Time to Get Uncomfortable

There are three types of people when it comes to change.

Those who love it, thrive on it and are always seeking out what they can change and how to keep things moving forward.

Those who hate change and dig their feet in resistance to any thing different.

And me. Those who don't love change or hate it. Who can see it's value but approach it cautiously, making sure change is controlled and not chaotic. Those who once they catch the vision, are great supporters and good managers of change.

But no matter which category you fall into, there is some part of change that is uncomfortable. Like when the stage at church is split in half by a temporary wall during construction. Or the wifi won't work because of where the office and hub are located.

And if those things bother you, hold on because we are about the be kicked out of the sanctuary for a month.

But when you consider the short term cost for the long term benefit, IT WILL BE WORTH IT!! Trust God, it will be worth it!! Hold on and keep your eye on the goal! What is a soul worth to you?

Tonight was our first small groups. We hosted a group and it was great! The unknown may make you a little uncomfortable. Doing something different may make you nervous, but that phase will pass. So next time something bothers you a bit, hold your tongue, take a breath and smile.

Discomfort won't kill you. But your attitude could make or brake your ability to enjoy the moment and ride the wave of change!

New Season

Today was just an awesome day for our church family. Tonight in our evening service we were given a chance to write scriptures and prayers on the unfinished walls of our renovation project and pray for this new season God is bringing us to. And God's presence was just so sweet and so real with us.

The verse that I chose to write was Habakkuk 2:2-3. Many years ago a sweet lady gave it to me to stand on when we were waiting for God to fulfill his promises and grow our family. The verse is instruction to write down the message, the vision, the promise God has given you so that it can be shared with others. The second part is about the answer being on the way. That the vision is coming and though it may seem slow, we should wait because it will come to pass just like God said it would.

There are a lot of promises God has given our church family about the salvation of kids, about the filling of seats, about growth and we believe God is moving us to season where we see some of the fulfillment of those long awaited things. It's so exciting to be here!

That doesn't mean the devil isn't fighting, but we know our hope is in God through the time of change!

And Pastor Sid was on fire today (although I generally love his preaching, today was just a step above his normal.)This morning he preached about the purpose of the church and it was just so good! He challenged us to be as concerned about those with spiritual homelessness as those with physical homelessness. Wow! So good! The other thing that stuck out was our responsibility to let people know they belong here (at RLC). That God would help us show his love in such a way that when people walk through the doors they would know they were home!

Yeah, a lot to pray about and a lot to trust God for and work toward, but I'm excited about this new season!

New Experiences

The past three Sundays, I've led worship at church. Not because it was really planned that way but because my dad has been voiceless. It started with a cold or something, but I've never had him without a voice for so long that I've had to lead worship for so long. Usually it's more along the lines of " my voice isn't great, so you may need to help me."

Let me say I love worshipping but I'm not a great leader. I tend to get so caught up in organizing and mentally arranging and leading the musicians that worshipping becomes secondary to making sure the songs don't crash and burn. So this has been a learning experience for me and here's what I've learned and God has showed me:

1. It's okay if things aren't perfect. I'm not saying at all that you shouldn't practice or plan for worship, but I am saying that as far as leading worship goes, it is more about worshipping yourself than conducting the band and singers. I can be a bit of a perfectionist and I get frustrated when things don't go in real life as I planned in my mind or when I practiced alone at home. And it derails me, especially when I feel that is my fault as their leader. But I've learned to make inviting God's presence my priority and then not only am I not as concerned about when the songs have hiccups, it also doesn't affect the rest of the song set.

2. I tend to think leading the musicians is more necessary than it really is. Maybe because I want to be led, but the musicians really could mostly follow me with or without my clues. I still gave clues when we were switching sections of songs, but did a lot of verbal clues and it worked. Surprisingly well actually!

I think I got to lead enough that I gained some confidence and I think God was pleased. I enjoyed it even if it wasn't perfect.

New year with new experiences. Exciting stuff!

Learning from the Past

A week or so ago I had a friend post in Facebook the biggest lesson she learned in the prior year, and it inspired me to blog about what I learned in 2017.

My biggest lessons learned were about friendship. I learned that life is so much fuller with friends. I guess I learned the value of true friends. Not acquaintences, friends. Over time I've just gotten use to having acquaintences but not real friends. Very few people have taken the time to get me and understand me. So I don't trust people to assume the best and try and understand my motives. But this year I had a few friendships that just blossomed and almost unexpectedly turned into relationships that are mutually beneficial and that push me as I pray I push them. Friendships where I feel understood and accepted with all my flaws. Friends whose opinions I trust even if they are initially hurtful. And I have grown as a person because I have allowed those God-given friends in. And it was worth the risk.

I've also learned that even in good solid friendships, I have to be careful where I put my focus. God is my source and I have to learn to follow him and not people, even good Christian people. If my focus is well placed, I'm not as easily disappointed by people but I am able to show grace when people don't meet my expectations (expectations that no one can meet all the time).

It's been a year of change and growth and I'm so glad I was forced to stretch. I'm looking forward to 2018 and all that God holds for me in the next year!