Nominating Survey

Howdy Ladies,
Have you completed your "gold" sheet? You know the one, the Nominating Survey Form. Let's be honest...most folks DREAD getting the form. The form is scary...it means accountability and commitment. It means putting in writing the things that God is calling you to do in the next year. And for some of us it means admitting that we don't know what God is calling us to do in the next year. And even some us having to admit we don't hear God calling! And that my friend is scary! I have been there...and lived to tell!
I have an earth shattering revelation for those who find themselves in one of these categories...YOU ARE NOT ALONE! Ask the person sitting beside you Sunday what God is calling them to do next year and likely they will stutter and stammer and never really give you a clear answer. Folks avoid commitment like the plague. And rightly so...commitment means hard (and sometimes thankless) work, frustration, dealing with difficult people at times, and being outflat uncomfortable at times. But let me share the other side of commitment...blessings beyond measure, seeing others thrive, forgetting about yourself because you are so lost in the lives of others that you forget you exist, a joy and peace that is not even describable...I mean literally indescribable!!! You want it????

1. Pray. Ask God to reveal where He wants you to work next year. If you do not get an answer...mark nursery worker...haha just kidding!
2. Complete the spiritual assessment to see where you are gifted and what your passion is. It is important to ask someone else what they think of your assessment. Sometimes we see ourselves differently than others see us...and it helps to get a couple opinions to confirm your thoughts or spark you to re-take the assessment.
3. Pray again. Ask God to reveal how to use your gifts in the church. If you do not get an answer...mark nursery worker...haha just kidding!
4. If you are still lost in what to do...call me (202-1781) or email me. I will gladly meet with you and help you find your place to fit in at church!

The church is not a building...it is a body of unified believers...the church is not functioning as a normal healthy body if you are not plugged in and participating...(see the Spectator Sport post below!).

Love you all! Kristy =)

Ready for a walk/run???

Hey y'all!
Lately I talk a lot on this blog about "our walk"...spiritually mostly. Well...I am so excited about the mission fundraiser idea that God has laid on my heart! We are working on organizing a 5K Fun Walk/Run for WMU! It would be an annual mission event and each year the beneficiary would change. And hopefully next year it would be a county wide WMU event! This year it will be sponsored by our church and the main project focus would be Pure Water Pure Love. It will be in October and registration will be $25 including a t shirt. Start gathering your friends, family, coworkers, etc. to form a team! The largest team will get a trophy! Once plans get finalized I'll post more details.

I do want to share the theme verse for the race...it is the WMU theme for the next two years:
Hebrews 12:1-2 "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

So here is the challenge....start training today! Walking/running/strolling...get ready to go!

Scripture Memory Challenge - June 15th

Hey Y'all! I am writing you from Myrtle Beach. We are on the Gardner Vacation with Travis's parents having a ball! But I could not let that be an excuse to get complacent on my scripture memorization...this time I choose Heb 11:1 (NIV)

"Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."

It was such a God moment today on the beach...I was trying to decide my scripture and I did not have it yet. I picked up the book I brought with me to the beach "Life Unhindered". It is the WMU focus book this year. Well I had no clue...but guess what it is based on...the Hebrews hall of Faith!! I just grinned...anytime Billie is preaching a series that God wants to make sure I am focusing enough attention to, HE brings it to me in another form. love it!

So what's your verse? Hope you are having a wonderful week...I dread returning home tomorrow...hahaha! And back to work Thursday! ughhhh!

Seeking Him,
Kristy =)

Believe in God or Believe God?

Believing in God is a choice. And not just a choice we make once in a lifetime...we make it daily, constantly. The enemy is waiting for the moment to jump on us and place the doubt in our belief system. So that is why we have to consciously make the decision to Believe in God about everything...big or small. But in the past few years I am convinced that believing in God is not enough...James says in chapter 2 verse 19 "You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder." So if I am living life believing in God but not living for Christ...then I am no better than a demon. OUCH! James refers to this when he is teaching about faith and deeds. He closes the section with a sentence that rocked my simple little mind verse 26 "As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead."

I was so dead...like the movie says "I see dead people...but they don't even know they are dead"...just call me Bruce Willis...because I was living "dead". And that is what folks saw in me. They saw wasted words with no real meaning. I said yes I believe in God but my life did not tell the same story. My talk and walk did not line up. My life looked like any other "good person". But we are not called to be good people!

You see as I have said before...believing IN God is very different than Believing God. Believing in God is what the demons do...and they have enough sense to shudder. Honestly, I cannot remember a time that I did "not" believe IN God. But I lived MANY MANY years without a relationship WITH God and sadly I did not have enough sense to shudder! You see, I was a dead demon...and I didn't even know it!

I MISSED the point...I went through the first step...believing God exists, but I never developed a relationship with Jesus...so I did not grow closer...I was wilted and dried up. Then Jesus grabbed me up and we began to walk and talk. Slowly...just like a toddler. I still fall more times than I can count...BUT that's what it's about...walking and talking with Jesus! Falling down and then getting back up again! And my how life changes when you try!!! Self becomes less important and faith breeds deeds and blessings flow in your life. Not necessarily material blessings, but the ones that matter....SOUL BLESSINGS! Believing God is much harder than believing IN God...

Exhibit A: An example of believing IN God (as Creator):

This is a 200 ft waterfall at Stone Mountain. It is gorgeous and CLEARLY not man-made! Here's one thing I don't get...how does the water keep flowing downward? I mean in times of severe drought (to the point of forbidding me to water my lawn and garden), spots like this maintain free flowing water and not just a trickle of water. Ponds can be dried completely up, yet large amounts of water flows down mountains. So I choose to Believe IN God for creating waterfalls.

Now the difference of choosing to Believe God: Believing God is trusting Him, believing His promises and knowing He loves me unconditionally regardless of the sinner that I am. Believing God is living everyday seeking God and praying for His eyes to see through. It is walking so closely with Jesus that others can see the light shining out of you. I will not lie. It is so hard...no where in the Bible does it say it is easy...in fact it flat says it is hard. But the reward is so worth every second of Believing IN God! And it is clear in the little things that you survive and can see His glory!

Exhibit B...

I choose to believe God for the miracle that I survived going up and down these to view the falls! I lost count after 220 steps and that was barely half way!!! It was hard. I was sucking wind to the point of no return. But no one said it would be easy to walk down and back up 220 PLUS stairs. In fact the folks we met going in had the red cheeks and sweat ponds to prove...it was going to be hard. But the blessing (view) at the bottom was so worth it. It was not tangible, but it was peaceful, joyous, etc. As I reflect...the entire experience was very similar to Believing God!

If you are struggling to walk with Him...let Him carry you.

Just don't turn away! He loves you and so do I!

We are not promised easy...we are promised eternal!

Walk Ladies...walk!

Kristy=)

A Spectator Sport...

I am on the last chapter of the Mark Batterson book I am reading…Wild Goose Chase. The previous chapter made me squirm...actually most of the chapters have now that I think about it. The chapter was titled “Good Old-Fashioned Guts” and the particular section was titled “Spectator Sport”. Now you must understand that one of the things I like about Mark Batterson is his sarcasm and his ability to stomp the life out of your toes but make you laugh while you are crying through the lesson. A lot of his humor comes in the form of the titles. If you do not like dry humor or sarcasm…do not read his books!

The section discusses how church has become for way too many Christians a “Spectator Sport”. Here is my version…he doesn’t go into this scenario, but I think it makes it clearer. We come to the stadium (church) on Sunday morning and we get in our seats. We pay our ticket price (tithes) but we don’t do it because we want too, we do it because we fear that they will make us sit in cheap seats! We pay out of requirement, not out of love for giving and we don’t give sacrificially only the minimum to get by. We sing our anthem (praise music). And the umpire yells “play ball” (Associate Pastor opens with prayer). Then the game ensues (Pastor delivers message). When the game ends (alter call and dismissal), we return home and carryout our normal lives…then we go to the stadium again next Sunday ready to watch our team perform. We just hang out with friends and maybe tail gate a little (lunch at Pizza Inn). Reality is that we can attend the game and NEVER even participate! We can fill the stadium and MISS the entire point of the game (otherwise called LIFE)!

But I tell you…here’s what hurt the most…”Spiritual spectatorship takes many forms, and some of them actually seem noble”. OUCH! “some of them actually seem noble”. Giving to missions is an example he uses in the book. Giving is very noble on the outside. But if you do not give out of love…it’s worthless. Or if God is calling you to GO instead of merely give financial support…then giving in this case is disobedience! How many other functions do we do at church that seem noble and yet are NOT? Attendance? Praise and Worship? Prayer? The list goes on.

So I ask the question…HAS CHURCH BECOME A SPECTATOR SPORT?

I challenge you to look at your “game participation” this week and determine if you can do things differently so that you are a part of the game and not merely a spectator. How can you make the most out of your worship experience? How can you get involved in something that builds God’s Kingdom? How do you get out of the rut of being a spectator? I don’t know the answers, and I certainly don’t know where you are in your walk with Christ. I am praying for God to show us all (especially me ;) how to improve our “game participation” because everything can be continually improved until He returns or calls us home!

In Him,
Kristy =)

Scripture Memory Challenge - Jun 1st

Hey y'all,
Sorry I am running behind today. I meant to post last night but ran out of daylight playing in the garden ;)

Matthew 6:34 "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." (NIV)

I need this reminder daily! I have come a long way with Jesus on the issue of worry, and for that I give HIM all the glory and praise!!!

Let's hear your verses...