Demands & Comfort

(It's time for another Spiritual Sunday post! I hate that it took me so long to give this particular meme a try!)


Power Source classes resumed this past Wednesday night at OBC - instead of a Wednesday night worship service and sermon (which I'd been used to), this church offers different classes on Wednesday nights. Each one lasts for twelve weeks, and you sign up for the one that interests you most. There are usually ten to twelve classes to choose from, and there's something for everyone. In this session, for instance, there are classes devoted to studies of Judges, Timothy, and Revelation, there's a marriage class, a parenting class, one just for women (a study of the book Captivating), and then there's the one that I chose: Balancing Life's Demands.


The class description reads: "Are you busy, tired, stressed out, and stretched to the limit? Does life seem a little out of control? Are you running long on "to do's" and short on time? In Balancing Life's Demands, you will learn how to put first things first and find peace in Christ while in the midst of pressure and adversity." 


Oh yes, this sounded like a class for me. I'm not necessarily "stretched to the limit", but I've been there before, and have to actively plan and schedule so as not to wind up there again. And I definitely feel like I could use a few more hours in my day...so I signed up.


About seventy people showed up to the first class. We met in the choir room (the largest classroom in the church, I believe) and there wasn't an empty seat to be found. I imagine that this was due to two things: one, everyone can identify with having too much to do. Two, the teacher for this class is also the church's pastor, who is a pretty popular guy. Pastor Steve is charismatic, funny, honest, and an excellent speaker. He's just an "every man" kind of pastor, and is so easy to identify with - if anyone can tell us how to juggle a to-do list, he's the guy.


During the first class, we talked about the six symptoms of misplaced priorities...and most of them resonated with me. Then there was the overview of Biblical priorities: God, mate, family, work, ministry. And an amazing quote from Dwight D. Eisenhower: "The urgent is rarely important, and the important is rarely urgent."


I've spent the rest of the week considering my own priorities, and how they need to be realigned. The first step was limiting my time on Facebook - darn you for sucking me in, Frontierville! I had such a booming frontier town...it's a shame that I had to burn it to the ground (or at least delete everything) so there's no temptation to check in just one more time. The next step was enforcing time for Bible study - one of the "I should" tasks that was quite often pushed back and back and back until it just didn't get done before. It's amazing how much time you can find for it, though, when you move it to the top of your priority list.

So the middle of my week was thought-provoking. By the end of the week, I was encased in a black cloud...just an emotional funk that I could not shake. I was ready for Sunday morning to roll around, knowing that I always feel better after going to church. And sure enough, this morning's message was absolutely perfect for me.


I mean, any message that begins with a detailed description of fried pork tenderloin, homemade mashed potatoes, buttered rolls, corn, green beans...well, it has to be pretty terrific, right?!


The name of the sermon was actually "The God of All Comfort," but you just can't talk about comfort without mentioning comfort food. (At least, Pastor Steve can't, because he's kind of awesome that way.)


I needed some comfort this morning, and I got it in spades. My sermon outline is a jumble of notes and verses that I'll spend more time with this week. I cried more during the service than I think I ever have in church before. And I left feeling better - and better equipped to handle whatever life throws my way.


(Although it's not posted just yet, the full sermon will be available online - in audio, video, and podcast formats, plus sermon notes - very soon. You'll be able to see/hear it, as well as past sermons, HERE if you're interested. I haven't heard one yet that wasn't thought-provoking, compelling, and relevant, but I'd especially recommend this one!)


"...He said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."  2 Corinthians 12:9-10


"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." Psalm 46:1

A beautiful song by Hillsong United that we sang this morning...so perfect!

Well, it's about time.

I bolted upright this morning when the alarm clock went off, a bit earlier than usual for a Sunday morning. Something important was happening today...but what?

Oh yes. I remembered as I stumbled into the bathroom and noticed the bag I had started packing last night. A change of clothes. A towel. A hairbrush.

I dressed down for church - denim capris, not my usual churchy attire. Made breakfast for the family. Even managed to eat a little bit of it.

Got in the car and drove to church, arriving a full half hour before anything would begin. Checked in with a man near the door, was given a brand new OBC t-shirt, and went to change into it.

Sat in a room with 16 other people wearing identical black t-shirts. Lots of people in shorts and capris. Mostly barefoot. Definitely not a typical Sunday morning. We talked, we prayed, and then we were led down a hallway that I had never seen before, one that ran behind the sanctuary.

My heart started pounding as we lined up at the bottom of a staircase. I was near the end of the line, with only two little girls behind me. One had gorgeous curly red hair. The other was a little blonde girl, seven years old, who waited with her daddy. She reminded me so much of Rachael.

The lady in front of me was nervous too, so we chatted to pass the time. But conversation ceased when we heard the music begin in the sanctuary.

After the first song and announcements, the line began moving up the staircase, one at a time. We watched what was happening to the people ahead of us with both joy and, yes, maybe a little trepidation.

Finally, I was at the top of the stairs, and Jeff, the assistant pastor who was standing in the water, was holding out his hand toward me. 

No turning back now, even if I'd wanted to.

I did not allow myself to look to the left, where the congregation was seated. (I would notice only later that it was a very, very full house this morning.) Instead, I concentrated on listening and replying when I was asked if I had accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.

Why yes, I have. Many years ago, actually. Why hadn't I done this sooner? I have no idea.

I held my nose with one hand and Jeff's arm with the other. Leaning backward, I was aware of being under the water, but only for a second. He made good on his word that he'd be able to lift me back out. (I'm sure I asked him several times if he was sure he could! Luckily for me, he's obviously an old pro.)

I blinked the water out of my eyes and somehow made it up the steps on the opposite side. Received a towel. Dripped halfway across the building. Briefly felt bad about that, then decided to call it "carpet cleaning" and consider it an act of service.

I was baptized.

I truly have no reason for not having done it years ago. I don't recall ever attending a baptism as a child, or being asked if I wanted to participate in one. Maybe someone did ask and I just don't remember. But it seems that it just...never came up. Not as a teenager, not as an adult.

It was only recently that I attended my first baptism as an adult, and I was too busy attending to my precious daughter, who bravely (and obediently) asked to be baptized as soon as she could. I wanted it to be her day, but when she asked me why I hadn't yet been baptized, I promised her that I would do it the very next time the opportunity presented itself.

And today it did.

"Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection."  Romans 6:3-5

(A big WELCOME to my Spiritual Sunday friends!!)

My Daughter Is My Role Model (Spiritual Sunday)

Saturday was a red-letter day for my oldest daughter - she had been invited for a sleepover at the home of her dearest friend. She worries about this friend sometimes, since her family doesn't go to church. I've overheard her praying for her friend, and even talking to her about God when she's playing at our house.

So yesterday, I left it up to Rachael to pack her bag for her sleepover...her being 7 1/2 and all the laundry being clean. I checked on her a while later to find her little red backpack crammed to overflowing, and suggested that she move her things into a larger pink bag instead. And when I checked to make sure she had everything she needed, this is what I found:

Yes, I was a little surprised - she wasn't planning on going to church during her stay, and that would have probably been the only thing that would remind me to pack my Bible when I was seven years old.

But after the initial surprise came joy...my daughter, without prompting, packed her Bible for a sleepover. Wouldn't that warm any mother's heart?

She's such a good role model. I'm reminded so often of how much I have to learn from her.

"Verily I say unto you, except ye...become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven."  Matthew 18:3

(A big THANKS for stopping by to my Spiritual Sunday friends!!)