Wednesday, July 22, 2015
All In: The Struggle is Real
All In: this Struggle is Real
Transparent parenting. What a great thought. Truth is it's painful. So, I thought I'd share my most recent painful experience. When Kate was born, I had planned on going straight back to work. Within a couple weeks Gary looked at me and asked, "you're not going back to work are you?" And without a verbal answer we knew it would not be easy but that was the best choice for us. That's what we did. We went all in. The pattern of this was "Us." All or nothing. So, four years went by and we added Sam to our crew and went into full time ministry. I listened to my baby cry and feel the pain of leaving her friends behind because beyond her understanding, we went all in. Since then, many times we've rejoiced with her, and again cried with her, but always encouraged her independence in teaching her to be sensitive to the call of the anointing of the Holy Spirit on her life. Well, here's the stinky transparent side of my parenting for the last few weeks. Kate has been leading worship for some time now, so for her to tell me she's going to be leading worship at Camp Hickory Hills this summer wasn't a leap. In fact, it made me ecstatic to watch her soar in her worship - to lead her peers and younger campers into the Throne room! What a rush! I was all in!!! ...no problem. When she told me last Fall that she had a desire to go on a mission trip this Summer, I was all in. She was excited, I was excited. She prepared and packed, I watched and encouraged. She left, I fell apart. Suddenly, this all in thing wasn't such a good idea. For the first time I really had to let her go. It wasn't like when I dropped her off at school and she didn't cry because she missed me.. It wasn't like taking her to church camp for a week and watching her run off with friends instead of telling me bye, no this was the I'm feeling God's calling on my life to serve people. Suddenly, this brave mom realized that the people she would be serving were in Ecuador and not across the state from me. Was I brave? Yes. Was I excited? Yes. Was I scared to death? Yes. Then I realized that "Perfect love casts out fear." Suddenly my fear turned to peace, but I also knew this was a trial run. So, I had to make a decision once again to go all in. This time I felt the pain. All in would mean supporting her no matter where she goes, doing what she is called to do. Memories of my own Youth Mission Team experience flooded back and I promptly called my own mom and apologized for being gone from home do long without so much as a thought of a phone call half way around the world to let her know I was ok... How dare the 18 year old me. So, in my quiet time while she was on her own adventure halfway around the world, I went all in. It was painful and ugly. It was a decision that came with struggle, but I'm certain it will be worth it. To watch and support her as she continues in her journey is my job! It's also my privilege! Trusting God when I have control is easy. Trusting Him when I don't have control is painful. I resolve to live all in once again. I dedicated my life to be my kids parent, and that's what I shall be. All in. #bestjobintheworld #allin #parenting
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Giftfest Summary Info...
GiftFest ’08 Summary- this includes all the events for the week. It was a wonderful time in seeing where God is working and getting right in the middle of it. It's a little lengthy read, but it was a wonderful thing! What a vision from God!
Our goals:
1. To express God’s love in an unconditional way by giving the citizens of Maury County a “gift” through FREE events.
The attendance at the various events: (extremely accurate estimates from actual counts and other methods such as tickets issued to each attendee)
Pre-concert events - 350
Carnival – over 2000
Giveaway – over 2000 (1200 plus at yard sale; over 500 families received over $10,000 in food; over $500 of baby products)
Montell Jordan concert – 1000
Phil Stacey concert – 1850
Xtreme Sports assemblies – 6 schools; 5500 students/faculty
Xtreme Sports harvest night #1 - 700
Xtreme Sports harvest night #2 – 1600
Fireproof Movie – 870
Total – 15870 People
2. To share the greatest gift ever given to man by the sharing of the Gospel to as many people as possible through a variety of methods.
9820 people heard the Gospel. Of this number, statistics tell us that 78% do not attend church on a regular basis – Conclusion: 7660 people who need the Good News heard it.
3. To see people come to know Christ as Lord and Savior.
As of 9/26, we have recorded 256 professions of faith.
Carnival – 3
Giveaway – 9
Concerts – 44
Xtreme #1 – 58
Xtreme #2 – 142
4. To create unity among the body of Christ and encourage Kingdom-mindedness among the churches.
Over 300 volunteers from 42 churches and 13 denominations/classifications all working together. To date, I have not heard of one significant complaint or problem. We have become close friends to brothers and sisters in Christ that we never knew existed. People of different denominations are continuing to help each other in areas beyond the realm of GiftFest.
5. To follow God’s leading in preparing the specifics of GiftFest and trust Him for the resources to accomplish His will.
Our original budget was $105K but we added the Fireproof movie as an event which increased it to $109K. Although all the expenses are not in, it appears we will come in under budget yet we have collected over $116K in donations. 99.8% of this came from churches, church members, and other religious entities. Less than $300 came from businesses.
It has been a tremendous privilege for me to observe God’s orchestration of this event for the past 18 months. From the very beginning, the hand of God has been clearly seen. He brought together a wonderful group of people for a common purpose. The team leaders were hard-working and servant-minded. Not one pastor was concerned about his “turf” or doing a menial task. God even moved people to our area from out of state to participate in this. Satan attacked from time to time but God gave us victory every time.
As you can see, the giveaway portion was only on part of the entire event. We met many great people that have a heart for God through this process. Some may be interested in “how” we did this. To put together a How To manual that describes a, b, c, etc. might be possible but truly, this came to us from above. To copy this exactly, would be a mistake. God worked in a unique way in our unique setting. It sounds cliché but the key was listening to God through prayer and trusting Him for things beyond our ability to comprehend. This truly was a God thing. We'd be glad to share more about the why's of the venues and ideas behind them. God is amazing.
Once again, there were days that I wasn't sure i'd make it through, we'd been gathering stuff, sorting it and throwing away the yucky stuff, calling and getting food ordered from anyone that would let us order great big quantities, and trying to keep up with my own household duties, schoolwork, my family, and our church. We were able to attend 6 funerals 2 weddings and 2 births in the two weeks preceeding the giveaway. On those days when we were so very tired, there'd be a little lady bring me all the clothes from her recently deceased husband and say I've had a hard time getting rid of these, but I believe in what you are doing. I assured her that it was an honor for me to take them and that someone would greatly benefit from them! Another day when we were slowing down, a large suv pulled up with a dad and five children who excitedly marched in with all their stuff for the other kids that need it worse than they do...then that U-Haul pulled up with stuff in it from three families- it alone was enough to fill a house with furniture. I finally tell you that when I got the first call about coordinating this, I said there is absolutely no way I would ever be in charge of it...then the phone call came to ask me to do it and somehow I heard myself say, "Yes, I'd be glad to take that on!" I hung up the phone and said - ok God, You got me into this, You better begin to take care of it!" You know He never sets us up for failure. He just wants us to let Him take control through us. He answered my prayer for creativity and understanding of the task at hand and by His grace and because He is so faithful it was accomplished!
Our goals:
1. To express God’s love in an unconditional way by giving the citizens of Maury County a “gift” through FREE events.
The attendance at the various events: (extremely accurate estimates from actual counts and other methods such as tickets issued to each attendee)
Pre-concert events - 350
Carnival – over 2000
Giveaway – over 2000 (1200 plus at yard sale; over 500 families received over $10,000 in food; over $500 of baby products)
Montell Jordan concert – 1000
Phil Stacey concert – 1850
Xtreme Sports assemblies – 6 schools; 5500 students/faculty
Xtreme Sports harvest night #1 - 700
Xtreme Sports harvest night #2 – 1600
Fireproof Movie – 870
Total – 15870 People
2. To share the greatest gift ever given to man by the sharing of the Gospel to as many people as possible through a variety of methods.
9820 people heard the Gospel. Of this number, statistics tell us that 78% do not attend church on a regular basis – Conclusion: 7660 people who need the Good News heard it.
3. To see people come to know Christ as Lord and Savior.
As of 9/26, we have recorded 256 professions of faith.
Carnival – 3
Giveaway – 9
Concerts – 44
Xtreme #1 – 58
Xtreme #2 – 142
4. To create unity among the body of Christ and encourage Kingdom-mindedness among the churches.
Over 300 volunteers from 42 churches and 13 denominations/classifications all working together. To date, I have not heard of one significant complaint or problem. We have become close friends to brothers and sisters in Christ that we never knew existed. People of different denominations are continuing to help each other in areas beyond the realm of GiftFest.
5. To follow God’s leading in preparing the specifics of GiftFest and trust Him for the resources to accomplish His will.
Our original budget was $105K but we added the Fireproof movie as an event which increased it to $109K. Although all the expenses are not in, it appears we will come in under budget yet we have collected over $116K in donations. 99.8% of this came from churches, church members, and other religious entities. Less than $300 came from businesses.
It has been a tremendous privilege for me to observe God’s orchestration of this event for the past 18 months. From the very beginning, the hand of God has been clearly seen. He brought together a wonderful group of people for a common purpose. The team leaders were hard-working and servant-minded. Not one pastor was concerned about his “turf” or doing a menial task. God even moved people to our area from out of state to participate in this. Satan attacked from time to time but God gave us victory every time.
As you can see, the giveaway portion was only on part of the entire event. We met many great people that have a heart for God through this process. Some may be interested in “how” we did this. To put together a How To manual that describes a, b, c, etc. might be possible but truly, this came to us from above. To copy this exactly, would be a mistake. God worked in a unique way in our unique setting. It sounds cliché but the key was listening to God through prayer and trusting Him for things beyond our ability to comprehend. This truly was a God thing. We'd be glad to share more about the why's of the venues and ideas behind them. God is amazing.
Once again, there were days that I wasn't sure i'd make it through, we'd been gathering stuff, sorting it and throwing away the yucky stuff, calling and getting food ordered from anyone that would let us order great big quantities, and trying to keep up with my own household duties, schoolwork, my family, and our church. We were able to attend 6 funerals 2 weddings and 2 births in the two weeks preceeding the giveaway. On those days when we were so very tired, there'd be a little lady bring me all the clothes from her recently deceased husband and say I've had a hard time getting rid of these, but I believe in what you are doing. I assured her that it was an honor for me to take them and that someone would greatly benefit from them! Another day when we were slowing down, a large suv pulled up with a dad and five children who excitedly marched in with all their stuff for the other kids that need it worse than they do...then that U-Haul pulled up with stuff in it from three families- it alone was enough to fill a house with furniture. I finally tell you that when I got the first call about coordinating this, I said there is absolutely no way I would ever be in charge of it...then the phone call came to ask me to do it and somehow I heard myself say, "Yes, I'd be glad to take that on!" I hung up the phone and said - ok God, You got me into this, You better begin to take care of it!" You know He never sets us up for failure. He just wants us to let Him take control through us. He answered my prayer for creativity and understanding of the task at hand and by His grace and because He is so faithful it was accomplished!
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Fruit Loops and Faith
I wrote this several months ago...it was published in the may 2008 issue of the White Wing Messenger. Thought I'd share it with you too... enjoy.
Peggy
Hurry Mom – hurry! As I grab the milk out of the refrigerator and begin to pour some on Sam’s cereal, I take a deep breath. I know what is coming. One of those moments that happens everyday, silly enough, one of those moments that I am sure I’ll miss when Sam is big enough to pour his own milk. I take the milk and pour just enough to keep me comfortable. Enough, but not too much. Enough milk that if he spills it, there wouldn’t be too much of a mess. And then it comes; the test. Sam takes his little hand and presses down the cereal with his palm – I almost laugh out loud. The cereal is not covered in the small amount of milk I have poured and Sam says, “MOM!” So, without any other words, I know exactly what he wants – more milk. So, I answer by pouring more. I have now poured a 5 year old a bowl of cereal with enough milk for two servings. Believe it or not, Sam is happy. Of course, all I get is “Thanks Mom!” I smile and reply with “No problem Sam, try not to spill it.”
As I am putting the milk back into the fridge, the Lord begins to speak to me: “Peggy, have you been pressed down this week? Has it seemed like the enemy pressed his palm on you and called for more? Has he poured more on you than you expected? Has he left you swimming in enough for two or three people to bear?” You won’t believe what I heard next. “Call for more Peggy. I have allowed you to be pressed down. You have been so consumed with what was doing the pressing that you didn’t realize what you were being pressed down into. Open your eyes look and see that you are surrounded by my river. Hurry, call on me for more. The enemy believed that if he held you down long enough, you would panic, if he pressed you down, you’d give up…but, I am calling you to a deeper place. Allow me to pour so much of My Spirit on you that you loose control and don’t have to worry any more. Release yourself into My care. Let My strength, salvation, and healing flow all around you. Come on, ankle deep – not good enough. Knee deep – not good enough. Waist deep – not good enough. Don’t stop until you are so deep that you are totally consumed. My river that flows from my throne is good enough.”
I realize now that what I have needed all along was what I have been struggling against.
Allow God to plunge you into His River! Do you have sin in your life? Plunge yourself into the cleansing flow. Sickness in your life? Step out deeper. Stress, pain, broken hearts? Keep calling for more of the river until you are swept away! You cannot be swept away until you give in. You cannot be totally submersed until you let all your air out and you willingly go under. Go ahead and let go. Let the flood of our great big God take you where He wants.
Think about this, Isaiah 59 (KJV) is a wonderful picture of just how our God sweeps in and takes care of us. “When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.” This gives us a picture of the flood being our enemy. The flood being more than we can bear. What if we move that comma and read it like this: “when the enemy shall come in, like a flood the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.” Wow! What a change of scenery. Now we see the enemy being overtaken by the flood of the Lord’s Spirit! No longer will you see the enemy coming in “like a flood”, but you will see him being overtaken by the “flood of the Spirit.”
After all, who is bigger? Who is the maker of the flood? Let’s quit telling God how big the storm is and tell the storm how big God is! Are you pressed down? Call for more! Pour it out Lord. Surround me with Your River of grace, mercy, hope, and love!
As the familiar song says, “I am pressed but not crushed, persecuted, not abandoned. Struck down but not destroyed! I am blessed beyond the curse and His promise will endure and His joy’s gonna be my strength. Though the sorrow may last for the night, joy comes in the morning!”
Pour it out Lord. Let me be lost in You today.
Peggy
Hurry Mom – hurry! As I grab the milk out of the refrigerator and begin to pour some on Sam’s cereal, I take a deep breath. I know what is coming. One of those moments that happens everyday, silly enough, one of those moments that I am sure I’ll miss when Sam is big enough to pour his own milk. I take the milk and pour just enough to keep me comfortable. Enough, but not too much. Enough milk that if he spills it, there wouldn’t be too much of a mess. And then it comes; the test. Sam takes his little hand and presses down the cereal with his palm – I almost laugh out loud. The cereal is not covered in the small amount of milk I have poured and Sam says, “MOM!” So, without any other words, I know exactly what he wants – more milk. So, I answer by pouring more. I have now poured a 5 year old a bowl of cereal with enough milk for two servings. Believe it or not, Sam is happy. Of course, all I get is “Thanks Mom!” I smile and reply with “No problem Sam, try not to spill it.”
As I am putting the milk back into the fridge, the Lord begins to speak to me: “Peggy, have you been pressed down this week? Has it seemed like the enemy pressed his palm on you and called for more? Has he poured more on you than you expected? Has he left you swimming in enough for two or three people to bear?” You won’t believe what I heard next. “Call for more Peggy. I have allowed you to be pressed down. You have been so consumed with what was doing the pressing that you didn’t realize what you were being pressed down into. Open your eyes look and see that you are surrounded by my river. Hurry, call on me for more. The enemy believed that if he held you down long enough, you would panic, if he pressed you down, you’d give up…but, I am calling you to a deeper place. Allow me to pour so much of My Spirit on you that you loose control and don’t have to worry any more. Release yourself into My care. Let My strength, salvation, and healing flow all around you. Come on, ankle deep – not good enough. Knee deep – not good enough. Waist deep – not good enough. Don’t stop until you are so deep that you are totally consumed. My river that flows from my throne is good enough.”
I realize now that what I have needed all along was what I have been struggling against.
Allow God to plunge you into His River! Do you have sin in your life? Plunge yourself into the cleansing flow. Sickness in your life? Step out deeper. Stress, pain, broken hearts? Keep calling for more of the river until you are swept away! You cannot be swept away until you give in. You cannot be totally submersed until you let all your air out and you willingly go under. Go ahead and let go. Let the flood of our great big God take you where He wants.
Think about this, Isaiah 59 (KJV) is a wonderful picture of just how our God sweeps in and takes care of us. “When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.” This gives us a picture of the flood being our enemy. The flood being more than we can bear. What if we move that comma and read it like this: “when the enemy shall come in, like a flood the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.” Wow! What a change of scenery. Now we see the enemy being overtaken by the flood of the Lord’s Spirit! No longer will you see the enemy coming in “like a flood”, but you will see him being overtaken by the “flood of the Spirit.”
After all, who is bigger? Who is the maker of the flood? Let’s quit telling God how big the storm is and tell the storm how big God is! Are you pressed down? Call for more! Pour it out Lord. Surround me with Your River of grace, mercy, hope, and love!
As the familiar song says, “I am pressed but not crushed, persecuted, not abandoned. Struck down but not destroyed! I am blessed beyond the curse and His promise will endure and His joy’s gonna be my strength. Though the sorrow may last for the night, joy comes in the morning!”
Pour it out Lord. Let me be lost in You today.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Jephthah Who?
I love the Bible! It'a full of people who lived some strange messed up lives! God always proves that He receives Glory from people that trust Him! Sunday in the Youth Sunday School Class, we talked about Jephthah. You'll find his story in Judges 11. Jephthah lived a rough life, it was rough for him before he was old enough to know it... it's quite a story.
He was the product of his dad's relationship with a prostitute. He lived with his dad's family until they sent him away. When he began to make a name for himself, they called him back to get them out of a fix when an old enemy raises its head to try to take back some land that had been in Israel's possession for 300+ years... Believe it or not, he goes and does what they ask! The story goes on to say that not only did he do what they asked, "the spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah" and he was able to retain the land and dispose of the enemy. In the heat of the battle, Jephthah made a vow to God...you know, one of those "if you get me out of this, I'll..." vows. It was that he would sacrifice the first thing that came through his door to greet him when he returned home after the battle to the Lord for keeping him safe. I know crazy.
I remember making some sort of "if you'll get me out of this" vow when I was 7 or 8 on top of a county fair roller coaster that was held up by cinder blocks...but really, I have kept that vow. I have never been on another county fair roller coaster...and I don't ever plan to!:)
Jephthah's vow ended up being a little more harsh...his only child was the one that ran through the door to greet him...there are differences of opinion as to whether the daughter actually lost her physical life or lost her life to live as a celebate in the church...
today, I'm thinking how many times have I said things I didn't want to follow through with, or said things that would hurt someone very close to me...?
Psalms 19:14 says "May the words of my mouth and the meditaiton of my heart be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, My Rock, and My Redeemer."
O Lord, we live in a world that people get away with saying almost anything. It seems to be acceptable that a simple "I'm sorry" is supposed to be enough to get you out of almost anything...but Lord, I know that words can hurt, but they can also help and heal. Let me be careful what I speak, knowing that the power of life and death is in my mouth. Let me speak words that encourage and strengthen rather than drag someone down. Let my words speak of Your Faithfulness and Peace. Let me most of all THINK BEFORE I SPEAK. and may the words of my mouth and the thoughts in my heart please You!
Amen.
I said God is Faithful!
Peggy
He was the product of his dad's relationship with a prostitute. He lived with his dad's family until they sent him away. When he began to make a name for himself, they called him back to get them out of a fix when an old enemy raises its head to try to take back some land that had been in Israel's possession for 300+ years... Believe it or not, he goes and does what they ask! The story goes on to say that not only did he do what they asked, "the spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah" and he was able to retain the land and dispose of the enemy. In the heat of the battle, Jephthah made a vow to God...you know, one of those "if you get me out of this, I'll..." vows. It was that he would sacrifice the first thing that came through his door to greet him when he returned home after the battle to the Lord for keeping him safe. I know crazy.
I remember making some sort of "if you'll get me out of this" vow when I was 7 or 8 on top of a county fair roller coaster that was held up by cinder blocks...but really, I have kept that vow. I have never been on another county fair roller coaster...and I don't ever plan to!:)
Jephthah's vow ended up being a little more harsh...his only child was the one that ran through the door to greet him...there are differences of opinion as to whether the daughter actually lost her physical life or lost her life to live as a celebate in the church...
today, I'm thinking how many times have I said things I didn't want to follow through with, or said things that would hurt someone very close to me...?
Psalms 19:14 says "May the words of my mouth and the meditaiton of my heart be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, My Rock, and My Redeemer."
O Lord, we live in a world that people get away with saying almost anything. It seems to be acceptable that a simple "I'm sorry" is supposed to be enough to get you out of almost anything...but Lord, I know that words can hurt, but they can also help and heal. Let me be careful what I speak, knowing that the power of life and death is in my mouth. Let me speak words that encourage and strengthen rather than drag someone down. Let my words speak of Your Faithfulness and Peace. Let me most of all THINK BEFORE I SPEAK. and may the words of my mouth and the thoughts in my heart please You!
Amen.
I said God is Faithful!
Peggy
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