Throw away the negative, latch on to the positive

I've been really busy in my brain for the past two weeks. For some reason I haven't been able to stop my brain to concentrate, but all of the sudden it has become very clear and the two words screaming in my head are POSITIVE and NEGATIVE.

Being constructive, working towards solutions, finding new ways to accomplish the mission and vision that God has set before us, working on the positive. I know how easy it becomes to fall into the, "what if this had happened, we used to do it this way, we've always done this, this certain way." Our world is changing, our country is changing, our state is changing, our city is changing. Our lives are always in a constant state of change, sometimes we don't want to see it, or we try to fight it but is an inevitable thing. Change is not the enemy. It is good to have tradition, we can not move forward without looking back from where we came. But then we have to look towards the future our we get stuck in the past. Today is the day to grab a hold of what He has planned for us and tomorrow is the future that He has promised us. But we must always remember that it doesn't stop with us! That is part of the future, "to go and make disciples."

So how does this tie in with being positive or negative? We as the church collective get bogged down with, the way things "used" to be done, or "we've always done it this way." That is not always being negative, but it doesn't always help in being positive or trying to reach out to newcomers. Speaking from experience, when you are trying to get involved with some new group and they constantly speak about things that "used" to happen, then the new people that are trying to get involved can feel lost, and or realize this is not the group for them. Reminiscing is fun, but if we stay back there, we're going to lose out on what's happening now, and what new people and new experiences can bring.

Let' talk POSITIVE! "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, so that whosoever shall believeth in Him will not perish but have eterenal life." (memorized that from the King James version, can you tell. haha!!) How can we get more positive, or feel a deeper love than that! In the song, "Jesus Messiah" by Chris Tomlin and friends, they write:

He became sin, who knew no sin
That we might become His righteousness
He humbled Himself, and carried the cross
Love so amazing, Love so amazing

Jesus Messiah, Name above all names
Blessed Redeemer, Emmanuel
The Rescue for sinners, the Ransom fom Heaven
Jesus Messiah, Lord of all

His body the bread, His blood the wine
Broken and poured out, all for love
The whole earth trembled, and the veil was torn
Love so amazing, love so amazing

All our hope is in You, all our hope is in You
All the glory to You, God, the Light of the world

Jesus Messiah, Lord of all
The Lord of all, the Lord of all


"The Rescue for sinners, the Ransom from heaven, Jesus Messiah, Lord of all!"
We have our lives and everything in them BECAUSE of Him! Because He sacrificed Himself, God sacrificed His Son, so that WE may have eternal life! THAT IS HUGE!! That is POSITIVE times infinity!! We all win! But we owe it to Him, we owe EVERYTHING to Him!

We are all negative, we are all human, we get caught up, pulled in, drug down into the muck and the mire. But, what we need to keep reminding ourselves is that we have been given a gift, a very precious gift. We are preparing ourselves and the world for the remembrance of the birth of our Lord, Jesus Christ. But it didn't stop there, He grew, He changed, He helped change and miracles come about. He has asked us to share that, "Good News." To shout it from the rooftops, that Jesus is Lord and that He came for you and me, and us all.

So wake in the morning, and tell the Lord thank you for this day, and pray to Him to give us the strength and guidance to meet the day with a smile and a positive attitude. We will stumble and we will fall, but He is always there to pick us up.

I'm going to begin my positives for the day:
1. Experienced the Lord in two amazing services. The choir sang with all their hearts, (in tune,) and I felt the Lord's presence with us as we sang for Him. The praise team played their first accoustic set and we could hear the congregation singing as one, praising our Lord, and my heart was so full that I was moved to tears of joy at what wondrous acts our Lord provides.
2. I was able to see a friend at church that I haven't seen in months and reconnect.
3. Enjoy a Thanksgiving meal with a growing and chaotic Palmer family.
4. Was able to close my eyes and rest fo 20 min. before practice as our boys had quiet time as well, (and were actually quiet! hehe!) and my husband was doing the laundry,
5. Enjoyed putting a service together with the praise team that is well thought out and keeping Him in the center.
6. Sitting and watching my youngest sleep and rest. (Now that is a positive!)

So, my question to any and all of you is:
How are you going to "latch" onto the positive?

Extravagant Passionate "Thankful" Worship

I went to our Cluster Charge Conference yesterday at church and have been chewing on some things during the day. Parts of it were not extremely stimulating, but a few things that our District Superintendent, Cindy Reynolds said, really stuck with me. She was talking about Passionate Worship. (I'm paraphrasing.) She was saying that when we come to worship it is not a time to complain, about the color of the room, that some new person sat in my seat, that I don't like the sermon, or music, (you insert,) because we have 6 other days of the week to complain. On Sunday, we are supposed to come ready to worship, to be passionate in our worship, and remember why we are there. I have thought about this today, while sitting at Jackie Gotz's funeral, and then being with Jonathon all day, and working at the farm store, things started connecting. Jackie, if you didn't know her, was an amazing woman. I remember her always having a smile on her face, she loved to sing and praise her Lord through singing with the choir, sharing with the children of the church, and many, many other things. But, she did this all EXTRAVAGANTLY, because she was making her life a continual praise to her Lord. Today, (everyday :) !!) with Jonathon, he lives life EXTRAVAGANTLY AND PASSIONATELY, as many of you can attest! Tonight he prayed as he does now, to keep his Papa Kenny in heaven, so he will stay healthy, (he used to pray that God bring him back to us,) and then tonight he did something new, he said, " thank you," for so many things and people. My son is learning to be thankful, THANK YOU, LORD!! So many days of the week, I go, we go, hardly ever hearing a heartfelt, "thank you!" So many days, our Lord goes without hearing a heartfelt, "thank you!" What Cindy Reynolds said about coming to worship not to complain, (but as I add my spin,) it is a time to say a heartfelt, extravagant, passion-filled, "THANK YOU!" Kara Szyarto has on her blog the acoustic version of Lincoln Brewster singing, "Today is the Day!" We just sang that song this weekend as well, and as Kara has been telling me what an impact that song is making on her, it has helped just put one more piece in the puzzle for me. Live every day for, "Today IS the DAY!" We are called to live EACH and EVERY day for Him. Extravagantly, Passionately, and Thankful for HIM! And, especially on Sunday, when we are coming, supposedly, to focus on Him, we are to do it, "with all heart, all our mind, and all our strength!" No where in the bible, that I know, does it say that when we come to worship it's a time to complain, or be-little, or put-down, or crab, etc., you get the idea. (And we are all guilty of it in some way, if we are honest with ourselves.) It is sooooo, easy and simple to get caught in the day to day and forget why we are here, and what we are called to do. So my challenge to myself and I hope for you, as we get ready for the thanksgiving service this weekend and Thanksgiving in just a few weeks, is that we live our lives each and every day, and especially when we worship or are preparing to worship, that we remember a very simple thing..."it's not about me." That we remember that it's about our Lord, and bringing all of ourselves to extravagantly, passionately, and with a thankful heart to worship our Lord, and Savior! This IS what it's all about people! "Today Is The Day!" each and every day! So, the next time, I or you, start to complain as we enter worship, or we hear someone else start to complain, let's just remind ourselves, "this is not the time to complain, we have six other days of the week to complain." (and hopefully, we cut down on those days as well.) Now is the time to praise and worship our Lord, extravagantly, passionately and with a thankful heart!

I'm Not Ashamed

"When you found me, my whole world changed, I'm redeemed by your life. Let the earth see you are freedom, turned my darkness to light! You welcomed me in with open arms, into unending life! I'm not ashamed of the gospel Lord, Your power, Your love, that saved my soul, now I'm alive in You, I live in the risen Son!" During this time of upheaval, change, stock market ups and downs, etc., everyone has an opinion on everything. Sometimes when we feel okay with things or even when we don't we have a tendency to stay with the "status quo" or the"don't rock the boat" syndrome. Now we could get into a whole debate on the political issues of everyone but my point is about our faith and how we decide to live our everyday lives. DON'T BE ASHAMED! of who you are and what you believe in and shout it from the rooftops that God is our Savior and there is GOOD NEWS! That He has come for all of us, not just for those of us that sit in the pews every sunday morning. He changed my life and so many around me and we are not only called, but commanded to go and share the good news, to go and make disciples. Jesus is freedom! He has brought the Light for us and we NEED TO SHARE IT! We need to remember to share the Light in our everyday lives as well. When the kids are screaming their heads off, our or spouse does something that truly annoys us, or you need to just listen to a friend and be there for them. It's hard sometimes to remember to be the Light in the small things. (I know I seem to be rambling today, but I have a lot flying in my head, hehehe!) Overall, we are taking baby steps to reaching out to those within our church and how we can reach out to those outside the four walls. My challenge and question to you is: How do we share the Light, how do we share the Good News? Be specific, I'm not talking, "what if's" , or "if we could only's!" Let's think BIG, and DON'T BE ASHAMED to SHOUT it from the rooftop ideas.
We need your input, let me hear your voice. For example my sister has been talking with the director of the Terrace Park Apts. about a coat and that drive but then also other events that we can get people out of the church and into the mission fields. Let me know your ideas on how to reach out with our praise team and services. Please check email as well for more business issues.

Follow the Light

"Just follow the Light that shines through the darkest night. Just follow the Hope that brings vision to our sight. Just follow the dream that leads to the Prince of Peace. Wherever you are, look to the star and follow the Light." That says it all folks! A simple enough task right? If I know one thing with absolute certainty, it is that we as humans make "simple tasks," VERY DIFFICULT!
I've been listening over and over to the Christmas musical and so many things stick out to me each and every time, but one of the insistent ones at this time is, "just follow the Light." This makes so much sense, but yet we get so confused and allow ourselves to get, "Lost in Translation." We've been brainstorming and discussing in many meetings, "how do we help reach people?" "What do we do to reach the people that are here?" "What do we do to reach the un-churched?" And I think we get so caught up in pleasing everyone sometimes that we forget to do that simple thing, "just follow the Light!" Follow the Light! Follow our Lord, look at His life, see how He reached people? He spoke in parables often, He met with people that were, unseemly, or considered bad, lowly, unclean, etc. He communicated in many ways, he would draw pictures to help the disciples and others understand. He made things, "Come to Life!" They believed what He was saying because He made it believable!

As I've been explaining to people why we are doing the Christmas Musical/Cantata on Christmas Eve at 10 pm and for the community on Dec 18, I realized I kept using the phrase, "Make the story come to life." I was reading Mark Need's blog, and he was saying something that I had been thinking as well. I want to share it with you. (If I get a few words wrong I apologize Mark, I couldn't get it to "copy" into my blog. (I'm still learning, hehe!)

Words of Mark Need:
"As I continue to try to improve my preaching, I ran across a thought that struck me. The idea goes something like this: If you generalize about something you make it seem far away, but if you are very specific it seems close...We speak of God and Heaven and Salvation...Yet, they seem so far away. We speak of a God that did amazing things...years ago. We preach about a Heaven...in the skies. We accept a salvation...for the future. My aim is to narrow the gap. What is God doing, RIGHT NOW! Where is Heaven, RIGHT HERE! What does salvation mean for our lives, RIGHT HERE AND NOW!..For teachers and pastors, our aim continues to be that of offering a better glimpse of God at work in the people's lives...Not just long ago...Not in others' lives...Not in the future...but God at work and play, RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW!" (I didn't include everything in the post so I encourage you to look at the rest of his post and his blog. It will make you think! You can click on his link from my page.)

YES!!!!!!!!! That's it! We need to bring things to the HERE, the NOW! And make them come ALIVE!! I feel that it is our job to help come along with the pastor's and help "bring Heaven down to earth, " to use a Granger phrase. We are all a team, and we have all been, "called" to help make disciples. So, here is my question.
How do we continue to make our services, traditional and contemporary, bring Heaven down to earth, and make the gospel come ALIVE?
I would love to hear all of your ideas and see us get a good discussion going so that we can start acting. To close with another phrase from the Granger conference, so that we can, "Stop Talking... and Start Doing!"
God Bless You All, I look forward to hearing from you1
Heidi:)

"The Best Life Ever" Use of Time, Talent, & Treasure

As we get ready for this week we focus on the, "Use of Time," as I said in my e-mail to the praise team, we need to remember as the hymn says that we need Him every hour. We need to remember Him in everything we do and take the time to stop and remember that we can, "stop the merry-go-round and get off!" He will help us if we choose to let Him.
I would like to ask for ideas for the upcoming sundays, because I know that He is leading you, just as much as He is leading me. Here are the upcoming dates, themes and scriptures:
Nov. 2 - Use of Talent - (also emphasizing Spiritual Gifts) I Cor. 12:4-6 and I Peter 4:10 - music so far, "Father, Spirit, Jesus" "I'm Not Ashamed" the Cherub choir will be helping for this sunday.
Nov. 9 - Use of Treasure - 2 Cor. 9:1-7 and texts on contentment
Nov. 16 - Thanks Be To God! All church Thanksgiving Event - Psalm 100- We will be having one service melding both traditional and contemporary together for this service from 10:10 am-11:30 am. The Thanksgiving Dinner will follow the service.
Nov. 23 - Christ the King Sunday - Matthew 25:31-46 "A Kingdom of Service"

I will add Advent Season soon. And for those of you that weren't at rehearsal on Sunday I need you to check your calendars for either Dec. 17 or 18. We are looking at doing a community service of the Christmas Cantata/Musical and then doing it for the 10:00 pm Chritmas Eve service.

I am eager to hear your ideas and I leave you with this question to ponder.
How can we reach people? In and out of our church, what can we use? Music, video, drama, readings, testimonies, the arts, etc. Let me know your ideas on these services.

God Bless!!

Music for Team/Rehearsal

This coming sunday we will be singing: Better Is One Day, Everything Glorious, Your Love Oh Lord, Your Love Is Extravagant, and Because Of Your Love. The theme for this week is "The Best Life Ever: The Life You've Only Imagined" Scripture-I Corinthians 13
If you have time please read through the scripture, listen and read through the words of the songs and think about how we need to help bring across the message of love that God has asked us to share and by doing that WE WILL have the "Best Life Ever." It is better to live in our Lord's house and to follow as he has instructed. As the scripture says, "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging symbal." As a vocalist and (an accidental musician) this phrase really resonates with me because if we aren't communicating in love as we help lead worship than what we are putting out there is like that loud gong or annoying cymbal. I know we are always going to have complaints about some things, that some are not going to understand or like a new style of worship, but that is human nature and a natural occurence. We work very hard at what we are doing and what we do comes from our hearts and that comes through to people. God's message is "resonating" with me and I truly feel and have been told by people that His message is coming through on sunday mornings. So when we come face to face with negativity or naysayers we must do as we are called to do and "turn the other cheek" and continue to spread His message of Love throughout our church and community!
We pray Lord, that we continue to keep true to Your message and let not our words be heard but that You be heard through us! Amen!

Concerns

Hey Everybody! I wanted to address some of your concerns about using a blog for our ministry. First if there are things that you would like to talk privately with me please feel free to do that by calling, e-mailing, or speaking face to face with me. There are times that emails don't get to people or it's more difficult to have a group discussion by email. I am hoping that we are able to use this as a place to open up healthy discussion for our ministy. You are always welcome to post something as anonymous, that is not a problem. I truly feel that this can be helpful if we work at it. Thanks for your concerns, because it means you are at least paying attention! :) Heidi