Recently I called out to some of my girlfriends in Dallas, MN, and VA and told them I was having a bit of a faith crisis. I got a lot of good advice and prayers. Someone said go through the Psalms. So I started doing that. I don't remember to do it every day, but it's something I enjoy doing and sometimes I even read it aloud to Malachi.
Today I went for a second time to a Baptist Church not far from home where I have friends who are members. I decided that I wanted to try the adult Sunday School. So I got the kids out of the door (on time!) and took us over there. Malachi went to his class, Simon to his, and I went to the mixed adults class (insert joke about dog breeds here).
The class is going through the Psalms. Perfect!
They alternate teachers, and the guy who taught today did something different for their class. He categorized the Psalms into five or six categories and listed which Psalms fit into those categories (except for Lament because apparently 70% of the Psalms fit into that category, he did put a few though). It couldn't have been better for me. Like it was perfectly suited just for where I am in my walk with the Lord. I now have a great reference for going through the Psalms and if I ever want a specific topic can look on that list instead of actually searching through them. I was quite encouraged by it!
The sermon was done by a guest preacher because the Pastor is out of town on vacation. The preacher did a wonderful exhortation using John 15: 1-17. He talked about some verses from that scripture that are taken out of context. But mainly he wanted to talk about how to remain in Jesus and what our ultimate reason for existence is. The guest preacher last week had already told us our reason for existing was to Glorify God. And this weeks preacher reiterated that.
How do we Glorify God? By having a fruitful life. vs. 8 (Galatians 5:22,23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law.)
How do we have fruit? Through Remaining in Jesus vs.4
Can we have fruit with out Jesus? No vs. 4
Good news though! Producing fruit is a natural part of being in Christ. It's not something you have to work towards.
So...how do we remain in Jesus? I'll tell you.
First you need to know that Jesus loves us as much as the Father loves him. vs. 9
We remain in his love when we obey his commands.
What's his command? Love one another as he has loved us! vs. 12
Sounds easy right? Wrong!! This may be the hardest thing a human has to do!
How did Christ love us? By laying his life down for us!
Is Christ asking us to literally die? No. But he is asking that every day we sacrifice our own desires for those around us.
What a sermon! It was perfect for me! One of my favorite things he said was that Jesus' command was not: read your bible every day, pray for an hour every day, go to church every week (or multiple times a week depending on your church), etc. His command is to love one another, lay down your own desires for the desires of those around you. Is it beneficial to read the word and pray every day, and go to church? Yes! Are you a bad Christian for not? No!
What a relief! This is something John's been trying to get in my head for a while - sorry babe. For some reason it clicked better this way. This must be one of the freedoms in Christ that people are always talking about.
Now the hard part...laying down my life. I'm one of the most selfish and lazy people you'll ever meet. Pray for me.
Showing posts with label Church. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Church. Show all posts
Sunday, August 1, 2010
Monday, October 5, 2009
Whew! Part 2
Saturday morning John went to the store to pick some things up and I cooked and cleaned. We were preparing for a visit from our friends from TX. The Salerno Family moved on the same weekend we did to a town two hours south of us. They got here around 12:30 and we went outside. The men grilled the hot dogs while the moms watched the kids play on the playgroung. Since hot dogs don't take too long to grill, the kids didn't get to play very long, but I honestly don't think they cared.
After lunch with them we hung out for a bit and then went back outside where everyone but the moms played tennis for a bit. My child and the youngest Salerno felt like coming in before everyone else, so I brought them in. The Roys and Salernos hung out for a few more hours and then they made the long treck home.
Saturday night it was John's turn to go to a movie with friends. I stayed home with the boy. The weekend had been so exhausting so I enjoyed just chilling the rest of the night. Malachi and I watched part of a move before he went to bed. John came home and we vegged the rest of the night 'til I fell asleep (around 10:30 - early, but so needed).
Sunday was normal I guess. Church, Chipotle, nap, Volleyball, and dinner. We had a lot of fun at dinner though because a bunch of us hung out at the grill. It was dark and a bit chilly, so I don't know how many more dinners will be out there. It's a nice area though, so it'll be nice to do it again in the spring.
Today was my first Life Group meeting for our church. I might have singed up for a few (Moms, Womens, Meals, Explore DC, and 2:42 (just eating and fellowshipping)). It sounds like a lot, but all of those are maybe once a month, except Moms which is every other week, and Meals is just on a need basis no meetings as far as I know.
So anyway, today I started the Mom's Group. There were a lot more people there than I expected. We had nine moms including me and the two leaders. Malachi was the second to oldest and there were a ton of babies and toddlers. We had a day mostly of just chatting, getting to know each other and then introductions. We're going to read The Power of the Praying Parent by Stormie O'Martian. I look forward to much insight into the power I have as a parent, and how to use it.
On tonights docket: shopping and dinner.
After lunch with them we hung out for a bit and then went back outside where everyone but the moms played tennis for a bit. My child and the youngest Salerno felt like coming in before everyone else, so I brought them in. The Roys and Salernos hung out for a few more hours and then they made the long treck home.
Saturday night it was John's turn to go to a movie with friends. I stayed home with the boy. The weekend had been so exhausting so I enjoyed just chilling the rest of the night. Malachi and I watched part of a move before he went to bed. John came home and we vegged the rest of the night 'til I fell asleep (around 10:30 - early, but so needed).
Sunday was normal I guess. Church, Chipotle, nap, Volleyball, and dinner. We had a lot of fun at dinner though because a bunch of us hung out at the grill. It was dark and a bit chilly, so I don't know how many more dinners will be out there. It's a nice area though, so it'll be nice to do it again in the spring.
Today was my first Life Group meeting for our church. I might have singed up for a few (Moms, Womens, Meals, Explore DC, and 2:42 (just eating and fellowshipping)). It sounds like a lot, but all of those are maybe once a month, except Moms which is every other week, and Meals is just on a need basis no meetings as far as I know.
So anyway, today I started the Mom's Group. There were a lot more people there than I expected. We had nine moms including me and the two leaders. Malachi was the second to oldest and there were a ton of babies and toddlers. We had a day mostly of just chatting, getting to know each other and then introductions. We're going to read The Power of the Praying Parent by Stormie O'Martian. I look forward to much insight into the power I have as a parent, and how to use it.
On tonights docket: shopping and dinner.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
New Church?
We may have found a church to call home for the next few months. It's been very hard for us the last seven months. Leaving our church in Dallas was heart breaking for me. I learned so much about God and myself there, I learned how to love others - especially my girls. Oh how I miss y'all! I met some of my best ever friends there.
The worship and the preaching there are amazing. Every church we go to from now on has a lot to live up to, so searching for a church is very difficult. Finally we decided we had to go out - church is so necessary. Even if we didn't like where we were going, at least we could say we tried.
So today we ventured to Arlington VA (really, really close to downtown) to attend Capital Life Church. We recognized the name of the Pastor, Bill Shuler, but couldn't figure out why - we still haven't. We dropped Malachi off at his class. He's so amazing - our son. We dropped him off with no problems. He's such a blessing to us.
We were making our way into the sanctuary (it actually meets at a performance theatre, but it's a great set-up) and we were stopped by the Pastor who chatted with us for a bit. He's a really nice guy. He was at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, OK for a long time. He and his family moved out to the DC area ten days before 9/11. God really used them to minister during that time and their church was born out of that. We learned that at their website yesterday, but it's interesting non the less.
Worship was great - no choir, but what can you do. ;) I really enjoyed it. The songs were Christ and Gospel centered and it was such a blessing to be singing worship to my Lord. The Pastor's wife, Lisa, did announcements this week (apparently they're normally done by video, but the leadership were all on retreat this weekend) and when she talked about the church - how it's a family, and the church's goals are to first love God and second love people I started crying. The way she was talking really reminded me of FOJ.
Bottom Line: Christ was there, the Gospel was shared, the Bible was used! This is much better than the last church we went to.
The worship and the preaching there are amazing. Every church we go to from now on has a lot to live up to, so searching for a church is very difficult. Finally we decided we had to go out - church is so necessary. Even if we didn't like where we were going, at least we could say we tried.
So today we ventured to Arlington VA (really, really close to downtown) to attend Capital Life Church. We recognized the name of the Pastor, Bill Shuler, but couldn't figure out why - we still haven't. We dropped Malachi off at his class. He's so amazing - our son. We dropped him off with no problems. He's such a blessing to us.
We were making our way into the sanctuary (it actually meets at a performance theatre, but it's a great set-up) and we were stopped by the Pastor who chatted with us for a bit. He's a really nice guy. He was at Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, OK for a long time. He and his family moved out to the DC area ten days before 9/11. God really used them to minister during that time and their church was born out of that. We learned that at their website yesterday, but it's interesting non the less.
Worship was great - no choir, but what can you do. ;) I really enjoyed it. The songs were Christ and Gospel centered and it was such a blessing to be singing worship to my Lord. The Pastor's wife, Lisa, did announcements this week (apparently they're normally done by video, but the leadership were all on retreat this weekend) and when she talked about the church - how it's a family, and the church's goals are to first love God and second love people I started crying. The way she was talking really reminded me of FOJ.
Bottom Line: Christ was there, the Gospel was shared, the Bible was used! This is much better than the last church we went to.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Minnesnowta?!
No! It's July people!!
I am in Minnesota though. We came in on Saturday for John's 10 year class reunion which was on Saturday night. He had a really good time. I was really sore from the pregnancy and a lack of good shoes. That inhibited me from having a good time. But it was fun to watch John get reunited with some of his friends from school. We met a guy who's currently living in Beijing for business. That was a good contact to make.
Sunday morning we went to our old church here, City Hill Fellowship. Most of the people didn't recognize me with out my long blond hair, but after seeing John they knew who I was. We really enjoyed our time there, reconnecting with people we haven't seen in years. The worship and the sermon were great - very refreshing after being gone from our home church in Dallas for five weeks.
Sunday night I drove to Glenwood, MN where John's parents live because Malachi was there all weekend. What a blessing!! Monday morning we drove down to my mom's house. We've been hanging out with them since (yes I realize it's only Tuesday morning).
Today we're taking Malachi to the Mall of America! I'm very, very excited about that. When I was looking up their hours I found out it's Toddler Tuesday. We'll see what events are going on for that - and Malachi gets to eat free at Chipotle today - yay! Free taco for Malachi!!
I'm really missing John - more than normal when I'm away. Wonder if hormones have anything to do with that.
I am in Minnesota though. We came in on Saturday for John's 10 year class reunion which was on Saturday night. He had a really good time. I was really sore from the pregnancy and a lack of good shoes. That inhibited me from having a good time. But it was fun to watch John get reunited with some of his friends from school. We met a guy who's currently living in Beijing for business. That was a good contact to make.
Sunday morning we went to our old church here, City Hill Fellowship. Most of the people didn't recognize me with out my long blond hair, but after seeing John they knew who I was. We really enjoyed our time there, reconnecting with people we haven't seen in years. The worship and the sermon were great - very refreshing after being gone from our home church in Dallas for five weeks.
Sunday night I drove to Glenwood, MN where John's parents live because Malachi was there all weekend. What a blessing!! Monday morning we drove down to my mom's house. We've been hanging out with them since (yes I realize it's only Tuesday morning).
Today we're taking Malachi to the Mall of America! I'm very, very excited about that. When I was looking up their hours I found out it's Toddler Tuesday. We'll see what events are going on for that - and Malachi gets to eat free at Chipotle today - yay! Free taco for Malachi!!
I'm really missing John - more than normal when I'm away. Wonder if hormones have anything to do with that.
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