, tablet, or computer. You can find reading plans based on different topics to help you with your specific questions. Add Bible time to your calendar, schedule it in and make it a priority. If you spend time every day in God’s Word, you will see a difference. Guaranteed. Try it and see what happens. Pray. Then pray some more. And when you’re done, pray again. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. -Romans 12:21 I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart because I have overcome the world. – John 16:33 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed. – Psalm 34:18 In his kindness God has called you to share in his eternal glory by means of Christ Jesus. So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation. – 1 Peter 5:10 Sometimes we don’t know what to say to our kids in the midst of the tragedy. Here is a resource that maybe helpful to you: How To Talk To Your Kids About Tragedy
Get Off Your Donkey To Serve
Have you ever experienced something really great and recommended it to others? And then watched your friends have the same great experience? Get Off Your Donkey is that experience. Serving is so much fun and we think everyone should get in it. To help people get started, we made some recommendations and the experiences have been incredible! The Village is currently working through a series, Get Off Your Donkey, based on the story of the Good Samaritan. During this series, we are encouraging people to volunteer. Last week, we had a big week to serve push and so many showed up! Here’s some of the highlights from my point of view….. One mom served at the food truck and brought her 9 month old and 2 year old. That took a lot of effort, but her smile and the enjoyment of serving was priceless! A frantic post on facebook that we needed more bags because so many people came to pick up clothes at the Back to School Blowout resulted in several heros stepping up. One reply was from a mom sending bags with her child who was bringing to church on her bike ? I love that! A mom posting a picture on facebook of her two girls in front of a sign saying that their group helped pack 22,000 meals at Feed My Starving Children. Those moments of kids and parents serving are so important! A lady who I’ve never met showing up with a $2500 check from her company because they could see we are all about serving the community. WOW! My parents drove up from Missouri for a visit, but I think even more because they wanted to go and serve at Miss Pearls Ministry in Roseland. You don’t have time to listen to all of the stories, but each one is important and each one is unique and each one is life changing! Here’s my prayer…. That next year 1,000 people will serve outside the walls of the church! The more people serve the more we are helping fulfill Jesus words… That you are encouraged to Get Off Your Donkey and be an example is serving others… ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’ -Matthew 25:40
Don’t Let Anyone Look Down On You Because You’re Young!
Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young! You have the potential to do great things in life. All you need to do is step up. Back in our portable church days, it was always a challenge to find space to have student ministries. Some of our best days included meeting in a warehouse space (yep, you heard that right) that also doubled as our office space. It was small, it was dirty, there weren’t many windows, it was kind of depressing to be honest. It was pretty challenging and we had to overcome a lot because of our “not so great” meeting space. To help us overcome these obstacles we needed great leaders. Today I’m writing about one of those great leaders. A young gal in High School stepped up big time and led her entire neighborhood of kids to come to Youth Group. Literally, she made sure that at least 10 kids, if not more, from her neighborhood came to church youth group every week. Then she went to college, but that’s not where the story ends. During her college years, she came home every weekend for 4 straight years to continue to lead in our student ministries. She continued to invite kids from the neighborhood. I recently attended her college graduation party. It was a great day to celebrate her and all of her accomplishments. She already has a great job and will do great things in life. At her party, she asked that all gifts be given to our church, The Village Christian Church. I’ve never seen that in my 20 plus years of ministry! The church is truly humbled and honored by her generosity. What if she would have decided that she was too young to lead in her high school years? What if she would have decided that she was too cool to lead in her college years? Dozens of student’s lives would be different today. Their relationship with God would have been much less than what it is today. Also, she would have missed out on so much growth in her leadership and her relationship with God. Thank you Paige Mass for living out this verse…. Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity. – 1 Timothy 4:12 I would like to challenge you as you read this to step up and do something for the Lord. Step up and do something no matter what your age. Step up and do something no matter what your circumstance may be. Just step up.
The Harvest Is Plentiful
I recently attended a really cool conference called Exponential in Orlando, Florida. The conference equips and encourages church leaders to grow their churches and ultimately God’s Kingdom. The harvest is plentiful! The timing couldn’t have been more perfect. We are in an amazing growth period at the church. Over the Easter season, we had 2 consecutive weekends over 1000 people and several hundred visitors! Incredible! If truth be told, I kind of thought the conference might just want to call on me and have me head up a workshop on how to lead a church. A little arrogant, huh? Please…if you ever get a prideful thought about work that God is doing, don’t give into it! Wrecked By God So, I walked into the first session and the pastor spoke in the passage, the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Luke 10:2 He talked about leading a church in Alabama of 14 people for 5+ years. He never risked and he never prayed for God to perform miracles. Then, he was called to start a new church and decided he was going to do it differently. Before the church started, he set out 400 chairs (way too many for a first time start up), but he didn’t care. He just prayed and prayed and trusted that what Jesus said in the Bible was true…the harvest is plentiful (thousands of people need Christ), we just need people who will take a risk to reach them. The first Sunday, they had over 650 people and obviously ran out of chairs. Then the church sang a song after his message that was the song I came forward to in high school to dedicate my life to ministry. It was not even 45 minutes into the conference and I was wrecked. Not one or two tears….a steady flow of tears and that I couldn’t stop or hold back. It was as if God said…..let me remind you that you have not arrived and you have much more work to do…the harvest is plentiful…AND you need to set out all 400 chairs at church! Quit worrying, start praying and let me do my work! It’s so good when God wrecks us and helps us to see his plan. What Might God Want To Do In Your Life? Have you ever wondered about what might God want to do in your life? I bet it is way more than you could ever ask or imagine. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, Ephesians 3:20 The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are FEW. Will you join me in inviting your friends and neighbors and co-workers and enemies into a life changing relationship with Jesus?
Be A Voice, Not An Echo
Coming Home Coming home doesn’t seem like it should be hard. But when you see up close the beauty of God’s creation, His grace and mercy, His provision and His people doing “the work” really, really well, it feels sacred and my heart aches to return. Anyone who asks me about our experiences in Swaziland usually gets this: “So good…our best trip yet!” What I’ve Seen This is my generic answer for now because I am honestly not sure yet what I need to share. Occasionally, someone will get my over-detailed response and wish they had an appointment to get them out of the conversation because the work Heart for Africa is doing in Swaziland is exceptional and such a joy to share. I have seen it grow from a dream 5 years ago to a city on a hill. I’ve seen children rescued from the worst imaginable circumstances who are now fully loved and nourished physically, emotionally, and spiritually. They have been and will continue to be restored in the name of Jesus. In turn, they will restore others. I’ve seen a thriving Artisan business that makes absolutely beautiful pieces. This Artisan business gives hundreds of employees the opportunity and the ability to care for themselves and the other 13 or so individuals living in their homestead. Their work is exceptional and also allows more children to be seen and brought home to Project Canaan. I’ve seen food distributed to communities and churches serving meals regularly, mostly to the elderly, and orphaned and vulnerable children. I’ve seen eggs – did you know how incredibly good eggs are for you?? – and milk and soon I pray to see water coming down the mountain, an answered prayer and a fulfilled promise of God’s provision. I could go on, but I know this is the point when my sweet audience begins to regret asking that innocent question, “How was your trip?” Sorry friends…I’m working on it, but I have never been great at giving a brief response. Thanks to my husband, Luke, I am now more aware of my rambling and tend to put the brakes on quicker, but I’m always happy to share if you want more information! Focus On This So rather than telling you about my personal experience, I want to focus on my voice – and yours. I teach music, and have been intentional with my junior high students this year about the power of their attitude and their “voice.” While searching for inspirational quotes about this topic, I stumbled upon this one: “Be a voice, not an echo.” I cannot get it out of my head. And I think God intended this one for me. To remind me what He wants my voice to sound like, and stop trying to determine what I want. My voice has changed a LOT in my lifetime, and I am so glad He uses our brokenness and mistakes along the way to give us a new perspective. Growing up, I always had a plan and a picture in mind of what life would be. Don’t we all? But one lesson I have learned, and will continue to learn, is it’s not up to me. If I had complete control, I would mess it up (have messed it up), and I would miss out on an opportunity that God has for me. He can always find someone else. Zoom out for a second and be willing to say, “I don’t know and I am ok with that”. We are not called by our SAVIOR to have all the answers, all the plans. We are called to love, to listen, to seek wisdom and truth, and step forward in faith. Most people at The Village know me as one of two people: the girl who sings, or Nate’s sister. Both titles I am proud of and grateful for, but can I tell you that until a year ago I didn’t think my “voice” had much to offer? I loved singing, and that is why I wanted to be involved. It was selfish and self-serving. It made me uncomfortable to receive encouragement, especially from people I didn’t know because I wasn’t really doing anything…I was copying and hoping it communicated the way I had interpreted it. Please don’t misunderstand. This was not always my feeling, and I have always loved the experience and emotion worship brings. But I was an echo. Whether is was self-conscious or intentional, I wasn’t using the voice God had given ME. I was stifling it. Yet he used my insecurity to draw me close, build my confidence and let me see this year especially that I have something to offer. This is what I long for and this is what I saw in Swaziland. So many amazing voices saying yes to God’s calling on their life. Some voices carrying really far while others gently living their truths, each one coming together to make a beautiful and powerful song. We Need Your Voice We NEED all the voices. All the gifts. All the faith to say yes and recognize what God has given us. We NEED to stop echoing what we think we should be so we can be the voice He created us to be. If we all “sang” the same melody, no one would listen to Pandora. I pray we can each be more sensitive to the voice God has in store for us and fully experience the blessings and provision that come when we say yes. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him…May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. Ephesians 3:16-19