betrayed

I've been working on Christmas@Crossroads this week.

I am once again feeling privileged beyond my dreams to be able to take pieces and parts and form the skeleton of what the services will become with everyone's contributions and surrounded by prayer.

In searching the web for all the latest ideas and gadgets and bells and whistles I found myself in tears watching the simplest of things.

I Love this drawing

One short drama I watched was of actors portraying the experience of Mary being told by an angel that she was with child, and not only pregnant without intimate relationship, but carrying the long awaited Savior of the world.

The actress portrayed beautifully the innocence of a young girl being told SHE was the chosen mother of the Savior.

Her belief and trust in the Lord had to be HUGE.  Amazing!

Then the actor that played Joseph was told by Mary she was pregnant.  He cried, felt completely betrayed, probably accused her of being unfaithful, and moved from utter disbelief to horror and again burst into tears and left.

It was the first time I've ever really thought about how betrayed Joseph must have felt.  He thought he'd just lost his promised wife to another man, he knew what a pregnancy out of wedlock would mean for Mary, and he loved her.  Even in his deepest moments of feeling betrayed, he loved her which caused a deep pain the likes of which I've never known.

And then Joseph's suspicion of betrayal was erased as an angel of the Lord told him not to hesitate to take Mary for his wife.  And that he had been chosen to be the Savior's earthly father, can you imagine?

Would you believe that kind of message?

These were normal human beings chosen to be used of God in a supernatural way that only He could orchestrate.  Almighty God had to reduce His only son to that of a human to save His creation.

Now to somehow communicate that message to our congregation...

It will of course only happen with that same divine help from the God of the Universe who is still reaching out to his fallen creation.

Please pray for us!

my day off

I'm finished with all the Christmas decorating I will do this year.  It's simple - consisting mainly of twinkle lights and old items saved from years past.  I added nothing new.  I like that.

Now I sit, which I haven't done in a while and reflect on the whirlwind of the past couple of weeks.

Just days ago you heard me describe my communion with the Lord on a level that I hadn't experienced in a while - while we were on vacation.  Not because He did anything different or moved closer toward me.  But because I was available.

I came home fully rested, renewed and ready.

The blessings that I've experienced since vacation have been too numerous to count.

The ones that come to mind are my job at Crossroads - working with people I adore, and last week working with Dr. Kevin Leman.  This man is a riot while being a wealth of knowledge and accomplishment yet remaining very approachable and Godly.  I LOVED my time working with him.

Following that weekend event, we created our Christmas set design discovering things I didn't know our Environmental Projection was capable of doing and continued working on Christmas@Crossroads.

This was a very special weekend, as I got to watch the young worship adults from the Student Ministry at Crossroads lead our congregation in worship!  Knowing we have this kind of young adult base gives testimony to the fact that we have a very healthy ministry.  Of course the biggest blessing to me personally was that my son and daughter and son-in-law were part of that team.  There is perhaps no greater earthly blessing than to watch your kids serve their Lord!

And finally yesterday we celebrated Katie and Garrett's wedding.  These are both Crossroads young adults that discovered one another after being at Crossroads together for years.  What a great night it was as I watched one of the girls that I got to build into during times of single girls groups and doing ministry together!  She deserved a great guy like Garrett!

And now, on my day off, we get to meet with a beautiful lady from across the world, who is here in the states for a short time.  Tutu is one of the most giving - loving - Godly ladies I've every known.  She serves with Asia's Hope in Thailand.  She hosted our kids years ago when they served 2 weeks with her.  So we'll all get to be with her in just a couple of hours!

The Church is not a building, it's God's people serving and caring for one another.  Gathering on the weekends to learn and to fellowship with one another.

If all you do is attend a church, but your life isn't connected to what God's doing during the week through that body of believers, then you're not partaking in what God intended for His Church.

I invite you perhaps as a New Year's resolution to get involved, really involved and begin not only to serve others, but to experience God's family in it's fullest!  It will change your life...forever!