I posted on Facebook and Twitter that I would be listening to the live stream broadcast of the Champion Centre today because I missed church. I asked people to watch with me if they wanted to. If anyone did, or didn't, I'm posting the notes that I took on the message. It's an amazing message and I'll be watching again next week and encourage everyone else to as well!
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January 2, 2011- Champions Centre
Title of series : Forces that form your future
Jeremiah 29:11-14 (opening video for service)
*missing title of first song, but it was a Hillsong United song*
Chris Tomlin - Everlasting God
Life isn't somethin that happens *to* you.
Life is something that happens *through* you.
We use information as a novelty instead of mastering it as life-changing information. We google search, find out what we need to know, and move on. Instead we should take the things that could change our lives, and commit it to our memory and use it to better our lives. If you commit that to memory it can change your life. It becomes second-nature, you can do it in your sleep instead of having to consciously think about it each time.
Galations 4:8-9, 18-19
The forces that shaped your life until now, and the forces that can shape your future. Becoming a Christian, being Christ-like, isn't born in a moment. It's developed. Christ-likeness is formed and developed. Day by day, habit by habit, word by word, thought by thought. Hopefully you're more Christ-like today than you were 5 years ago, and 5 years from now you'll be more so than you are today.
1. God has a great plan for our lives.
~ Jeremiah 29:11 "'I know the plan I have for you,' declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
~ Is this your reality? Do you feel hope for your future? Or do you feel hopelessness?
~ Story about man going to banquet, was happy to get an invitation. When he arrived there was a sword suspended from a thing string hanging over his head. He was worried it would fall on him. The man feared the future so much that he wasn't able to enjoy the presence.
~ I'm here! Apprehention, negative forcasts, speculation about the future, things we see in the headlines or hear about on the news...we decide right now to not allow the "what if this happens" kind of stuff to rob us of the joy of being at the banquet table of life. I believe it and I receive it, God has a plan for me to prosper. I'm going to reject every other idea and fear that comes my way. He has good things in mind for me, my life, and my future.
2. If we are going to live the will of God, we have to partner with God everyday.
~ Deuteronomy 29:29
~ Secret things are the things that are unexpected. The circumstances you don't plan for. The unplanned things of our lives. The "lightening bolts" of life.
~ Revealed things are things in books, things you can hear being taught, an experience you've gained. Things you have gained knowledge and experience in,
~ Imagine God saying "I'll handle this" about the "secret things". You ask God why it's happening, and God doesn't respond. "What did I do wrong?" and he says, "Don't worry. Trust me. This is not for you. Give it up. Let it GO." No God TELL ME, "No." Why? "Because I said so." Because it's a secret thing.
~ Now imagine things that are revealed things. Things that could have been different. Imagine God pushing those things across the table to you. What do you mean, what am I supposed to do? God will you put some money in my bank? God why not bless me? and God says, "I gave you a brain, I brought information and education your directions. I gave you hands. What're you doing on the couch?" God, do something! "You do something."
~ We're not helpless, we are NOT powerless.
~ This is your life, live it.
~ What we often do is someone asks us a legitimate question like "what is your plan for 2011?" I don't know...whatever God wants. The monkey's not on MY back, it's whatever God wants. What are you doing to make a difference, to be a salt and light of the Earth? What are you doing to make your life matter? Umm...waiting on the Lord. You act powerless.
~ I am not powerless. My monkey. The monkey should be on your own back. Accept that monkey (haha!!)
~ Become accountable for your life, become accountable to people in your life.
(personal note: Find an accountability partner, or three.)
~ No more blaming.
3. The nature and quality of my life comes within me.
~ Proverbs 4:23
"Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it."
~ Matthew 12:35
"A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him..."
~ Get better things in your heart to have a better life.
~ Your future is not in a horoscope or the stars. The future is in your HEART. You determine your future by the content of your HEART. It comes from the nature and quality of our life.
~ Philippians 2:13
"It is god who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose."
~ Maybe you had a fight with your husband and went off on him and you walked away and God said..."How's that working for you. Is that getting you where you want to go? You've learned differently from that." You have to drop the attitude, it's not going to work for you.
~ This message creates ownership. But it's the truth, and the truth shall set you free. (quote from pastor)
~ He works IN you. In the moments of quietness. While you're driving down the road. While you're walking around after you said something you regret. Don't be one of those people looking for someone to pray for you and over you, he works IN you. Why does he work in you? To will and act according to his good purpose. He's moving and directing you.
~ God why am I here again, it's the 34th time? Same spot, 34 other times. What are you going to do about it God? You gotta do something God. "All 34 times I spoke to you and said it's time to make a change and here we are again. It's not because I want you here, it's because you chose to continue to think like you've been thinking and talk like you've been talking...doing what you've been doing. I've talked to you and said get up there's another way. A higher way. Embrace it, receive it. It's my way and my will and all 34 times you said you would just be different...NEXT TIME."
~ One ship sails east and another west. While the same breezes blow. It's the set of the sail and not the wind that determines where it will go. So it is with our lives. It's the set of the sail of our hearts that determines where we will go. No matter how the wind blows, if you get this if you embrace this you will stay the course! No matter what wind blows in your life! You will stay on course with god's will and good plan. You'll go from victory to victory. No weapon will prosper!! The quality and nature of the life doesn't depend on the wind and where it blows, but from within yourself.
NEXT WEEK: The 9 forces.
Ask yourself, "How different would my life be..."
if my seeds were sown different?
if my beliefs had been different?
if my relationships had been different?
if my habits had been different?
if my dreams had been different?
if my thoughts had been different?
if my feelings had been different?
if my personal values had been different?
if my words had been different?
Showing posts with label church. Show all posts
Showing posts with label church. Show all posts
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Friday, December 3, 2010
Youth Ministry and Clearing My Head
First things first, I want to share something I haven't really shared with anyone...not even Patrick...at this point. I had a breakdown over Thanksgiving vacation. I should have talked to Patrick about it, but I just haven't been in the right mental state to be able to discuss it without getting emotional...I'm not good at being that emotional in front of people. It's a fault, and I recognize it. Anyways so him and I were having an argument. Details in this aren't important and I don't need to air our dirty laundry on the internet. The point is that I was sleeping in the bed at his parent's house and he was in the living room. We were both brooding and texting each other. At that point I'm not even sure what happened, but I broke down crying and just couldn't stop. I had all these bad thoughts...that I'm going to be a horrible wife, that I'm a bad mother...and they just kept escalating until I was hyperventilating and worrying over things like, "When we have kids, he's going to leave me and take the kids." Which with my past situation, which some of you are aware of, is a legitimate fear. I've relayed these fears to Patrick in the past and he's promised me that would never happen. He's seen the pain that I have from the situation with the kids and he swears he would never do that to me. But it doesn't change that I have the fear. All of this continued to get worse and worse until I almost couldn't breathe and out of nowhere came the biggest repenting session I've ever had in my entire life. I laid there just staring up at the ceiling with tears rolling down my face asking God to forgive me for everything I've ever done against him. I literally kept crying out (in a 'whisper yell') "I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry!" and it just kept going. I continued texting Patrick through all of this, not even sure how I had the strength to use my fingers at that point.
Suddenly I felt a weight lifted and I just felt...better. I continued to pray and just have a little one-on-one time with God until Patrick came in and we made up. We both apologized for the fight and held each other and moved on. Life continued on...
...but for once it hasn't continued on in the "same old same old" kind of way. My mind feels completely transformed. The night after this we were back in Boone and I was all hopped up on energy drinks from driving home from the beach. While Patrick slept I laid there with my eyes open praying...no, not praying...talking to God. I laid there for about two hours just talking. Venting, laughing, even just telling him how my day went. I talked to God as if I was literally looking right into his eyes and having a conversation. I've learned...this is the way that praying works best for me. I had never really tried praying that way, and not sure why, but it was amazing for me. Some people do better, as pastor Marianne said, heads bowed and eyes closed. I'm learning that I'm not one of those people. I already have realized that God speaks to me through music and now I know that for me, praying works better as just relaxed conversation. During my talk with God that night I told him how I have so many fears about the whole youth pastor thing. I told him that I know it's what he wants me to do and that I know I've been putting it on the back burner, but that I'm scared.
It was the very next day that I got on the phone with the assistant pastor, Tracey. I told her that I wanted to talk to her about youth ministry. I went in to the church office and began helping her with the food pantry. I haven't volunteered much in church since The Rock because until this new church I hadn't felt connected to a church on a deeper level. But volunteering with the food pantry quickly seemed like second nature and the hour and a half I was there went by quickly. Then I sat down with her.
Very long story short, she put me in touch with Kyle who is the youth minister at Faithbridge. He has invited me to a lunch on Sunday after church with him and others from the ministry team. Tracey wants me to spend time working alongside him and learning. It's a chance to gain experience and follow my calling from God. I'm so excited, but at the same time so extremely nervous. I never thought that the day I finally pursued ministry would be the day that it actually started the wheels turning and got the bus moving...but when you're called to something from God it's only inevitable that you're going to end up on that path lol. Anyways so that means that I now have an extremely full Sunday. I will be taking a class on spiritual disciplines taught by Tracey before church, then I have church, then the lunch, then at five I was going to go to an event I saw Jonathan Fawcett post about on Facebook that's at Legends. That is unless I need to go to the youth meeting that night to work with Kyle. Sadly the love of my life won't be joining me for a lot of this because I had forgotten he has a benefit airsoft game that day. They're collecting toys for children for Christmas :). I wish him so much luck with that!!
Hmmm so now onto the "clearing my head."
I realize more and more everyday that I've gotten over my feelings for my ex-husband, and that I'm able to move on with my life but still wish him well in his. It took me a while to not have feelings for him, but once I was able to get over that I still can admit to having some hatred in my heart. I didn't love him, but instead I had replaced it with hate. And hate is always taxing on your emotions, it's never a good thing. Now though, I've gotten rid of that too. I knew it for certain when I went to his mother's facebook page. Yes, I admit it...sometimes I check out the pages of his family. It's not because I'm hanging onto anything, it's because I care about how their life is going and wish that I had a way to be updated on it. Sadly I was met with seeing her posts about surgeries. I immediately felt panicked and worried. As much as her and I never got along, I never would want her to have to go through anything bad. I looked back through months of posts and couldn't figure out what was going on so I texted Alex's fiance. She told me that his mother had her gallbladder removed and now something is "still wrong" but no one has been able to figure out what it is.
I knew after reading that that I am over the hate in my heart for him and anyone in his family...though I never really felt any bad feelings towards his dad or his grandparents. I have moved on from those ill feelings and I'm happy about it.
Now though, I need some prayers for some things if anyone reads this and wants to jump in.
First, my friend Robbie's grandmother is in the hospital. She originally went in for fluid on her lungs but now is having issues with her heart. They're taking her to Charlotte on Monday, so keep her in your thoughts.
And otherwise I want prayers for Sandy Hawkins, that's Alex's mom. I still don't know all the details, but she is definitely in need of them figuring out what exactly is still going wrong.
Thanks everyone!!!!
Suddenly I felt a weight lifted and I just felt...better. I continued to pray and just have a little one-on-one time with God until Patrick came in and we made up. We both apologized for the fight and held each other and moved on. Life continued on...
...but for once it hasn't continued on in the "same old same old" kind of way. My mind feels completely transformed. The night after this we were back in Boone and I was all hopped up on energy drinks from driving home from the beach. While Patrick slept I laid there with my eyes open praying...no, not praying...talking to God. I laid there for about two hours just talking. Venting, laughing, even just telling him how my day went. I talked to God as if I was literally looking right into his eyes and having a conversation. I've learned...this is the way that praying works best for me. I had never really tried praying that way, and not sure why, but it was amazing for me. Some people do better, as pastor Marianne said, heads bowed and eyes closed. I'm learning that I'm not one of those people. I already have realized that God speaks to me through music and now I know that for me, praying works better as just relaxed conversation. During my talk with God that night I told him how I have so many fears about the whole youth pastor thing. I told him that I know it's what he wants me to do and that I know I've been putting it on the back burner, but that I'm scared.
It was the very next day that I got on the phone with the assistant pastor, Tracey. I told her that I wanted to talk to her about youth ministry. I went in to the church office and began helping her with the food pantry. I haven't volunteered much in church since The Rock because until this new church I hadn't felt connected to a church on a deeper level. But volunteering with the food pantry quickly seemed like second nature and the hour and a half I was there went by quickly. Then I sat down with her.
Very long story short, she put me in touch with Kyle who is the youth minister at Faithbridge. He has invited me to a lunch on Sunday after church with him and others from the ministry team. Tracey wants me to spend time working alongside him and learning. It's a chance to gain experience and follow my calling from God. I'm so excited, but at the same time so extremely nervous. I never thought that the day I finally pursued ministry would be the day that it actually started the wheels turning and got the bus moving...but when you're called to something from God it's only inevitable that you're going to end up on that path lol. Anyways so that means that I now have an extremely full Sunday. I will be taking a class on spiritual disciplines taught by Tracey before church, then I have church, then the lunch, then at five I was going to go to an event I saw Jonathan Fawcett post about on Facebook that's at Legends. That is unless I need to go to the youth meeting that night to work with Kyle. Sadly the love of my life won't be joining me for a lot of this because I had forgotten he has a benefit airsoft game that day. They're collecting toys for children for Christmas :). I wish him so much luck with that!!
Hmmm so now onto the "clearing my head."
I realize more and more everyday that I've gotten over my feelings for my ex-husband, and that I'm able to move on with my life but still wish him well in his. It took me a while to not have feelings for him, but once I was able to get over that I still can admit to having some hatred in my heart. I didn't love him, but instead I had replaced it with hate. And hate is always taxing on your emotions, it's never a good thing. Now though, I've gotten rid of that too. I knew it for certain when I went to his mother's facebook page. Yes, I admit it...sometimes I check out the pages of his family. It's not because I'm hanging onto anything, it's because I care about how their life is going and wish that I had a way to be updated on it. Sadly I was met with seeing her posts about surgeries. I immediately felt panicked and worried. As much as her and I never got along, I never would want her to have to go through anything bad. I looked back through months of posts and couldn't figure out what was going on so I texted Alex's fiance. She told me that his mother had her gallbladder removed and now something is "still wrong" but no one has been able to figure out what it is.
I knew after reading that that I am over the hate in my heart for him and anyone in his family...though I never really felt any bad feelings towards his dad or his grandparents. I have moved on from those ill feelings and I'm happy about it.
Now though, I need some prayers for some things if anyone reads this and wants to jump in.
First, my friend Robbie's grandmother is in the hospital. She originally went in for fluid on her lungs but now is having issues with her heart. They're taking her to Charlotte on Monday, so keep her in your thoughts.
And otherwise I want prayers for Sandy Hawkins, that's Alex's mom. I still don't know all the details, but she is definitely in need of them figuring out what exactly is still going wrong.
Thanks everyone!!!!
Sunday, November 7, 2010
I've found a new home church.
This morning I attended a new church. The mom of one of my friends is an assistant pastor there and has been asking me for a bit to try and stop by and told me that I would like it. This past Sunday I decided to check it out. It's name is Faithbridge Methodist and you can find them online at http://www.faithbridgeumc.org/
I'm very happy to say that I not only enjoyed this church, but I think I've found my new home church. It's been hard for me trying to find a new church after leaving Asheville and thereby no longer attending The Rock Church. That church was the first I had ever felt at home at, and replacing it has proven to be quite the task. I tried a lot of churches in Boone...Cornerstone Summit, Alliance Bible Fellowship, Living Water...and I did really enjoy the last one (Living Water). I went there a lot and tried to be active, but in the end it still didn't feel "right." It didn't feel like home. I still hold Living Water and the others, as well as The Rock Church, very dear to my heart but I definitely feel that Faithbridge is where I'm meant to be here in Boone.
The sermon was about how busy life is these days and how everyone basically needs to slow down and not be so hurried all the time. One thing she brought up that especially spoke to my heart was having a day of rest for the Sabbath. She mentioned that this day of rest doesn't need to be on a Sunday, but our bodies will thrive and our souls with thrive if we give them the rest needed for them to be at their best. One of my new goals is now going to be to have one day of rest. This is a day where I will just spend time with God and be at peace. No electronics, No social networking, No talking about work or going to work. One day of rest. I'm going to talk to my boss about this in the next couple of days and ask for a certain day off each week to have the ability to do this. The only things that will be allowed in my world at that time besides God are my children and Patrick. Period, done deal.
I had a great night at the lounge with Patrick. We talked about religion and I was informed that he is in fact religious, he's just more about a one-on-one relationship with God than feeling the need to attend church and have fellowship with other Christians. He talked to me about the meaning behind the cross tattoo on his back, and we cuddled and listened to Christian music over the speakers. There was some major spiritual connecting with him on my part, and I hope that he felt the same connecting on his end. All in all, it was a good night :).
Let's see Let's see...
Oh, I didn't do so well with the smoking today. I know that it's not something I'll do forever, but quitting is really hard. Not because of the nicotine, it's actually not something I feel any addiction to at this point. I think my addiction is to the practice of smoking hookah and also the social aspect of it. I work at a hookah lounge and in my free time what have I always done? Sat down with friends and smoked a hookah. It has been my life for about a year now, though I've only been working there a few months...I was smoking at the lounge prior to that. The times that I miss smoking hookah aren't as much when I'm alone as when I have people around and I'm sitting at the lounge with nothing to do. I just want to sit with them and enjoy.
Right now I'm going to sit down and really decide what I want to do about this, and hardcore pray about it. I need to figure out not just what's best for me, but what does God feel is right in this situation...? Anyone who reads this just keep me in your prayers and pray for me to be shown the right path.
List for November 7, 2010
_x_1. Attend church at Faithbridge
_x_4. Talk with PJ about religion
_x_5. Pray before bed, at the least
I'm very happy to say that I not only enjoyed this church, but I think I've found my new home church. It's been hard for me trying to find a new church after leaving Asheville and thereby no longer attending The Rock Church. That church was the first I had ever felt at home at, and replacing it has proven to be quite the task. I tried a lot of churches in Boone...Cornerstone Summit, Alliance Bible Fellowship, Living Water...and I did really enjoy the last one (Living Water). I went there a lot and tried to be active, but in the end it still didn't feel "right." It didn't feel like home. I still hold Living Water and the others, as well as The Rock Church, very dear to my heart but I definitely feel that Faithbridge is where I'm meant to be here in Boone.
The sermon was about how busy life is these days and how everyone basically needs to slow down and not be so hurried all the time. One thing she brought up that especially spoke to my heart was having a day of rest for the Sabbath. She mentioned that this day of rest doesn't need to be on a Sunday, but our bodies will thrive and our souls with thrive if we give them the rest needed for them to be at their best. One of my new goals is now going to be to have one day of rest. This is a day where I will just spend time with God and be at peace. No electronics, No social networking, No talking about work or going to work. One day of rest. I'm going to talk to my boss about this in the next couple of days and ask for a certain day off each week to have the ability to do this. The only things that will be allowed in my world at that time besides God are my children and Patrick. Period, done deal.
I had a great night at the lounge with Patrick. We talked about religion and I was informed that he is in fact religious, he's just more about a one-on-one relationship with God than feeling the need to attend church and have fellowship with other Christians. He talked to me about the meaning behind the cross tattoo on his back, and we cuddled and listened to Christian music over the speakers. There was some major spiritual connecting with him on my part, and I hope that he felt the same connecting on his end. All in all, it was a good night :).
Let's see Let's see...
Oh, I didn't do so well with the smoking today. I know that it's not something I'll do forever, but quitting is really hard. Not because of the nicotine, it's actually not something I feel any addiction to at this point. I think my addiction is to the practice of smoking hookah and also the social aspect of it. I work at a hookah lounge and in my free time what have I always done? Sat down with friends and smoked a hookah. It has been my life for about a year now, though I've only been working there a few months...I was smoking at the lounge prior to that. The times that I miss smoking hookah aren't as much when I'm alone as when I have people around and I'm sitting at the lounge with nothing to do. I just want to sit with them and enjoy.
Right now I'm going to sit down and really decide what I want to do about this, and hardcore pray about it. I need to figure out not just what's best for me, but what does God feel is right in this situation...? Anyone who reads this just keep me in your prayers and pray for me to be shown the right path.
List for November 7, 2010
_x_1. Attend church at Faithbridge
__2. Don't smoke hookah **didn't accomplish**
_x_3. Figure out this months budget/bills_x_4. Talk with PJ about religion
_x_5. Pray before bed, at the least
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