Our SERVE groups arrived yesterday afternoon - 65 students & leaders from Minnesota, Michigan & Ontario, Cananda. So far, the host team has observed that this is a very willing & ready group. There is always someone around if you say, "hey, can anyone give me a hand?" or "is someone willing to...". They're great listeners & they're starting to interact with our speaker, Ryan, a bit more when he's asking for some interaction. We've had two times of worship & small groups, which have already gone splendidly. Some of the leaders have already mentioned some pretty heavy things that students are coming from - please pray for these students. If you would stereotype the typical CRC high school student, most of them would fit the mold. Dig a little deeper & we're seeing some of the fears, desires, brokenness and apathy of these students.
Please pray for us tomorrow (Monday) on the work sites for our first day!
Sunday, July 22, 2012
Sunday, July 15, 2012
SERVE
A week from now SERVE will be in full swing! Want to help? We've still got spaces to fill to help with the kitchen/food, help with some basic cleaning, setting up and cleaning up. Let me know if you're willing to help in any way! :)
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
"When the Dream Never Dies"
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When The Dream Never Dies -
(Michael Omartian & Stormie Omartian) -
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Deep in my heart was an ember of longing -
Kept warm by the flame of desire -
A dream held in secret I yearned to hold openly -
Fanned by my hope into fire -
It burned to such heat I could touch it no more -
So I put it away and then closed up the door -
Forever extinguishing all that would keep it alive -
But the dream never died -
The Lord has done this for me -
He has looked on me kindly -
He has heard all my cries -
He has given me back what I laid at His feet -
It must be God -
When the dream never dies -
Isn't it just like the Lord to invite me -
To put all my dreams in His hands -
Forever releasing the grip that once held them -
Forever surrending my plans -
And then when He's certain it's not born of men -
He calls for the fire to rekindle again -
And He asks me to know in my heart -
What's not seen with my eyes -
So the dream never dies -
The Lord has done this for me -
He has looked on me kindly -
He has heard all my cries -
He has given me back what I laid at his feet -
It must be God -
When the dream never dies -
It must be God -
When the dream never dies -
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Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Self-Denial
The true gospel is a call to self-denial. It is not a call to self-fulfillment. —John MacArthur
Matthew 16: 24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save their life[f] will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. 26 What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.
As much as I rant about the 'age of entitlement' that I see so rampant in our culture, I'm as guilty of it as the next person. I want to live out this Scripture - I want to deny myself, take up my cross and follow Christ - but I fail every single day. I am selfish. I put my own needs and desires before that of others - including my family. Deep down, though I hate to admit it, I sometime think I 'deserve' something. I think after taking care of my kids, cooking, cleaning (well, sometimes cleaning), working, etc I 'deserve' some 'me' time. I think that after being so budget conscious for years I 'deserve' to buy something nice for myself. I think that after the financial struggles we've encountered, we 'deserve' a break - some miracle to happen that wipes out our debt.
Deserve has become a 4-letter word to me. I deserve hell, plain & simple. That's it. I've earned nothing, and all that I am and all that I have is because of God's grace alone. I have started to cringe when I hear the word deserve, because I know it's so far off from what Scripture tells us. I've decided to try and never use the word again (except in the deep places of my heart when I secretly think I really do deserve something).
Instead of "I DESERVE" being the mantra of our time and culture, what if we get rid of the DE and make it an attitude of "I SERVE"? What would happen? What if I did this in my family, my ministry, my community? What if my attitude was transformed so much by the power of the Spirit in me that I could truly deny myself and SERVE Christ with all that I am?
This can only come from daily surrender to Christ through prayer. Praying for a heart that is surrendered to Christ and a willingness to serve those around me this week.
Matthew 16: 24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 25 For whoever wants to save their life[f] will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. 26 What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.
As much as I rant about the 'age of entitlement' that I see so rampant in our culture, I'm as guilty of it as the next person. I want to live out this Scripture - I want to deny myself, take up my cross and follow Christ - but I fail every single day. I am selfish. I put my own needs and desires before that of others - including my family. Deep down, though I hate to admit it, I sometime think I 'deserve' something. I think after taking care of my kids, cooking, cleaning (well, sometimes cleaning), working, etc I 'deserve' some 'me' time. I think that after being so budget conscious for years I 'deserve' to buy something nice for myself. I think that after the financial struggles we've encountered, we 'deserve' a break - some miracle to happen that wipes out our debt.
Deserve has become a 4-letter word to me. I deserve hell, plain & simple. That's it. I've earned nothing, and all that I am and all that I have is because of God's grace alone. I have started to cringe when I hear the word deserve, because I know it's so far off from what Scripture tells us. I've decided to try and never use the word again (except in the deep places of my heart when I secretly think I really do deserve something).
Instead of "I DESERVE" being the mantra of our time and culture, what if we get rid of the DE and make it an attitude of "I SERVE"? What would happen? What if I did this in my family, my ministry, my community? What if my attitude was transformed so much by the power of the Spirit in me that I could truly deny myself and SERVE Christ with all that I am?
This can only come from daily surrender to Christ through prayer. Praying for a heart that is surrendered to Christ and a willingness to serve those around me this week.
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
I knew it!
I knew we were having a girl! We have had our boy name since Isaac was born and have NO idea what to name another girl, so it had to be a girl! :)
Baby is looking good and I'm in second trimester bliss. We are blessed.
Baby is looking good and I'm in second trimester bliss. We are blessed.
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