Character...

I'm not talkin the Easter Bunny or Elmo on this one, I'm talking straight up character. You know, who you are when no one is looking type of stuff... the integrity part of character. It's easy to be a character, you strap on a costume and for a few moments/ hours you get to be someone different, that actually seems like a great idea... escaping reality for a little (but thats a blog for another time). Do others need to question your motives? Do they have to try to figure out if you're being genuine? Is there something that you have said or done that may offend someone, if so how do you deal with that? Did you accuse someone of something that wasn't even close to true and then gossip to others about it? Or do you do your best to live a life that is respectable and ask for forgiveness when you mess up? Character is the willingness to say, I was wrong. It's the humility that say although I was hurt I should not have said or did what I ended up saying or doing. Its the ability to say, I'm sorry. Weak character throws other people's character and integrity into question. Rather than dealing with their own flaws those of weak character attack others to draw the attention away from themselves. Those of weak character don't want or ask others to challenge them to grow, they are comfortable in their ways and do not wantto have to change. So would it be easier to throw on a character costume than to actually work to build character, yeah obviously... but hey just so you know it gets pretty hot in those suit... and if you're hiding in a costume behind a mask no one will ever get a chance to know the real you. (just sayin)

A Sea of Purple...

So it's Wednesday and I am sitting at our Babylon campus in the basement. There is purple EVERYWHERE. Now I am not purple's biggest fan to begin with but this is like a purple overload... and it's 2 different shades of purple. Anyway.. after my instal annoyance at the color and a really really weird picture on the back wall I am seeing it for more then just the sea of purple that it is. Now that most of the garbage has been cleared out and we're planning and brainstorming it's a whole new sea.... not just a sea of purple... it's a sea of potential. I don't just see four walls that need some TLC or a room that's been just so let go and unloved. I see a room full of potential. I see kids learning motions to songs, opening up bibles, and learning and growing together. I see kids laughing and playing as they grow in their knowledge of who God is. I see teachers and parents with happy tears in their eyes as they watch kids change. I see 9 people who have watched this church slowly fall apart be ignited with passion because once more this will become a place where a community is impacted and loved. I see people coming in off the streets just because they want to know what is going on in this once almost abandoned looking building. I see a situation that looked so impossible being redeemed for an even greater purpose. I see this sea of purple being used to bring in a sea of FULL REDEMPTIVE POTENTIAL.

Looking forward to what God is going to do here!!!! It's gonna be AWESOME!!!!

SAY WHAT?!?!?

Over the last week or so I have heard or encountered some crazy, SAY WHAT?!?!? moments.

Last Friday on the way to grab some lunch with a few good friends one of them told me that when her daughter was asked where she would like to go to church, where she felt like she was being fed & challenged to grow, and was given a few choices she said... The Point. WOW... when a 10-11 year old says something like that it just FLOORS you.

That was the first of my SAY WHAT moments.

Then Sunday our AMAZING kids along with one of our amazing kids workers sang some worship songs they have been learning for the last few weeks. They have an amazing family who has been teaching them the songs and the motions but they were unable to be at Point Kids this week. The first moment of amazement happens while watching their teacher do the motions who only saw and heard the songs once. Then to watch the kids remember the motions and be excited about it was just as amazing.

Seeing our toddlers connecting with their teachers was pretty awesome too!

Hearing in our annual church business meeting that our Kids attendance has DOUBLE in the last year blew my mind... I mean I knew it had but hearing it was pretty AWESOME.

Sunday morning was filled with SAY WHAT?!?! moments. Another was.... Ryleigh... she's one of the younger kids at Point Kids. Ryleigh and her family have been coming to the point for a few months and Ryleigh has been a little slow to come into POINT KIDS. At first she would hang by the younger kids area. Then she started sitting toward the back of the older kids area with her mom. Then she started to move up little by little, but mom still needed to be close by. Then she would let mommy leave but still sat off to the side. This week.... Ryleigh walks into church and says to her dad.... I want to go to class.... and then I walked in to say hi to the kids and Ryleigh is sitting UP FRONT and dancing and singing with the kids... during the lesson Ryleigh sat with the rest of the kids. SAY WHAT?!?!?! WOW!!!! What an amazing moment!

But it doesn't stop there.... I got this wall post on Monday... So here is a post from a mom Her Daughter Emma goes to Point kids.

"My LOL ...Me: lets put on the scarf 2 cover ur chest, i dont want u 2 get sick/ Emma:OK mami n we dont want Jesus 2 get sick either, right Jesus?!! .....why? Her teacher told her Jesus lives in her heart!" Too Cute!

I love the SAY WHAT?!?!? moments in life... esp when they involve such AWESOME kids!!!

Loving what God is doing in our church and loving what I am learning as we grow!

Closets and Cobwebs...

So yesterday was one of those days where all you really wanted to do was stay home in bed or on the couch curled up with some coco and a good movie (or book) and just veg out. It was cold and yucky.... but I got ready and joined my pastor and our admin assistant at our new campus in Babylon. It was quiet the experience.

When you first walk down the outside steps to the basement door you are greeted by some not so attractive doors. Then you proceed through the doors into a hallway that looks a little dreary. Needless to say it wasn't the most visually stimulating of circumstances, I mean really when you're fighting off cobwebs it's not so much fun.

Anyway my pastor asked me to start organizing the things that were already at the church for the kids ministries. So with trash bags in hand I started sorting at first it was 2 piles TRASH and KEEP. Then I started thinking, maybe not TRASH everything that we won't use, so a third pile was introduced... GIVE AWAY. It took about 2 hours to clear off a 3 shelf shelving unit and a closet. There were some things that I discovered that sent me flashing back to the early 90s when I attended kids church and then there were some things that just made me sad. As I organized things and cleans some stuff up I at some points had to fight off tears as I became so sad that a church that was once active and clearly had some kids running through it became so quiet and almost forgotten. I discovered a picture of about 10 kids ranging from around 5 or so to about 11 years old and it was in that moment that I had to fight my hardest to not ball my eyes out. I realized that this church was once a place where kids were learning and growing.

There are homes in the area with families who have yet to see the amazing things God can and will do in and through them. I am so excited for our church to have been given this opportunity to become part of what is going to happen in that area. It's going to be awesome being a part of seeing a building and a church that was so broken and in disrepair raise up and help others reach and know their full redemptive potential.

All this happen while cleaning out some closets and attempting to avoid some cobwebs. Love when God speaks to my heart during an unexpected moment.

2 years later....

It started as a joke... "When you gonna come work with me?" no wait it started about 7 years before that...

A broken, messed up 17 year old trying to figure out this whole life and God thing... and a youth pastor who was all kinds of crazy just simply showing compassion to a group of kids. The invitation to help stuff worship guides for youth group came and the desire to not be at home the following afternoon won over. So... when softball practice or games didn't get in the way stuffing worship guides was the deal... someone had to do it. Through that interaction there was a bond formed... a leader worth trusting and following who invested in a 17 year old who just wanted to know what God had in mind for her. There was a service at youth retreat that broke this girls heart and helped her to see that there might just be some kind of plan for her life. The pastor prayed and the girl just knew something had to change. A few months later he encouraged her to apply to bible college... she thought he was crazy but agreed to apply. They prayed, along with his amazing wife (to be) that the girl would only get into the college she should. So three months later she moved her stuff into a college dorm..... Zion Bible College. They kept in touch and she went "home" to visit but became very content with where she was and the opportunities given to her. She got involved in a church and fell in love with a place. But things started to change she felt a shift coming. Things just seemed to need to change. A visit home usually did the trick to reassure the choice to be where she was... so she did just that and visited the church her youth pastor had started. She walked in and it just felt like home, which was weird to her because she never really felt at home where she had grown up. Two months later she was offered a job at that same church. There was a time of praying and debating but she knew all along that it was what felt like the right choice. So she once again pack all of her belongings and took that 3 hour journey toward a new chapter in life. Two years (and a day) later it's one of the BEST choices she has EVER made!!!

It's amazing what happens just because some crazy guy asked for help folding some paper to hand out at a youth service. Small steps/ small gestures can change someone's world.

Words Can Change the World....

My earlier post prompted friends to post things on Facebook and Twitter to say amazingly kind and loving things... thanks for that!

But what just happened changed my world for the better... there were 2 different phrases and each of them hit me just as hard as the next... but hard in a good way.

The first... "I'm Sorry!"--> It's amazing what you end up feeling when someone says that phrase. How the hurt that happened just seems to melt a way, even just a tad... it's a pretty incredible thing.

The next... "I love you!"--> Love heals all wounds... it's true!

Needless to say... my utter dependance on my heavenly Father for comfort and peace... although coupled with a headache and a few snotty tissues... came way sooner than I really expected.

Amazed at the power of words and the faithfulness of God!!!

Concrete Girl...

What would happen if this concrete girl just all of the sudden become a puddle? Concrete is rock solid, it's the stuff that you build things on top of because its so sturdy. It's the stuff you use to hold other things in place like steel rods in a building. It's the foundation of a house. It's not something you usually envision as a broken mess (unless of corse you are envisioning pot wholes). So what would happen if this concrete girl just fell apart? Would it be ok if I just became a puddle of nothingness?

I've always been able to hold it together outwardly even if my universe is flipped upside down and inside out. I'd rarely cry in public and I would do my best to hold it together even in private. There were moments though that I lost it... tears would flow and there would be a gross nasty snot mess to clean up after.

I'm not perfect, far from it, and I try not to give off that persona that I am perfect because I know how MESSED up I am. I know that I screw up all the time and that I hurt other people and that I am kind of a mess some times. I know that I'm not the best that I could be or even should be. I know that if I am not reminded about something I will often forget it. I know how worthless I am without God's help. I know all that. But I try so hard to hold it together and to do my best. But too often my best falls so short. Too often I'm left wondering how I didn't do that better and how I fail so miserably.

This concrete girl has had a rough day and my heart is hurting today... so today... this concrete girl is giving herself permission to be ok with falling apart a little bit. Hope the world doesn't mind but this concrete girl is going to fall into the arms of her Father where there is grace, acceptance, forgiveness, love, mercy and understanding. She's gonna let her guard down with her Daddy God and let Him put the pieces back where they need to be because she knows there is no way she can do it on her own.