Living for Christ in Suburbia…

Wow, so much is in my head… I have been on a journey..struggling with how to live the Christ life in my current situation in Suburbia with three kids. Well the Lord is showing me a few things on my journey.  These aren’t in any order.. I am just typing as I think of them…

1.One is to live a life of simplicity… this started months back or maybe more, feeling called to simplify, downsize, give away excess, learn to be a good steward of my spending in regards to budgeting etc… so we will be free to give to others and because “stuff” tends to take over your life.  Caring for it, cleaning it, organizing it, etc…  Try to live counter-culture in this area… don’t have fancy cars, don’t upgrade homes, appliances, clothes, toys etc… Buy used, give freely, let God provide.  It is a process, but I continually find more freedom as I give away… really things have no sentimental value, the only things sentimental would be old pictures.  But to be good stewards, taking good care of what the Lord has provided already.

2.Next, a pursuit of purity in heart- continually examining  myself, character issues, sinful attitudes, pride etc.. that needs to be repented of and conformed to the attitude of Christ.

3. To be a Kingdom “Laborer”-hard worker and to not choose the easy path.   A laborer is a hardworker and during the time of harvest there is no time for rest… you work and work till it is all in or the food will spoil.  I realize the need to not choose what is easy but to labor for Christ- and to perservere.  This includes sacrifices like not going to a wonderful progam oriented church- but instead serving and starting new works with the lost…  This means no childcare or nursery for my three little ones, but being flexible and including them in ministry.  It means instead of enjoying the confines of my home, opening my doors and spending time with neighborhood kids and parents in the front yard in the evenings.   It means praying, fasting, and sowing seed by sharing with those who I know do not know Jesus… making this my greatest pursuit in life.  It means during my two mornings without the older kids, finding ways to minister instead of having alone time and going shopping.

4. A desire to please God and not man… This one is hard for me- to serve the Lord with pure heart and motivations for the audience of one.. even in the face of opposition or discouragement.  To not give up, but be faithful where the Lord has placed me.

5. To not be so busy and scheduled that I don’t have time for God and where he is working.  Ministry is the interruptions.

6.  To be passionate for the unreached, those who have never heard the good news of Jesus.  A focus on refugees living in the U.S. and abroad.

7.  To have a heart for the poor… and children who are so teachable and open to Jesus.  They really are so precious.  “I always say, the only people who think I am still funny are kids and old people “

8. To guard my tongue- what I say and what I hear.  To guard against a critical spirit.

9.  To spend time with Jesus- learning to hear his voice, to know his word, and to obey his commands.

10. To model a Christ like love in the home, having a serving spirit and patience with my husband and children and with those I am in relationship with.

11.  To choose to not please myself, but to give up my rights, dreams, plans, agenda etc… for Christ’s will in my relationships, ministry, and life.

These are all just some areas the Lord is dealing with me about… sometimes I really screw up, getting impatient, selfish, wanting to give up… etc..  But I know that I have been called by Jesus to serve him, I heard the call years ago, and for me… I must be different.  I must choose a different path, a path that will be difficult… but I want to follow Jesus and where he desires to take me.

What Motivates You?

Here is a list of common things that motivate us…

fear, selfishness, money, pleasure, jealousy, approval of others, pride, guilt, legalism, duty,etc…

These motivations will fizzle out when things are tough… K.P. Yohannon calls these horizontal motivations.  When we are tested they won’t be enough to keep going.  The only motivation that will last is Love of Jesus…His love motivates us.. so we can love even in the toughest of circumstances.

Are you being tested in your ability to love?  I am…

Here are some keys to being filled anew with his love..

Repent, Surrender everything to Jesus, be filled with His Spirit, Do everything unto the Lord and not men,  think about heaven,

“When you lack love for your brothers and sisters around you, becoming short-tempered and impatient and expecting the worst from others, it indicates you are not motivated by the love of the Father”

“No love is genuine unless it includes suffering”

I have been and am currently struggling with this issue… I am in the repent and surrender stage… if your struggling too, come, join me in the journey, seeking to lay down my life- being filled with His love, so I can love others.  It is hard.. embracing the cross in our lives.

It’s easy to love this little guy!  But not so easy to love others…:)

Luke 6:31-33 (New International Version)

31Do to others as you would have them do to you.

32“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even ’sinners’ love those who love them. 33And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even ’sinners’ do that.

Pray for India…

Indian Christians are experiencing great persecution.  Our Uncle is currently there training believers. Please pray.  If you really want to be challenged watch the Gospel for Asia video.. “Christ’s Call” like I did tonight. It rocked my world.  Lord forgive me, for wasting time, wasting money, wasting opportunities to share.  Help me to die to myself, crucify my flesh, and follow you in the narrow path of embracing the cross.

Watch and be challenged…

Inspirational Blog…Mom4Life

I found this online store months ago.  It has really great and inventive baby and kid products, not only does it have free shipping but part of the proceeds go to a ministry.  Well, I happened upon their blog and read about their tragic loss of their still born son.  It is a beautiful and honest blog of an inspirational woman4thekingdom as she turns to Jesus for her strength and healing in great loss.  Well, today I was inspired again as she lead a woman to Jesus over the internet.. she has the emails on her blog- the woman gave her permission to post it on her blog.  How to find God?  Where do you start?  If you have asked these questions yourself or have gone through a deep loss, I encourage you to go to her sight and read her words.  I also encourage you to check out her cool products.

http://blog.mom4life.com/

Thankful Sunday…

I was so touched today while watching a Gospel for Asia video about “The Untouchable Children” of India and local missionaries in Asia sacrificing so much for Christ.  It got me thinking about so much that I am thankful for.

-Jesus- his unconditional love, forgiveness, grace

-The holy spirit- that guides, comforts, teaches and convicts me

-Travis- his humble, servant heart, wise, slow to anger, self-disciplined, perservering, hard working, funny, and spirit filled friend who hears God, that i get to call my husband.  What a blessing he is to me, the kids, and many others.

-Isabella- she is precious, wiser than her years, sensitive, compassionate, creative, beautiful daughter who brings me such joy.  I love spending time with her!

-Sophia- she is beautiful, kind, expressive, full of life and energy, and a great helper.  She makes us laugh and is such a blessing to our family.

-Isaac- my heart is so attached to this little guy. He is so delightful in many ways, a people person, full of smiles and joy just jumps off his face.  He is so easy and the perfect fit.  I thank Jesus everyday for this precious boy.

-Extended family- who love and support us in so many ways.

-Physical needs met- a home, food, cars (one given to us), jobs,

-Other blessings- Bella and Sophia being able to go to school

-Our kingdom connections- brothers and sisters in Christ that encourage us in our walk with Jesus and accept us with grace.

I can go on and on…..

I’m grateful for the Lord protecting me from so much pain and sin… I have a past with fewer wounds than others.  As we minister to people and hear their stories of abuse, pain, and the affects of sin… I am so grateful for Jesus my savior.  I am grateful that he can heal us and restore us.

The poverty breaks my heart, and the spiritual poverty breaks my heart even more…I can truly testify that there is “Life” in Christ that we can find in no one, and nothing else.  He is our answer even when we have nothing.  But we should have compassion like Jesus had on the crowds of those who were like sheep without a “shepherd”.

Lord show us how to share your love and hope with those hurting around us and around the world.

Church in a Mexican Restaurant! Why not!

A cool kingdom connection was made this weekend. My husband and I and our three little ones were out for the evening, we were trying to decide where to go eat… well, three restaurants later we ended up at Jabez Mexican Restaurant. It is a small little place near our home that we had never tried before. I started chatting with the owner Lourdes asking her where she went to church, she obiviously was a believer with a Voice of the Martyrs map on the wall, and other Christian stuff lying around. She shared with me that they were looking for a church, they were tired of sitting and being fed “milk”. I then felt prompted to tell her about how we minster through house churches, her draw dropped open and she said, “This is what I have been looking for”.
To make a long story short, she and her husband have been ministering to people that visit their restaurant and are feeling led to start a gathering on Sundays in the restaurant, because they are not open for business that day. A deaf man, a suicidal woman, a person from witchcraft and others are some that the Lord has led to them to minister to. They went to their Assembly of God church asking for their blessing and all they have received is discouragement. One lady even came screaming at them saying that they can not use their restaurant as a church etc.. they can’t steal their sheep….

The next day our prayer team from City on a Hill Simple Church network, went there for lunch and we dropped of “COSECHA” a house church planting material from Ecuador- thanks Guy Muse!!!
I went by there today to chat after picking up my daughter from preschool, we had a little snack and talked a bit about what she thought about the materials. She likes them- and we hope to encourage her as she desires to start this new work in her restaurant.

So cool how God is at work and connects us with just the right people. Encouraging and equipping those who are being called out to work in the harvest is an important role, we hope to be a part of more and more in the future.

The Girls!

House2House Conference

Well, this past weekend we had a great time at the National House Church conference.  There were many great speakers and kingdom connections that were made.  A highlight for me was Wolfgang Simson and Paul Young, the author of “The Shack”.  I also enjoyed meeting people from many Missions organizations, missionaries, and house church pastors from all over the U.S.  A missionary to China for the past 40 years had great stories of the move of God in China and persecution etc..

Some themes seemed to emerge.

The greatest theme that continually came up was that of hearing the voice of God and obeying what he says at all times.

One was that of inner healing of past wounds as sin is exposed and a calling back to holiness. Another theme was that of taking the gospel to the unreached, making disciples who are under the Lordship of Jesus Christ and teaching them to obey His commands.

I was also encouraged as the focus was not on a model of church, but a desire to make disciples and a desire to bring both micro and macro forms of church together in unity as we desire to obey the commands of Christ.

I also noticed a call to simplicity in living and in worship.  A call to serve God not mammon.  I was inspired by “With This Ring”, a movement led by Ali who is challenging people to give extravagantly… She inspires women to sell their wedding rings to help build water wells in Africa to provide clean drinking water for entire villages.

Another theme I noticed was storying of the bible, as people like Frank Viola and Paul Young used contemporary bible storying approaches to share biblical truth.  I also met many people who use bible storying in the U.S. and overseas as a means of evangelism and teaching.

It was great to be with a large group of people that “get us”.  You don’t have to explain yourself and your ministry that doesn’t fit into the typical clergy box.  It was nice to visit with people that find this kind of ministry normal (ministry that is done by ordinary folks in everyday life).

On a deeper note, I am feeling called to let go of some unforgiveness in my heart, to continue to ask the Lord to heal any wounds I have in my heart. I also feel called to seek holiness and to truly let Christ be King of my life, that I am in His Kingdom and desire to love and obey him and his commands. I also feel inspired to follow up and be faithful in the things that the Lord has asked me to do.  Such as following up with several ladies that I feel the Lord is telling me to invest in and share Jesus with.

I desperately want to grow in Hearing his voice and obeying…no matter what it is He says to do.

Happy Birthday Tillie Burgin- Mission Arlington!

Most Blessed

Sunday, August 24, 2008 5:00 AM

Tillie Burgin has been the Director of Mission Arlington since its beginning. Mission Arlington is in its 23rd year.  Today, Tillie turns 72 years old.

Nicknamed Tillie by her dad, Erman Lester, after the 1921-syndicated cartoon ”Tillie the Toiler, Tillie has been at the helm of Mission Arlington since its inception.

In fact, Tillie hasn’t moved very far from her roots. Her childhood home was just across the street from Mission Arlington’s current offices.

Married now for 51 years, Tillie and her husband Bob served as foreign missionaries with their children in South Korea in the 1960s and 70s. When this missionary family returned home, they couldn’t get away from the thought that “if you can do missions in Korea, why can’t we do missions here at home.”  Mission Arlington began on August 1st, 1986.

Today, Mission Arlington is thriving, and Tillie is dearly loved and respected by all those who serve with her. More than 225 families each day receive care from Mission Arlington, and Mission Arlington-led worship and Bible studies happens across the city in 276 locations.

Happy Birthday Tillie. May the Lord continue to bless you and the ministry of Mission Arlington for many years to come.

In and through your life, and your love for Christ, we are most blessed.

Women in Ministry?

As you know I am pretty passionate about men and women finding life in Christ- taking up their cross and following him. I had an interesting visit with the Latin teacher at my school, His name is Ike and he has his Doctorate in Greek, we talked about the famous Great commission verse in Mathew.

Matthew 28:18-20 (New International Version)

18Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in^[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Ike and I talked about the verbs in this passage.. he explained to me that the only verb in the greek that is actually in the “command” form- is the verb “MAKE”,  in make disciples….

Now, I personally believe this command is for all believers… So yes, I believe that women should go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey all that Jesus has commanded us.

Now, I am not really passionate about arguing roles in the church, titles, etc… Like should a woman be Senior Pastor etc… I would like to argue that the term Senior Pastor is not mentioned in the bible.  So I tend to not be as passionate about arguing if specific roles such as music minister are acceptable, but I don’t see why not?  Mainly, I am not passionate about these questions because I believe MOST ministry takes place outside of the Church Buildings and structure in everyday life, by ordinary folks that God desires to use in extra-ordinary ways.  There are many women that admire that God has used in this way.

Sometimes I think these arguments have divided the church so much that we forget the simple command, to go and make disciples.  Is a person a better disciple maker because they have a title? Are head pastors really the best disciple makers… many times they don’t even know who their church members are.  Travis laughed because he went to the movies with my Dad in Arkansas, and their Pastor who they admire, sat near them and walked past them like three times and never once said “Hi” or acknowledged them.  How can you pastor someone you don’t even have a relationship with?

So the church can argue all day about women in ministry etc… but it is clear to me that women are to make disciples… how this plays out I think is really up to how God created each woman.  We all have different spiritual gifts and natural abilities as well.  He has made us unique for a reason, because we play an important part in the body of Christ. With Christ as the Head, the Head of the body and the Chief Shephard (or Pastor).

Some women are content to minister only in the home, some have the gift of mercy and desire to serve in Mercy ministries.  Some women have leadership giftings and desire to start new works. Some have the gift of evangelism and desire to share the hope we have in Christ with the lost.

There is a woman  who has an amazing reputation in the DFW area. Her name is Tilly Burgin… I will share a little about her in my next post.  She is a spectacular Woman4thekingdom who has made such a difference for the Lord in her sacrificial service to the Lord over the past 20 years, she has reached thousands for Christ through her ministry Mission Arlington. She has taken the gospel to the lost- through evangelism and mercy ministries. What an inspiration she is to women, as we desire to go and make disciples of all nations…..

So.. I guess you know where I stand.. Women in ministry…

Definitely, YES!