As some of you know, for over a year now, I have been working on getting my personal web site, Passionate Worship, functional. The first step has finally been addressed. WonderMan has set up the personal blog for that site. I will probably still blog here, but if you visit here often, I suggest you try out the new link at
www.passionateworship.net/blog
I expect that blog to be more up to date, and I know how to personalize the links and such. I haven't figured that out here. I hope to see you there, too.
Have a glorious day!!!
Thursday, April 5, 2007
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Soul Scents
Periodically I fall into something really good, and when I do, I always try to share. Recently I fell into something good for the soul. It's called Soul Scents.
Paula Moldenhauer is a wife, a mother of four, a homeschool mom, a writer, and a passionate worshipper. My kind of gal. The stuff she writes is honest, real, and powerful. AND, she delivers!!! If you don't have time to check a site regularly, she'll send her stuff straight to you, and trust me, it is good food for the soul.
I don't know how I came across Soul Scents, but I'm glad I did, and if you check it out, you'll be glad you did, too.
Blessings!
Paula Moldenhauer is a wife, a mother of four, a homeschool mom, a writer, and a passionate worshipper. My kind of gal. The stuff she writes is honest, real, and powerful. AND, she delivers!!! If you don't have time to check a site regularly, she'll send her stuff straight to you, and trust me, it is good food for the soul.
I don't know how I came across Soul Scents, but I'm glad I did, and if you check it out, you'll be glad you did, too.
Blessings!
Monday, March 26, 2007
What is and What Could Be
I found this roaming around my draft list. It is so pertinent to where I am right now that I had to share it with you.
The important thing is this: to be able at any moment to sacrifice what we are for what we could become.- Charles Du Bos
Friday, March 23, 2007
Thank you FCHN!
I want to thank the wonderful members of FCHN who invited me to share with them about encouragement. I had such a lovely time. The food was delicious, and the fellowship was fantastic. You folks certainly know how to make a gal feel welcome, and I hope to hang out with y'all again soon.
Be blessed!
Be blessed!
Thursday, March 22, 2007
TV Theology
This morning my son invited me to the couch so we could watch some TV together and snuggle. This is prime time, folks, so I followed him into the TV room, and we made ourselves comfy and hit the button on the remote. Nothing.
Huh.
I pushed the "source" button. Nothing.
I turned the DVD player off and rebooted it. Nothing.
I turned the DVR box off and on. Nothing.
Finally, in an act of frustration--there was no desperation but definite frustration--I called WonderMan on his cell phone. Our conversation went something like this:
"The TV won't work."
"Is it on?"
Trying to curb my tone, "Yes."
"Change the source button."
"I did. Nothing."
"Are you sure it is in the right place?" I read the "source" information to him. "Huh. Try the DVD box."
"Turned it off and rebooted it."
"You know you have to reset it."
"There is nothing to reset. There are no words on the screen asking me to pick a language. There is nothing."
"Huh. Have you....?" He told me to do everything I had already done. Then a lightbulb went on. "Is it just black?'
"Yes."
"Then that channel isn't working. Change the channel."
I hit the channel up button, and lo and behold, TV!
I was glad to get the TV going, but I confess, I was a bit annoyed. I'm old enough to remember when we had four channels to watch, and you know what? I never had to call tehnical help to find out how to pull the on/off button out or push it in. I never had to call anyone to find out how to turn the knob to change the channels. It was so much simpler.
Some argue TV is better now because it offers so many options and so much information. Really? Then why do people I talk to complain that they have 100s of channels with nothing to see on them? Seems like it offers a bunch of distractions that encourage us to sit in our comfy spots instead of getting out and getting involved in life. Some call it escape. I tend to think it is hiding, but that is my opinion. Take it for what the Holy Spirit says it is worth.
Personally, simple works for me.
This morning I was sitting in my comfy spot having my quiet time, and I asked the Lord simply, "What do you want to speak to me?" He took me to the last chapter of Matthew. I've read it several times, but I truly believed it was of God so I read it again.
The chapter tells of Jesus being tried, condemned, crucified, buried, and raised again. It tells how He made His resurrection known to people, but some still doubted. It also ends simply: Then Jesus came to them and said, "18 All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Does theology get any easier than that?
--Jesus has all authority.
--Make disciples. Folks need to learn to be like Jesus. thsi step is learning our try identities, becoming who we were truly created to be. We were created for His glory. In being disciples we learn how to glorify the Father.
--Baptizing them. EVERYONE should be baptized. Notice the baptizing comes after the acceptance of Christ.
--Teach them to obey everything I commanded. That sounds daunting, but it isn't. What did Jesus command? Love the Lord our God with all our heart and with all our mind and with all our strength and to love our neighbor as ourself. In short, Jesus' command is simple--LOVE!
Too simple? Like a 4-channel TV set? Well, it has the essential information, and it doesn't waste my time on opinion, debates, and unnecessary information. AND it puts the responsibility to act back on me. It doesn't allow me a comfy spot where I can live vicariously through others. It doesn't give me the opportunity to channel surf because I don't like what's on. Instead, it says simply, "Jesus is the one in charge, and He says I am responsible for developing a relationship with God and growing in it. " No place to hide there, is there?
Yep, simple works for me.
Praying the Lord keeps reminding me of the power of simple faith especially when others tell me complicated is better...
Huh.
I pushed the "source" button. Nothing.
I turned the DVD player off and rebooted it. Nothing.
I turned the DVR box off and on. Nothing.
Finally, in an act of frustration--there was no desperation but definite frustration--I called WonderMan on his cell phone. Our conversation went something like this:
"The TV won't work."
"Is it on?"
Trying to curb my tone, "Yes."
"Change the source button."
"I did. Nothing."
"Are you sure it is in the right place?" I read the "source" information to him. "Huh. Try the DVD box."
"Turned it off and rebooted it."
"You know you have to reset it."
"There is nothing to reset. There are no words on the screen asking me to pick a language. There is nothing."
"Huh. Have you....?" He told me to do everything I had already done. Then a lightbulb went on. "Is it just black?'
"Yes."
"Then that channel isn't working. Change the channel."
I hit the channel up button, and lo and behold, TV!
I was glad to get the TV going, but I confess, I was a bit annoyed. I'm old enough to remember when we had four channels to watch, and you know what? I never had to call tehnical help to find out how to pull the on/off button out or push it in. I never had to call anyone to find out how to turn the knob to change the channels. It was so much simpler.
Some argue TV is better now because it offers so many options and so much information. Really? Then why do people I talk to complain that they have 100s of channels with nothing to see on them? Seems like it offers a bunch of distractions that encourage us to sit in our comfy spots instead of getting out and getting involved in life. Some call it escape. I tend to think it is hiding, but that is my opinion. Take it for what the Holy Spirit says it is worth.
Personally, simple works for me.
This morning I was sitting in my comfy spot having my quiet time, and I asked the Lord simply, "What do you want to speak to me?" He took me to the last chapter of Matthew. I've read it several times, but I truly believed it was of God so I read it again.
The chapter tells of Jesus being tried, condemned, crucified, buried, and raised again. It tells how He made His resurrection known to people, but some still doubted. It also ends simply: Then Jesus came to them and said, "18 All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Does theology get any easier than that?
--Jesus has all authority.
--Make disciples. Folks need to learn to be like Jesus. thsi step is learning our try identities, becoming who we were truly created to be. We were created for His glory. In being disciples we learn how to glorify the Father.
--Baptizing them. EVERYONE should be baptized. Notice the baptizing comes after the acceptance of Christ.
--Teach them to obey everything I commanded. That sounds daunting, but it isn't. What did Jesus command? Love the Lord our God with all our heart and with all our mind and with all our strength and to love our neighbor as ourself. In short, Jesus' command is simple--LOVE!
Too simple? Like a 4-channel TV set? Well, it has the essential information, and it doesn't waste my time on opinion, debates, and unnecessary information. AND it puts the responsibility to act back on me. It doesn't allow me a comfy spot where I can live vicariously through others. It doesn't give me the opportunity to channel surf because I don't like what's on. Instead, it says simply, "Jesus is the one in charge, and He says I am responsible for developing a relationship with God and growing in it. " No place to hide there, is there?
Yep, simple works for me.
Praying the Lord keeps reminding me of the power of simple faith especially when others tell me complicated is better...
Sunday, March 18, 2007
A Word
I am taking a break. I will be speaking to a group of homeschool parents Thursday night. My topic, which I love, is encouragement. I'll discuss the biblical principle of encouragement, the difference between encouragement and praise, the power of encouragement, the negatives of praise by itself, and how to make encouragement a daily act of ministry.
As I said, I love this topic because it has the power to change a live, and it really takes so little effort.
I have had the opportunity to speak/teach on this topic in the past. I've taught on this in a class series. I've taught onit at a women's breakfast. I've also taught on it at a women's retreat. I'll be honest, the class series was a bust. People really didn't see the need for this skill. Sad. The women's breakfast was a joy. I knew the women. I loved them then and love them now. The one that struck me the most, though, was the women's retreat. It was powerful, and it really had far more to do with God than it did me. I was the vessel, but truly, what happened there was beyond what mortal words could accomplish. When I start thinking my abilities are about me, I always think back to that and remember that God did a work beyond anything I could do.
It has been awhile since I've done public speaking. I still love it. I can't even explain it. It's like taking a deep breath of the purest air imaginable. It really is life within me. Still, there are times when I start to get nervous. After having the chance to teach at length on this topic, I have 45 minutes this week, and I've never been known for being brief. That is a bit unnerving. Plus, there are simply so many things I want to say. I want these parents to understand the power they have to influence their children simply by the words they choose to use. I feel such urgency to present examples and stories and...
It is really easy to get caught up in what I want to convey, what I want them to know, what I want them to understand, so I take a break periodically and stop. I stop and get still and ask, "Lord, what do you want them to hear? What do you want them to know?" It isn't what Jerri says or what Jerri thinks that will affect these families. It is what God says both through the words and through the Spirit that will make the difference.
I know that. I've seen the truth of it repeatedly in my speaking and home life. Truly, God's word supercedes mine everytime. Still, we are told in 2 Timothy 2:15, "Study and be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God approved (tested by trial), a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately dividing [rightly handling and skillfully teaching] the Word of Truth." In other words, if you hope to hear the words of God coming out of your mouth, you better spend the time putting them into your heart, which I better get back to doing.
Praying I never grow lazy in putting the Word of God in my heart so He can put the right words in my mouth to speak to other people's hearts...
As I said, I love this topic because it has the power to change a live, and it really takes so little effort.
I have had the opportunity to speak/teach on this topic in the past. I've taught on this in a class series. I've taught onit at a women's breakfast. I've also taught on it at a women's retreat. I'll be honest, the class series was a bust. People really didn't see the need for this skill. Sad. The women's breakfast was a joy. I knew the women. I loved them then and love them now. The one that struck me the most, though, was the women's retreat. It was powerful, and it really had far more to do with God than it did me. I was the vessel, but truly, what happened there was beyond what mortal words could accomplish. When I start thinking my abilities are about me, I always think back to that and remember that God did a work beyond anything I could do.
It has been awhile since I've done public speaking. I still love it. I can't even explain it. It's like taking a deep breath of the purest air imaginable. It really is life within me. Still, there are times when I start to get nervous. After having the chance to teach at length on this topic, I have 45 minutes this week, and I've never been known for being brief. That is a bit unnerving. Plus, there are simply so many things I want to say. I want these parents to understand the power they have to influence their children simply by the words they choose to use. I feel such urgency to present examples and stories and...
It is really easy to get caught up in what I want to convey, what I want them to know, what I want them to understand, so I take a break periodically and stop. I stop and get still and ask, "Lord, what do you want them to hear? What do you want them to know?" It isn't what Jerri says or what Jerri thinks that will affect these families. It is what God says both through the words and through the Spirit that will make the difference.
I know that. I've seen the truth of it repeatedly in my speaking and home life. Truly, God's word supercedes mine everytime. Still, we are told in 2 Timothy 2:15, "Study and be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God approved (tested by trial), a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately dividing [rightly handling and skillfully teaching] the Word of Truth." In other words, if you hope to hear the words of God coming out of your mouth, you better spend the time putting them into your heart, which I better get back to doing.
Praying I never grow lazy in putting the Word of God in my heart so He can put the right words in my mouth to speak to other people's hearts...
Thursday, March 15, 2007
You Can Say That Again
I like quotes. This is one I find to be true in virtually every human endeavor. Of course, God can jump in and change things whenever He wants, but as a rule....
"There are no shortcuts to any place worth going."- Beverly Sills
"There are no shortcuts to any place worth going."- Beverly Sills
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)