The Shack

I've just reread The Shack for the 4th time. I know this book is fiction but every time I read it God just overwhelms me with His love for me and how much He wants to have a deep personal relationship with me.

I particularly like the part that speaks of living in the present with God; that the past is done and the future I imagine, especially if I am in a state of fear or worry, often doesn't allow for God to be in it. The character Mack asks Jesus "Why do I have so much fear in my life?" Jesus says, "Because you don't believe." He goes on to tell how he doesn't believe God truly loves him.

In this story Mack is told over and over that it is not about religion or rules but relationship. The day by day relationship is what is important, not trying to figure out every think that is going to happen. And believing in God's love, His goodness, even when bad things happen.

Toward the end of the book, there is a need for Mack to forgive and ask forgiveness from his father who beat him and whom Mack poisoned, and to forgive the man who murdered Mack's little girl because Mack is really the one in bondage by not forgiving. I know that has been true in my own life. My harboring of anger or hatred doesn't hurt anyone but me!

This book always brings tears streaming down my face - not because of the pain and loss Mack experienced but because of the unending love of God to bring healing into Mack's life.

Miracles Do Happen

This is not a miracle in the God sense. This is a miracle as in I knew I didn't need to take 5 hours off work to get my internet up and running again.

Over a period of weeks, I called AT&T 3 times because my internet connection was very sporadic. I even turned to Barnes & Noble to be able to connect to their network. Of course that didn't always fit into my schedule.

Last Friday a friend of mine said she was taking her computer to be checked out 'cause "it must have a virus or something." I asked the problem and found out her internet was very sporadic and she has the same carrier as me.

Any way, when I came home with the grandchildren on Friday night, Nate was devastated that he would not be able to watch his favorite YouTube videos. But low and behold, when we got here the internet light was green and not blinking on the the modem. Nate signed on and didn't get dropped once and I haven't had a problem all weekend. So I say it is a miracle. Actually they probably finally connected all the people calling with issues and determined THEY had an issue rather than the lines in my house going bad.

Skateboard Park

Last Saturday I took Nate and a friend to Skateboard Park of Greenville, SPOG for short. It was the third time Nate had been to such a place. I was really impressed with how well Nate can actually skate. All I had ever seem him do was ride in the driveway but when he had ramps and flat spaces and lots of room, he really did well.

Spartanburg is about to open it's first park which will be outdoors. That will be a lot different from the indoor park but that will still give Nate a close place to practice. He really wants to learn to do a lot of tricks. I think his problem right now is not staying with a particular trick long enough. When he doesn't get it after 10 or 15 tries, he starts on another one. Some of the tricks are really hard. At the park we watched some of the big guys try the rails or jumping steps over and over and still not accomplishing it so I think that helped Nate see that everyone has to really work at what they are doing.

I talked to one mom who had brought her son up from Canton GA for the competition they were having. He was 15 and started skating when he was 10. It took him 5 years to get good enough to be sponsored by his skatepark. I think that encouraged Nate too...to know it might take a long time to accomplish his goals.

Second Guessing God

Often I try to second guess God. I have a tendency to want to know where I am going, what I will be doing and how it's all going to work out. But I have found over the years that is a very unproductive line of thought.

God gives us His plans day by day. Yes, I am to plan for the future but I am also to be willing to change my plans when God intervenes. Sometimes I am right on in my plans and the direction I am going. Sometime I am not.

When I follow God's plan and LISTEN to Him - sooner rather than later - I find that He will lead me into some amazing areas. It 's not always easy to change direction, to give up the familiar or comfortable or safe, but God will overwhelm me with His love and blessing if I am just obedient.

I'm so glad that He never gives up on me and keeps tugging at me and leading me to new revelations of Himself. Too often I think I have God all figured out and then He does something so unexpected I can't do anything but stand in awe of Him and just weep tears of joy that He WANTS me to be part of what He is doing.

Wicked People

"The Lord has made everything for it's purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble." Proverbs 16:4

Sometimes I just can't get my mind around things like this verse...God creates even the wicked.

But then as I think about it I do recognize that God creates EVERY person. Then He gives us an offer of salvation through Jesus Christ. Then HE pursues us to accept that salvation (the Holy Spirit convicts of sin). But once He pursues us, we can accept or reject it.

The Bible tells us that every inclination of the heart of man is evil all the time. It is only through Jesus that we become "un-wicked". So if we reject Jesus and the prompting of the Holy Spirit, we remain wicked and are doomed to destruction and an eternity separated from God in the fires of hell.

So God does create even the wicked. Because He is sovereign, He knows before He ever creates us that some - even many - will reject Him. But every one of us fits into His plan for the world.

Springtime

This has been the most wonderful Spring. Most years we go straight from winter to 2 weeks of spring and then jump right into summer. Not this year.

Although we have had some really warm days already, we have had a real springtime. Temps in the 70's during the day, 60's at night; rain 2 or 3 days a week. We were in a drought for three years and it is a REAL BLESSING that God is now favoring us with rain!

Summer is still a month away and I am ready for some steady warmer (don't mean HOT!) days but this year the grass and trees are so green and the flowers have been beautiful. God really does know what we need. I like living where there are real seasons even if I am not a fan of very hot summers or very cold winters.

Nate the Great

Nathan made me so proud last night. He came to my house to cut the grass. With all the rain and great spring we have been having, the grass was really tall but Nate jumped to it and got the grass cut in record time for him. And nary a complaint!

We were planning to go spend his earnings at New Gen on a tool to repair his skateboard - or maybe a tee shirt. We had just come in the house when his mother called to say one of his friends was at his house. Seems they had to put their old dog to sleep and they didn't want Cole to be part of that. When I told Nathan what was going on, he immediately opted to go home to be with Cole. I said Cole might already be gone by the time we get there but he said it didn't matter. Cole didn't do well with stuff like this and he might need Nate.

Wow...that boy constantly amazes me!

Barnes & Noble

I'm sitting at Barnes & Noble, no coffee or book, just using their internet. I've been having lots of problems with my internet at home so I never know if it will work or not. Even if I get on the internet, it drops off suddenly. VERY frustrating. I've called customer service 3 or 4 times - talk about frustrating. The last time I called I was told I need to make an appointment for a service tech to come to my house to check the lines. I said I think I need a new modem but that didn't do much good.

Now is just not a good time to take half a day off to sit home and wait on the tech guy to show up.
I've been off a lot or leaving early as I get shots and go to meetings about my trip to Kenya. On top of all the things I've been doing, most of the ladies at the office have children still in school so they have all these mornings off to go to school programs now that we're in the last weeks of school. So...I'm at Barnes & Noble.

And I think I got here just in time. All the chairs are filling up and I wanted to be beside an outlet 'cause my battery doesn't last too long. That means my seating options are a little limited. It sure is nice though to actually be out of the house and with all these people that I don't even know. :0) And I get free music to boot!

NewSpring Greenville Is On the Move

Literally...we are on the move, or at least soon will be. We learned today from Perry that the NewSpring Greenville campus will be giving up its lease on the property we now use.

We sub-lease from Bi-Lo which just declared bankruptcy. The owners of the property now want us to pay the full lease price which is over double what we are paying now. So...Howard and Perry and others have been praying and talking and have signed a contract for us to move to the Carolina First Center in Greenville. This is a 95% done deal.

All I can think is how exciting this is going to be!! We will be able to triple our attendance. Perry preached today from 1 Kings 17 when God told Elijah to go to the brook during the drought but then God allowed the brook to run dry. Do we trust God only when things are going great? Maybe we don't have to trust Him at all during those times. But when we get in a place of desperation, we are set for a new revelation of who God is and just how powerful and faithful He is. So I can't wait to get to our new facilities!

Mother's Day 2009

What a great day I had over Mother's Day. My son and his family took me to one of the nicest restaurants in Spartanburg for lunch. We always get great service because Jeremy and Holly know all the waiters and servers and cooks and maitre d's around the area. We ate LOTS of good food and spent about 3 hours over lunch.

Then we went to NewSpring Church on Sunday evening. Several times during the service it was said it's not about being part of a great church but serving a great and extravagant God. But I have never been part of a church that gives so much. A remodeled, furnished house, scholarship money for mom and son; a furnished apt, car and money to pay off debt. I have never seen such generosity!

God is a great God who pours out His love and blessing on the members of NewSpring who give their money to the church so the church can pour out His love and blessing on single moms at Mother's Day. And not just for Mother's Day...don't forget the shoe give away and Christmas gifts and food at Thanksgiving.

How Can You Not Know

Last Thursday I stopped by Miyako's to see Jeremy for a little while. As I sat at the bar, a nice looking young business man (button up shirt, tie) sat down. After a few minutes he asked Jeremy is this your mother. When I said yes, he introduced himself.

Seems he was Andrew, a guy Jeremy went to public school with and who also grew up in the youth program at FBC. Andrew's mom and I were in the same Sunday school class for many years. We had a really long conversation and some of the things he said made me shake my head.

I brought the conversation around to church and beliefs and listened to him talk about getting into heaven by being good. I wanted to shout at him and ask had he never listened all those years he was in church. I know he heard over and over about Jesus. Yet here was this young, successful man telling me heaven was for good people.

He does feel a void in his life and knows that he should be seeking a church so of course I invited him to NewSpring. I will pray for him to come and to meet Jesus head on. But what amazed me most is how he could not know Jesus is the reason you go to heaven - not being good or bad. Maybe he DOES know but was hesitant to speak Jesus' name. That even happens with active Christ followers.

Fear of Death

I've been reading about several instances where Jesus raised people from the dead...a young girl, Lazarus, the only son of a widow. And then there is Jesus own miraculous resurrection.

So many people fear death. Even people who are followers of Christ. Why?? Because we don't REALLY know what happens - or at least what it is like. I guess we do know what happens. The Bible says the angels usher us into the presence of God to be seated at His feast table, to live forever in His presence in Heaven where there is no sadness, no grief, no tears, no sorrow. How can we fear that?

Maybe the fear is missing out on something - the kids, or grandkids, growing up; enjoying retirement years; leaving a beloved spouse. If I pray for my family and commit them to God, He can care for them better than I ever could. Maybe it's a fear of being forgotten. But what does it matter. If no one remembers my name 5 years after I'm gone, so what. If God remembers my name because I am in His Lamb's Book of Life, that is all I need.

Joy Does Not Equal Happiness

One of the things that I find most satisfying about being a follower of Christ is the deep down joy of living. Too many times people want to be happy but happy is based on circumstance - joy is based on a relationship with Jesus.

Joy is that inner dimension that KNOWS that God loves me, that my future is in His hands, that He watches over me, that He wants only HIS best for me. That last one is the rub sometimes - and the difference between joy and happiness. His best is not always the same as what I think is best. I can be unhappy over a circumstance, a job situation, a health issue, family tensions but I can still be filled with the joy of knowing God.

To me this is one of the hardest concepts to explain to non-believers. We tie so much of who we are into our stuff and our position that when those are lost, we are in despair. I guess the biggest issue comes from people who don't understand that this life is NOT all there is. But the abundant life that comes from Jesus begins the moment I ask Him to be my Lord and Savior. Our problem as Americans is that we equate abundance with lots of shiny stuff when actually the abundance of God is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. Sure, it can mean stuff and "success" too but those things are fleeting. Real abundance is a heart attitude.

Let Them Thank the Lord

"Let them thank the Lord for His steadfast love, for His wondrous works to the children of men! For He satisfies the longing soul and the hungry soul He fills with good things." Psalm 107:8-9.

One of the things I've learned is that NOTHING satisfies like Jesus. Not my stuff, not my family or friends, not my job, not my money, not a vacation. All this is good but I can't find anything to satisfy my SOUL in them. And it is my soul that remains empty without Jesus.

It is only because of the steadfast love of God, that Jesus lives in my heart. God sent His only Son to pay the price for my sins; to be punished in my place. John 3:16, Romans 5:8. Then God sent His Spirit to convict me of my need for this Savior. John 16:7-8

His grace pulled me from the pit of destruction and set me on the path of eternal life - filled with joy and hope.

WOW!!

Today I do not have a serving responsibility at church. On these Sundays I go to church at 6 PM so that I can enjoy a day of rest. Because we have an online church, I decided to watch NewSpring's 11:15 AM service.

All I can say is WOW! The music was incredible. During the offertory song, an old hymn, I was so stirred by all that Jesus has done for me.

Clayton King, the teaching pastor at NewSpring, who was preaching today, felt the presence of God in a BIG way. So big in fact that he gave an invitation BEFORE he preached! I don't know how many went forward to seek repentance as a first time believer or a prodigal coming home, to break addictions, or heal marriages, or to break the bonds of any sin that weighs us down but there were many. Doesn't matter if it had only been one...Jesus died for EACH ONE of us, separately, individually, knowing me - ME - by name when He hung on the cross.

My God, I am overwhelmed that You love me that much; that You forgive me that much. Help me always to walk in Your ways; to listen to Your voice; to seek to please only You.

Home Group

At NewSpring Church we have small groups that meet in homes during the week. I have to say that I love my home group! We are a diverse group of people who have some interesting discussions about Jesus and life.

We've just had a big service week. On Tuesday night, we served at the Membership Class at NewSpring. We have a lot of fun meeting people who are relatively new to NewSpring and encouraging them to take their next steps with Jesus.

On Saturday we participated with 2 other home groups in a Hands on Greenville project. We went to Alexander Elementary School and planted a butterfly garden; cleaned, weeded and mulched the front flower beds; and spread mulch on the playgrounds. The Assistant Principal at the school told us they have 391 students and all but 18 receive free or reduced price lunches. The parents do what they can but just don't have the money to take care of projects that can not be done with school funds during these tight monetary times.

I'm thankful to be part of a group that likes to give back to the church and the community! The Bible says that faith without works is dead. We don't do projects to get God's love but do them out of a heart of love that comes because we already know God's love.