Today is Ground Hogs day, and it looks like six more weeks of winter. Winter, how does winter play an incredible role in our lives? We all have seasons in our lives and I wonder if some seasons hang on a little longer, like Winter?
The past few days I found out that my father passed away, and then drove from our new home in Ankeny IA to MI. I have spent some time with Virginia, my dad’s wife. She has been wonderful and I hope you will join me in praying for her. Nevertheless I am trying to find my place, my voice, how I should feel. I did not know dad very well as sometimes is the case with divorce. So I am here listening to stories from friends about dad that I have not heard. These are not my stories I have about dad but these are the stories that I can add to my stories to help make this trip complete.
Winter can be cruel; it can bring storms, bad roads, and extreme cold. Yet, underneath all of this winter, the ground is preparing to make its grand opening of Spring. Flowers, grass and all the wonderful feelings that Spring brings, only when it is time. Winter is not just about the cold, and what appears to be departed. It is about what is underneath that is ready to grow. What is in my heart that is ready to grow after this winter season?
Today is Ground Hogs day, and like the movie I have a great opportunity to live today, in the present, not in the past and watch how God brings his Presence in the Winter to bring Spring to my heart. Let’s pray for each other today. God will bring our Spring.
Hebrews 13:5 (The Message)
5-6Don't be obsessed with getting more material things. Be relaxed with what you have. Since God assured us, "I'll never let you down, never walk off and leave you," we can boldly quote,
God is there, ready to help;
I'm fearless no matter what.
Who or what can get to me?
Thoughts I am thinking today, happy ground hogs day.
Ground Hogs Day
Top 10 Ways To Spice up your Thanksgiving.
From the student magazine Horizon; D6 Curriculum Sept-Nov. 2009
10. Refer to every dish as “Spam-tastic!”
9. Have everyone in the family say one thing he or she is thankful for that rhymes with “orange.”
8. Address everyone as “Squanto.” [“Could you pass the potatoes, Squanto?”]
7. Create your own Thanksgiving Day Parade by lining up all of your pets, walking down the street, and yelling “Happy Thanksgiving Regis!”
6. Let the youngest kids play a game with the turkey: Catch it, Kill it, and Consume it.
5. Hollow out the inside of the turkey, fill it with candy, and yell “Surprise!” when someone cuts into it.
4. Try to out eat John Madden.
3 Create a memorable dessert by replacing the ice cream with frozen mayonnaise.
2. Three words; Easy-Bake Oven.
1. Turn off football, turn on Lifetime, and hide the remote.
CrossPoint's Launch
“Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”
Acts 2:46-47
CrossPoint Church is preparing to launch Sunday Celebration gatherings that will encourage people in their crosspoint to connect to Christ, cultivate relationships, and build transformational communities.
Sunday September 20, we will have a celebration service with a message from Arnie Ferguson lead pastor and Jason Raymond the ministries development coordinator on “Plastic Jesus”. They will not only speak about how Jesus may have become plastic in our lives, but will share about upcoming ministries and the opportunity to build community in small group at CrossPoint Church.
Cultivating Relationships is an important part of building a faith community and CrossPoint Church does not want to launch weekly celebration gatherings to soon. This Sunday CrossPoint will be launching the Acts 2:46-47 life groups and continue their monthly Celebration Gatherings at the Springwood 9 Theaters. Building community through cultivating relationships is a non- negotiable with Arnie and Lynda as they feel this is what the Lord has challenged them within their own personal lives.
Arnie & Lynda want to encourage everyone to come and celebrate a Jesus that is not plastic, but is real and life giving.
See you Sunday
People Don’t Change, God Changes People
Nehemiah 4
Can you imagine as Nehemiah begins working on the walls, getting buy in from the Israelites, everyone working and then someone comes and begins to critique the work. Making a big deal and even threatening to stop the work and even hurt people in the process.
Things don’t change much after thousands of years. We still have those around that find great pleasure in trying to stop people from reaching their hopes and dreams. What a picture of strength from Nehemiah. This must have been a great encouragement to those working alongside of him. Moreover, he does not stop with just the prayer, he puts a strategy together to protect those who have partnered with him to rebuild the walls and continue the work of rebuilding the walls.
My prayer is the each of us encourages one another like Nehemiah as we all reach for the hopes and dreams God has placed in our hearts. Your Hope may be someone else’s Hope.
Bringing Hope Home
Nehemiah is a great journal to read through for anyone looking for encouragement as we build our families, businesses, planting churches, etc.
Nehemiah begins with hearing news from home that gives him great distress. So much so that he weeps, mourned, fasted and prayed. Neh. 1:4. I began to think about the impact of his actions. These actions brought the ultimate results that we see later as he gathers a team of people to rebuild the wall.
Though the miracle is the walls being rebuilt, it begins here with the response and where it is directed to. God, what an intimate moment we are able to see.
This was Nehemiah’s CrossPoint, his moment that compels him to step up and move from the king’s palace to a place of leadership in rebuilding not only the city walls, but the hope in the hearts of his people. May each of us find the strength as Nehemiah did move towards God, as He uses us to bring hope to the hearts of those who are on their spiritual journey.
Your Story Matters
Our personal story is a powerful part of who we are. It ours, the story we have is the story we have written, and our story will define who we are. Our story can lead us in a positive direction, or a negative direction, each are in our control.
It can be changed at any time by a change in our behavior, with a split second decision or when another story collides with our story. Though our Story is ours, it is not complete until we are connected with Christ’s story.
Our Story is not unseen, Our Story Matters to the Lord, Our Story transforms when we connect with Christ, and Our Story can be a catalyst to encourage others on their journey.
Your Story Matters
Limitations Can Bring Rewarding Joy
"The marvelous richness of human experience would lose something of rewarding joy if there were no limitations to overcome.”- Helen Keller
I love this quote by Helen Keller. She has identified one of my greatest weaknesses.
It is great to move forward and to accomplish goals as we move closer to the launch of CrossPoint Church, September 20, 2009. Yet in order to move forward sometimes things just do not go as planned.
Maybe that is the plan. When things do not go as planned am I willing to look at the positive side of the unplanned event. Am I willing to look at what is God trying to show me and how this will actually springboard me into a deeper portion of God’s plan?
My CrossPoint today is to embrace the unplanned events that happen and see what God is encouraging me to see.
