All is Grace

All is Grace

“O Israel, put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is unfailing love and full redemption.” Psalm 130:7

 

When it comes to books, I’m a little bit of a nerd.  When I was younger, I dreamed about the day when I could have a library in my home.  For lots of years, I kept all my books from my childhood – even the favorites which definitely included “The Babysitter’s Club” series.

A few months ago, I started phase one of my dream.  I unloaded some boxes of books onto my shelves to start my very own library.  As I was organizing my shelves, I came across a collection of books by my favorite author, Brennan Manning.

Brennan’s message is simple.  He writes about the unconditional love of God.  Every single one of his books has the same theme.  It’s important to Brennan that you get it.  “You are deeply loved by Jesus Christ and you have done nothing to earn it or deserve it.”

For many years I knew that God loved me, but it took some time for me to believe that God still loves me when my intellect denies it, when my emotions refuse it, and when my whole being rejects it.

From the beginning, sin has made us messy people.  More often than not, many of us pack up our bags each morning to haul our sack of stories with us into our day.  Sometimes we unload it at work, or find a stone falls out when we unzip the bag to dig for a notebook.  And while we’re learning how to leave that sack of stones at the foot of the cross – do you believe that God loves you without condition or reservation?

Psalm 130:7 reminds us, “Put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is unfailing love and with him is full redemption.”

You don’t have to have your ducks in a row.  And, you don’t have to have your life free from clutter and unwanted stories.  The unconditional love of God begs us to come as we are and encounter His life changing presence. 

Do you believe that God loves you this moment, as you are, and not as you should be?

 

Black Friday, Giving, and Promises

It seems ironic to be reading a chapter out of Luke which talks about selling your possessions, directly following Black Friday/Cyber Monday.  Maybe you were one of the crazy people standing in line at your favorite store, hours before it opened, to ensure you got what you really wanted.  That was my husband. Number 63 in line at one of his (ok, my) favorite stores – with his list of what both of our brothers wanted us to pick up for them.  Mission accomplished.  Or, if you were like me, you avoided all lines and did some Black Friday shopping from home, taking in the huge discounts and free shipping without competition.

And then this week, I open up Luke 12 and read the heading over the section that says, “Teaching about Money and Possessions.”  One of my longtime favorite verses closes out this section, “Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.”  This is such a timely reminder of where my focus should be always – not only in a season of giving.

As we move into the Christmas season and have begun the fun, horrible, wacky, or boring traditions with our families & friends, we realize life is still competing to be heard.

A handful of people will lose their job before the year ends, a handful of people will be diagnosed with an illness or disease, others will face first holidays without their loved ones and others will be trying to make it through one more holiday so life can resume as it was before the holiday season broke loose.

Whatever your story is, my encouragement to you is to make the most of this holiday season. While it’s super easy to get caught up in the sales and the gifts you feel like you have to give, or the thrill of holiday gatherings, take a moment to step out of that world and into a world where you’re not anxious about anything, but trusting in the Lord with all your heart.

As we walk through the next few weeks leading up to the day we celebrate Christ’s birth, consider the promises of God in our Inked message series.  May those promises bring you the peace, direction, grace, hope, protection, and possibilities that being in God’s word gives us.

 

Be In Relationships

If you’ve been reading along with the Bible reading plan, it’s possible you’ve made your way into the book of Hosea.  If you’re unfamiliar with the book – it’s a marvelous story of redemption, love, and God’s faithfulness.  The book of Hosea parallels the story of a woman’s unfaithfulness to her husband and the people of Israel’s lack of faithfulness to God.  The book is a must read. 

As I was reading Hosea 1 this morning, I came across verse 11.  It says, “In that day you will call your brothers Ammi – ‘My people.’  And you will call your sisters Ruhamah – ‘The ones I love.’”

Students like to make nick names for everything; including their cars, their teachers, or their friends.  In high school, my group of girl friends called ourselves, “Ruhamah.”  Which meant, “The ones I love” from the book of Hosea.  We considered ourselves to be a small group.  We met regularly to hang out, talk about God’s word, and enjoy life together.  These girls were among some of my closest friends and some of the most influential people in my growing faith.  I remember one of my friends telling me years later that it was in that group where she got comfortable with praying out loud.  There is no doubt in my mind that it was in God’s plan for these friends to be in my life during my teenage years to help me make the right decisions, to learn more about God, and to live a life full of love to those around me.  These friends helped make all the hard days of high school seem so much easier.

Last week, Bob spoke about “God, You Want Me to Do What?! – Be in Relationships.”  I cannot imagine my life without having a group of “heart and soul” people around me – helping me navigate through life, especially when a rogue wave hits.  Who are those people in your life and in what ways do they encourage you to grow in your faith?  Are you in a small group?

In January, we’re launching small groups at our Woodbury Campus.  Honestly, I wish we launched them last week.  But here is my challenge to you – if you’re not in a small group, check out our online group finder tool: https://ebc.infellowship.com/GroupSearch.  (We’re still updating our database to reflect Woodbury groups – so if you don’t find anything under our campus, look at other campuses.  While it may say WBL, they could very well be meeting in or around Woodbury and haven’t updated their location yet.)  Here, you can find groups that are full of Married’s, Singles, or our newest groups – Financial Peace University.  There is something available for everyone.

If you’re in a small group, or you didn’t find one interesting to you, I’d encourage you to think about facilitating or leading a new group.  It isn’t as scary as it sounds. Trust me.  We’re here to walk with you every step of the way.  Interested?  Shoot me an email or pick up the phone.  I’d love to talk with you more about the opportunity.

How is God leading you to “Be in Relationships” this week?

 

Jillianne’s Designs

I love creating. 

Sewing. Writing. Interior Design.

I love making something from nothing and watching the transformation happen.

So does one of my favorite friends, Jill.

She and her hubby go to home furnishing auctions, bid on various pieces of furniture, and Jill re-purposes it. 

And she’s fabulous at it!

When she looks at a piece, she sees something that many of us do not. 
Her inspirations bring life to our spaces — awakening the mundane.

Check out her blog and follow her projects. 
Tell her what you think of her work.
She’d absolutely love your feedback.

Good luck in your designs sweet friend.  The world is at your fingertips.  Help our living spaces to come alive.

http://jilliannesdesigns.blogspot.com/

 

God = 1, 2, 3

I love the changing of seasons.  Lucky for us in Minnesota, we get to experience all four of them.  Some seasons are definitely longer than others, but when you’ve lived in a climate that has summer year round, you begin to miss the simple things like the changing of leaves, the cooler temperatures, and trips to the apple orchard. 

Like the start of a new year, a new season invites us to welcome change into our own lives.  It could mean cleaning and organizing spaces in your home, a new exercise plan, or spending more time with family and friends.  If you’re like me, it’s easy to get caught up in all the things you’d like to change that sometimes God has fallen from spot #1 or even #2 – to place 3, 4, or 10.

We’re promised in Isaiah 40:31, “Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

It’s a new season.  Fall is here and the Woodbury Campus is opening in a few short days.  While we’re busy getting back into the swing of a new school year, what if we integrated a change that would put God in the #1, #2, #3 spot in our lives?  Knowing that God will give us the strength to soar as the momentum of the season increases, if we give Him the proper places in our lives. 

As you’re getting your calendar in sync with the events of this fall, consider the priority your assigning.  I’d love for my life to look something like this someday:  God, God, God, Family, Friends, Work, and Everything else.

What do you think? Are you up for changing some disciplines in your life with me?

 

Hi Woodbury

I absolutely love this:

Come say “Hi.”
I’d love to meet you.

 

My Storyline

I had been anticipating this conference for months.  I thought and I prayed and I hoped it would be the fresh air I’d been craving.  After a few years of hanging out in the Land Between, I was ready for some fresh life to fill my weary body.  Storyline promised to tell us how we can write a better story for our lives, but what Storyline didn’t let on initially, was that I would realize I was already telling a better story.

The most significant exercise I completed in the brief few days was to chart significant moments in my life.  At my age, they said I’d probably have about 15 defining turns, either positive or negative.  We were instructed to chart it out like a timeline and each length of line should determine the level of significance in our lives.  For instance, when my Uncle Doug died last January, his death was more significant to me than having a horrible college semester as a transfer student.  Therefore, that line was longer.  I still cannot believe how listing a series of events on paper could lead me to discover some themes about my life.  I was speechless with what  it revealed.

Ultimately, I realized I rarely view my life as a big picture.  I break the big picture down into tiny pixels and let circumstances have more weight than what they’re qualified to carry.  I’ve failed to see the incredibly perfect weaving of God’s hand among the positive and negative turns I’ve experienced.  Suddenly, what seemed like a difficult moment in my storyline, resulted in some incredibly positive outcomes shortly thereafter.  It was as if the difficult turns were preparing me for something that was heading in my direction.  

I also realized that a good story is always about love, always about a great risk, and most often involves a great deal of conflict.  Like a good movie, conflict is what makes a good story.  Why would that be any different with the story I’m telling with my life?  Conflict is more like adventure; don’t be surprised by it.  Expect it.  That’s what makes a good story.

This conference, Storyline, made me “realize the amazing story I’ve already lived and it has allowed me to gain perspective that will make the story I’m living even better moving forward.”

Here is a sneak peak of some notes from the conference.

Lastly, Ian Cron, author of the new book,  Jesus, My Father, the CIA, and Me: A Memoir…Of Sorts (I couldn’t put the book down), reminded us this truth:  “Above all, trust in the slow work of God.”  I hope you’ll be inspired to write a better storyline for your own life too.

 

Shoes for Kids

Last week, Jason & I traveled to Portland, OR to attend Donald Miller’s Storyline Conference.  To say the conference was inspiring, encouraging, and challenging is a complete understatement of the experience.  More on that coming soon!

In the days leading up to the conference, we were asked to bring a pair of new or gently used shoes with us and that we wouldn’t want to miss out on this opportunity.  So, when Jason & I arrived in Portland, it was our mission to find two great pairs of kids shoes.  It didn’t take long for us to find a style that we wished they had in our size, so we bought both of them without hesitation.  As a tradition, Storyline supports an organization or person who is commited to writing a better story. 

This year, one of the people they featured was Isabel from Shoes for Kids.   Her story is simple. In 2009, she traveled to Kenya with her family.  She met lots of kids who didn’t have any shoes.  After coming home and praying about what she could do, she realized she could give kids shoes.  Her dream is for every child in the world to have a pair of shoes. 

Man, I love big dreamers!  Go after your dream Isabel!

In an interview with Isabel, Donald Miller revealed that many of us brought shoes to give.  Her expression was one of complete surprise and excitement.  She left the conference with 500 pairs of shoes to give to kids in the Dominican Republic when she travels there in August.

Learn more about Shoes for Kids at: www.shoesforkids.me 

Help Isabel “Make Happy Feet.”

 

Pocket Change

Yesterday, I saw a woman throw some silver coins into the street.  Here was the scenario:

I was standing in front of the bookstore.  She was holding a sign.

It said, “Homeless.  Need supplies and a place to stay. Anything helps.”

A teenager walks up to her and gives her some change.   The boy turns around to walk back to the corner.  The lady swings her arm across her body and tosses the change in the street behind her.  She resumes holding her paper sign on the street.

Maybe she was offended by the pocket change or maybe the donation wasn’t good enough.  But for a moment, I lost a little bit of hope in humanity.

Sometimes pocket change is just that. Pocket change.  A few coins you collected from the day of spending a few dollars on the coffee drink or on lunch with your friend.  Pocket change is rarely substance and typically doesn’t go far.  But isn’t that sometimes what we give our friends or family?  Our leftovers?  Our crabbiness after a difficult work day or our frustration in a stressful situation?  The leftovers from our day or our pockets often don’t allow us to bring our best to the people who may really need it.

I wish I would have asked her why she tossed those silver coins in the street without any hesitation — because if it was about the pocket change, I’m really interested in learning more and hearing her story.

 

The A21 Campaign

A brief spotlight on an organization whose mission is to make life less difficult for another. 
God’s best to you.