I believe …

… that God gives me the freedom of choice.  I also believe that if I make the wrong choice, but don’t lose my faith, I take away invaluable lessons and knowledge.  I believe if I make a good choice, I can still screw it up by not appreciating it.

I believe I can learn something from every good and bad situation. I might not know it while I am in the midst of it; but if I make the most of it, I can use help myself or someone else later. 

I believe blaming other people is a waste of time.  I believe I should not let other people’s thoughts or actions control me.  I make a decision to do better, be better, live better.  I might have to start by doing better out of spite.  The bottom line is, I will still be doing better.

I believe everyone should rise up, raise the bar and raise it again when you get there.  Some people will come with you, some people will cheer you on and others will stay behind and try to drag you down.  Recognize the difference and continue to give your best.

Right now as you read this, stretch your arm up as far as you can.  Now, stretch a little higher.  See?  You still had room to grow.

I believe I can apply this to all of the different areas of my life as a wife, Mother, Christian,  employee, daughter and friend. 

I believe I am not the only one who can reach a little higher.

The Invitation

When I was in the fifth grade, a new friend changed the course of my life.  Seriously.  My entire life from the fifth grade until now.  She began by inviting me to retreats and youth group functions over the next three years.  When we were in the 8th grade, she invited me to camp.  When camp was over, I started to attend SBRCC on a regular basis. 

Over time, this friend stopped coming to church.  I still call her and I still invite her.  I know what a difference her invitation to me made.  Yesterday, she and her family came to church.  It wasn’t the first time in years, but it was the first time in years I was able to sit by her.  As I sat there with her I thought about all of the people that I love and have great friendships with as a result of her invitation. 

• I met and married my husband there
• We are raising a child there
• Our child was baptized a year ago there
• My sister met and married her husband there
• They are raising two children there
• I met my best friends there – these are true, life long friends

The list goes on and on.  As a result of her invitation, I have a relationship with the Lord that has allowed me to grow and love in a way that I might never have experienced. 

Share your faith.  It just might change the course of someones entire life.

Thank you for the invitation Chantell, I love you. 

Living It vs. Saying It

I saw a bumper sticker that said “I love my wife”.  I honestly laughed and wondered if the guy’s wife put it on his truck.  I have also seen Real Men Love Jesus and Honk if You Love Jesus bumper stickers.  I have seen countless John 3:16 posters while watching NFL football on TV. 

I am not opposed to any of these things.   I have a couple of catchy Christian t-shirts myself and I just bought Chelsea a great one at last weekend’s soccer tournament.   Each time I see something like that, I wonder if that bumper sticker, t-shirt, poster or license plate is that person’s only statement of faith.  I think if we are wearing our hearts on our sleeves (or cars, or book bags or t-shirts) then we better be walking the walk.  We also need to be prepared to back up our “statements of faith” with the life we lead.  For me, it’s not about saying I love Jesus to everyone I meet; it’s about doing my best to act like I love Jesus.  I think actions speak louder than words.  I also think if I’m living it, there won’t be much left to say.  The bottom line is, it’s not about “me” anyway.

OK – here is where I am really going with this.  I’m a little frustrated because someone told me to “do it because I love Jesus”.  Well duh, that is why I do the things I do.  The good things, anyway.  For me (and I’m writing this), sharing my faith is more that wearing a t-shirt or a WWJD wristband.  Once you get to know me, you find a sinner saved by grace who was baptized 25 years ago and remains a sinner saved by grace.  I do not go around shaking hands, telling people Jesus loves them, hauling them to the nearest body of water for dunking and then moving on.  People do not come to know Jesus this way any more than the do when you tell them to F.R.O.G.  Go out into the world and live it.  Spend the time building the relationships.  The people you build relationships with will know you love Jesus and you won’t even have to mention it … or wear it or honk …

I Was Going To Say

I was going to use this space to say something about the differences in families today.  I’ll save that for my next post.   I am putting my thoughts on hold so that I can direct you to John’s post on Rules.  Let him know what you think.  I think that sometimes we get so caught up in the rules that we forget to love people where they are.  We are so busy enforcing the rules (read: being judgemental) that we lose sight of the fact that we are all the same.  Sinners saved by grace. 

He’s been converted … now what?

Why do people leave the church?  And abandon the very thing they embraced with such enthusiasm?  Are we so busy trying to add conversions to our numbers that we forget about keeping the people we converted?  Do we put so much time and energy into evangelism that we neglect giving new Christians a foundation?  Is there a happy medium?

 I talked with two people this weekend who used to attend our church.  Is it more important to convert new Christians than it is to extend a “welcome back” to those who have left?  Why did they leave?  I don’t know.  Why do I stay?  I do know that.  It has to do with relationships.  A relationship with Christ and relationships with the people I love as my church family.  Why didn’t these two people feel the same love?  When my relationship with Christ wasn’t what it should be (and isn’t what it should be), I have the support of my church family.  And when my love for them isn’t what it should be, I have strength in a relationship with Christ. 

 While it seems everyone else is scrambling to increase numbers, is it OK that I feel I need to scramble to keep the people we have ?

Full Circle Moments

Some things are falling in to place for me now and I am having more and more “full circle moments”.   As these little moments happen, I realize I am an adult now.  Sometimes that hits me out of the blue.  I really don’t spend a lot of time thinking about my age or the age I was when my parents were the age I am now.  (follow that?)  But, when the full circle moments of life happen, I am reminded that I am defintely getting older.  And I like it.  I am in a good place now with memories of good things and good things to look forward to. 

The best full circle moment I have had lately was out at camp during our week.  (surprised?)  On Sunday morning, the staff comes together for worship and the purpose of entering the week with the right mind set.  This year, as the communion tray was passed and I looked around at the faces of the staff members that I was in the youth group with and the staff members I have known since they were campers (some even since they were born!), I was not prepared for the emotional impact I felt when I saw my daughter and Christi’s daughter sitting side by side sharing communion as Christi and I have done so many times.  Full Circle Moments – some are more joyous than others.

32nd Anniversary

Yesterday during church we looked back at 32 years and then we looked forward.  I really enjoyed it.  It was neat to see all of the people who were at South on the first Sunday and it was neat to see how the church has grown and the different ministries that people have been involved in. 

My favorite part was hearing Mr Ray talk about the youth ministry.  The “young people” are so important to him and you can hear it in his voice.  I remember a special time following Scotty’s dad’s funeral when Miss Sam came to our house and talked about the youth ministry and it’s importance in the beginning of South. 

The service yesterday led to a lot of discussion in our house.  We talked about fond memories, youth ministry, tradition, out-of-the box thinking ….

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I have written and deleted many times while trying to compose this post.  I cannot seem to adequetly express my love for this congregation of people.  Thanks for the memories, thank you for helping (sometimes pushing) me to grow, thank you for loving me.  Thank you for 32 (25 in my case) great years! 

A Few More Pictures

For a few more pictures of Chelsea’s baptism, click here : http://picasaweb.google.com/lsteinlee .  All of the people that attended (some not pictured) have had such a great impact on Chelsea.  I love the picture of George with Chelsea.  Even though you cannot see their faces, the picture reminds me that the love we (should) have for one another in the body knows no boundaries (age, color, male or female, short or tall, etc).   

My Christian Uniform

Today I was driving through the Wal-Mart parking lot and getting a little irritated with someone who thought she owned the right of way.  I refrained from showing my anger because I had my State Farm shirt on.  On my way out of the parking lot, I felt very convicted because of what my reaction would have been had I not been in uniform (more on the uniform thing later).  If I would not have been “representing” State Farm, I would have given the person “the look” (as my husband calls it).  I started  thinking about being a Christian and acting the way I do sometimes.  I made a decision 22 years ago to put on Christ and call myself a Christian and even though I do not wear a uniform with the word “Christian” stitched on the front, I should be ever mindful of representing Christ.  Wow, convicted at Wal-Mart. 

Appearances

What attracted you to God? What made you decide that following Him was a good idea? I have been thinking about this lately as I look into a part of my life that I need to work on. I wonder what it is in people that attract other people to God. Do people come to church or have a Bible study with someone who “attracts” them either physically, socially or charismatically (is that really a form of a word) ? What do I need to change about my appearance so that people will come to know Christ? I’m not talking about a hair cut here. I need to be more “open” to people. I do not mean accepting of people, I mean I need to come across as more open. Maybe approachable is a better word. I also need to step out of my comfort zone and stick out my hand and meet people. I spent some time talking to a friend (who is also my boss) about his conversion. I wondered what attracted him to the guy who invited him to church. I asked him because I wonder if I am attracting enough people by the way I live my life. Are people seeing the love of Jesus in my daily actions? Have you heard that song “Let the beauty of Jesus be seen in me?” I love that song. Do I have enough interaction with people to make them want what I have spiritually? I think I only do this in “pockets” of my life. I am wondering if someone would feel comfortable talking to me about where they are spiritually (or even talking to me about the weather). In our conversation yesterday (the one with George, the friend boss) I heard something that I am going to try. He said sets out to be a friend and God takes care of the rest. Now I have always believed that God is in control and I always ask Him to take control. Now I need to work on my “appearance” . I need to appear “open” to people and that is going to mean being uncomfortable.