Friends, Friendships & Friendshifts May 6, 2010

Just as lotions and fragrance give sensual delight, a sweet friendship refreshes the soul. Proverbs 27:9

Friends, Friendships and Friendshifts has been on my mind for the last couple of weeks.  I’ve been doing some serious thinking about all of these.  One because I want to be a better friend and I truly desire to develop some strong-true friendships!  And I absolutely HATE friendshifts because they HURT!  So I thought I’d go with one of my “friend” verses because I’m begging God to continue to do a work in my life in this area.

Through scripture and listening to podcasts and talking with some Christian friends, I’ve come to realize I did not understand what a true friend was until just recently.  I usually categorized everyone I knew as a friend which can cause some real problems when people didn’t respond like I thought friends should.  But now I realize that there are MANY different relationships and not everyone I know is a friend.  For example, I’ve got co-workers, classmates, acquaintances, a boss, … but I’m not living community with all of them, I don’t share my struggles, challenges… with them.  A friend to me is someone I am doing life with, living in community with, sharing my struggles & triumphs with, being honest and open with them…  They are there for me in the good times and bad times – 24/7.  When I struggle with something they are willing to talk to me about it.  When they say “how are you doing”, they really mean it and want to know.  They are not just asking to make polite conversation.  They will take the time to listen and are willing to talk to me and pray with me about whatever it is that is going on in my life right then. And these God-chosen lives all around— what splendid friends they make! Psalm 16:3

And because we’re doing life in community together, I know their heart and realize they are not criticizing me but actually holding me accountable because they care enough about me to bring things to my attention if they see me struggling with something!  I know they love me and are trying to help me not hurt me!  That’s what God asks us to do!  But if I wasn’t doing life with them in community, I wouldn’t know their heart and I would probably think they were being critical instead of realizing they loved me enough to try to help guide me scripturally.  Maybe I’m just crazy but I truly believe if we could get friendship down – true Christian friendship – and lived it out daily the world would sure wonder what was going on.  Proverbs 25:11 says it like this: The right word at the right time is like a custom-made piece of jewelry, And a wise friend‘s timely reprimand is like a gold ring slipped on your finger.

God has placed a burden on my heart and several others to plant a church in Leesville, LA.  But if we’re not any different than the world – what kind of difference can MORe Community Church make?  When we launch, some will come just to check it out because it’s new, others because they are hurt, lonely, feel unloved…  My heart’s desire is that they find MORe Community Church and see a group of people with problems, hurts, challenges … doing life together.  Living in community, sharing our struggles & triumphs, being open and honest.  Caring – really caring – about each other!  Willing to invest in the lives of those God put together!!  Being true friends 24/7, holding each other up when the world is pressing us down, celebrating the blessings God sends our way, crying with each other when the pain is too much to bear alone, asking each other to be honest and hold each one accountable, encouraging true growth so we become closer to God and stronger as a community…  Romans 12:9 is a great guide: Love from the center of who you are; don’t fake it. Run for dear life from evil; hold on for dear life to good. Be good friends who love deeply; practice playing second fiddle. Romans 12:14 puts it this way: …Laugh with your happy friends when they’re happy; share tears when they’re down. Get along with each other; don’t be stuck-up. Make friends with nobodies; don’t be the great somebody.

God has blessed me this last year in so many different ways.  One I am most thankful for is my MORe family!  My MORe friends that I treasure!  I’m looking forward to growing closer and our bonds becoming even stronger as we continue to do life together.  Our friendships becoming even richer with time and shared experiences!  Please pray that God draws us together and sends MORe friends our way!

My dear, dear friends, if God loved us like this, we certainly ought to love each other. No one has seen God, ever. But if we love one another, God dwells deeply within us, and His love becomes complete in us—perfect love!  1 Jon 4:11

the 4 Hs of FORGIVENESS April 19, 2010

I’m a little late with my verse for the 2^nd half of April.  SORRY gals!  It’s been a busy, crazy week and weekend.  There is so much going on with the MORe Church plant, the vegetable garden, the prayer garden… my life these days seems to all be spent in some sort of garden these days!

I’ve been thinking about what verse to go with this time and had lots of things going thru my mind.  It’s been a really strange month – lots of STUFF going on in my life lately.  My hubsband has been preaching thru Colossians for the last 2 months or so and this Sunday’s message really HIT me hard!  “the 4 Hs of FORGIVENESS”!  This verse from his sermon is one I personally need to soak in and make a part of my life so I’m going to be focusing on it for the rest of April.

Bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.  Col 3:13

Bearing with one another – what is this?  Bear=to put up with something trying or painful, the power to sustain without breaking… We are supposed to help each other with the loads/burdens God has given us.  We have to become transparent and honest with each other.  Share the burdens in our lives, lean on each other, become a community of believers doing life together…  Christians should not go thru life alone – that’s not the way God wants us to live.

FORGIVE – oh my goodness that is HARD! Forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave you is how the Message puts it.  Quickly and completely – now that is truly something I struggle with!  I LOVE being forgiven but am I always quick to forgive? – not hardly.

Here’s what I’ve learned about forgiveness in the last 2 years:   a) it is NOT toleration or making excuses b) it is NOT about being free from anger c) it is NOT about forgetting d) it is NOT about reconciliation e) it is NOT an event but a process. f) it is NOT natural – it IS super-natural!

The 4 Hs = 1) Hurt is something that each of us has in our lives 2) Hate the sin not the person 3) Hook – we have to let those who have hurt us off the hook because it’s really US who are on the hook not them 4) Heal little by little and day by day.  When the hurt doesn’t control me anymore then I’m healed.  When I’m on the path to healing, then I can begin to help others who are going thru pain/hurt in their life by sharing what God has done in my life!

The Amplified Bible states it this way:

¹³Be gentle and forbearing with one another and, if one has a difference (a grievance or complaint) against another, readily pardoning each other; even as the Lord has [freely] forgiven you, so must you also [forgive].

Adrenaline for my soul April 3, 2010

looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2 ESV

These past couple of weeks it seems like I’ve been extremely distracted.  Bogged down with worries, doubts, questions, what-ifs, negativisms, … some legitimate and some just plain silliness.  Why do I let these little things creep in and get my attention from where it should be?  Why do I let time slip away from me and not do the things I know I should?  Is watching a tv show more important than going to visit someone, to spend time encouraging someone?  Sadly, I know the answer to that question already and it’s NO!  Then why do I sit here (no lay here) on my couch and watch tv instead of getting out of my comfortable house and being busy sharing Him with others?  I think it’s because I am too focused on me and my situation right now instead of on Him!

I like how “the Message” lays this verse out in clear, plain language:

Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!

Wow ~ that’s pretty easy to understand even for hard-headed me.  He NEVER lost sight of where He was headed!  He could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame whatever.  And yet here I am letting my life struggles overwhelm me, ready to burst out in tears at the slightest little thing.  Taking great notes of all the disappointments and hurts then letting that cause me to question what the heck I’m doing.  Wondering if this is really where God wants me and if my life is even making a difference.  Pretty sad!

These last few days leading up to Easter Sunday, I’ve been walking thru the Holy Week in the gospels.  Reading about Jesus’ last week, the cross and His resurrection.  It’s that BIG shot of adrenaline my soul was crying out for.  Reminding me to get the focus off of me and back on Him, to quit worrying about stuff that doesn’t really matter anyway and trusting in His provision!  Knowing He loves me and is waiting to hold me while I cry and then send me out to share His love with those all around me!  I’m so very thankful for the Cross, His Resurrection and GRACE!

WinterJam 2010 March 22, 2010

Some of the MORe gals and girls headed out Saturday morning for a roadtrip to Shreveport to attend WinterJam 2010.  We were all so excited and ready for a great concert and time worshiping with some of our favorite bands.  Of course, we had to enjoy a great lunch – decided on Cheeburger Cheeburger.  Now that place has a HUGE selection of burgers and one whole page of shake flavors!!  And know all the girls had to have shakes with their burgers and I got to sample a couple of them – YUMMY!

No trip to a large town is complete without shopping and this one was no different.  The girls just had to go stroll thru the mall so we headed off to St. Vincent Mall for a couple of hours.  I have this quirky/silly thing about picking out wild and crazy rings on trips so we all went into Charolette Russe and rummaged thru all their gaudy-wild-crazy-humongous rings until we each found just the right one.  The girls LOVED it and April & Wendy went along without too much harassment!  We wore our rings all day.  And I have to tell you, some of them were pretty LARGE and bright and sparkley!  We twisted the arms of our girls and finally talked them into doing the charcoal pictures in those LITTLE booths in the mall.  Now that was pretty funny!  We couldn’t get them all in at one time so we had to do two pictures.  They turned out so cute.  We’re going to frame them and save them to place on our MORe youth room walls one day.

Around 3 we headed on over to Centurytel to stand in line for about 2 hours for the doors to open.  Thankfully we had 2 of our girls that had won 2 VIP passes so they got to go in early and get us some awesome seats on the floor.  But, the rest of us had to stand out in the cold, rain and crazy wind!  But we survived and finally made it in.  All the artists were fantastic and we had the best time.  Got TONS of great pics and made some incredible memories worshiping together .  I’m so thankful that God has given me the opportunity to be in these girls and gals lives.  It’s such a blessing to spend time hanging with them.  To laugh and be silly with them  ~ singing Free To Be Me at the top of our lungs in the car, doing crazy eights around Wally World gas pumps, posing with James Dean, wearing our flashing necklaces at WinterJam…  just enjoying life together!  What an honor to play a tiny part in their lives.  Thank you God for giving me this time!

Unfailing Love & Peace March 17, 2010

Though the mountains be shaken
and the hills be removed,
yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken
nor my covenant of peace be removed,”
says the LORD, who has compassion on you.  Isaiah 54:10

This verse is very comforting to me and I’ll be soaking it in each day.  Holding fast to the knowledge that God’s love and kindness for me cannot be shaken!  Even on those days when I’m struggling He loves me.  When I’m hurting and confused, He loves me.  On those days when I question which path to go down, He loves me.  And when I grasp that and hold on to it, then peace comes pouring into my life.  And that is something I need more of each day.

Roses at the BAKK Ranch March 9, 2010

About 2 weeks ago I decided to order some Monkey Business tree roses and Blaze of Glory climbing roses to plant at the BAKK Ranch.  My Mom was one of those people that could grow just about anything and roses were her favorite.  She always had a rose garden everywhere we lived.  Orange and yellow were her favorite colors but she usually had some of all the colors in her rose gardens.  There was something special about the roses she would cut for me to bring home when I would go visit.  I loved walking with her in her flower garden.  She seemed so happy when she was out in her garden, cutting blooms, talking about what flowers were her favorites, where she got the seeds or plants,…  I miss those times with her and thought I’d plant some roses here at our place.  Maybe it’s silly but it just seemed like a good way of remembering her and honoring her.  I’m praying one day I’ll be spending time with my daughter and son and their families in gardens here at the BAKK Ranch.  That would be something I think my Mom would love to know was passed down from her to me.

So, here’s a few pics of my adventure with growing roses at our place out in the woods.  Hopefully these roses will live, thrive and bloom!  And I’ll try to remember to post pics in the coming months.

Monkey Business Tree Rose

Blaze of Glory climbing roses

BEING KIND March 3, 2010

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.  Ephesians 4:32 ESV

This time around I chose a verse about being kind as my memory verse.  Mainly because I need to be reminded that God wants and desires for me to show His love to others every day.  It’s so easy to get caught up in work, chores, everyday life and pass people by without even noticing them.  So many times, I miss out on blessing others because I’m too busy rushing from one place to another.  My prayer is that studying this verse for 2 weeks will help me to slow down a little and take the time to notice those around me and be sensitive to them.  To reach out in kindness to those who are struggling, hurting, burdened down… all around me.  I like how the Message says “to be gentle with one another” – man, if I could only apply this to my life and live it out 24/7.  What a different it would make in not only my life but the lives of those God puts in my path.

Be gentle with one another, sensitive. Forgive one another as quickly and thoroughly as God in Christ forgave you.  Ephesains 4:32 the Message

And just for good measure and even more clarity, here’s the same verse from the Amplified Bible:

And become useful and helpful and kind to one another, tenderhearted (compassionate, understanding, loving-hearted), forgiving one another [readily and freely], as God in Christ forgave you.

MERCIES February 17, 2010

Well, I went with another verse dealing with mercies for my 2^nd scripture.  Why?  Because I’m so very thankful that my God shows me mercy.  Merriam Webster defines mercy as:

1 : compassion or forbearance shown especially to an offender or to one subject to one’s power; also : lenient or compassionate treatment  2 : a blessing that is an act of divine favor or compassion  3 : compassionate treatment of those in distress

I’m so glad God loves me for who I am and not what I do!  I often find myself in distress because I don’t subject myself to His will.  I tend to get side tracked from the mission He has for me with all kinds of silly things like watching the shows I’ve recorded on BOTH of my DVRs, naps, reading books that really don’t matter…  I’m struggling lately with distractions of all kinds.  So, I’m praying that He continues to show me mercy as I find my way back to His mission for me.

Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you,
and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you.
For the LORD is a God of justice;
blessed are all those who wait for him.

Isaiah 30:18

Here’s how the Amplified Bible breaks this verse down in more beautiful detail:

And therefore the Lord [earnestly] waits [expecting, looking, and longing] to be gracious to you; and therefore He lifts Himself up, that He may have mercy on you and show loving-kindness to you. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) are all those who [earnestly] wait for Him, who expect and look and long for Him [for His victory, His favor, His love, His peace, His joy, and His matchless, unbroken companionship]!

Mercies Renew February 1, 2010

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;

His mercies never come to an end;

They are new every morning;

Great is your faithfulness.

Lamentations 3:22-23 ESV

These 2 scriptures are such a comfort to me!  No matter what mess I’ve made in my life His love and mercies never run out or dry up.  When I let the world distract me and lose my way, He doesn’t just say, “that’s it – you’re outta chances”!  He is faithful!  When I’m so easily distracted with doubts and busyness, He is there.  When I’m scared and confused, He is my rock!  When I question which step to take next, He is faithful to guide me!  I like how the Amplified Bible reads:

²²It is because of the Lord’s mercy and loving-kindness that we are not consumed, because His [tender] compassions fail not.

²³They are new every morning; great and abundant is Your stability and faithfulness.

Lamentations 3:22-23 Amplified Bible

I’m going to be memorizing 2 scriptures every month – one on the first that I will focus on for 14 days and then another one on the fifteenth.  One of my fb friends, Leslie started the Siesta Scripture Memory Team last year with Beth Moore.  Reading her blogs on the verses was a great inspiration to me.  She is doing it again this year and I decided to join in with her.  I’ll be posting twice a month and would LOVE to have some of you gals participating too.  If you decide try memory scripture too just post your verses twice a month.  I’ll setup a category on my blog and you can add your scriptures here so we can follow along together.  If you have any questions, give me a call.  I’m looking forward to reading your verses each month and hearing how God is moving in your life through His word.

January 2010 MORe Gals Night Out February 1, 2010

January 22 was Gals Night at the BAKK Ranch.  The gals had decided we wanted to start doing a Gals Night each month.  First plans were to go out to eat and possibly a movie together.  We were all really excited – though some were a little reluctant but I won’t mention any names ****cough****AB****cough****!  Then the earthquake hit Haiti and I asked the gals if they would mind doing a meal out at the BAKK Ranch and saving the $$ it would have cost us going out on the town and sending that money to Haiti through “Hands and Feet Project”.   Well of course, the gals all said that sounded great.  Several of them had already been thinking about trying to do something to help Haiti.  April has been working with the “Hands and Feet Project” for quite some time and we didn’t even know it.  That’s part of the reason I wanted to do Gals Night – to draw us closer as a group of ladies and give us some time to share dreams, passions and of course, a good meal!  Anyway, the gals all got together at our place and it was a BLAST!  We broke out the dishes and set the tables with fresh flowers, lots of silverware, my favorite green glasses…  Really enjoyed the meal, sitting down together and talking, laughing, sharing…  We even took some pics throughout the night to document the fun!  Then we let Penny and Wendy pick a movie for us to watch – now that was quite the experience!!  Once the movie ended, we enjoyed some great desserts including Wendy’s “Better Than Sex Cake” and Hannah’s cheesecake.  Best part, we raised $265 for “Hands and Feet Project” – way to go MORe gals!  I am so proud of all of them and their hearts for helping those in need.  We decided to make this a monthly fundraiser for “Hands and Feet Project” & our “Gals Night Out” fellowship event.  I truly had more fun than if we would have gone out on the town and we got to visit a lot more than if we were in a restuarant.   Can’t wait to see how much $$ we can raise in 2010 for “Hands and Feet Project”.  Already starting to plan February’s Gals Night at Wendy’s house.

Lord, thank you so much for my special friends!  They truly are a gift from you!

“…a sweet friendship refreshes the soul.”  Proverbs 27:9

PS – Special thanks to Kurt and Jon for hanging out with the kids at Trish’s home while the moms had a few hours off to relax.  The fb posts by Kurt kept all the gals laughing throughout the night.  I’m praying the kids were not too scarred from this experience. lol   Now we need to encourage the guys to get together for a Guys Night.