Mary's Story revisited, Part Three.

Just as I want to reach out to family and friends at this joyful season with the Christmas cards I still haven't managed to send, I also want to reach out to my (oft-neglected) blog-readers.  As Christmas speeds closer, I thought you might like to reflect for a minute or two on Mary.  Two years ago, I was asked to give a sermon in the first person as Mary, costume and all!  What follows is the text from that talk (reposted from 2009, I know, totally blog-cheating)--written as if Mary was speaking.   I hope you enjoy reflecting on the birth of our Savior!  Merry Christmas!

continued...to read from the beginning, start here.

When I returned to Nazareth I knew it was time to tell my parents and Joseph (aah, good, kind Joseph...) what God had done in me. The signs of pregnancy were beginning to show. Oh Lord, how would they ever believe me?

My parents did their best to be supportive, but I am not sure if they believed me. If this baby was not God’s own (and who ever heard of that?) then their daughter (who was betrothed!) had committed a wicked sin and dishonored the entire family. Yet, they wondered how I could ever make up such a story. They summoned Joseph and when I told him—he was disgusted and heartbroken. He didn’t say so…but I could see it on his face. He left without a word. That night I cried myself into a fitful sleep. I knew Joseph would likely divorce me…oh what would I do? I waited for word from him. I tried to be strong and take heart. God was in this. He gave me the strength to cooperate with his plans.

I was so relieved when a few days later Joseph returned to say that He believed me. He had thought to divorce me quietly without accusation (such a dear man), but God revealed to him that I was telling the truth. He took me as his wife and promised to care for this holy child as his own.

I remember the day that Joseph and I went to my parents and told them we needed to go to Bethlehem, the city of our ancestor David, for the census. My mother strongly objected. She said my time was near. She was right. I knew it too. But, it was law. God would sustain me. He hadn’t forgotten the baby inside of me. And now I see that God was fulfilling the words of the prophet Micah that said the messiah would come out of Bethlehem…. God was working through the Emperor of Rome to fulfill his prophecy. There’s something to ponder, huh?

Joseph didn’t have much in the way of travel comforts—but he put me and a few belongings, and food for the journey on a donkey and we set off after a tearful goodbye with my family. 

It was a journey that took over a week. It felt like a year. I was SO uncomfortable, and had to stop often to stretch my cramping muscles and rest my aching back. Any of you who have been heavy with child can relate to how I was feeling. Joseph was kind to me…but also was hurrying us along. He wanted to get there—I think it’s something about the way God created man—always wanting to get there. So, I did my best not to slow us down too much.

It seemed like the longest journey ever. Not just physically, but emotionally. I battled thoughts of inadequacy, and worries about what would happen when we arrived. How was this all going to work out? I felt like these were crazy circumstances.  I asked God once again to help me be strong and take heart and wait on him. The pains were coming on and off…and I began to pray we would at least make it to town to find the services of a midwife and a place to have this child. Would Joseph be delivering this baby on the side of the road to Bethlehem? “Oh God, rescue me!” I prayed.

We did make it in time…but we weren’t in town long when my water broke and the pains came quicker. The place was swarming with people, every last corner of folks homes were taken with relatives and travelers, and we had to bed down in a stable-- the place where animals were kept at night. At that point I didn’t care…I just wanted to have a place off the street to have this baby. A midwife was found and some distant female relatives attended me. I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy—ah, you should have seen him—right there in the stable. Without my mother at my side. Without the comfort of home and the celebration of my family.

It wasn’t how I thought my first child’s birth would be. Certainly not. I had dreamed, as most girls did, of marrying a kind man and having lots of children. I never dreamed of this. I have to confess that I wondered if God had forgotten--in all of his Messiah-plans--to secure us a proper place for His arrival. Nothing is impossible with God. The messenger told me that. Why didn’t He remember to take care of securing someone’s guest room for us? A stable? Really? Is that where a king should be born??

But God granted me peace and my heart was filled with joy. He was here. My baby. The Messiah. God with us. And somehow that was more than enough. And He was born in a stable.

I have since come to know that there was a purpose in the stable. God wanted the world to see that this was a very different Messiah than the political king they expected. A messiah who would hang out with the lowly of society. (In fact, some of Jesus’s first visitors where a stinky, dirty group of shepherds—who weren’t intimidated to come visit us in the stable. Their story encouraged us so.) No this Messiah was not going to fit their expectations, but instead cause them to rethink most things they thought they knew. The stable was part of God’s plan from the beginning—regardless of whether I understood at the time.

I wonder if any of you are in your own stable of sorts. Circumstances that are unexpected, don’t make sense and make you wonder if God Almighty has forgotten about you? Maybe He seems silent. Your stable might be a season of heartache, or of discontent or of pain. How will you wait on the Lord? Will you trust that He is Good? That there is purpose in the stable?That there is something bigger going on? Will you ask God what it looks like in your life to be strong and take heart and wait on him?

Remember, God came to earth. As a baby. My baby. For all of us. He is with us. God with us. Immanuel. Praise be to God!

I hope this reflection on Mary encouraged you. Special thanks to Missy at It's Almost Naptime for her influence on this part of my talk.

Mary's Story revisited, Part Two.

Just as I want to reach out to family and friends at this joyful season with the Christmas cards I still haven't managed to send, I also want to reach out to my (oft-neglected) blog-readers.  As Christmas speeds closer, I thought you might like to reflect for a minute or two on Mary.  Two years ago, I was asked to give a sermon in the first person as Mary, costume and all!  What follows is the text from that talk (reposted from 2009, I know, totally blog-cheating)--written as if Mary was speaking.   I hope you enjoy reflecting on the birth of our Savior!  Merry Christmas!

(continued--the story starts here)

I knew what all this meant in my life. When my pregnancy was discovered it would appear as adultery. I would be labeled a sotah and as was our way, be asked to drink the bitter waters to determine if I was guilty or not. I had seen it happen to others—their clothes ripped to expose their skin, publicy scorned and made to be an example to others. If when she drank the bitter waters made her sick, she would be found guilty—and she would be condemned to death by stoning. Even if I was spared death, at the very least, Joseph would be legally bound to divorce me. My child would be an outsider and scorned by the villagers He would not be permitted in public assemblies. My reputation would never recover—I knew well the wagging tongues of the women in my village--and I would never marry. My child and I would be alone in the world. I would be breaking my parents hearts if they didn’t believe me…and I would be destroying Joseph’s reputation as well. If I was to defend myself and share that the child was God’s and not a man’s…I would be labeled blasphemous—perhaps the worst accusation of all.

I remember the weight of the realization that this would be costly. But when Almighty God asks you to do something…you say yes. I knew God’s faithfulness to our people in years gone by…and knew He was good. He had a plan and had somehow chosen me to play a big part in it. And I believed that He would be faithful to me.

And then came the waiting. There would be months til the child came. Days until I could know for sure this was really happening in my body. Weeks until I knew how Joseph and my family would respond.

We were no strangers to waiting—my people. We were God’s chosen people, awaiting a messiah, yet we lived under Roman rule. We were taught early on to fear the soldiers…my mom told me that whenever I heard the yells or hoofprints of Roman soldiers, I was to run and hide…cause it wasn’t unheard of for them to take a young women as their own. They did whatever they wanted and we were the ones to pay. We were oppressed and we were waiting for the messiah. Some had given up hope…it had been 400 years since God had made contact with His people and we waited to hear from Him again.I often dreamed of being one of those freed from Egypt—able to see God in the pillar of smoke and fire. At least they could see Him, and knew He was leading them and doing something. My people were waiting in silence—and nothing around us pointed to the long-awaited messiah. So we waited.

You see, waiting sounds passive. Yet it isn’t. Have you had to wait for something? Are you waiting now? Then you know…It’s active. It takes energy and perserverance. I was on a journey that I needed to be actively engaged in. I have even heard it said that waiting on God is the very work of the people of God.

So the question came to my heart—how will I wait? I remember my father quoting the scriptures. “Wait on the Lord, be strong and take heart, and wait on the Lord. So that’s how I wait…be strong and take heart. I asked God to give me strength for the journey ahead, and Hope that He was in control. I asked Him over and over again in coming months…and He was faithful. My hope was in Him.

After the initial shock wore off—I knew I needed to see my cousin Elizabeth. She is the only person who would understand what it was to be pregnant with a miracle baby. It was a five day journey. I hoped she would receive me and I would find her well. It was hard to wait to reach her and see that she truly was with child as the messenger said she was.

When I arrived… I saw her. My old, tender-hearted cousin, obviously with child!  What the messenger said was true! I happily called to her and before I even had a chance to tell her what had happened… she grasped her belly and gasped. I was afraid, “ohno! Elizabeth are you OK?” And she said with a huge smile on her weathered face, “When you greeted me, the baby in my womb leaped with joy!” She went on to proclaim that I was blessed among women and so was the baby I bore. She asked why she should be so favored that the mother of her Lord would come to her. She said I was blessed because I believed that what the Lord said to me would be accomplished. Oh Lord, thank you for this sign that nothing is impossible! My heart rejoiced and I sang out in praise to God. Elizabeth was such an encouragement to me, I decided to stay with her for the remainder of her pregnancy—about three months--to help until her baby was born. Then, I’d return to Nazareth.

It wasn’t long before it was obvious to me I was pregnant. I was so very tired, and my stomach was unsettled all the time. It was true. God had given me a baby.

to be continued tomorrow...

Mary's story revisited, Part One.

Just as I want to reach out to family and friends at this joyful season with the Christmas cards I still haven't managed to send, I also want to reach out to my (oft-neglected) blog-readers.  As Christmas speeds closer, I thought you might like to reflect for a minute or two on Mary.  Two years ago, I was asked to give a sermon in the first person as Mary, costume and all!  What follows is the text from that talk (reposted from 2009, I know, totally blog-cheating)--written as if Mary was speaking.   I hope you enjoy reflecting on the birth of our Savior!  Merry Christmas!

I am so humbled and thankful for this opportunity to share the story of the birth of my first -born son, Jesus, with you. It is my favorite story of all.  Of course, all mothers love to tell of their experiences of bringing their children into the world…I’m no exception. But this birth story is so un-ordinary.   And it doesn’t belong just to me—but to all of us.  I’ve treasured these things and pondered them in my heart and am so happy to be sharing them with you.

Even after all of these years I still can’t believe this happened to me. I was just a poor, jewish girl from an obscure village of 400 called Nazareth. I’ll never understand why God chose me to be the one.

Let me start at the beginning. I hadn’t been of marrying age very long…but was already pledged to be married to Joseph, a local carpenter. This was the first stage of marriage, and meant that although I still lived with my folks, I was legally Joseph’s wife. My parents had arranged the marriage, as was our custom. I was relatively pleased with their choice. I didn’t know him well, but I knew he was from our tribe, and from the royal line of David, and that he observed the Torah and loved God. He had a trade that would provide us a sufficient living. What more could I ask for? I knew I would easily grow to love him…just like my mother learned to love my father…and was anticipating the day when he would take me to his home and I would live as his wife.

One day during that time of betrothal--the day that forever changed my life--as I took a break from my daily chores to rest, I felt a disturbance in the air. It’s hard to describe—but the hair on my arms stood up on end and my skin tingled. I looked up and before me was a figure unlike any person I had ever seen before. He was glowing so bright I could not make out his face. He said, “Greetings favored one! The Lord is with you”.

To say I was startled and afraid was an understatement…my heart was racing, my breath was caught in my throat. Could he mean me? Favored? Then he told me not to be afraid and called me by name, Mary. When he said my name, a peace came over me—for which I’m very thankful. I’m not sure I would have been able to hear what he said next because of the pounding of my heart in my ears! But God calmed me. The messenger went on to tell me that I would be with child, and give birth to a son, and give him the name Jesus. (I remember hoping he meant eventually…but somehow knew he meant soon.)

He then went on to tell me the most overwhelming news of all—that this son will be great and will be called Son of the Most High! He will have David’s throne! And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever…His kingdom would have no end!

My mind swirled with the implications of what he was saying. I knew promises of the scriptures well enough to know he was saying that I would be giving birth to the long-awaited Messiah!

I asked him how this could be that I would be with child when I hadn’t been with any man? And then he told me I would become pregnant by the Holy Spirit! I had never heard of that before…and didn’t understand…but he spoke with such authority that I knew that what he was telling me must be true. 

As if this wasn’t enough for me to take in…He went on to tell me that my cousin Elizabeth was pregnant as well! Let me tell you, this was just as impossible as me being pregnant—as she was well past child-bearing age and had never even been able to have a child. Elizabeth had long ago given up hope on ever having a child. He said nothing is impossible with God.

In my opinion, the most surprising thing of all was yet to come. The most surprising thing was that I consented! I said, “I am the lord’s servant, may it be to me as you have said.” God gave me the strength to muster some courage and agree to this plan. As soon as I did, the messenger left me.

to be continued tomorrow...

thirty thankful days-day 21-christmas project

Every day in November I am posting something I'm thankful for, and I would love to have you join me!  Link to your thankful post below, or write about it in the comments.  Let's be thankful together!


Posting this a day late...but a splitting headache took me down yesterday.  Oh well, two thankful posts today!

I'm thankful for the Christmas Project our kids at church are doing this year.  Through partnering with a local elementary school, we learned of 32 children from that school who will not be getting Christmas presents this year, due to financial hardships.  That's not okay, and we needed to do something about it.

Now, let me tell you that one of the things we do with the kids on Sunday mornings is reward them for learning their remember-verse, bringing their Bibles, etc.  What the kids earn are little glass marbles--we call them mementos.  The kids place the mementos in a jar--working together to fill it up.  The deal is when the jar is full, they earn the chance to do something as a group for someone else.  As they do things to build their faith, they not only are blessed themselves, but they become a blessing to others.

The jar is full.  We gathered the kids and parents together this past Sunday, to reveal what project they have earned.  Each family was able to choose a envelope from our wrapped package--and inside the envelope was information on one of the kids in need, and cash with which to go shopping for that child!  They were very excited!   The kids have been instructed to use half of the money to buy them something really fun, and half of the money to buy them something practical.

I'm so thankful for this project--that we get to show kids that God sees them and God loves them.  That our kids get to experience participating in something so close to God's heart.  Our kids will be able to engage their hearts and minds as they think about what this other child needs and would want, and how to best bless them.  It's all pretty stinkin' cool...and I'm thankful.

What are you thankful for today?  Link up or comment!  Let's fill up blogland with thankfulness!

A few simple instructions for the link up:

-please link to your specific thankful post--not just your blog

-please link back to theGoodlife in your post so others can join the fun!
-feel free to grab the 30 thankful days graphic--I haven't figured out how to make it a button yet.  I'm such a techy, huh?

thirty thankful days-day 19-friday night live

Every day in November I am posting something I'm thankful for, and I would love to have you join me!  Link to your thankful post below, or write about it in the comments.  Let's be thankful together!

Small Group, Life Group, Growth Group, Home Group--I've heard them called a number of things.  A smaller group of people from church to get to know better, to "do life with", to care for, to learn together, to pray with and to serve with.  We call our group "Friday Night Live", and we've been in this group for several years.  In fact, we formed this group several years ago when we were having a rough time and needed accountability and community.  The people have changed some, but the core of the group has stayed the same.  We no longer lead the group, although we do host it at our home a bunch.

some of our group out to eat last winter

Today I am thankful for our group.  I'm thankful we can be honest with each other.  I'm thankful they pray for us.  I'm thankful for the laughs we share.  I'm thankful for the kids in our group--the babies to borrow a snuggle from, the silly toddlers who make me laugh, and the older kids who we get to watch grow and change and learn to love God.  I'm thankful that although by far the oldest, my kids get to be there and watch these littler ones...an important role and a chance to serve.  I'm thankful for the times, like last night, when we split the men and women for prayer requests.  The girl-sharing-time is always special to me.  My love for these girls grows all the time.

Is our group perfect? Nope.  Is it messy sometimes? Yep.  Do I need to talk myself into going on nights I'm tired or cranky?  Yessirree.  Is it worth it?? Absolutely.  We all need community.  We all need to be known.  We all need to give of ourselves to others.  I know I do.

I'm thankful God has allowed me the privilege of "doing life with" others...and that the others are my good friends.

What are you thankful for today?  Link up or comment!  Let's fill up blogland with thankfulness!

A few simple instructions for the link up:

-please link to your specific thankful post--not just your blog

-please link back to theGoodlife in your post so others can join the fun!
-feel free to grab the 30 thankful days graphic--I haven't figured out how to make it a button yet.  I'm such a techy, huh?

thirty thankful days-day 15-the xerox man, my hero

Every day in November I am posting something I'm thankful for, and I would love to have you join me!  Link to your thankful post below, or write about it in the comments.  Let's be thankful together!

So, many of my Facebook friends are posting thankful things each day in November.  Some of them are so deep and meaningful and profound.  They are thankful for God's grace, and their loved ones, and things like laughter and hope.  And I post about online tutorials and bathroom tile.  Deeply moving, I know.  Well, here's another profound theological thankful post.  Today, I am thankful for the xerox man.

Here's the background scoop:

1)  Yesterday I was covering the church office for the whole day alone.
2)  Our copier was broken, so I needed to get the repair happening.
3)  The xerox people called no less than three times, with each time the story being different of who was coming to service our machine and when he might be coming.  The last I had heard at about 12:30 was that "Steve" was coming, probably the next day.
4)  Yet, surprisingly, "Pete" showed up at our door at almost 1:00 in the afternoon.  (right when I was supposed to leave for a meeting of course...whatever).
5)  Not long after Pete went to work on our sad copier, I heard the door chime that someone entered the building.  When I went to see who it was, I found an apparently homeless man sitting in our office lobby.  It is not unusual to have people stop by for help, and our pastor meets with each one to determine the best way to help them.  But I was alone yesterday.

(disclaimer:  In telling this story, I by no means want to disrespect this person who has apparently had some hard knocks and was obviously struggling with all sorts of things...so please take no offense.)

When I asked this man if I could help him--he asked to see a pastor.  I explained that unfortunately neither of our pastors were in today. He asked for a food basket.  I told him where the organization we partner with for food is.  He asked what our church was about anyway?  (implying we should really help people, right? ugh.)  I was able to give him a bottle of water and a bag of trail mix we had in our snack cabinet.  I said goodbye to him, and invited him back tomorrow when a pastor could meet with him.  He just sat there.  He was making me pretty uncomfortable.  I consulted with one of our pastors via text who offered to come--but he was quite a ways away at a conference.  I figured by the time he got to me, the situation would resolve.  He knew I had a meeting off-site that I was supposed to be at, and made the wise suggestion that I tell this man that I needed to leave and lock up the building as soon as the xerox man was done, so he would need to leave.  I go out to tell him, but need to wake him up first.  He had konked out on our couch.  He seemed ok with that idea, but didn't leave.  I start getting even more nervous.  I go back into our office and see that Pete the xerox guy was packed up and ready to go.  Yikes!  Our pastor had told me to leave with the xerox guy!  I looked helplessly at Pete and asked him timidly if he would mind staying until the other guy left.  He said, "Absolutely, I completely understand."  Gotta love the xerox man, right?

So Pete stayed.  He stayed when the homeless man asked to use the bathroom.  He stayed while we waited the 15 minutes or so for the man to finish using the bathroom (apparently he disrobed and washed up).  Pete was with me when our visitor finally left and walked me out as well.  Whew!  Thank you Pete.  I can't imagine how I would have felt if I was alone with this guy!  I felt uncomfortable enough as it was.  He probably was harmless, but he sure didn't seem "with it", so who know how irrationally he could behave.  I think xerox-Pete was there a good half-hour longer than he had to be.  Might have thrown off his whole schedule, I don't know.  He was a God-send.  And not just cause he fixed our copier!  I plan to commend him to his supervisors today, if I can figure out how.

So, today, I'm thankful for Pete the xerox guy, who went above and beyond yesterday.  And I'm thankful to God for the way he protects and comforts me in unexpected ways.

What are you thankful for today?  Link up or comment!  Let's fill up blogland with thankfulness!

A few simple instructions for the link up:

-please link to your specific thankful post--not just your blog

-please link back to theGoodlife in your post so others can join the fun!
-feel free to grab the 30 thankful days graphic--I haven't figured out how to make it a button yet.  I'm such a techy, huh?

thirty thankful days-day 14-online techy tutorials?

Every day in November I am posting something I'm thankful for, and I would love to have you join me!  Link to your thankful post below, or write about it in the comments.  Let's be thankful together!

I'm thankful for online tutorials today.  I know this might sound particularly mundane, but as I sit down to type this post, it's what pops to mind first.  Why?  I know you are dying to know...

It was a weird Sunday for things with buttons it seemed.  After our crazy Saturday night, we were off and running to church in the morning--arriving early enough for me to get a few last minute things done before the morning began.  I had a few things to copy--but the office copier malfunctioned and was useless for copying.  Bad day for that.  Then the projector we hook up to my computer to show our music DVD and our power point for our kids' program would not project.  Yikes!  When we finally got it projecting, my computer changed colors and everything looked kinda green.  We tried a few things and just ended up going with the greenish glow.  It was pretty funny as our storyteller talked to the kids about the three colors of yarn used in the tabernacle--and they were all green in the pictures! {smile}  And during the first song we sang, no sound for the first verse.  Ah, joy.

Anyway, let's just say I was not in the mood for my iphone to completely freeze up tonight while trying to do an update.  I didn't know iphones did that.  I mean, I pressed every button, plugged it in and out of the computer, etc. and nothing.  The screen had an apple logo with a empty bar beneath it--and I couldn't get it to go away or do anything.  I showed my hubby and he tried a few things to no avail.  I started down the thought-road of: when would I have time to get it looked at, how I might let people know I'm not getting their messages or phone calls, all the stuff I had on there that I still wanted, etc.

My phone looks like this...Pickle picked the case.  :0)

With only a little bit of panic, I googled it.  "iphone frozen" came up and I clicked it.  It took me through everything I should do and it worked!  I was able to put it into recovery mode and then restore it to a backed up copy of my own iphone data!  I know some of you could do this with one hand tied behind your back, but not me.  I usually defer to someone who knows.  And, I guess I did...but this time the someone was a kind person who thought to post a little online-tutorial.  And it saved my life!!  Well, not really, but I can imagine today being a very different day without my phone.  I guess I've come to rely on it...just a bit.

So, I guess God has been teaching me not to take things for granted these days...working bathrooms, dry carpet and functional phones--I might have ignored those blessings had I not experienced their temporary loss.

So thank you God for online tutorials, and for reminding me of my blessings.

What are you thankful for?  Link up or comment!  Let's fill up blogland with thankfulness!

A few simple instructions for the link up:

-please link to your specific thankful post--not just your blog

-please link back to theGoodlife in your post so others can join the fun!

-feel free to grab the 30 thankful days graphic--I haven't figured out how to make it a button yet.  I'm such a techy, huh?

thirty thankful days-day 10--my bosstor

Every day in November I am posting something I'm thankful for, and I would love to have you join me!  Link to your thankful post below, or write about it in the comments.  Let's be thankful together!


As I've mentioned before, I have the privilege of working as the Children's Ministry Director at our church.   It's a job I love very much.  Just about two years ago we got a new senior pastor--who is also my boss.  (Get it? boss/pastor=bosstor?  Kay, that's lame--I made that word up too-late last night when I started this post...and am leaving it cause I like to laugh at myself.)

How do I begin to describe Don?  Passionate.  A visionary.  Straightforward.  A Teacher.  Developmental.  A Leader.  Missional.  A strong communicator.  He is unlike anyone I've ever known before.  Our church has been blessed by his leadership in many ways.

But I'm not thankful on behalf of my church today, I'm thankful for Don's impact on my life in particular.  I have never had a boss speak into my life the way he does, and I've had some really developmental bosses.  He has great insight into people and is able to mentor people like I've never been mentored before.  He does not tread lightly, and is willing to call out things others might not.

Don and I up front at church after our VBX  (hence the green T-shirt)

Last night we spent a few hours talking about me...about what he sees I'm good at. And about what I'm not good at.  He asked me to get over not being good at certain things (working on it...), and to stop trying to do them.  He doesn't want me spending my energy in those ways.  He is able to tell me what type of leader I am, and how that positively impacts our team and our church.  I can't say I completely get everything he said to me last night...It always takes me a while to wrap my mind around it, but I have a feeling he's pretty dead-on.  When I came home, my hubby and I processed, and he seems to agree with the things Don and I talked about.

I am growing and changing under Don's guidance, not only from his teaching, but particularly under his mentorship.    He names my gifts and strengths very specifically, which is extremely affirming.  And he also names the things holding me back, which are sometimes hard to hear--but which I believe is an even bigger investment in me.  God is using Don to help me look at myself in ways I probably wouldn't have. And for these reasons, I'm thankful for Don, my boss and my pastor (my bosster? heh heh) today.

Who would have thought I could still have so much to learn about myself at age halfway-to-ninety??  I'm thankful I'm not done yet...

What are you thankful for?  Link up or comment!  Let's fill up blogland with thankfulness!

A few simple instructions for the link up:

-please link to your specific thankful post--not just your blog

-please link back to theGoodlife in your post so others can join the fun!
-feel free to grab the 30 thankful days graphic--I haven't figured out how to make it a button yet.  I'm such a techy, huh?

thirty thankful days-day 7-a tissue paper bouquet

Every day in November I am posting something I'm thankful for, and I would love to have you join me!  Link to your thankful post below, or write about it in the comments.  Let's be thankful together!


Yesterday was my birthday, and it was a lovely day.  I'm thankful today for one of my sweet birthday surprises--a whole bouquet of tissue paper flowers.

My dear friend Tamara, who also is part of our children's ministry team, coordinated the kids to each make me a flower.  They individually presented them to me with a hug.  On each flower is a paper leaf where they wrote a little birthday note to me.  Isn't that sweet?

some of the kiddos bringing me flowers

It was nice to be remembered, but what I'm really thankful for is what those flowers represent.  Each one represents a child that God has brought into my life, a child who God loves and who I get to love too.  Each crinkly, colorful stem represents a young person that I get to witness grow in their faith and love for God.  What a privilege!

One of my favorite messages was written by a six-year-old and reads, "Mrs Dawn, you keep on telling me my favorite story."  Yes, Thomas, I do.  And I will keep telling you it--it's the story of how much God loves you.

I also received a lovely card, which included an acronym from my name.  As Tamara read it out loud to me in front of the group, she got all choked up.  So, of course,  I choked up.  Crying on my birthday--good times!  Actually, it was a precious moment and I will treasure my giant card and my paper flowers--and thank God for the honor of walking alongside these precious ones on their faith journey.

Yes, I'm thankful today for a tissue paper bouquet.

What are you thankful for?  Link up or comment!  Let's fill up blogland with thankfulness!

A few simple instructions for the link up:

-please link to your specific thankful post--not just your blog

-please link back to theGoodlife in your post so others can join the fun!
-feel free to grab the 30 thankful days graphic--I haven't figured out how to make it a button yet.  I'm such a techy, huh?

thirty thankful days!

It's November!

I don't know about you, but my October pretty much flew by.  We have had no shortage of craziness and inconveniences around here.  Oh, and busyness.  And emotions too.  There have been plenty of them as well.

When life gets like that, I can lose my perspective.  I can get a little overwhelmed, and perhaps more than a little focused on the wrong things. I have found, however, that nothing helps me regain perspective like being grateful.  And since November is the month of Thanksgiving, I decided to copy an idea my mom and others posted on facebook and plan to post something to be thankful for each day this month.  (It might also help me get back to a regular blogging schedule too, but it's mostly about being grateful.)

Would you like to join me?  I'll post a link-up each day starting tomorrow for those of you with a blog, and if you don't blog, feel free to leave your thankful post in the comments.  It will be fun!  Feel free to join everyday or just once or twice.  I look forward to reading what you are thankful for!

Today, I am thankful for my coworkers at church where I work as Children's Ministry Director.  We spent most of the day together today--working through the results of the "Style of Influence" inventories we each completed.  We learned a lot about how God has wired each of us, and how best to work together as a team.  It was interesting and helpful.  I am truly grateful for each of the wonderful folks I get to work with each day, and the way God has put us--each with our gifts, strengths and limitations--together to serve Him.

our church staff on a drive up pike's peak:
Gail, Katie, me, Erik, Don, Peter

I do not take for granted that I like my coworkers, and I like them a whole lot.  I learn from each of them regularly.  We laugh a ton.  We respect each other and trust each other.  What a blessing to be part of a team like that.  God uses each of them in my life--and I thank Him today for Don, Erik, Peter, Gail & Katie.

What are you thankful for?  Link up coming tomorrow--please join in!

The Church has left the building...

What if we stopped talking about it and finally just got to doing it??

That was the question we answered as a church yesterday on our first ever "Be the Church" Sunday.

Yesterday, there were no church services in our building.  Rather 450 of us served at 18 projects around our city!  So cool, huh?

We were able to meet needs at a few food pantries, some thrift shops, some schools, a large rescue mission, a soup kitchen, the Salvation Army, a few retirement homes and some city parks.  We sorted, labeled, painted, prepared food, roofed, landscaped, picked up trash, listened, hugged, swept, and pulled up carpet in the name of Jesus.  We let people know in a tangible way that God sees them and loves them.

Last fall, our church had a white envelope project in which we gave money away.  Last Sunday we were handed white envelopes again, but this time they didn't contain cash--but rather a service assignment. We were to report to that assignment yesterday morning rather than coming to church.   Everyone was quite excited and embraced the idea.

Not everyone would have chosen the assignment they were given.  Some had passion for different areas. Some were in their element, some were out of their comfort zone.  We put all of that aside and just did it.

My family ready to go!  Aren't they cute?

Our family had a pretty comfortable assignment--we were assigned with 11 others to a local ARC thrift shop.  We shelved a lot of books, put many items out for sale, swept a lot of floors, cleaned, and straightened/hung a ton of clothes.  I think the most important thing we did was encourage the manager at our shop.  She couldn't say enough about how much work we saved her...and what a big help that was.  It was EASY, when working together, to make a big difference there...even if just in her heart.

Bubba returning book bins after we emptied them.

Dave doing his thing  (which means I'm not sure what he is doing right there...)

Pickle working in the accessories department--how appropriate!

I found something I should consider buying...heehee.

more of our group at another site.  they were doing the sweaty kind of work... :0)

We ended the day with a celebration service and dinner together as a church family.   Let me tell you, the energy was palpable.  We worked hard, were pretty tired--but absolutely energized by serving in Jesus' name.

I had several requests after the service (I'm on staff at church) that we do this every year, every quarter, even every month!  And maybe we will do it again one day.  But that wasn't the point, at least not from my perspective.  In my opinion, the point was that we all did it.  We all served.  We got to experience how relatively easy it is to give some time and energy, how big the need is, how big the impact is on hearts when they learn that God sees them.  We stopped talking about it and just did it.  We got to be the hands and feet of Jesus, and it felt good.  My hope is that this experience was a catalyst to much more service to our city by individuals, families, and life groups.  My hope is that our city is transformed by the love of Christ--and that we are all part of it.  Because, honestly, we are called to be.

Let me encourage you that you don't need your church to hold an event like this to get out into your community.  Pick an organization and call them--see what they need and if there is any way you could meet that need.  That's all there is to it.  Push aside the thoughts (I know them well) of finding the ideal setting to serve, your impossible family schedule, your concerns about your abilities.  Don't wait until your life calms down, or your kids get older, or move out,  or you feel ready.  Don't wait for some audible word from God--we already know what is close to His heart.  

This is my family's challenge now.  So now what?  How will we serve next?  It doesn't have to be perfect, we just need to do it.  If your family is serving your community...I'd love to hear about it!  And I'll let all you bloggies know what next step our family takes.