Preparing to go

There are just a few minutes left before it's time for another weekend at Crossroads.

Sitting here watching Ohio State begin I decide to mute the TV for a few minutes and make sure I'm prepared to go.

I would guess in order for the Word of God that's about to be taught to actually affect my life, I need to prepare to hear.  To make sure I'm really ready to HEAR and apply the spoken truths.

I assume I should check my heart for any un-forgiveness and confess anything that remains.

To make sure I have cleared my mind of all distractions so that as I walk into Crossroads I can say that Christ holds first place in my life.

I would assume, that only if these preparations have been made will I truly receive what God needs me to hear so that it can become a part of me for all of eternity.

And now I will go, prepared by the Lord for the Lord.  

I'm excited to see what the Lord has for all of us!

Preparing

It feels like I spend every minute of every day preparing.

Preparing myself for the day - shower, fresh clothes and LOTS of makeup.
Prepare to learn something - study.
Preparing laundry so we have something to wear.
Preparing food so that we can eat.
Preparing the dog so that we can spend the day away.
Preparing smoothies so we get the fruit and veggies we need.
Preparing emails so that needed communication can be completed.
Prepare for meetings so that I don't waste others' time.
Prepare for the weekends insuring that all the details are clearly understood by everyone.
Preparing the teams to lead our congregation in worship.
Preparing dinner to begin our night at home.
Preparing for bed.

And so it goes on and on - not sure I ever see anything end?

What a blessing to have purpose, to have something to do, to have to get up...

I am thankful today that I CAN prepare.

weekend already?

I don't understand how it can be the weekend again?

ok, so we didn't realize half the wall would come off!

There has never been a month like this December has been, when I have no idea what day it is.  Probably not a good thing.  This morning I got up and started helping Jocelyn tear old tile off the walls of her kitchen.   I am now exhausted and realized it's almost time to head to Crossroads again.

I am now trying to be intentional for the next couple hours to prepare my mind and heart for worship.

My point is - we have to PREPARE to receive- to apply it to our lives.  In Frances Chan's book "Crazy Love" he says, "We've conditioned ourselves to hear messages without responding.  Sermons have become Christian entertainment.  We go to church to hear a well-developed sermon and a convicting thought.  We've trained ourselves to believe that if we're convicted, our job is done.  If you're just hearing the Word and not actually doing something with it, you're deceiving yourself."

I refuse to be deceived.  I'm anxious to give the Lord whatever portion of my life He reveals that needs to change.  In just a few hours I once again have been given the unbelievable opportunity of sitting under a pastor's teaching.  I'm ready!

preparing for communion

Tonight is communion at Crossroads. Time to prepare. I am referring to preparing myself, not the service.

We should not participate if we do not prepare our hearts for communion. Blameless before the Lord.

I am tempted to take this upon myself like all the other tasks that lay on my desk awaiting completion. Although we are told to practice communion in the scriptures, it is not a 'to do'. It is to be instead an act of worship, remembering the amazing sacrifice of Christ and the forgiveness His sacrifice provides.

I hope you will join us tonight for the communion celebration, please spend time preparing your heart and I pray the whole congregation will say, "it was good to be in the house of the Lord!"

God's calling

As I prepared to leave Indiana Wesleyan today, I had lunch with my kids. Conversation was lively but typical. Soon however, it took a turn toward extraordinary!

Out of nowhere my son Eric announced he feels God may be calling him to create a ministry that connects churches' efforts to evangelize local communities. He feels strongly that local churches waste time and resources all trying to work separately within the same communities as if it were a competition between denominations.

I looked at my son and all the past years experiences came rushing back. I thought back to questions as a child about why all the churches and pastors in town seemed to work against one another. I remembered his tender heart toward kids he came in contact with that did not know the Lord. I remembered when he was invited to be the outreach/evangelism coordinator for his dorm. And the excitement on the other end of a phone call this summer when his band had a performance where a young man accepted the Lord. And then his most current work, his practicum where he and his buddy Moose drive a bus that picks up inner city kids and drops them off for Wednesday night church. And God willing, Eric will get to go to Cambodia to work with orphans this spring. God has been preparing his heart for this type of work his whole life. Amazing!

Next my daughter, Jocelyn chimed in with her most recent decisions. She is second guessing her decision to make her second major International Community Development. She went on to talk about how she feels God may be calling her to work among the influential in the United States instead of with missions or overseas. She said she had been wondering whether the bigger kingdom accomplishment might be to use her writing skills to influence this American generation in politics, corporations, media or other influential areas. Some of our most celebrated people, are among the most desperate seekers. I remember her talking about this very thing many years earlier, passionately talking about how much more her own country needed evangelism then many foreign countries did. And now she was making college level decisions about how best to prepare for whatever God was calling her to.

I understand that young adults change their minds many times before discovering their life long calling. But what a blessing to hear them both talk about what they feel God may call them to do. I will never forget today's conversations and I can not believe how good God is!