Is punishment the best way to teach???

I'm often asked where I "go" to church...

When asked where I go to church, I know what they mean. Where do you attend a Sunday morning service. But His church is bigger than our Sunday morning institutions. We are the church! His body, followers  of Jesus, God's family scattered all over the world. And as we connect relationally, in a million different ways, we express his church. Can one be a passionate Christian that no longer participates in a traditional congregation? If I don't attend a Sunday service, am I still part of God's family. I would argue that Jesus's church can take on many expressions in the world outside of a 501C3. Do we recognize the church in all the ways she takes shape around us or do we believe she only takes shape in a pew on Sunday mornings? Scripture teaches that when 2 or more come together in His name, He is with us. The bible says that the kingdom is within us. We, the church, bring light into dark places as we love those he puts in our path every day.

For too long we have been dividing His church into tribes, each thinking ourselves superior to the others. As though there is a competition... We are the salt of the earth scattered all over the world. We are the sheep listening to the shepherds voice as he personally leads each of us. He has different tasks for us. He wants to love and heal the world through us. Jesus doesn't say, you'll know my disciples by whether they attend a local congregation or because they hold all the correct beliefs. He says, you'll know my disciples by their love... When I look at Jesus's ministry, I don't see him sitting in a pew, but as he goes about his day, he's about his father's business, listening to his father's voice and loving those in front of him. If you find that attending a local congregation helps you, amen. If it hinders your faith and He has called you to wide open spaces, amen to that too!

But what about the scripture in Hebrews that says, don't give up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing? Well first of all, it says "some" of the disciples were in the habit, not all. Secondly, their "meeting together" looked very different than our Sunday morning meetings. They were together daily, in each other's homes, eating together, praying together, encouraging one another, not sitting in a pew, facing forward, listening to a 3 point sermon. And finally, the author was addressing the believers who were being scattered by persecution and killed for their faith. It was dangerous for them to be seen together and many were going into hiding. They needed the encouragement from each other. There are many ways to meet together. There are no right or wrong ways. Today with technology, there are even more ways to connect with not only Christina in your area, but all over the world!

A letter to someone dear to me...

Oh, that's tough about (won't use child's name). Bless his heart, he needs his father to be the parent, his guide, his protector. I'm sure he feels betrayed. And I'm sure after the fact, (the father) felt huge remorse, guilt, and embarrassment. Been there! I have a thing with my kids. When we blow it, we ask for forgiveness and if we could have a redo. On a small scale it might look like... One of my kids is disrespectful or sassy with me. I ask her if she'd like to try that again, but with respect. She is free to have her feelings and communicate those to me, but in this household we respect one another. Or I might lose it with the kids and when I realize I'm using power over them rather than coming under them with a spirit of humility, respect, and love, I ask if I could have a redo. I feel like what I model, I'll get back from them and believe how we live is the most powerful teacher, not what we say. I'm still in the midst of a pharisectomy. Trying to root out that old way I used to parent the kids using shame, guilt, and manipulation to get them to behave like I wanted. I could control their behavior through fear, for a time, but it never transformed their hearts, and it did not provide a spirit of openness, safety, and trust in our relationship which would allow me influence in their lives. It only made them hide their stuff from me. I think when you break your trust with your kids, as every parent does, because we are human, you get the powerful opportunity to demonstrate repairing what you broke. I believe it's even more powerful than being a perfekt parent. (Which we know doesn't exist!) I have a stronger relationship with my boys now than I ever have. The last 10 years (and I'm now 50), my relationship with my boys that I almost destroyed because I parented out of fear, has completely changed. I have owned my brokenness and apologized and began rebuilding.

Found this quote on the wall at Oconee Youth Playhouse!

Finding Peace and Freedom...

Most recently, as I was pondering, a thought came to me...
Peace is found in letting go, not trying to control the outcome. Participate in "your part" of the journey, but recognize what's NOT your part.

There is only 1 way to experience full life!

We weren't designed to live in this world apart from our father. When we try, we get desperately lost. Our father invites us to walk with him, but will never force us. As long as we breath, he will never leave us or stop wooing us with his love. Living life on our own, apart from his guidence leaves us stumbling around in the darkness. We end up becoming slaves to sin, that so easily entangles, as it slowly destroys every good thing in our lives. Sometimes when we see that's not working for us, we search for programs, systems, rules to live by. We weren't created to live by the rigidity of a program. It only leaves us feeling frustrated and never measureing up. Jesus never asked us to follow a system, but to follow him. We were created for a relationship with our Heavenly Father. Drinking in his unconditional love transforms us. As we begin to awaken (yes, it's a process, a lifelong process) to that pure love, that grace that loves us and forgives us despite our ugly choices and reminds us of our incredible worth, we begin to love as we've been loved. When we experience unconditional love rather than harsh judgement, we can't judge others because we weren't judged at our ugliest. It's a fruit, not something we produce by self effort. It's the fruit of fellowship with a loving father. You've heard the expression, the apple doesn't fall far from the tree... Well if we see father as a harsh, angry judge that will punish us or withdraw his love if we disobey, that's the way we treat others. If we see him as a the loving father full of mercy and compassion that bends down and helps us up when we fall, not only do we begin to trust him and turn to him rather than trusting in our own ways, but we begin to reflect that kind of love to those around us.

We all know that hunger in our soul. That God shaped vacuum. It is there because we were designed for a relationship with him. Only his love can fill that hole and give us the full life that we hunger for.  If we fill it with sin, we will find pleasure, but only temporary pleasure followed by the natural consequences of our choices.  Often quite painful. When we fill it with a system, a programs, or meetings, we wonder why we still have that gnawing hunger. Sin and religious obligation are poor substitutes for a relationship with father. That hole was never meant to be filled by an "it", but only by a relationship with him. As we are won by his love and learn to tune into his voice and trust his guidence, he will help us navigate our way through this broken world. He'll show us the land mines to avoid and the way to experience the full life  he created for us to experience.

Self sacrificial love... the power of coming under...

As we simply love, without agenda or expectations, whoever God sets in our path every day, we begin to experience as well as manifest God's kingdom here on earth... The very thing our souls long for and crave. The lie that the world believes is that we have to grab for ourselves what we think we need because we don't trust that God is good and will provide... We live a frenzied life trying to get for ourselves, rather than trusting in his providence. We will begin to experience life to the full as we trust in Him. He created us. It only makes sense that he knows the best way for us to live. He gives us a free will, so he won't force us, but desires for us to follow Him. Follow Him so that He can lead us toward a full life and help us avoid the trap of sin that so easily entangles us and eventually destroys us. This video reminds me of how we are called to live... not trying to grab and hold onto as much stuff as he can, or greedily hoard more than we need, but living a simple life and sharing our overflow with others... being good stewards with whatever God has entrusted to us.

Mt 6:30-34 - If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.