I love mentors. I love the whole concept of having someone in a different season of life coming along side of you to teach you how to make your journey just a little bit better. I also love that God gives you more than one mentor for different areas in your life. I have someone that I am getting to know that I feel God is going to use to mentor me in my writing. He's given me someone that I look to on how to relate to people (because God knows I need help with that!). And one of my favorite mentors is someone God gave to me to show me how to be a strong and steadfast PRYZR.
I was talking with "Mama" yesterday and she was sharing with me about a Word she received from God for some of the women in our church. This Word (using the KC paraphrasing) was that a lot of women are needing to get ready to fight and we don't know how. They have not had to or have chosen not to stand up and fight the enemy and have relied on other people to do their fighting for them.
I confess, I didn't get this at first. I agreed with what she was saying, but I didn't really get it until about halfway through the day. Then I got it!
STAND - I love this word. Being the egghead that I am, I went to the dictionary to look up it‘s meaning. It can be a noun with the meaning "to remain stable, upright, unaltered". It can also be a verb with the definition "to engage in" or "to remain unaltered".
Ephesians 6:10-20 teaches us about the armor of God. Those of you who know it, say it with me. The helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, the sword of the Spirit, the shield of faith, the belt of truth, and the shoes that are ready from the gospel of peace. And then...wait for it...here it comes...the command from the General at HQ. “…and after you have done everything to stand. STAND FIRM.”
Get ready. The fight is on! But our instructions are simple. All we have to do is stand (remain stable, upright, and unaltered). Don't back down or run away from the fight. Face it head on. It's not going to be easy, but all we are required to do is stand. He does the rest.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Teachers
This past Sunday evening I was attending a birthday/going away party for our Pastors' 18-year-old daughter, Lacie. Lacie is leaving on Thursday for Colorado Springs to attend a one-year School of Worship. While at this fun fiesta, I was speaking with our children's worship leader regarding my daughters and worship.
The Dilemma
My youngest daughter, who just turned the ripe old age of 10 years old, has joined the worship team for our elementary kids class, G-Force. I asked Ashley, the worship leader, how Kaitlynn was doing and was given a glowing report. (On the inside, this was a big swipe of the forehead, "Whew!!" as you never know what you're going to get sometimes with Kaitlynn.) She told me Kaitlynn was taking her responsibility as a leader very seriously and it has transferred over to another area for Kaitlynn as a teacher's aide in the 2's & 3's class. Ashley told me Kaitlynn was now stepping up even more as she helped in worship for that class also, even to the point of volunteering to pray and teaching the kids to actively participate in worship.
I have to say this absolutely floored me. I have been praying for years that my daughters would become young women with hearts for worship. I tried very hard to model this attitude for them, but a lot of times for me I have a hard time shutting my brain off and letting the worship take over. Sometimes I despaired as I watched them in our family worship times as they just didn't seem to "get into it". Maybe they just knew Mommy wasn't getting it totally either.
The Aha Moment
But on this typically hot, summer evening in Chandler, Arizona, I had an "AHA" moment. I looked around at the strong young women that surrounded my daughters, Lacie, Ashley, and others, who I have watched become great worshipers with hearts sold out for God and asked myself how they got there. I knew their parents were big worshipers, but there was more to it. It seems to me as they were slowly put into situations where they had to learn to lead others to the Father's throne and this is where they learned the most about worship. It became so real to them as they learned to lead and that's when it changed from head to heart knowledge.
So many times we try to just model the way, but we don't grow the people around us up to where they can teach others. People can and do learn by example, but the majority of people need "hands on" situations to push them over the cliff. I desperately want to become a person that is consumed by my need for God, and maybe, just maybe, as I learn to teach those around me and grow them up to teach those around them, I will become that which I most desire to be.
The Dilemma
My youngest daughter, who just turned the ripe old age of 10 years old, has joined the worship team for our elementary kids class, G-Force. I asked Ashley, the worship leader, how Kaitlynn was doing and was given a glowing report. (On the inside, this was a big swipe of the forehead, "Whew!!" as you never know what you're going to get sometimes with Kaitlynn.) She told me Kaitlynn was taking her responsibility as a leader very seriously and it has transferred over to another area for Kaitlynn as a teacher's aide in the 2's & 3's class. Ashley told me Kaitlynn was now stepping up even more as she helped in worship for that class also, even to the point of volunteering to pray and teaching the kids to actively participate in worship.
I have to say this absolutely floored me. I have been praying for years that my daughters would become young women with hearts for worship. I tried very hard to model this attitude for them, but a lot of times for me I have a hard time shutting my brain off and letting the worship take over. Sometimes I despaired as I watched them in our family worship times as they just didn't seem to "get into it". Maybe they just knew Mommy wasn't getting it totally either.
The Aha Moment
But on this typically hot, summer evening in Chandler, Arizona, I had an "AHA" moment. I looked around at the strong young women that surrounded my daughters, Lacie, Ashley, and others, who I have watched become great worshipers with hearts sold out for God and asked myself how they got there. I knew their parents were big worshipers, but there was more to it. It seems to me as they were slowly put into situations where they had to learn to lead others to the Father's throne and this is where they learned the most about worship. It became so real to them as they learned to lead and that's when it changed from head to heart knowledge.
So many times we try to just model the way, but we don't grow the people around us up to where they can teach others. People can and do learn by example, but the majority of people need "hands on" situations to push them over the cliff. I desperately want to become a person that is consumed by my need for God, and maybe, just maybe, as I learn to teach those around me and grow them up to teach those around them, I will become that which I most desire to be.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Presence
Have you ever felt it? It's a feeling that someone or something is there, but you can't see it or touch it. Sometimes it comes with music like during our praise and worship or when we watch a movie or television show that really brings forth a new truth. We don't think of it in a tangible way. We think of it as exactly that, just a feeling, but it is tangible. It is real, and once you have felt it, you long for it like a hungry man who has been without food for days or a thirsty man wandering the deserts of Arizona without a drop of water in sight. It's the Presence of God.
Adam and Eve were the first humans to experience it, except they didn't just get the Presence of God. They got the real deal, God Himself, to walk with them daily. However, the person most of us think about when we think of the presence of God is the great Israelite leader, Moses. The man who got to experience the manifestation of God's presence to such a degree that a physical radiance shone so brightly on Moses' countenance that he had to cover his face with a veil. Here is the amazing thing, about Moses that I just found out this weekend. It didn't just affect his physical demeanor, it was transferred into his writings. It says in I Corinthians 3:13-18 that God gives people a veil over their eyes whenever Moses' writings are read. God's presence is still so strong in his words that God has to shield people even to this day. How absolutely AMAZING is that!!
I grew up thinking of things like Moses' face shining as a story. It happened a long time ago, but it doesn't apply to us now. I so missed one of the greatest truths of God. He is the same YESTERDAY, TODAY, and, FOREVER. If it could happen back then it could happen now. The words we speak, the songs we write, and the stories or thoughts we pen could induce the presence of God in such a huge manifestation that God would have to veil nonbeliever's eyes to protect them.
Is this something you strive for? Do you honestly say, "I want to be in the Presence of God so long and so deep that my countenance will shine"? If not, why? For me it was because I was afraid. I am somewhat of a controlling person. It's not that I'm obsessive, (my desk will attest to that), but I like to know what is happening and why, and one truth I have learned about God is that you can't control God. He will often move you out of a comfort zone so that it is clear it is Him working and not you. The hardest part for me was taking my hands off completely and saying, "I want you God, in any form, and for however long you will let me". The amazing thing is He doesn't turn you away, and He lets you linger. He lets you soak in His Presence in such a way that you never want to leave, and it's this that makes you shine.
So go ahead, soak Him up. Linger in His presence, and may His face shine upon you so you will shine upon others. May the songs you write, the stories you pen, or the words you speak, however insignificant they might feel to you, show the Presence of God so greatly that people will say you have been in the Presence of God.
Adam and Eve were the first humans to experience it, except they didn't just get the Presence of God. They got the real deal, God Himself, to walk with them daily. However, the person most of us think about when we think of the presence of God is the great Israelite leader, Moses. The man who got to experience the manifestation of God's presence to such a degree that a physical radiance shone so brightly on Moses' countenance that he had to cover his face with a veil. Here is the amazing thing, about Moses that I just found out this weekend. It didn't just affect his physical demeanor, it was transferred into his writings. It says in I Corinthians 3:13-18 that God gives people a veil over their eyes whenever Moses' writings are read. God's presence is still so strong in his words that God has to shield people even to this day. How absolutely AMAZING is that!!
I grew up thinking of things like Moses' face shining as a story. It happened a long time ago, but it doesn't apply to us now. I so missed one of the greatest truths of God. He is the same YESTERDAY, TODAY, and, FOREVER. If it could happen back then it could happen now. The words we speak, the songs we write, and the stories or thoughts we pen could induce the presence of God in such a huge manifestation that God would have to veil nonbeliever's eyes to protect them.
Is this something you strive for? Do you honestly say, "I want to be in the Presence of God so long and so deep that my countenance will shine"? If not, why? For me it was because I was afraid. I am somewhat of a controlling person. It's not that I'm obsessive, (my desk will attest to that), but I like to know what is happening and why, and one truth I have learned about God is that you can't control God. He will often move you out of a comfort zone so that it is clear it is Him working and not you. The hardest part for me was taking my hands off completely and saying, "I want you God, in any form, and for however long you will let me". The amazing thing is He doesn't turn you away, and He lets you linger. He lets you soak in His Presence in such a way that you never want to leave, and it's this that makes you shine.
So go ahead, soak Him up. Linger in His presence, and may His face shine upon you so you will shine upon others. May the songs you write, the stories you pen, or the words you speak, however insignificant they might feel to you, show the Presence of God so greatly that people will say you have been in the Presence of God.
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