Waiting Again

Waiting is not my best thing.  Not really my worst thing anymore, but still. 

1--I'm waiting to hear from the girl at the organization I hope to go to Mongolia for. 
2--I'm waiting to hear from my church about what I'm supposed to do next, now that I've decided to become a full-time missionary
3--I'm waiting for a good opportunity to talk a fellow choir member into giving me free advice about finances.
4--I'm waiting for the idea of me being a missionary to stop sounding so silly to me.

Missionary.

Without You

You are the sun, I am the moon.  Without you, I am a cold, dark stone.

I''m thinking about moving to Mongolia to teach English.  Boy, I sure could use some direction here.  The task of getting my debt cleared up seems impossible TO ME.  (The Lord is my shepherd!)  Steppes and Gobi and Mongols... oh my.

Horses.

People who need to see The Light.

I don't have any light of my own, I think I finally get that.  But I know for sure that there is Light in me and I would love to live where it can shine in some dark corners.  I CAN DO THAT!  I also can teach English.  I prefer the idea of doing something "during the day" anyway.

Horses.

Please.

Decision Making if you are a Christ flower (tee hee)

How's this for some EXCELLENT advice on decision-making: (this came from here and I LOVE the typo in #2)

So how do we tap into the wisdom of God? First, we acknowledge that all wisdom comes from God. Second, we ask. Like James the brother of Jesus wrote, “If any of you lacks wisdom he should ask of God.” (James 1:5) After I have asked God, I have learned the value of taking inventory to help me decide God’s will. Here are five questions that I often asking when trying to find God’s will in a certain situation: 

1. What does God seem to be saying in His word?  I look for patterns of thought in my general Bible reading. Sometimes a certain pattern will surface that gives me insight into the direction God is leading.
2. What does the Holy Spirit seem to be prompting me to do? Remember if you are a Christ flower, you have the Spirit of the Living Jesus living within you. When making a weighty life decision – I create space to sit in silence to listen for the Holy Spirit’s prompting.
3. Which option brings God most glory? God created us to bring Him glory so it makes sense to consider which option brings God most glory? Sometimes a good question that helps me determine which choice brings God the most glory is to ask myself, “Which way is the way of faith?”  
4. What is the best use of my resources?  This is a good question because it analyzes not only how to best use your financial resources but also how to best use the gifts, talents and abilities that God has given you.      
5. What are my mentors saying? I am a huge fan of mentorship. I believe we all need people in our lives who are farther ahead in their spiritual walk. These folks can be a great resource in assisting us in finding God’s will.

Sermon Notes

Suffering and the Exaltation of Christ
1 Peter 3:8-22
Pastor Steven Lee
College Church, Wheaton

How to not retaliate.
Peter has been instructing followers to not compromise, to hold fast, to shift in order to make pressure stop.  Be counter cultural--live as a people called to be set apart.  Challenge us to live a godly life anyway.  Do we exhibit these qualities?

1--Love for our enemies...not just fellow believers, but pray for those who hate you.  Psalm 34 Just because things are going badly, don't assume God is judging you, God allows suffering to those he loves.  If we truly believe God will judge and take vengeance, then WE can be passive and let God be God.

2--Boldness in speaking about our faith...revere the Lord in your heart and you won't have room for fear of others.  Fear the Lord.  Do we share our trials so that others might see the difference?  (Plug for small groups here)  Are you engaged with non-believers?  If so, do they see a difference, do they see your hope?  "Never let a serious crisis go to waste." Rahm Emmanuel.  Have we made the Gospel intelligible?

3--Do we exhibit a hope in a suffering savior, a belief that Jesus has saved us (believers will never suffer for our sins--we may suffer as children of God, but never FOR OUR SINS because we have a suffering savior, he has paid the price, is paying the price)  Jesus overcomes.  Do we rest in Him?  Peter admits it is hard.  God left us here in order to be lights, not to lash back, but to show God's love through us.  WHAT IS DIFFERENT ABOUT YOU?

Karma

I just a Facebook post with a video of a driving incident.  Titled Karma, it was obviously taped by the driver of a car who was being harassed by the young man driving a pickup truck.  The pickup driver eventually made his way to the right side of the car, leaning out the window and flipping the bird to the person filming his actions.  He then speeds off, swerves, loses a hubcap, eventually losing control and spinning around in the grassy area to the left of oncoming traffic.  No one appeared to have been hurt.  The video ends abruptly, so it is hard to be sure, but it seems that oncoming traffic was not involved.  The truck ended up in a ditch, back bed-cover up, looking like there was considerable under-body damage.

The video was posted because it was supposed to be funny.

It made me nauseous.  It made me want to stay off the roads.  It made me sad to be a human.

Every day I make a 9-mile journey to work along a road where every driver thinks they are Mario Andretti.  Heaven forbid a driver drive at only the speed limit; they will be honked at and flipped off and given grief at every opportunity by the other drivers.

I try to remember if things were this pressured when I was younger.  Did older drivers really have no chance out on the larger roads?  Was it so common to treat other people like paper dolls?   Ok, nevermind "the good old days" - they weren't so good, or so another FB post tells us...  Why do we treat one another so badly?  And I'm not just upset by the pickup driver either.  Why was the car's driver filming this?  Was his/her driving so above reproach?  Why was he/she in the left lane if not passing another car?  Why is it funny to see someone act like a jerk and "get what's coming to him"?  We all pay for his mistake with higher insurance rates.  We all pay when accidents cause destruction.  Is the pickup driver's humiliation a lesson for anybody at all?  Do you think he really learned anything?  Or will he hit the road next time ever more angered by the video on his mind.  Will the car's driver be "on the lookout" for more aggressive drivers in order to get another "viral hit"?  Will other people try to encourage similar actions so that they can get their moments of fame as well?

We need to pull the internet out of the mire and quicksand of bad ideas, poor choices and mean-spirited commentary.  Everyone needs to drag social media towards the light, not further away.

Sermon Notes: July 5, 2015

Joshua 20:1-6
The Refuge of God

Pastor Chris Castaldo
New Covenant Church
Naperville, IL

We all ask: what does God want from us?

Different people have different answers.  What about the Christian God?

(Skipped to chap. 20 because ... something about John Stott)

1) How can we be faithful to this text and 2) How can we bring this to our congregation?

15-19 are worthy of our attention (just not this summer from the pulpit)

(Explanation of the custom of the time)

Numbers 35: God differentiates between intents.
Not just saving lives, there is a definite God-ward view in this rule, stand the lands when there is an unlawful shedding of blood.  We reflect God and so our actions reflect attributes of God, so our actions have double meaning.  Do we feel this as a church?  Sanctity of live has MANY implications!  If e are all in the image of God, Joe can we belittle our demean any of them, nor allow it to happen to others. (list including: Utilitarianism is also a problem.)

"Such behavior grieves the heart of God."

Doctrinal positions are not people!

Address others as image-bearers even if you don't, maybe even especially when you don't agree with them.

Verse: self declaration is key.  Manslayer stays in the city until the high priest dies, even if you're innocent of murder.  Why that long?  The high priest represents the whole nation, his death pays the ransom for the manslayer.

Romans 3:23 all of us are guilty, either intentional or not.  We are vulnerable to divine wrath, God's punishment.  Where can we go?  Where is there protection?  Jesus died to pay the penalty,  reconciles us to God.  Once an individual steps into that place, you step into a union with Christ that cannot be broken.  "Neither height nor depth nor...can separate us from the love of God"

Cities of Refuge are spread for access, each are within a day's journey.  Not just Jews but also sojourners and strangers.  Which is why The Church reaches out to as many as possible.  How to reach out?  More help, more assistance when people need it, in as many ways as possible.

(He shared with his neighbor)

Personal Mission Statement

I found an interesting article here.  I've been scattered in my thoughts and efforts lately, and this is helping me figure out what I really think I should be focused on, with God's help. There are several other interesting articles on the site, although I haven't poked around too much!

Car Camping Notes

Always pick/pack clothes fresh for each trip

You probably could use another towel

A well-packed tiny Igloo will fit most of a seven-pound bag of ice and will stay mostly frozen for at least 27 hours

Being parked a little uphill during the day = a lot uphill while trying to sleep

Sermon Notes: A Remarkable Life

Joshua 14:6-12

Pastor Chris Castaldo
New Covenant Church
Naperville, IL

What would be said about you after your gone?  Spin vs authenticity.  How can we avoid hypocrisy and develop a life of godliness?

Only two of twelve spies thought the Israelites could defeat the giants in the land Good had led them to.  Caleb and Joshua.  What has happened in Caleb's life that helped him cultivate a spirit of faithfulness?  He probably did not suddenly become faithful when confronted with the sight of those giants.  He didn't believe the low that as a young person he had plenty of time and could think about Good when he got older.  It is easy to swim downstream, we tell our kids and it is true.  Ten said easy, Caleb said no.  He put a stake down, like Jim Eliot and decided to swim upstream.  85 years old, he was moving forward full steam ahead.  Was a little upset that he had to share the judgement of the rest of the Israelites?  Disappointment unplugs the cord of vitality.  We find it harder and harder to look past the disappointments of life.  We must be careful to not let those disappointments nor unpopular Supreme Court decisions let us forget that God is in control,  God is greater still.  On the other hand, Caleb did not think of God as his errand boy.  Confidence without presumption.  Caleb battled the holders of that land at the age of EIGHTY-FIVE and won, because God was on his side.  (Don't give up when you get older, find a new outlook, focus on the Lord, and get right back in the battle.)  Passion is a gift from God we should enjoy and use right up until the last moment of this life.  Move forward at all times, always toward God, every new moment used for His purpose.  "Living sacrifice"  Caleb would tell us it is never too late!  Pressing forward!!

Perfect day?

I don't know how it could get much better than today.  72° and slight breeze, a few puffy clouds overhead.  I had an inexpensive sandwich from a deli in Monroe, then found a $3.00 brat for a fundraiser for the Winslow Museum.  YUM!  And I just ate 1/2 of a rhubarb (and strawberry) hand pie I got earlier today for just $2.00 each at the Dane Co Farmers Market around the state capitol square in Madison.  The trick to a decent day is getting a REALLY early start.  I went to bed with the sun last night, and rose again with it.  The birds started chirping around 4:30 am and I had wisely chosen to sleep so that the dawn would help wake me up (not gonna happen tonight!)  I was in Madison just after 7 and there was no line at Short Stack Eatery.  Sweet Potato Oat pancakes with cinnamon whipped cream and strawberries.  Yum again.  It's just after 3 and I'm back in my campsite about to take a nap.  Yeah.

Ponded or Flowing

I was pleasantly surprised by something I heard on the radio (for a change).  Instead of hearing English mangled and misused, I heard a great word-phrase, really.  They were talking with a specialist about what sort of effects we might expect from the bad weather we are expecting.  He said that people should be careful driving, especially on routes they know can flood, because "ponded or flowing" water can obscure the road surface.  Very well spoken!  (Spell-check doesn't like the word ponded, but I do!)

How About a Little More Nice Girl?

(I get to give this a clever title because I can go back later and edit myself)

This morning I decided to go to McDonald's for breakfast because I was heading to a new church and running a bit behind schedule, so I hit the drive thru at 9:50.  Much later than usual for Sunday morning for me (usually about 7:20) and probably because of Father's Day there was a really big line.  I debated leaving, but didn't want a blood sugar low to interfere with my first visit to a new church.  Ordered my one item.  Pulled forward a bit and heard the girl behind me order an Egg McMuffin with no egg and extra (something I couldn't hear).  Next I heard the guy in the other lane ordering some long list of things.  Alone, in a work truck.  I was glad I didn't have to work on Sunday and also glad I wasn't behind him.  He pulled forward and clearly wanted to edge in front of me.  I pulled up a but, and he said"Aren't we supposed to take turns?"  I replied "My order was ahead of yours."  He then said "If YOU think so."  So I looked behind me and backed up so he could go ahead if me, which he did with a lurch.  A few moments later (I was fully stopped), the girl behind me beeped.  I leaned out and said "I'm having trouble with the guy ahead of me."  She then said "You almost f#&king nailed me!"  Twice.  I waited until the guy in front of me pulled forward, which he did with a smirk, then I left.  Stomach clenched, tears in my eyes.

I'm still having trouble understanding God's lesson in this for me.  I knew that guy wanted to go first, so I guess I should have let him from the first.  I did pray very hard that God would have the cashier ask him if he had ordered the single chorizo burrito.  I don't want to just be right, I want him to know it too.

I am pretty good at standing up for myself and being a little pushy when I am sure I am right.  Maybe the lesson for me is to accept my rightness in solitude and show the world more grace.  We've been taught that we shouldn't all be "nice girls" in the church, but maybe the pendulum has swung a little too far the other way?  Maybe I need to work on my nice girl attitude a bit more?

Sermon Notes June 21, 2015

Joshua 12:1-6
John Higgins
New Covenant Church, Naperville, IL

No apology for a "tough" text, all Scripture is God-Breathed!  If there is a problem with a text, the problem is on our side, for certain.

Chap 1-12 conquest as promised.
the rest is about dividing it up.  This chapter starts with a list of victories.  Why recap?  To remember and emphasize what God helped them do.  V9 is a song, likely, to help us remember it (like the Psalms).  God wants us to know He does particular little things.  The specific names, the details of location... these are meant to slow us down and tell us the specific things He does.  God forms us in specific ways with specific people.

The text also brings up people for the first and last time here.  God is always doing things that we don't see.  The challenge of "divine hiddenness".  Is it a problem or is the description wrong?  Is He subtle?  He is always doing more than we see.  He is always doing more than we see.

Demonstrate the superiority of Joshua over Moses (the passage wants us to know this).  Joshua-31. Moses-2. Why do it?  Moses had a bigger story, but Joshua was greater.  Moses' sin.  Joshua was able to complete the move into the land.  This chapter is meant to demonstrate the superiority of Jesus.

Angels are pretty rare in the Bible.  They were sent to communicate special messages.  Specific name message for Joseph (interesting illustrations made here-we might name him after David, or Abraham, or Moses, but God told Joseph to name him Jesus=Joshua)  Jesus is the other form of Joshua.  Moses' successor, but also namesake of our Lord.

31 Kings had many years to repent but didn't and so Joshua defeated them.  Sound familiar?  Ruler of the Kings of the Earth - one of Christ's titles.  Revelations 12?  Psalm 2 -- another example of kings under authority.

Jesus is The King of All Kings.  Doesn't matter if you are left or right, liberal or conservative, Jesus is Lord of all.

View from the Art Institute North Garden

I recently got back into sketching/drawing.  I went into downtown Chicago on June 6th to wander around and sketch stuff.  Here is the best of the day, and a photo of the same view.  I've been avoiding color, for the time being, to focus on line value and I've stuck to pen only in order to force myself to JUST DRAW! since I can't fiddle around with erasing and fixing.  It may be about time to add pencil (and eraser!)

Sin

God loves every one of us.

Every time I treat someone else as "less" than me, God hates that because He loves ALL of us.  He calls that sin.

Human Soup

I was recently reading a blog post by an artist I follow.  He was saying that each of us is made up of the various things we have seen/heard/read/etc.  We're a sort of soup of each of these things.  Some of them stay nearly whole and others dissolve into the background, each adding their own flavor that makes up the unique "me".

I also had a friend on Facebook ask if we should allow ourselves to watch violent television shows.  He is a fan of the Fire and Ice books, but was contemplating watching any more of the television version since there is apparently a LOT of violence, especially towards women in the HBO show; more than the books, apparently (I'm not familiar with either).

I think those two ideas are very closely linked.  What flavors do you want in your "me" soup?  What do you want others to "taste" in you?

Blessings by Laura Story

Perhaps the greatest prophetic song of the decade.  (Prophet=heart revealer)

I can't get this song out of my head.  Beyond the lovely piano and her great singing, the lyrics really burrow into my heart and mind.  I think she captures the sadness of our mistaken prayers without coming across as chiding or harping.  It has such a tender longing for us to know God better, enough to appreciate what He is already doing for us and how much more He would do if we could just align our hearts and minds more closely with the best that He wants for us.  Amazing.

     We pray for blessings, we pray for peace,
     comfort for family, protection while we sleep.
     We pray for healing, for prosperity.
     We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering.
     All the while, You hear each spoken need,
     Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things.
     'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops?
     What if Your healing comes through tears?
     What if a thousand sleepless nights
     are what it takes to know you're near?
     What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise?

     We pray for wisdom, Your voice to hear.
     We cry in anger when we cannot feel You near.
     We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love;
     as if every promise from Your Word is not enough.
     All the while, you hear each desperate plea,
     and long that we'd have faith to believe.
     'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops?
     What if Your healing comes through tears?
     What if a thousand sleepless nights
     are what it takes to know you're near?
     What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise?

     When friends betray us, when darkness seems to win;
     we know that pain reminds this heart
     that this is not, this is not our home.
     It's not our home.

     'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops?
     What if Your healing comes through tears?
     What if a thousand sleepless nights
     are what it takes to know you're near?
     What if my greatest disappointments, or the aching of this life,
     is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can't satisfy?
     And what if trials of this life; the rain the storms, the hardest nights;
     are Your mercies in disguise?

Sermon notes June 14

Not just a church, but The Church.  Colossians and Ephesians were sister letters, Ephesians grander in tone and meant to be sent around to other churches as well.

As we are all followers if The One, we should all be working in unity.  As humans, of course that does not come "naturally", so we have to fight for unity.  And we should fight for that unity.  We are very self-centric in this society, in this world, do it is very easy to forget that.

We are all ministers.  Or, we SHOULD all think of ourselves as ministers.  Each believer has been given a gift, but they should all work toward the goal of ministering to the world.

Walk and Talk:
Be imitators of God.  Don't be like the unwise.  Act like a believer in all things.  Don't be that guy with the fish sticker who is driving like a jerk.  WWJD?  Bear with one another in love.
Speak the truth in love, so that the body builds itself up. Love = Truth.  Our society doesn't even believe in the existence of truth anymore.  Us, not "the pastor" should do/fix/help things/each other.  You don't have to like the people in The Church, you just have to LOVE them.

Banners : Psalm 19:1 and Revelation 4:11

Twitter?

I have to admit that I don't really get Twitter.  I've used it and I've followed some funny and clever people, but I simply do not understand what the big deal is.  I don't think there are that many funny or clever people out there.  Most content I've seen is... drivel.  The shortness of the Tweet adds to the pointlessness.  Why are there so many Tweeters and can most of them really be worth following???

Not your momma's caramel corn

Is Garrett's the only reason I go into the city?  Definitely not.  But it is right up there near the very top!  The photo may not look like much but it is popcorn heaven.

China? Really??

Yes, I found China far less daunting than I expected.  I'm even VERY seriously considering moving there.  They need English teachers and I can do that, with a little training first.  I am going to talk with a rep from an agency (of sorts) about whether I'm being realistic.  I'm 51 years old already, and I have some personal debt.  But while I don't have a degree in teaching, I do have a somewhat recent master's degree (MBA)

On the other hand, I have ideas for getting the women I know together to support one another and I can't do that from China.  Plus the music ministry Carole and I already have to the folks at the Convalescent Center.

I'll let God decide :-)

Fun?

I just looked up the definition of the word "fun" because people keep suggesting that my upcoming trip to China will be fun.

I'm correct.  Fun is not the right word.  Interesting. Enjoyable. Worthwhile. Intriguing. Stretching. Mind-expanding. Not really fun, although I certainly hope for many fun moments along the way.  Just sayin.

Ideas

I was bumbling around the blogosphere at  lunch today and found a few really excellent things.  People who are really using blogging in a good way.
I subscribe to a blog that is set up as a weekly free journaling class with four regular teachers and a guest.  So far it has been interesting but only marginally inspiring because the styles are rather similar, are not very "art"istic (more craft than art) and are simply not to my tastes.  However the guest for this past Saturday was a breath of fresh, artistic air.  He has a nifty, interesting blog and also is involved with an online school for visual journalers.  Which led me to several other teachers, and one in particular.  She also has a very interesting blog in which she was willing to admit that she watches tv and even explained why she enjoyed a particular show so much.  I was favorably impressed.  Then, the piece de resistance, she also has a blog with a yearly one-month-long project.  Similar to NaNoWriMo, it runs for the month of April.  International Fake Journal.  I'm seriously considering it.  Even though I have something huge looming in mid-May.  I was thinking that the protagonist of my mystery novel could be the journaler and she could sketch the town where the book takes place.  It would help with future novels (assuming I write more and not veer off into that science fiction storyline I was considering).
The artist was explaining why she liked the show Foyle's War so much and that's just another reason this seems so providential, because her reasons are some of the same reasons that I chose to write a mystery to begin with.  Heros and villains and right over might.  *Sigh*  Another project-just what I needed???

H.A.H., Jr.

We lost a good man recently.  He was 80, so I guess it should come as no shock, but it certainly was a surprise.  He had been in good health.  He was dapper, and gentle.  He had the biggest hands.  I think they somehow matched his big heart.  He was a scholar, and wrote many things.  He was a teacher and taught so many people about God and His Son.  He was an Old Testament scholar, and well understood the righteousness and holiness of our God.  He was joyously grateful that God sent His Son to pay the price for our sin.  He spent his life helping to show that to other people.  He was kind and compassionate.  He modeled the sort of person that we should all strive to be.  He did his best to reveal Jesus to the world.  I will miss him a lot.  I'll miss his smile, and his warm greetings.  I'll miss his teaching and the way he gestured with those big hands of his.  I'll miss his suit & tie, and I'll miss his care for those around him.  I'm glad to have known him and I look forward to telling him one day just how much he meant to me.  I can imagine there was the angelic-equivalent of a cheer when he got to heaven the other day.  Saints who joyfully welcomed one of their own.

Travel x 3

I've never been off this continent.  I've been all over the continental US, although perhaps not Texas.  I've been to Canada a number of times and once in Mexico.

Within the next 8 months I will have been to China, Bulgaria and Germany (Layover in Frankfort).  Beijing and Changchun, China.  Sofia and Tran, Bulgaria.  I'm suddenly on track to have been a world traveler before Halloween.

Freaks me out a little bit.

Am I nuts or what?!?

I've been accepted on both teams.  Which means I have to go to Bulgaria AND China this year.  I keep hearing the blood pumping through my ears.  What have I gotten myself into???

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.  Seriously.  If I manage to accomplish this, it will only be through the work of the Spirit in me.  The three-in-one making me more than I could be without Father/Son/Spirit.

OMG.  Literally.

Twofer craziness

So yesterday while I was waiting for my interview with representatives of the Missions Committee, a man was chatting with me while he was figuring out where he was supposed to be.  Casually he mentioned that I should be going on the trip that he and his wife were leading.  Shortly after that, I found myself asking the Missions Pastor if it would be possible for me to apply for two trips.  He thought it was possible.  So sometime tomorrow I should find out if I will be going overseas not just once but twice in the next eight months!!!  The first time I've ever been abroad.  Not bad for a middle-aged chick, eh?

Desert island musicians

Yes, I should be working with my whole brain, but I've been really enjoying Spotify and I came up with the three musicians I would want access to if I were on a desert island.  Or if I got to pick who would accompany me in space.
#1 - Fernando Ortega
#2 - Harry Connick Jr
#3 - Brad Paisley
If there was room for one more I'd probably pick Sara Groves. 

Or Craig Morgan.  It'd be handy to have a hunter along.