Friday, August 28, 2009












The best way to make a cake is to make it with a small amount of love. That is actually the best way to make any baked good. Of course most baked goods taste absolutely amazing, but only those make with love have a lasting taste.


So, the next time you make a wonderful dish for someone special add add a little extra love.

Lack of courage.

Where has the courage gone in the local church? There is no courage or risk left in the local, small town church. All we have left are mirrored images of what was courage and strength. This mirrored image is shallow and it reflects a time that courage was needed for a certain culture. But, that culture has washed away and we are in a new time. A new place that needs a new, fresh, deep courage. This old mirrored courage is lost in the fifties, sixties, even the seventies, but it has no place for today. It has no place in a world where those past issues are past issues. So many people get lost in the issues.

They get lost in their dark passions in the streets and in the alley ways of caution. They would rather keep the individual happy rather than enhance community development. They would rather stink up the local church with despair and stagnancy than jump in the cleansing waters of risk.

These men don’t proclaim the courage they so long for. They do not capture the holiness that could be. They instead let time pass by with the sensitivity of a street whore. They grab you by the collar and tell you secrets, things that will change you if you give of yourself. Then you follow them into the sacred of places and you find cheap, quick, instant gratification. But, nothing that lasts. Nothing worth writing home about. Nothing really worth remembering. And after the short meaningless exchange you find yourself wandering about and wondering what else could be fulfilling, because what you just had was short and silly. You seek longevity. You seek something honorable and pure. Something that is worthy of your time. You seek a wedding night that is holy and worthwhile, unlike the sloppiness you find on the streets.

The church needs to stop losing itself on the streets of the world. The men need to stop throwing such grandiose words around about change and wonder, if all they do is talk. There is no courage in these men, there is no risk. They are short winded, sad tales of men who are mirrored images of what once was. And, when there time passes they will be giving the next generation a lesson of what once was. So, that the courage in these small towns will only be seen by the people who refuse to commit to this half hearted misery.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

I have never experienced a transition like this before. I have always had a hard time with transitions.

Every new beginning, every new move, every new ending takes a toll on my soul. It is almost like I go through a week or two of despair.

I don't want to get out of bed, I become extremely fatalistic, and I basically become a troll loitering under my own bridge of self pity.

Then I get into a routine and I am fine.

But, this transition was very different. It seems to be that this transition has moved through our lives in such a smooth way.

It's actually quite bizarre.

However, I think i know what has happened.

I think many men and women who find themselves following Christ find themselves in the desert. They find themselves in a dry place, an arid place, a place that almost starves their soul to death.

But in this desert they seem to come across this contemplative peace. This world that is surrounded by inner understanding. Almost and inner rest. But, this rest does not come from any thing or anyone in particular. It comes from the loneliness that they entered into the desert. This loneliness leads them into the desert and it is turned into a contemplative spirit by the power of the Holy Spirit. They find that the loneliness they had for their friends, their families, their school, their old life, has been deserted. They no longer need those things because they have found the ultimate rest in the life of Christ. Even their greatest love is faint in comparison to their life found in Christ.

Everything and everyone seems almost dispensable.

Everyone and everything are Christ's too. That is the biggest comfort. That is where the soul rests. In the reality and the truth of Christ's sovereignty. The lonely person does not have to put her worth, her value, her comfort in the things or people around her, because they will all fade away in time. However, this world and all the people in it are created and formed by Christ and therefore, are His.

I do not have to worry, or lament, or wonder about the people I love, because they have Christ and Christ has them.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

CHCH...what's missing? UR

I have come to realize that their are two existing realities in North America in regards to the church. The first reality is the church plant and the second reality is the small town church. I am choosing to ignore the stereotypes of both of these groups in this blog so that I might be able to connect the two in a healthy way.

When approaching a church planter we will find someone who is a risk taker. Someone who loves people and someone who sees a need in a certain city or town for Jesus to become renewed and relived out. We find the church planters work in teams so that they will be encouraged through the tough process. Often we have church planters who plant in towns where you could easily turn around and spit and hit another church. Church planters use technology and marketing to reach people.

When approaching a small town church we will often find earnest, seeking people who long for their friends, neighbors, and loved ones to get the big picture. We find the pastor who is a scripture teacher, a hospital visitor, and a lone ranger. Often the pastor is lonely and doesn't connect well with the congregation in regards to his own spiritual accountability. Small town churches have history with every church in the town and usually that history is not positive. The small town church is almost always behind the times in regards to technology and marketing.

So, how do we combine these two movements?

I think the reality is that church planting needs to look different in small towns. I think it is necessary and I truly believe if the church in small towns needs church planting or it will shrivel up and die. I also truly believe that the church planting world needs the small town churches or they will lose the humanity behind their movement.

I think we combine these movements by the church planting world recognizing it needs to transform into something different to meet the needs of the small church.

This needs to look like directed and intentional small groups. Small churches attract people from different towns and the church planter needs to capitalize these people and to train them to reproduce small groups in their own towns.

Through this small church have the potential to grow and church planting has the potential to attack a new challenge, and God has a chance to move.

Friday, August 21, 2009

The Move

My husband and I just moved to Christopher, Il. The church gave us a moving allowance so we decided to rent a Uhaul and buy some Uhaul boxes. My wonderful brother came down to help pack us up and on Monday, August 16th we moved.

When we showed up the previous tenants of the house we were going to rent were still living in the house. So, we stayed with a couple from the church. The next day we got the opportunity to move into our rental home. When we walked in the smell hit us first. It was a mixture of dirt, old cigarette smoke, and putridity. We walked around and noticed the 70's shag carpet, the pink toilet and bath tub and the completely dirty shower floor. Waylon saw it on my face. I was not looking forward to living in this house.

I decided to take my discouraged, disturbed spirit to WalMart to get cleaning supplies. I was cranky and my head hurt. I got the cleaning supplies and headed back to find an army of women and men from the church cleaning our house. What a blessing.

However, I was still hot, as we do not have air conditioning, so after the cleaning, the chemicals, and the unloading, I got sick. I laid on my bed in such a melo-dramatic state and lapped around in my self pity. Oh, poor me.

I made the choice to be thankful for this house. I made the choice to get up and unpack and to start making this house our transitional home.

I made the choice to put pictures on the semi clean walls, to put dishes in the semi clean cabinets, and to wear flip flops. I will not pity the blessing of a place to live.

But, I still had to make the choice, and since I have made the choice I can be content in our stinky house. My eyes have also been opened to the great blessings we have received in the last week.

First blessing; we had help cleaning and unloading our truck. We started at ten and we had the house clean and the truck unloaded by one thirty.

Second blessing; the church came together and bought us food to fill our cabinets.

Third blessing; we are receiving a washer and a dryer on Monday.

Fourth blessing; a wonderful women from the church came and took us out to dinner Tuesday night to the local pizza place.

Fifth blessing; the local pizza place.

Sixth blessing; We drove down the road for a while and found a quaint, Internet free, coffee shop. This is my recent blessing because I love coffee shops and I love coffee!

Seventh blessing; Waylon and I have gotten closer through this move.

Eighth blessing; The church.

So, all in all we have such a sense of peace and contentment in regards to where we are as a couple and as disciples of Christ. I have a hard time following Christ with Waylon, but I feel like God continues to shower us with his living water even when we are in the desert.