Dance in the rain!

I read a quote at camp this year. “It’s not about getting through your storm, it’s about learning to dance in the rain.”

I shouldn’t have to add to that, but I know if I don’t, some will miss the real message. I just got back from youth camp 2008. What a great time at Laguna Beach Christian Retreat. If you can get there, do. Anyway, one night in service the worship team (you guys and gals rock) got into a set of unplanned, unrehearsed music. With this came the call to dance in the presence of the Lord. Now you may not see break dancing, limbo and the “turtle dance” as something to do while praising God, but I am telling you straight, God wants us to dance with Him, before Him, around Him, because of Him. Young people, old people, young people acting like old people and old people acting young began dancing and having fun in the presence of God. What fun. WHAT FUN! My goodness, what a good time.

The next day, however, this question was posed to me, “Can we get on our knees or dance during “regular” worship?” Hmmmm… What exactly is regular worship? Maybe that’s something I think all of us should think about. What is regular worship? What is regular praise? What is regular prayer? Do we pray/praise/worship harder when things aren’t “regular”? I know I tend to be guilty of that sometimes. When things get jacked up, when bills are late, when kids are freaking out, I can really find some time for God then. But that time is usually spent begging for mercy and grace instead of praising and dancing.

So here’s my thought, let’s dance. Not just in the regular times when the sun shines, but when the lightning flashes, the thunder rolls and the rain pours. Let’s spend our lives praising for what we have instead of complaining about what we don’t. Just a thought.

Enjoy Life

Some thing I came across today.

1. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don’t have to win every argument.  Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone.  It’s more healing than crying alone.
8. It’s OK to get angry with God.  He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11 . Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.
12. It’s OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don’t compare your life to others’.  You have no idea what their
journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn’t be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye.  But don’t worry; God
never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath.  It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It’s never too late to have a happy childhood.  But the second one
is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t take no
for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie.
Don’t save it for a special occasion.  Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now.  Don’t wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness, except you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: ‘In five years,
will this matter?’
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29 What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time, time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick.  Your friends
will. Stay in touch.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of whom God is, not because of anything you
did or didn’t do.
35. Don’t audit life.  Show up and make the most of it now.
36. Growing old beats the alternative–dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood.  Make it memorable.
38. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d
grab ours back.
41. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
42. The best is yet to come.
43. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
44. Yield.
45. Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift.

What’s holding us back?

From my Pastor’s blog :

Think about this qoute for just a minute….

“The greatest impediment to a real move of God in our society is the thin veneer of Christianity laid on top of unrepentant people, as exemplified in our Christian music pop culture… this veneer inoculates them against any real calls to repentance and discipleship.”

Wow! Are we truly inoculated against calls to repentance? I think so. The longer I pastor the more I come to realize that most people use “Christianity” as a security blanket. It is a “belief system” entangled within many other belief systems. There is no real call to move out into a deeper relationship with God…laying down our lives…and certainly…no talk of crucifying ourselves with Christ. It is mostly about what church I attend, what denomination I’m affliated with, or our “title” within either one of those…

I wonder what would happen if we stopped looking over others shoulders and started looking in our own backyard?

Mark Driscoll was asked by a reporter, “Does is make much sense celebrating Easter when most people do not believe in sin? (my paraphrase) Mark responding by saying, “People still believe in sin…just not their own.”

I have had two conversations with people in our church in the last 24 hours that have rocked my world. Stuff that has been confessed…repented of…and then asked for forgiveness. Neither of them were spurned by me but by the Holy Spirit working on the hearts and lives of those individuals…and trust me…they were not your “average” screw ups.

This is what the Bible says about this.

2 Corinthians 7:14

“If, my people that are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from Heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. ” (ESV)

What needs to be healed in your life? Who do you need to let go and forgive? Healing only comes when we humbly come to Dad, repent, turn from our idols, and then sit back and watch as our Heavenly Father does wonderful things in our lives.

I quoted this for a reason. I received a phone call yesterday from a twelve year girl in my youth group. The question was, “How do you tell someone you don’t really like that you forgive them for hating you?” It amazes me that as God works in the adults, He also works on the same issues with the young people.

Oh, yeah. The answer to her question? Pray for her. If you can sincerely pray for her, you can start to like her. You really cannot hate someone you sincerely pray for. Jesus said something like that, also.

Peace, P Roy <><

Remember When?

Remember when…we got to the clubhouse and we were locked out of the room in which we had our nursery?

Yeah…Fun,fun,fun. I love the trailer park.