Monday Clean Up

Monday, Monday, Messy Monday. People dread Mondays for many reasons, most of those reasons being work related. For a stay-at-home Mom, Mondays are not any different from any day of the week, but in my case, Monday is always very messy. I have this little rule that I've made and hold tightly that states: "Mom will NOT clean anything (unless it's an emergency hazardous spill or something) on Sundays." It's a rule I have come to love. Well, I love it on Sundays, but by Monday morning, it becomes quite apparent that I took a day off. I look around at my house, dirt all over the wood floors, dishes piled on the counter, dirty laundry tossed in a pile on the bathroom floor, and it becomes very clear to me that I have a lot of catching up to do. That's what I have against Mondays. 

I used to be a very neat-freak kind of person. The kind of person who, if there was a small foreign object on the floor in front of the television, I would have to move it before I could focus on what I was watching. I used to wash each dish before it had touched the countertop for less than 5 seconds. But then I got married. Jarrod means well, he really does, but let's just say we have different standards of cleanliness. And then I had kids. Two boys to be exact. Let's just say I have had to do a lot of adjusting to what my idea of clean is. Jarrod's very wise Grandmother has a saying that her house is "Clean enough to be healthy, dirty enough to be happy." I have put my insatiable desire for cleanliness aside and now choose (or make myself) live by that motto. Seriously, life is no fun if you're constantly worried about the mess. Life is messy. Kids are messy. Especially boy kids. Many of you Moms (and Dads) out there know what I'm talking about- it's like your kids are in a room alone for 2 minutes and it goes from organized to chaos. They're like locusts, I tell you. Going from one room to the next to seek and destroy. They're like enemies of tidiness, assassins of orderliness. I am now to the point in my life where I can roll with the tide of the constant mess and deal with it with the "help" of my children... but then all Mom's know that the "help" kids give cleaning the house often makes it worse- but they are giving their best effort and learning in the process, so we sigh as they, while sweeping, knock over a potted plant with the end of the broom and as the dirt crashes to the floor we count to 10 and say, "That's ok...accidents happen..."<sigh>.


I woke up this morning to what looked like a tornadic event in my great room and realized what I was going to be doing today. Silas, age 4, was outside on the front porch making a "campsite" (i.e. another mess for later). He asked me to pleeeeease come out and play camping with him. I said, "Honey, Mommy has a giant mess to clean up in here." And he said "You don't have to clean it up, just leave it there." The thought did cross my mind. What would happen if I just left it there. Pots, pans, dishes, silverware on the counter. Dirt, dead ladybugs on the floor. Toothpaste goo in the sink in the bathroom. A heaping pile of shoes that were casually kicked off to the side of the front door last night. I am ok with ignoring things like that on Sunday, but I can't let it go for too long. It's just part of me, part of what I see as my job as a mother and wife- to make sure that my house is tidy. So I said, "Silas, I just can't walk past this any longer. It has to be cleaned up. Now. As soon as I'm done, I will come out and play with you, but right now, I have to deal with this."


As I was cleaning, I was thinking and praying. Our hearts are a lot like a house, in fact, our bodies are a home for the Holy Spirit of God. All it takes is one moment to fall back into a sin or destructive behavior. Just like I take a break from cleaning on Sundays, sometimes we take a break from being vigilant against the enemy. We put our guard down- we watch that extremely violent movie filled with filthy language, we go ahead and do whatever it is we do- "just this once won't hurt". But it does hurt. We accumulate sin and we hoard thoughts that are not of our own creation but that of Satan. We cling to our stubbornness, pride, anger, judgmental attitudes, addictions- and then we reach a breaking point, sort of like my Monday mornings. We look around and we don't even recognize the environments of our hearts. And then the clean up begins. We have to deal with the mess.

 When you take a break from cleaning, as I've learned, the work is doubly hard the next day. Kind of like vacation laundry. Isn't that the worst? You have all these great memories and feel relaxed on your ride home from the beach and then it hits you and strikes fear into your heart- VACATION  LAUNDRY!!! NOOOO!!!! Sometimes the mess sneaks up on you and you're caught off guard. Sometimes, you have known it was there in the cobwebbed shadows of your heart and you just chose to ignore it. Some of us just have a few areas we're working on right now and we're being really diligent to change by the power of the Holy Spirit working in us and with us. Others have a Monday-sized mess to deal with. But the best part of a messy heart is that we don't have to do all the work- it has already been done for us. Jesus put sin to death once and for all when He took up the cross and sacrificed Himself for us. All we have to do is ask for help. He knows what messes are lurking within us and wants to be the master organizer of it all. Some of the cleaning process is painful and we have things we don't want to let go of. But He promises greater things to replace those sins we're gripping. 

So today, think about the state of your heart. Is it a mess? Have you let some things slip by, seemingly unnoticed? What areas do you feel that you need to ask Jesus to help you tackle first? He knows a thing or two about cleaning up...just take a look at the scriptures below and see for yourself. As you meditate on them, I pray that God begins to stir up your heart and that you might turn over all your junk to Him. He loves you as you are, but wants you to be the person He has in mind.


I always tend to think in songs- this song is lyrically perfect regarding this topic. I have loved it for years (it's an older song) Give it a listen if you have a chance. 


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpkBOqoRz-g&feature=related

Hebrews 10:22
Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.


Luke 6:45
The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.

Romans 12:2
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

Psalm 32:3-5
When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD"—and you forgave the guilt of my sin.

Hebrews 12:1
Therefore ... let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress...

Psalm 51:10
Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.

Worship Matters: Part 1

I have been reading THE best book about Worship Leading that I've ever encountered, called Worship Matters by Bob Kauflin. My next few blog posts will be sharing what I have learned from his book. Some of it is direct quotation, some of it is my summary or what applied to me in particular. I hope that everyone, worship leader or not, can gain some valuable insight from what I share.  Even if you are not a musical worship leader, you are still leading worship on a daily basis in every single action, every single thought, every single emotion that you display. People are watching. We all need to realize that every believer is a "worship leader" to everyone within their sphere of influence. I love the quote- "Lead worship at all times; when necessary, use music." So in all that we do and with all that we are, let's lead worship today and let's start thinking about what makes a good worship leader.


Why Worship Matters- Chapter 1 Insights

Worship matters to God because He is the one ultimately worthy of all worship. It matters to us because worshiping God is the reason for which we were created. And it matters to every worship leader, because we have no greater privilege than leading others to encounter the greatness of God. That's why it's important to think carefully about what we do and why we do it. And if you don't feel adequate for the task, you're in the perfect place for God to use you.

Lives Under Construction

My husband, Jarrod, and I have been completely engulfed in home construction over the past 5 years. We bought our beautiful, wooded property 10 years ago and had a small house built that we knew we would be able to add on to later. Prior to the birth of our first son, Silas, we knew the time had come to add on to the house. With a limited budget due to the fact that I had stopped working to be a stay-at-home mom, we knew we would have to take on a lot of the work ourselves. So, we rolled up our sleeves and got to work. We devised our grand home plans and thought it would be a piece of cake to carry them out. We hired a builder to do all of the foundation and structural work, but then it was our turn. We had to learn how to do everything else: plumbing, wiring, insulating, drywall, metal roofing, siding, window and door installation, flooring installation, kitchen installation…you name it, we learned it! We had two children during all of this, plus Jarrod worked full-time! I  tell you all of this not to pat ourselves on the back, but to say that prior to actually beginning the work, neither of us had done more than put together a wooden bookshelf out of  a box from Wal Mart- and we HAD to use the directions just to do that!  

What we took on, looking back, was nearly impossible. But we were determined and willing. We learned a lot of things as we built our house. Jarrod quickly picked up a lot of skills (and new tools!) I learned about hard work and sacrifice, patience and teamwork. When we have a calling in our life to do something, though we may feel completely unprepared, after going through the process of learning and doing, we become qualified. But we have to be willing and we have to jump in and give it everything we've got.  In the same way, in our relationship with Jesus, when we first devote our lives to Him, we think it's going to be simple and are eager to begin. But  challenges come and we begin to doubt whether or not we have what it takes. But Jesus sees something in us that we don't see- He knows that we can do it! By the power of the Holy Spirit, we can carry His message, we can live out a life that pleases Him, we can love others. He's not expecting instant perfection any more than Jarrod and I expected our house to be finished instantly (although that would have been nice). He expects us to simply follow Him, and He will give us the endurance, patience, and power we need. 

Slaves or Sons

Our Small Group is reading the book "Forgotten God" by Francis Chan. It is really amazing. A life-changing book for sure. I think all of us in our group can agree that the book, which we had been reading during Matt Johnson's series on the Holy Spirit at LCC, really opened our eyes to the fact that we do tend to ignore the Holy Spirit. Some of us even had wrong ideas of Who the Holy Spirit is and what His plans are for our lives. I can say over the last 8 weeks of our study and the LCC series, I have sat week after week and watched and listened to my dear friends change and grow. I know I have grown too. 


One of the parts of our study for last night's meeting was discussing the concepts of slaves and sons. 


Romans 8:15 says:
For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”


This verse is just full of good stuff. In it, we see that upon receiving Christ as Savior, we are welcomed into the family of God- we belong to Him, no longer slaves to ourselves or the sins of the world. The differences between slaves and sons are so significant:  Slaves feel mistreated and unworthy of living to their full potential. Sons are treated with benevolence and look forward to a full, productive future. Slaves have no confidence in approaching their master. Sons can approach their fathers with confidence, knowing that their best interest will be considered. Slaves feel trapped and continue on day after day, never working to their full potential- just doing enough to get by or stay alive. Sons have freedom and thrive in that freedom- looking forward to each new day as a chance to explore, to do more, and enjoy life. 


We discussed all of this last night. It's awesome to think that by the power of the Holy Spirit, and through the shed blood of Jesus, we can be free sons and daughters of God. Before knowing Christ, people are in such bondage. They plod trough their days addicted to self and unlimited sins,  just trying to survive- unconfident, uncertain of the future, not recognizing their worth. After coming to Christ and living in His power (the same Spirit that raised Him from the dead lives in us, by the way), we have the freedom, the empowerment, and the motivation we need to live a full life, satisfied in the love of the King of kings. 


We are truly children of the Most High God. Sometimes we forget as Christians though. We forget WHOSE we are. This past Sunday, leading worship, I felt really strongly that people needed to be reminded of this and we sang 3 simple words, over and over " WE ARE YOURS". We do belong to Him. He has adopted us in and we have every right and privilege to approach Him with boldness and confidence, knowing that everything we bring to Him will be treated with benevolence and mercy. So today, may we all remember that we belong to Him. We are no longer slaves to anything but His love and glory. He wants us to thrive and be free!


 Lord, thank you for making a way for us. We do not deserve to be called your children, and yet You are so merciful that You wouldn't have it any other way. You want us to be confident in our salvation and in our relationship with You. Help us to remember that we are Yours forever and You are forever our God. Fill us with boldness- let our hearts beat as Yours today- we want to care about the things You care about and love the people You love in this world. Thank You for freedom- we accept it as a gift and embrace it completely. Amen. 

Big Problems, Bigger Worship

I posted part of this on Facebook on a Devotional page, but wanted to share it here too.


I am reading the book " Facedown" by Matt Redman for the 4th or 5th time. It's an awesome, short little book. I highly recommend it. Anyway, in the book, Matt says, "Time after time the book of Isaiah reminds us of the uniqueness of God:" I will not give my glory to another (42:8). "I am the first and I am the last;apart from me there is no God" (44:6). "To whom will you compare me or count me equal?" (46:5). "I am God, and there is no other; I am God and there is none like me." (46:9). He goes on to talk about how God is so great and powerful- He does not need our worship, but He loves it when we offer it to Him.

Charles Spurgeon writes, "Do men fancy that the Lord needs banners and music, incense, and fine linen? If He did, the stars would emblazon His standard, the winds and the waves become His orchestra, ten thousand times then thousand flowers would breathe forth perfume"

Matt says, " Here is the all-sufficient creator of the universe who could get along just fine without our little contributions. And yet He rejoices and delights in every adoring response to Him."

I am going in to this Sunday with that mindset- what a privilege and honor we have to be permitted and free to worship the King of kings. And yet, Sunday after Sunday, so many of us (myself included) kind of stand there with our hands in our pockets yawning during a time that is set apart as a sacred time to corporately bring our offerings of honor and praise to God. It's time to get serious about our worship and give it with an open heart and a willing, thankful spirit. We have so much to praise Him for- we can't begin to fathom how great He is and our worship needs to reflect that, not just on Sunday, but every single day and moment. Too often we look at corporate worship times as a way to get something from God. He certainly does meet us when we gather together in His name and restores, speaks, and moves among us- but to look at worship as a bartering time "I'll worship You now, but what's in it for me?" is so far from what worship is supposed to be. And I know a lot of people are going through some tough times right now. Those tough times are the perfect time to grow your faith and enhance your worship. When we are going through rough times in life, worshiping goes against every single emotion that we're feeling. The last thing we want to do is be comforted and have hope- we want to wallow in our misery and feel sorry for ourselves. But what an opportunity! There is power in denying your selfish emotions and worshiping anyway- completely surrendering. I think that's what Hebrews 13:15 is all about:

Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.

Notice it says continually, not sometimes or when we feel like it. We are to constantly lay down, or sacrifice, our will and our desires on the altar in submission. Sacrifice is not fun. It is not pleasant. It involves a ripping, a breaking, a shattering of what you have come to know. It's easy to praise God when everything is going your way and the sun is shining. It's a sacrifice to praise Him when thankfulness is the last thing on your mind. So I encourage you today to widen your view of God and know that He's able to handle your heart with great care. He wants to help us through our trials, but more importantly, He wants us to respond to Him in the midst of them- to come to Him without an agenda and simply love Him for who He is- not for what we can gain. Only when we approach Him with unhindered hearts and motives that are not self-seeking will He truly begin to work in our situations. He doesn't need the songs we sing. He doesn't require an ego boost by our praises and thanks. He is God. He needs nothing. But He loves when we turn our affections to Him- like a Father who gets a crayon-scribbled card bearing random letters and stick figures from his adoring toddler. It touches His heart when we offer our worship. And I believe that praising God in times of stress and despair are a huge victory for the Kingdom.

If what you have read is resonating within your heart, then take some time to apply the following prayer to your life.


God, we agree right now that we have approached worship time and time again improperly. True worship begins with You, not us. When our hearts are hurting, our focus turns inward and we lose sight of You.  So we repent and we ask that you would mercifully teach us and remind us what true worship is- a life lived in total submission and adoration of You. When we have the amazing opportunity to lift our voices, hands, and hearts to you in our various corporate settings, may we be able to look beyond our desires, troubles, and selfish dreams and only see You in all of Your glory. We want our hands to come bursting out of our pockets in praise of You and we want our mouths to "shoot forth Your praise". Show us Your glory and Your greatness, which will overshadow our problems exponentially. Let us seek You without an agenda, without any thoughts of leveraging Your glory for our needs. We just want You, God. More of You. Decrease us until all that remains is You and You alone. Let Your love change our hearts and point our feet towards the hurting world before us. We commit ourselves to You. Amen.

Worship Starts With God

This morning has been amazing. I was making my kids some of my famous cornmeal pancakes this morning, which are amazing in their own right, but not nearly as amazing as what happened while I was making the pancakes. I was talking to God and just kind of pondering our worship situation at church. If you don't know, I am the Worship Director at LCC now. I have been so blessed with an awesome team of people to work with who are growing and living out worship. Not only on Sunday morning, but everyday of the week. People are taking the songs we sing on Sunday in our congregation and are applying them- they are living them out. On the night of our first Summit worship event last month, we saw a fresh wave of God's glory sweep through our church. I have been in services in the past where people have worked hard to manufacture what happened in our church on March 6th without success. Emotional worship does not even come close to matching the power of Holy Spirit led worship, like what happened on March 6th. That day marked a massive transition in our church. It was also a giant wake up call for me. God is going to lead us on an amazing journey- I truly believe the best is yet to come. We've got to be prepared and we've got to begin taking very seriously our walk with God.

 I've really started taking my responsibility as a worship leader seriously. Because what we worship leaders do is very serious. We are leading people to the throne of God. And if we aren't personally familiar with that throne, how can we expect to lead people to it? You can't give directions to someone with any great effectiveness if you've never been to the place you're trying to direct them to. So all of this is swirling around in my head on a daily basis and I'm constantly mindful of my relationship with God- asking Him to make me the leader He wants me to be and asking for a clean heart, a pure mind, and to expand my gifts and talents.

Since the Summit, it feels like people are just getting pummeled by life- myself included. My heart has been heavy and I just couldn't shake it. Sunday at church, our Lead Pastor, Matt Johnson acknowledged it too- so many people are so burdened by legitimately awful things. And God sees that and He cares about our lives. But I also feel like He cares about our response to Him and our response to events in our lives even more. He wants our unhindered worship- in good times and bad. So this morning, I specifically asked God, "How can we worship You better at LCC?" And I truly believe in my heart that God answered and said, "Worship needs to start with Me." And I thought...well, it already does start with Him. That's what we do week in and week out is sing about Him. He's the reason we're doing what we're doing. But then in like a milllisecond it all just hit me- it isn't entirely true. I think we, myself included, have the best of intentions in our worship, but really we're getting it all wrong. We're starting with ourselves. We're singing songs about me and how I feel and how God is changing me. And there's nothing wrong with singing songs that remind us of our relationship or our place in the Kingdom. Don't get me wrong. But starting with an attitude of "how is worship going to make me feel today? What is God going to do for me today? What can I gain today? How is God going to change me today?",  I think is a faulty place to start. I have always considered this and believed it, but it's time to start living it. Worship is only going to take on meaning for us and bless the heart of God when it is all about Him. So after this realization hit, I asked God, "So, what kind of song would You have us sing to You?" And the melody started up in my brain and the words started forming:

Glory and honor
Now and forever
Be to You, God

You will reign forever
You will reign forever
You are forever our God

And I was thinking..."That's it? Really? It's that simple?" And it is that simple. We try to clutter our worship with our emotions and our desires and what we want. And I'm not saying there isn't a place for those kinds of songs- but I think in order to truly be the worshiping church God wants us to be, we have to start in a place of recognizing Him for His greatness and worth first- giving Him the first fruits of our worship. Our part and needs in the whole scheme of things will then make sense to us- after we've proclaimed His holiness with no strings attached, no bonus features, kickbacks, or "what's in it for me" mentality.  Simply worshiping God for who He is will be where the power for living lies. And I think that's what is holding people back in many ways- worship is starting with them rather than God. No wonder our worship sometimes feels flat- starting with our problems, our rotten, prideful, arrogant selves is no way to approach worship. We are not worthy of  lifted hands, voices crying out in praise and adoration, bodies bowing low to the floor...we're not worth worshiping at all. But God is. So this week, I would encourage all of us to think about our intentions and our point of view when it comes to worship. Is it about you and a time when God's going to fix or do something in your life? Or is it about simply acknowledging and praising our Holy God for who He is and surrendering every aspect of our lives to Him for His use? I think if we can all begin to make this mental shift and expand our idea of God, we'll start seeing power and freedom in our lives and an igniting of passion for God that will spread like a blazing wildfire throughout our families, our towns, our region, our world. God deserves honor. May we all make His honor our highest priority. Worship must start with God.

Thirsty?

A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” (For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.”

—John 4:7-15



Have you ever been on your way home from somewhere and you realize that you are ridiculously thirsty? And you realize that you have been ridiculously thirsty for quite a while? Or maybe you just got done working out and you say to someone around you (or perhaps to yourself depending on your level of crazy that day), "I am so thirsty, I am going to drink, like, 8 glasses of water." So you head to the kitchen and pour a nice, tall, cool glass of water and chug it. And then you repeat that a couple times. And then you realize there's no way you can realistically drink 5 more glasses like you originally stated, but you're feeling refreshed in spite of that. I have done that many, many times. Especially when hiking. I married a man who is very outdoorsy. I have always been a fan of the outdoors, but this guy, Jarrod, he is the walking definition of outdoorsy. He loves to canoe, he loves to hike, loves rafting, has been on a scary kayaking trip and loved it, he loves to camp, he loves spelunking, he loves rappelling. He has taken me on trips that no novice backpacker should consider. Our first backpacking trip was in the Wind River Range in Wyoming. Anyone who knows anything about backpacking in mountains knows that this is no casual statement... backpacking in the Winds is not for the weak of heart. Or legs. Or any other body part. This mountain range is as brutal as it is beautiful. And Jarrod, my beloved Boy Scout, threw me right into the backpacking world in the Wind Rivers. No such thing as "ease into it" with this guy. No way. It was just dive in, head first, no life vest- hardcore backpacking with grizzly bears and ridiculous altitude gains. I can remember, almost as equally as I can remember the lungbusting trails we had to ascend, how amazing it was to stop at the top of the multitude of "almost there" plateaus on our upward journey for a rest and a drink. There is nothing so refreshing as being absolutely drained physically, sweat pouring, heart thumping, legs throbbing, lungs bursting and getting that cool, liquid relief. A drink. A respite from the monotony of putting one foot in front of the other. A reason to continue on to the next vista. The very substance that compels you to continue on through the rugged terrain. No water has ever tasted so good to me as the filtered water from those mountain streams did. Not so much because it was mountain fresh water, but more because of my thirst. I didn't just want some water to drink, I needed some water to drink. It was necessary. Most people are sipping pretty little umbrella drinks on their cushy vacations...not this girl. No way. I chug water from Nalgene bottles as if my life depends on it, and technically, it does.


While our life, and especially when it hangs precariously in the balance on a rigorous backpacking trip, is dependent on water, so too do our souls depend on water. But water of a different sort- the living water that is Jesus Christ. Have you ever been going about your business in life and all of a sudden you realize that you're running on fumes? You have run out of strength, have run out of ideas, have run out of the very will needed to continue plodding through your world. You've taken over your life again. You've inadvertently said to God, "I'll take over from here, thank you very much." But you can't do it on your own and the reality has come crashing down again. And then, out of seemingly no where, you hear, or feel the invitation, "Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters." (Isaiah 55:1) You realize you've been dying of soul thirst and you cry out, "O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water!" (Ps 63:1). And then the relief begins to pour in. The power and presence you need is there and there is no end of the supply in sight. He has all the relief you need.

The beauty of thirst of the soul is that a drink is only a prayer away. There is no physical effort required. You've simply got to recognize your thirst, your need for God, and then take the initiative to come to Jesus and drink your fill. Drinking is equivalent to believing, trusting, studying, taking in all that Jesus has to offer. When we realize our thirst, the relief and quenching power of Jesus is available if only we will ask. So today, may you examine your life and recognize your areas of thirst and may you drink deeply of the life that God offers and be satisfied now and forever.