Sunday, December 22, 2019

where do you worship

Following a night at Crossroads Church, where I got to be part of  a Christmas production we pray brought glory to our Savior, I stood at my kitchen window worshipping Him this morning.

I just looked at the post on Facebook by a photographer who photographed individual snowflakes showing design perfection at the highest level I've ever witnessed.  As I looked across my yard full of melting snow - I was nearly overwhelmed with awe picturing every - single - snowflake being so meticulously designed.

I then fixed a cup of coffee next to the window and saw just seconds after I had filled empty bird feeders - swarms of birds returning for a morning feeding. 

How do they know I just put this out when moments ago there was no hint of a bird in any of the trees surrounding the feeders?

I stood and worshipped Him!  Our meticulous designer - creator!

If He cares enough to invest His time designing EVERY SINGLE snow flake and instilling survival instincts in EVERY SINGLE specie of bird, how much more does a our God desire to shape and use our lives?

So, where do you worship?   Have you experienced worship?

This Christmas accept the ultimate gift God offers, Himself...

This brings a peace that is impossible to understand, no matter what circumstance you find yourself in. Because when you're in relationship with the God of the Universe, you understand that He also designed you exactly the way you are, and is just waiting until you surrender completely - to use your life the way He designed you to be used.  For the exact purpose only your life can fulfill in this amazing, endless, meticulously designed world!

If you want to know more about the Peace only He can offer you, please join us for one of our remaining Christmas at Crossroads services

Tonight at 7:00
Tomorrow and Tuesday at 5:00 and 7:00.

May God reveal Himself this Christmas to you in the simplest of things...and worship Him!



Wednesday, December 4, 2019

thankfulness and reaching the lost

We've just come through a wonderful Thanksgiving season during which we got to love on our children and grandchildren as well as extended family!

We ate...a lot!
All together and very, very thankful!

We played games...

We decorated Grandmas home for Christmas and hugged reindeer!



Adults were too stuffed to play!


Precious grand-baby playing with great grandmas decorations!
I'm more thankful than ever before in my life for my family and my precious friends, and my heart is burdened like never before for the lost in our community.

Recently, wherever I go I wonder who around me is without a savior?  I wonder what Christmas means to them...more debt?  disappointments?  loved-ones that no longer visit?  missing peace? Without Jesus I can't imagine going through the holidays.  Let's all pray right now for the Lord to show us who we should bring with us to Christmas at Crossroads!

A tiny Christmas baby came, He is the missing peace so many people are still searching for!

Sunday, November 3, 2019

community at crossroads

You can just attend church each week, or church can be a living, giving, vital part of your life.

The friendships I've formed over the past 23 years at Crossroads were largely formed not just by attending church with the same people each weekend, they were formed by doing life with people.

By serving together, by attending special events with them, by surrounding something that needed to be accomplished with them, by helping someone that needed help, by studying and learning more about the Lord together, by living in community.

The reason we plan trips and special events at Crossroads is to provide opportunities to know one another,  to be together with brothers and sisters in the Lord!

Recently 42 of us had an amazing time away for 5 days together both with people we knew well and those we met for the first time.

This trip connected us around a common experience that we'll never forget!



Church is much more than a place to learn about our Lord, it's a place to meet some of the friends we'll spend eternity with!


These two were trouble!

The pools were beautiful and we had a Christian band playing pool-side!

One of our favorite times each day was eating together!






Competition was fierce!



I hope you'll consider joining us in the future as we continue to try to provide these times away, allowing us to grow close and build memories.  I think perhaps our greatest opportunity so far will be the trip to the Holy Land next March.

I'm preparing my heart even now to be ready to fully grasp the fact that the places we'll visit together will be the physical places Jesus walked!

This is what community looks like...so good!

Wednesday, September 4, 2019

Christmas time is here

I would appreciate prayers today as I tackle Crossroads' Christmas.

It's such an opportunity for visitors to come and hear the Gospel that I take it very seriously!  We put a whole lot of prayer and planning into this one service - so prayers would be appreciated.

I value all of your friendships so much! Thanks for always being willing to pray!

Fa la la la la!

Image may contain: christmas tree and indoor

Tuesday, July 2, 2019

God the great healer

In ministry it's easy to become overwhelmed by the amount of people going through horrible medical issues at any given time.  With each request my heart aches for them, and for them their sole focus is on pursuing healing.  And it's a journey I count a privilege to walk with them.

I spent time talking to three different families this past weekend going through terrible struggles and I'm just taking time this morning to dedicate specific time to asking the Great physician to guide them through this time - and specifically for healing.

Several of them have surgeries or testing that's very important this week - will you join me in prayer for them?

"Father, you created us all completely designed for the purpose we play in your master plan.  A plan to lead the lost to you.  Father, please guide the hands of the surgeons this week as they operate on my brothers and sisters in you!  And may they spiritually experience a closeness to you they've never felt before, a realization of who you are in a way they've never known.

If it please you Lord, PLEASE heal these dear people that are fighting so hard to be well.  I trust you Lord, and they all know you Lord and rest in your love for them. Amen."

Find someone struggling today, wrap your arms around them - help them to be held in the Saviors arms!

Monday, July 1, 2019

my day off

As I sat outside on this glorious morning having some quiet time with the Almighty, today's study was on waiting.  That sounds familiar - Pastor Dave's been taking us through the book of Habakkuk!

The interesting part she discussed about waiting was what they did while they waited.  She talked about the fact that there's always work that can be done during the waiting.  Sometimes it's simply being quiet before God and doing some soul-searching and making ourselves available.  And other times there's actual physical work that needs to be done just to prepare us for what God's going to reveal at the end of the waiting.  Like Noah did while he waited for rain!

So to those of you in a season of waiting, take great encouragement from the amazing people God used in the Bible that waited, possibly much longer periods of waiting than God may ask us to be in.

I don't feel like I'm waiting right now, but still I'm asking myself as I write this, what is God's plan for this day before me?  How can just a day-off affect eternity for His glory...I guess I'll just remain in Him and wait and see what He has for me as I put one foot in front of the other and enter this day!



Monday, June 10, 2019

a miracle water

I won't use the actual name of the magic 'packet of water' that I just saw advertised on TV.

I feel like this type of advertising gimmick just proves once again how desperate we are to believe in something, someone...

Can you imagine being so desperate for eternal life, for healing, for support that you would place your hope in a package of water?

I can't explain how sad this made me, while at the same time it proved once again God created us to believe in something - to believe in Him.

Shame on me for not taking every opportunity to tell others of this amazing Savior that will fill EVERY desire they've ever had, a Savior that died so we don't have to suffer eternally.

I worship the Creator of the water, the designer of the very molecules that make up what men believe in.

Not a packet of special water.

Tuesday, June 4, 2019

spreading seed

I'm in my happy place today, spending time in God's Word on my sunny deck.

Watching birds eat from our feeders, dogs play and just exhaling.  It's a very good place.

The devotional I was reading today reminded me that each of us is gifted exactly as God intended so that we can be used by Him for the purpose of spreading His message.

I Corinthians 3:8-10 says, "He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's building. 10 According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled[a] master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it.

It reminded me that although the Lord is the divine Sower, He places seeds in MY hands!  I don't have to have it all figured out, just be ready to take advantage of opportunities he lays right in front of me every day to sow into someone's life!

I loved this line from the study, " When I'm exhaling and not hyperventilating He uses me to spread seeds."  We are not usable when we're running non-stop and not listening to that quiet voice that allows us to recognize opportunities to spread the seed so the Holy Spirit can do God's work in someone's life.

I had a conversation with someone at Crossroads this weekend who said "as I get older I just look at my life and wonder, what have I done with my life?"  This is the tug at our heart to find our life's work and worth in Jesus alone.  Simply living an 'available' life with a heart surrendered to Him - with time to listen is all He requires.

It's no accident where God has placed you, there are seed to be sown that only your can spread!!


Sunday, May 19, 2019

Crossroads concerts and special things

One of the things I love about Crossroads is the visionary leadership that allows us to be the premier provider of Christian music, special guests and speakers that bring quality to Mansfield that we wouldn't otherwise get to enjoy close to home.

I was going through pictures and trying to delete emails and old things from my computer when I found the pictures I took of the recent Sidewalk Prophets' concert at Crossroads and thought I'd share them!  These men were very kind and very passionate about sharing the Gospel of Jesus!

Here are a few of the shots I got of them!
Preparing our stage for the show


Crossroads volunteers helped to sell the merch

Sidewalk Prophets invited us to pray with them before the show!





We're looking forward to hosting Danny Gokey on October 10th, Gokey Tickets Here; and Tim Hawkins November 8th, Hawkins Tickets Here !

I hope you'll join us for both shows and use them as opportunities to invite friends that won't come to a regular church service please!!  Only your support of these concerts and our special things will allow us to continue bringing amazing things to Crossroads!

Friday, April 26, 2019

our Easter celebration

Our worship of the risen Savior began long before the public viewing of our work.

It began with ideas that we weren't sure would even work or how we were going to do them.  It began with prayer over those ideas asking the Lord to make it clear to us what He chose.  It began with casting the vision and convincing others to join the work.  It began with a commitment to whatever it required to be ready in time.  And it began with a hope that God would use it to change lives for all of eternity...and He did!!

We gave out over 50 Believers Packets as Pastor Dave carefully explained what it means to make a decision for Christ - to Empty ourself of all the shame, guilt and past regrets to simply follow Him!

It was obvious in our world that's so FULL of stuff and choices that people still feel so EMPTY.

Isn't it ironic that we have to be willing to give up our junk, to EMPTY ourselves in order to truly feel FULL?  Only the death and resurrection of a Savior fills us.

This is what my Easter season looked like!

I loved this picture, it's perhaps the one that sums up everything!  From children to
adults writing on the empty tomb - writing what they wanted Jesus to empty their lives of!








Behind the scenes at Crossroads with Justin our actor!  He worked hard to memorize
the drama for our video!
My precious son Eric our amazing videographer
working on behind the scenes pieces of the video drama.


Eric video taping Justin in his office.

Willow Creek was so generous to explain to me how
to make the 'oil concoction'.  

This is one of my favorite pictures...my son and grandson shooting the 'hand shots'
from the video/drama.  Where God washed the dirt of our lives away...


Although holidays are the busiest for us in ministry, we always try to still make
it fun for our family!



We miss our precious ones in North Carolina, but the Lord is already using them
in amazing ways as a family in their community and church!
I LOVED the simplicity of Good Friday.  It was the first Good Friday service I've ever gotten
to create and it was one of my favorite services in 23 years!  I think our lives are starving for
simplicity in Jesus...a focus away from the emptiness of life.

We even had fun at rehearsal!

The boys in the band!!
I loved the simplicity of the set design and I LOVED they way it
connected Good Friday to Easter!!  (HUGE shout out to Eric Longstreth's work)




Our amazingly gifted Senior Pastor Dave Vance - our friend!!

Monica and Ernesto using what God gifted them to do!


Meanwhile leading up to Easter, our fearless Worship Pastor Ernesto,
was also playing the role of Jesus in a musical!  What??




Our lobby at Crossroads

People used the backgrounds exactly as we had prayed they would!
Both as a place to write the things the Lord was emptying them of
as well as a place to take pictures with friends and families.  These simple backgrounds
become part of their families' forever stories.

I stood off in the distance and watched a precious friend battling
cancer write Empty of Cancer on the tomb and wept when she
walked away - lifting her in prayer!!


In all the years I've been involved in creating things at Crossroads, I think these two guys by far have logged the most hours
helping me!  My amazing, perfect husband Ron and our dear friend Greg Crawfis!!  They roll their eyes but don't complain!  ha ha ha!!  A huge shout out to Dan Zachman for helping construct the tombs!



We decided at the suggestion of a friend to leave the walls from the EMPTY tomb up this weekend for people to see what was written on those walls during the other services of Easter weekend.  
As our new series EMPTY begins it will continue to be relevant as we examine our lives and submit them to the Lord!

To God be the glory - for His sacrifice for us.
And thank you to the leadership at Crossroads which gives us space to create, figure it out and ultimately be a team God uses to help spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ!!