A Thanksgiving Reminder

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.” ― Melody Beattie

Praying this Thanksgiving brings you a lifestyle of being grateful and counting gifts every day of the year.

 

Christ Has Come!

All Glory Be to Christ

by Kings Kaleidoscope

Should nothing of our efforts stand

No legacy survive
Unless the Lord does raise the house
In vain its builders strive

To you who boast tomorrow’s gain
Tell me what is your life
A mist that vanishes at dawn
All glory be to Christ!

All glory be to Christ our king!
All glory be to Christ!
His rule and reign we'll ever sing,
All glory be to Christ!

His will be done
His kingdom come
On earth as is above
Who is Himself our daily bread
Praise Him the Lord of love

Let living water satisfy
The thirsty without price
We’ll take a cup of kindness yet
All glory be to Christ!

All glory be to Christ our king!
All glory be to Christ!
His rule and reign we'll ever sing,
All glory be to Christ!

When on the day the great I Am
The faithful and the true
The Lamb who was for sinners slain
Is making all things new.

Behold our God shall live with us
And be our steadfast light
And we shall ere his people be
All glory be to Christ!

All glory be to Christ our king!
All glory be to Christ!
His rule and reign we'll ever sing,
All glory be to Christ!

 

Rejoicing with you at our Savior's birth,

 

I Stand in Awe

And I can’t believe what’s transpired in a few short hours…That a nineteen year old kid came up to us wanting to tithe to our ministry in Downtown Orlando. Saying he trusted us more than he trusted his church. Saying he had prayed about it. And after all this I’m starting to believe that we may be making a difference. That this kid is God affirming us. Reminding us to keep going. To be steadfast. To finish the race. 

And was this all it took? Bringing a few meals to them? Listening to them? Trying to appreciate them? Telling them they’re important? All this time did they just need to see that our actions lined up with our words? That we could be trusted? That we would stay the course?

And then an opportunity to finally find a niche in homeless ministry Downtown. Because I know what I’m good at and I know I can cook. And meals aren’t just food. There’s a theology to them and Jesus knew it. Weren’t they at the heart of his ministry? And if I'm not with people then I don't feel like I'm really doing ministry.

And a third blessing, to find a large cheap house that can hold many beating hearts. Because who wants one that doesn’t? To do ministry the way we want to do ministry you must have a place to house the broken and bleeding. And could this one be the one?

And this church planting thing has never gone like we anticipated but we’ve stayed faithful. What we really want to plant is the Gospel. And it’s working. God had a plan all along. And it’s nights like tonight that he reminds us that the church is people, not a building or a time on Sunday mornings, but people. Lost people. Found people. Coming together right where He always finds us all.

 

166. A basset hound to pet first thing in the morning while I'm still waking up

167. A crock-pot to have dinner waiting

168. My husband working a job where I can eat dinner with him every night

169. At least four nights a week to spend among the lost

170. An older wiser couple to enjoy a meal with

171. A new opportunity for homeless ministry

A Secret

You want to know a secret? Until recently I hadn’t been in a corporate worship service in a long time, about two months actually. I didn’t realize it had been so long until my husband vocalized the time frame to a pastor we met. Although actively pursuing community, we hadn’t attended a worship service for a while due to my husband’s new work schedule. Usually he doesn’t get to bed on a Saturday night until at least 4:00 AM (I guess that would technically make it Sunday morning). 

As opposed to other times in my life this difficult season has not pushed me away from God but drawn me closer to him. It has caused me to be more intentional about seeking true Christian community. It has also caused me to ask many questions about the role and function of the church (meaning Christ followers not necessarily a building or service on a Sunday). It has also made me wonder why so few questioned our absence.

Additionally we have been seeking a new local faith community to be a part of. That search has been an interesting, difficult, exciting, and sometimes scary journey. What I can say definitively is that being away from corporate worship for a season has taught me how important it is but certainly not a determination of our spiritual standing with God.

Thanks for letting me share my secret. Do you have any thoughts on the role of corporate worship in the life of the believer? Have you ever been away from the ‘church’ for a season of your life?

129. Worshipping with other believers at New City

130. Hard eucharisteo: not getting what I want

131. A walk Downtown with the hubby

132. An unexpected trip to the farmer’s market

133. Weather cool enough for a caramel apple cider

He is Inescapable

I used to be one of those people who hated any talk of Christmas before December 1^st. I didn’t like seeing the decorations in stores before the Florida heat had dissipated or hearing Christmas carols before my Thanksgiving turkey. But several years ago I read the quote below and God started me on an journey of embracing Christmas all year long.

“In the month of December, he strikes both the secular and sacred spheres of life with sledgehammer force. Suddenly, Jesus is everywhere, his presence inescapable. We may accept him or reject him, affirm him, or deny him, but we cannot ignore him. Of course he is proclaimed in speech, song, and symbol in all Christian churches. But he rides every red-nosed reindeer, lurks behind every Barbie doll, and resonates in the most desacralized “Season’s Greetings.” Remotely or proximately, he is toasted in every cup of Christmas cheer. Each sprig of holly is a hint of his holiness. Every cluster of mistletoe is a sign he is here.” -Brennan Manning, Above All

That quote by Manning is by far one of my favorite Christmas quotes. It reminds me of the triumphal entry in Luke 19 where Jesus admonishes the Pharisees that if Christ followers won’t praise him then even the very rocks would cry out to their King. 

Let us remember that we need the Christ child all year long, maybe even more so than at Christmas. We need him in the spring to remind us of the suffering of the cross and the brutality of humanity. We need him in our darkest hour to remind us that God is not a stranger to human pain. We need the child even in the bounty of the fall to remind us that the God of the universe humbled himself and came down to earth with nothing.

In our comings and goings, wrapping and unwrapping, baking and eating, let us remember Jesus. Let us truly live like this season is about his birthday. May we remember that every Christmas light, every wild shopper, and every poinsettia exists for his glory alone.

 

115. Answered prayers

116. God’s grace through family gatherings

117. My little brother getting married to a great girl

118. A new sister-in-law

119. An hour with a special friend

120. A free hairdo for the wedding

121. Hard eucharisteo: an unexpected financial crunch

122. Extra time with my wonderful husband

Don't Miss This

On the week leading up to Thanksgiving I had the chance to take a vacation to Chattanooga, TN. Along with tons of natural beauty, great shopping, and lots to do, one of the things I like most about Chattanooga is that it has so many things we don't get to experience in Florida:

Leaves in all colors, shapes and sizes,

(Can you tell I really liked the leaves?)

rivers and mountain views,

and an overall true fall experience!

I have visited Chattanooga so many times that I was afraid this year I might overlook the beauty and wonder of it all. So I used photography as a spiritual discipline and as a way to visually keep adding to my 1,000 gifts list.

 

111. Achieving a personal exercise goal!
112. Fresh juice from the farmer's market
113. A gigantic live Christmas tree
114. A husband that let me keep and helped me put up said Christmas tree

Unplugged

This week I'll be taking some time off to truly enjoy the Thanksgiving holiday. I encourage you to do the same. Today my friends at http://www.aholyexperience.com/ are sharing their 1000 Gifts lists. Maybe you'll want to join them?



100. Time and freedom to unplugg
101. Memories made with my husband and in-laws
102. God's constant, amazing provision

Remember to give thank in ALL things (1 Thessaloniasn 5:18) this week and always, and be sure to check out Grace Driscoll's wonderful post on 'The Ministry Wife.'

Happy Thanksgiving to you an yours!

Life Hurts

This weekend I had a minor accident and dislocated one of my fingers. I have had to be patient with swelling that won’t go down and a fingertip turning all shades of the rainbow. I have had to be gracious with my husband as he plays nurse and fashions as sweet splint for me. But most of all I have had to be patient with myself. I have had to rest in the fact that some healing is slow and that I can’t do everything exactly how I did before…Some things I might not be able to do at all.




84. Hard eucharisteo: dislocated finger

85. Re-learning to depend on others

86. A reason to slow down

87. A husband that graciously gives me a night off from ministry to rest and heal

88. A loving friend who is also a nurse practitioner

31 Days: On The Patio

There’s a cigar store in Downtown Orlando where people come to hang out with friends, unwind after a long day, show off their bucks, drink away the pain, and little do they know, have their lives changed. There are few things in life that cause people to really slow down and be real with themselves and others. A cigar is one of those things. Last night was one of those times.


Because my husband works at the aforementioned cigar store we have developed many relationships with hurting people. Amazingly God has brought many other Christ followers to this store in Downtown Orlando with the same desire to see lives changed. Last night we began a discussion group with some of the employees and customers. It was a huge success. In that span of two hours seven of us gathered around a patio table many with cigar in hand. We talked about dreams and the pain associated with striving to achieve those dreams.

What made this small gathering a success? People were brutally honest. They shared about masks, fears, secrets, and loss. It was truly amazing on this first night of meeting that people would be so openly transparent about their struggles. That they would trust us and feel safe enough to share is only by the grace and spirit of God.

Today I am exceedingly grateful:

23. People trusting us with their pain

24. The sweet smell of tobacco leaves burning

25. God empowering my husband to lead

26. That God doesn’t leave people in pain but heals and restores

27. God’s amazing plan for our lives

28. God’s amazing plan for the lives of those in our group that we can’t begin to fathom

31 Days: Hard Eucharisteo?

This morning I read Ann Voskamp’s post and on her list of 1000 gifts #2755 was “hard eucharisteo: lost camera memory card.” At first I was shocked. Why was she thankful for this? Then I thought that if this truly was something to be thankful for than it had implications for my life.

"Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

It’s written right there but I don’t like it. You see I recently lost my Kindle while traveling. I’m not making this up people. I’m not sure if I left it on a plane or if it was stolen. There are two points in my trip that the location of my Kindle is questionable. If you’ve ever lost anything while traveling you know it’s almost impossible to locate it through airport lost and found.

I’ve had many opportunities in my life to be thankful for hardships including the loss of a spouse, depression, marriage crisis, and that’s the short list. But let me tell you, for me it’s much easier to see God’s hand in the big things and be thankful. But these little everyday trials…

I can be thankful that the loss of my Kindle gives me a better chance at conquering my e-Book gluttony (thanks to Dana, one of my readers, for the wording). It helps me to focus on one book at a time. It’s causes me to be more thankful for my husband’s sacrifice to get me a nice gift, which I lost. Perhaps God is trying to teach me to trust him more during my travels so I’ll be less anxious. Be more clear headed while traveling alone could certainly help me to avoid another loss of property.

My list is coming slowly but it’s coming. Here goes:

#6 hard eucharisteo: lost Kindle