SoStinkingCool

Deuteronomy 6:1-25, 7:9

I had the opportunity to speak at our Mom’s group this morning at Preston Trail (Moms@prestontrail).  What a sweet time I had with this group of ladies!  Here’s recap of what I shared today about how to lead your child to be a fully devoted follower of Christ.

Life as a mom is awesome!  I have loved every season of motherhood from pregnancy to bringing home my babies, from the terrific twos to the awkward middle school years, even the sometimes scary senior high school years and yes, even a few prodigal years in sprinkled in just to ensure life didn’t get too comfortable.  Every season is like a circle of it’s own, that intertwines with the next circle just around the bend creating a beautiful symmetrical cycle of concentric circles that all work together in this thing called “motherhood”.

But I confess, sometimes I’ve felt like I was just spinning in circles aimlessly and not really knowing what to do next.  As I have tried to focus on the next horizon with squinted eyes, trying to see the future and what the next “circle” would bring, I found myself many days groping in the dark for the latest “parenting” book, christian parenting magazine, listening to James Dobson talk about “Bringing Up Boys” and The Strong-Will Child or asking my mom-friends for their best advise (I didn’t have the convenience of googling a blog or reading Twitter for the best info out there).  I really am that old!

Sadly, the church we attended offered limited parenting help (I remember picking up a pamphlet from the church Narex table and was so offended by the recommendation as a young believer, to beat my child with a rod… this is not what it said, but to my untrained, un-discipled mind, I was traumatized and critical of the recommendation!

The age-old adage, I wish I knew then, what I know now has never been more true in my life as it relates to bringing up godly kids (who am I kidding… as it relates to my entire life!).  So today, I want to share with you some of the things I’ve learned along the way on this topic of raising up fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ and why and how we do ministry here for you and your family, so that you don’t have to feel like your spinning in circles, but creating concentric circles of spiritual goodness in your kids.

1. It IS all about us!

I know, I know~ we hear all the time that we’re suppose to die to self and serve and love others more than ourselves.  And as mom’s and wives, this is something that generally comes naturally to us, in fact I would say it’s part of the beautiful way God made us… to nurture, comfort, extend hospitality and compassion to those around us.  Let’s face it ladies, we make it happen and make it pretty in the process!

When it comes to the spiritual side of things however, the reverse is critical.  God wants us to stay in our circle first!  Take some time right now to read Deuteronomy 6:1-25:

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=deut%206&version=NLT

Okay, let’s break this down!

The MSG version states verse 6 this way:  Write these commandments that I’ve given you today on your hearts. Get them inside of you and then get them inside your children.  What exactly is God telling the people here through Moses?

1. V5-6   Give Him all we’ve got!  Everything!  Love Him with all of our heart, soul, strength.  Jesus added to this in Matthew 22, vs37-39, our minds and what?  To love others as ourselves.  God is telling the people you have GOT to tattoo all of me on your very hearts.  How do we do that?  Ladies.  Growing in your own faith FIRST!  Reading our Bibles,daily quiet time, active prayer life, being in a small group, having accountability, giving others permission to get in your junk and lovingly speak truth into your life.  Actively pursuing the next circle in your life, so that you can lead others.  He tells us to surround ourselves with His truths in vs 8-9… Not just to have it plastered all over our house and car, but implanted deep into our hearts to continually remind us to veer back to Him at every step.
2. Praise Him – always!  Have a heart that praises first for all the good things, big and small he has given you.  Let praise be our first expression.  Have a strict “no freak out policy”!
3. V 13Fear the Lord and serve Him only.  Have a great reverence and respect for God, allow Him to live in the rightful place in your life… NUMBER 1, not 2, 3rd …  Serve Him only, guard your hearts against idols.  This is one of those areas that I fell into without even knowing it.  I idolized my children and my relationships and placed them above God.  This is so easy to do ladies, our children steal our hearts the moment we conceive them or see them for the first time.  We give them our all; our bodies, our time, our hearts and our energy.  As we should, but they should never assume the throne of Christ in our lives.  They are not ours, they are God’s kids and we have been given the great privilege of raising them and loving them for Him.
4. V18Do what is right and good in the Lords sight.  Honor Him in all you do
5. V20-25 Share your story.  One of my favorite things to do when I was little was looking at my parents wedding album and going through my baby book.  Story is so powerful, kids want to hear about how they came to be… we all do.  If your family is like mine, this is one of our favorite past times when we all get together at the holidays or vacations… retelling stories of when we were growing up.  Now my kids ask for us to retell their stories.  Share with your children who they are… share faith stories, etc… You are your child’s greatest spiritual influencer!  We’ll unpack some practical ways to take on this daunting task down below.
6. Slow Down!  This season or “circle” that you are in right now, whether it is the circle of having an infant that keeps you up to your elbows in diapers and looking like a zombie with mascara, or the circle that I’m in now as a Grammy and empty-nester, life wisps by like a dandelion floating in the summer air.  Before we know it our baby is holding a baby.  I think Mary, Jesus mother, knew that she needed to capture as many moments as she could while she had her Son.  Listen to what Luke 2:19 says, “But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.”  Every day has a wonder factor, don’t let the duties of being a wife, mom and friend cloud out all the precious moments that today brings.

1. It’s All About Orange!

Let’s jump to verse 7 of Deut. 6.  “Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”

1. Now that you’ve tattooed your heart and are learning for yourself what it means to live for Christ daily, teach your kids.
2. What happens at home really is more important than what happens here at church.    You have in excess of 3000+ hours to influence your kiddo, the church only has on an average of 40 hours PER YEAR.  Let’s partner together!  Yellow=church, Red=home, both = Orange. Greater combine spiritual influence for a child!
3. Our goal:  not to make you busier, or to make this hard.  That’s not God’s goal either.  Our goal is to equip you to be the primary spiritual influencer of your child and to give you a strategic path in which to lead your child.
   1. Not asking you to do all things, but just one more thing.
   2. Strategic plan is a less is more, small is BIG, many mini steps.
      1. Small groups
      2. Meetings for parents of students
      3. Family celebrations:  Child D, Deeper/baptism, other milestones
      4. Shared Family Experiences:  FamJam, worship, learn and play together.  We feel like there is something different between doing something for the family vs. something with the family. (dad and motorcycles).
4. Practically spiritually influencing our children:  What does that look like?  Morning/Noon/Night (Verse7b)
   1. Wonder years (infancy to pre-k):  out of crib in am, breakfast, bathtime, walk/car ride, bedtime.  Babies and toddlers get this… Ps 8:2 says, that from the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise!  How cool is it to think that babies and toddlers are praising God?!!!  All that gibberish isn’t gibberish at all!!!
   2. Discovery years (elementary):  This is when kids really start to form their faith! Make every moment a teachable moment!  Meals, carpooling, sports, TV (share Michelle’s story), date your kids. (active listening, don’t zone out.  Brick Bible, Action Bible for boys, healthy self-image for girls… she is a princess of the King~ make sure she knows that, monthly bookmarks from TrailKids).
   3. Passion years (Middle and High School):  Fight for their hearts.  These years will challenge and sharpen you the most as a parent … begin to let go, allowing them to make decisions (date them, serve with them – studies show that students/kids who serve alongside their parents are less likely to leave their faith after they leave home, pick your battles, be a student of your child; know when they let their teen-age guard down and open their heart to you… coffee time, sporting events. Intentional relationships… other adults, small group leaders, weekly message series content on PTSM webpage)

III.  The Mother-Load!

So what’s the benefit of all this?  Deut 7:9 sums it up nicely; “Know therefore that the Lord your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands!”

As you live your life INSIDE OUT for your kids to see, as you intentionally make every moment a teachable moment, you are not just influencing your children, but your grandchildren and their grandchildren, to a thousand generations!  Those are some serious circles!

It’s not about doing everything and being everything to every person in our lives (and don’t take the pressure of a thousand generations on your shoulders), it’s really just about doing just one more thing.  

Here are some questions to ponder:

1.  Where do you struggle most:

a.  In your own spiritual development?  How are you “writing” these things   on your heart first?

b.  In your marriage?  Are you actively pursuing oneness with your hunny?

c.  Spiritually influencing your kids.  Making every moment a teachable moment.

2.  What is ONE thing you can start doing this week to begin creating concentric   circles of spiritual goodness around your family?

a.  For own spiritual growth and development?  (Daily quiet time, prayer,  accountability, small group)

b.  For your marriage?  (Praying for your husband daily, putting him ahead of the kids, date night, etc…you know what the etc is)

c.  For your kids?  (Praying over them and with them, using the weekly take- home from TrailKids and PTSM as conversation starters on godly topics,listening)

All I have to say is I love how God works!  I’m in Atlanta this week at the Orange conference (a conference for Family Ministry, KidMin, StuMin) and last night we were able to experience the more amazing time of communion and worship.  There are times when God speaks to me so clearly that I’m just brought to my knees… last night was one of those nights.  I have been a believer and a follower for almost 40 years now and I understand, believe and am so thankful for Christ’s sacrifice on the cross for me, but last night was the first time I’ve ever uttered these words:

Jesus, you shouldn’t have died for me, I’m not worth it…

Not one of us are, period.  But that’s the love He has for us.  He doesn’t care what we’ve done, what we will do, he simply loves us so much he went willingly to a brutal death on my behalf… on your behalf.  I know this, you do too, but sometimes God allows us to see and understand this with crystal clarity.

Today I was reading from Matthew 17:14-18.  The disciples tried, but failed to heal a son from demon possession… Jesus chides them for their small faith and turns around and heals the boy instantly.  The deeper part of this passage is what Jesus didn’t say~  “guys, you’ve got the engine to do this, you’re just not fueling it with the right stuff!”  Faith is the juice that empowers us to do and live a life of amazing power beyond our finite minds can comprehend.  The disciples could have healed the boy if they truly believed, but their faith was still growing and maturing.  

This week a group of us challenged each other on to pray about where God was calling us to extend compassion through serving… 1 Cor 1:5-7 says, “For in him you have been enriched in every way – in all your speaking and in all your knowledge – because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you.  Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.”  The minute you professed Jesus as Lord and Savior you were given everything you needed to live a life of fullness and faith!  

The place I fail in this most days is that I put my faith in me and forget about the jet fuel God has placed in me.  YOU have everything you need to be all that God wants you to be; a person of compassion and serving, a generous giver worshiping your Maker through the bounty he’s given you and a loving example to everyone you lock eyes with of a Savior who died for each of us.

I’m praying big, hairy, audacious prayers for each of you this week as you “continue to”… through and with the jet fuel inside you!

A few weeks ago, one of my 1st grade boys approached me with IPod in hand explaining that he had a song that would be perfect for worship in Kidtropolis.  It was before service, crazy-busy as pre-service can always be and the temptation to be drawn away by one of the 100 details that required attention at that very moment was magnetic.  But something (or Someone) urged me to take a listen.  And it was GREAT!!!

That quick 21/2 minutes of focused time with a six year old, led to him and his sister choreographing motions for the song Automatic by Stellar Kart, which we are using in December as one of our new songs for Kids Worship.

Do you know how you’re inspiring the kids in your care?  Do you realize the huge impact you’re making on the kids who enter your KidMin every single weekend?  Don’t underestimate the influence you and your team are having.  My buddy William, is  a quiet, thoughtful kid who the Holy Spirit is already working in and through for the Kingdom of God!

Here are some questions to consider:

• Are you being intentional with every element of the time you have with kids on the weekend in your programming?
• What are the outside influences that are competing for the kids in your culture/community?  Ramp-up your worship, make it loud, make it fun, make it amazing so that even the older “too-cool for school” boys can’t help but be up on their feet!
• Have you created an environment/relationship with the kids in your ministry that encourages kids to be ministers too?!  Are you creating passion in kids to share Christ even in lower elementary?
• Do the kids in your ministry see YOUR passion for God and your relationship with Christ?  Is your love for your Savior so deep that it splashes on everyone around you?

You never know the impact you’re making on the kids that are in your ministry, whether it’s through worship, teaching, doing an activity, repeating a Bible verse or hugging them in the hallways~ you are inspiring them one way or another!

“For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing.”  2 Corinthians 2:15

The smell of fresh -baked cookies, fresh laundry, the warm scent of a rose in the afternoon sun, pot roast in winter and the clean, crispness in your nostrils as you hug a child after playing outside… these are some of my favorite smells.  Smells that, just thinking about them put a smile on my face and can quickly take me back in time to precious memories.

I’ve never considered the way I smell to God~ I certainly have given Him many occasions to cover his nose, turn his head or roll his eyes at the offending odor that has drifted from my bad choices and sinful nature.  The very thought that because of Christ in me, I give off an “exquisite fragrance” to people around me and a sweet scent rising to God (those aren’t my words, that’s straight out of the MSG Bible).

It got me thinking… do I consistently give off the exquisite fragrance of Christ to everyone I lock eyes with?  Sometimes it’s hard~ but never-the-less, in Christ we are an aroma to Him and to other~

• in the car
• at the grocery store
• in the hallway at church
• in the parking lot
• at home
• doing laundry
• changing the oil
• backing up the trailer
• pouring into volunteers
• distracted

Get the idea?

One of the things about serving and being a part of a growing church is change.  As God continues to blow us away with incredible growth, multiple ministry opportunities and a diverse community we have found ourselves in a culture of extreme change.  The change has been born out of necessity, in order to create more space for the growing number of people attending every weekend in both the adult venues and in the children and student venues.  As we like to say around here, “it’s a problem, but it’s a good problem to have!”

In the last four years we have grown by about 650%, which not only affects the space issue, but also capacity and sustainability for staff members and volunteers.  Here are some thoughts about capacity and sustainability I’ve learned over the last year:

1. The bigger an organization gets, the larger the scope of care and responsibility gets.  You will find yourself working more and more hours to simply sustain the minimum duties.  Work smart, stay focused during working hours, “chunk” your time for efficiency (focus for 2-3 hours at a time, then take a short break to re-focus and refuel), recruit more high-capacity volunteers, delegate and finally champion for specialized staff hires.
2. Keep and honor clearly defined boundaries for your quiet time, family time and personal time.  Nehemiah traveled approximately four months to get to Jerusalem to fulfill the call on his life to re-build the wall surrounding his precious city, but as excited as he was to get there, assess the need and get working, the Bible says after getting there he, “stayed there three days…” (Neh. 2:11), then he went out and started to work.  He understood the need for rest, rejuvenation and refueling.  Part of this “rest” cycle for us MUST include times of stillness with our Father.  We can’t lead if we’re not being led.
3. Listen to the wise counsel of those over you in leadership.  1 Thessalonians 5:12 hits it square in the face:  “An now, friends, we ask you to honor those leaders who work so hard for you, who have been given the responsibility of urging and guiding you along in your obedience.” MSG.  Sometimes decisions will be made for your good that you initially might not understand or necessarily agree with, but trust and respect the godly leaders God has placed in your life and welcome the change as a growth experience meant to refine you to be who God original created you to be.

Change isn’t easy~ nobody really enjoys change, but here’s what God has revealed to me recently; He loves me so much and with such passion He’s not willing to allow me to be stuck.  Change when welcomed, will refine, smooth, cleanse and keep us out of the rut of mediocrity.  Man, I love the way He loves me!

Have you ever had one of those weeks where there are so many highs and lows that the line between the two gets a little foggy?  That was the week I’m putting to bed in just a few minutes.  Good night day 262, week number 37, there are things I have learned from you~

1.  The Discipline of Reticement is one of the spiritual disciplines I pray most for and get body-slammed most often because of.  I read an article a few years ago in a christian magazine about this discipline, which I can’t seem to find and to my surprise the word “reticement” isn’t even in the dictionary.  But the article named it as the discipline of keeping thine mouth shut.  “Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent, and discerning if he holds his tongue.” Prov 17:28

2.  When you’re obedient sometimes you have the joy and opportunity to see the blessing!  Today my husband had the privilege of baptizing four of our small group members!  God has truly assembled an incredible group of people who gather every week in our home for a meal, study, prayer and a tapestry of emotions.  Today was the topping on the cake!  “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved…” Mark 16:16

3.  Conversations stretch us, grow us, deflate us, ignite us and give us hope, challenge us and hopefully always make us rely on His Spirit living within us.  “…the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.”  Luke 12:12

4.  At the end of the day, I’m just a sinner saved by grace and adopted by God through the blood of Jesus Christ undeserving of this amazing, crazy love, grace, forgiveness and mercy.  “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance:  Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners – of whom I am the worst.” 1 Timothy 1:15

Good-night week 37, day 262~

The other day my daughter-in-law was re-telling a story about our three year old grandson Vance which got me thinking today.

They must have been talking about their hopeful trip to visit us at Christmas time in the car, when from the back seat V (as we call him), declared with great excitement and in grand form, “when I see Grammy at the airport, this is what I’m going to say, ‘GRAMMMMMMY,  GRAMMMMMY!!!!!’  There is no need to tell you that my heart just about burst and my face couldn’t stop smiling after hearing the retelling of this car saga.

Seating on my back patio this afternoon, enjoying a little quiet time after a great, busy, bustling weekend of Children’s Ministry, I remembered that story and once again a smile emerged onto my face and in my heart and I simply can’t wait to see V and his little sis in a couple of months.  I wondered just then about how my heavenly Father feels when I greet Him?!

Do you wonder about these things?  Or do we simply take the relationship we have (or could have) with the Maker of the universe,

the Creator of all things,

the Life-Giver~

All-powerful Sustainer… for granted?

Do you seek Him out, greet Him with child-like excitement, fall into His arms, put your head against His chest and listen to His heartbeat?  Or are we too busy to stop and spend some time with Him?  Am I excited, or does it feel like a chore, something I need to check off my list?  Do I slow down long enough to….. you fill in the blank.

The Bible says that God delights in those who love and trust Him.  He delights in us!  Ephesians 1:4 says, “…he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.”  2 Thessalonians 2:13 says, “from the beginning God chose you”.

He can’t wait to spend time with us, He loves us and chose us!  Every morning I want to run to Him and scream at the top of my lungs, “Papaaaaaaa”!

Do you ever have those moments when you’re “dry”, uninspired and at the same time busy, busy, busy?  There are moments when I just feel distracted… I’m not sure by what or who, just distracted.

It’s like an internal tension, not bad, just there.  The fact that I’m distracted by some un-named source in and of itself is enough to keep me curious about what “it” is and what “it” is trying to tell me or teach me or show me.

Of course the “it” is not an “it” at all, but a person, The Holy Spirit.  That sweet Counselor, Friend, Helper and Confidant.  The Counselor that gives me the right words to say, encourages and strengthens me, bears witness to my adoption as a daughter of the King and who has set me free from my own bondage which I cannot rid myself of own my own.

Whatever it is that He is trying to get my attention about, I know that His timing is perfect.  He tells me that “this vision-message is a witness pointing to what is to come.  It aches for the coming – it can hardly wait!  And it doesn’t lie.  If it seems slow in coming, wait.  It’s on it’s way.  And it’s right on time!”  Habakkuk 2:3 MSG.

Tension, maybe~ distraction, yes

But at peace waiting with curiosity, peace and expectation.  hmmmm….

On the weekends, I love to check in on all of our classrooms~ birth through 3rd grade… there’s so much going on, so many great team members that I want to encourage and so many kids that bless my socks off (my favorite part of every weekend).

Last Sunday was no exception, as I made my rounds I heard the familiar sound of little ones expressing their displeasure toward their parents for leaving them in the arms of people they don’t really know, with other unsuspecting infants, albeit in a colorful, safe, happy and loving environment.

One little guy in particular caught my attention; Dustin (not his real name).  He was inconsolable in his displeasure, the face that no respectable grandmother could ignore.  As I entered the room and made my way toward the poor little guy, he lifted his arms toward me (continued to break my heart even deeper) and I swooped him up to cuddle and console him.

As I did, I recognized the waif of a recognizable odor and then an excitable team members voice stating, “it’s coming out over his diaper”.  Well, suffice it to say, Dustin and I proceeded through the HazMat procedure (which wasn’t pleasant for either of us), but what happened next was pure gold…

As I picked him up after his poop-splosion had been duly eradicated, he laid his head on my shoulder and snuggled in as deep as he could.  As a Grammy thousands of miles away from her grandchildren, this was the best reward of all.

Proverbs 14:4 says, “Where there are no oxen, the manger is empty, but from the strength of an ox come abundant harvests.”  Margaret Feinberg mentions this Proverb in her book Organic God and I love how she breaks it down:  No ox= No poop = no profit OR Ox + Poop = Profit.  You see we all have to deal with poop to see the reward, last Sunday that reward came through a major Poop-splosion!  Thank you Father for poop!