The Cry of a Soul on its way Up

While I'm still processing so much from our latest church journey called "Consumed", God brought the thought back to me of a prayer I publically displayed, boldly and brightly:

Less of me, more of YOU.

These are the words that I painted on the wall in the Prayer Experience. It's not only a reminder of when I scrawled out that prayer on the wall with bold, colorful sharpies, words lost in a landscape of thousands of other prayers of gratitude and love and healing and surrender - but a personal reminder that He is delighting in me that I am longing for more of Him. Perhaps this shall be my personal mantra, my personal prayer for this very season that I am in right now. Less of me, more of YOU.

So ... my daily Tozer devotion is emailed to me at 1:30 a.m. every day. I had a bad night of insomnia so I decided it would probably be a good thing to spend some time reading him and spend some quiet time in prayer and contemplation. Tozer has a way of cutting straight to the core and it's one of the things that I love so much about his way of teaching: 'Here it is', he seems to be saying, 'plain as day, now what are you going to do about it?'

It really hit home and spoke volumes to me this morning. I figured I'd go ahead and share it with the rest of you.

March 28
Pastoral Ministry: Just a Huckster

Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. --Philippians 3:13-14

Some young preacher will study until he has to get thick glasses to take care of his failing eyesight because he has an idea he wants to become a famous preacher. He wants to use Jesus Christ to make him a famous preacher. He's just a huckster buying and selling and getting gain. They will ordain him and he will be known as Reverend and if he writes a book, they will make him a doctor. And he will be known as Doctor; but he's still a huckster buying and selling and getting gain. And when the Lord comes back, He will drive him out of the temple along with the other cattle.

We can use the Lord for anything--or try to use Him. But what I'm preaching and what Paul taught and what was brought down through the years and what gave breath to the modern missionary movement that you and I know about and belong to was just the opposite: "O, God, we don't want anything You have, we want You." That's the cry of a soul on its way up. ~A. W. Tozer Success and the Christian, 29.

"Lord, give us that hunger to know You; deliver us from the pride that makes us want to use You. Let me pray today with John, 'He must increase, but I must decrease.' Amen."

Quote of the Day

"The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn." ~ Alvin Toffler

Thank you

I had a crazy, beautiful and baffling thing happen to me this week. I was at church for my Bible study. There were hundreds of people roaming around, meeting in their groups and just hanging out.

Out of nowhere, a beautiful woman who I didn't know came up behind me at my table and asked if I was Joyce. I said yes and she gave me a pink giftbag with my name on it. I looked at her quizzically and she told me that she was asked to give this to me anonymously, smiled at me and walked away.

I was a bit overwhelmed and didn't want to open the bag in front of the rest of my group so I placed it beside me and we continued with our Bible study (which was fantastic, by the way. Jeff and I have been doing this study with such a wonderful and diverse group of couples ... we love them so much and have made some really great new friends in the process).

When our group ended, I picked up the bag and opened it. Inside was a beautiful little box. I opened the box to find a note:

"Joyce, Bless you & buy yourself a nice new outfit! Enjoy!"

No signature. And $75 worth of gift cards to Macy's!!!! I am never able to go to Macy's! Especially not to buy myself an outfit! (I buy 95% of my clothing at Goodwill.)

Wow.

I don't know who. I certainly don't know why. But I do know that I am overwhelmed. I do know that I feel incredibly humbled (why me?!), grateful, excited, loved, and completely amazed that I was on someone's mind and that, for whatever reason, they wanted to bless me.

Wow again.

So whoever you are ... thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you so very, very much. Thank you for thinking of me. Thank you for loving me. Thank you for your generous heart. Thank you for making my heart swell with joy. Thank you for bringing tears of wonder and amazement to my eyes.

And thank you for the new dress I will be buying!

Every time you cross my mind, I break out in exclamations of thanks to God. Each exclamation is a trigger to prayer. I find myself praying for you with a glad heart. (Philippians 1:3,4 The Message)

A Call to Lament and Repent

A Call to Lament and Repent: Guide Our Feet to the Path of Peace

“By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.” —Luke 1:78-79 (NRSV)

This season of Lent, we are truly living “ in darkness and in the shadow of death” as we mark, on March 19, 2008, the fifth anniversary of the war with Iraq. It is a war that is being waged by our country, financed by our taxes, and fought by our sisters and brothers. As U.S. Christians, we issue a call to the American church to lament and repent of the sin of this war.

We lament the suffering and violence in Iraq . We mourn the nearly 4,000 Americans and hundreds of thousands of Iraqis who have died, the unknown numbers of both who are wounded in body and mind, and the more than 4 million Iraqis who are displaced from their homes. With the families of U.S. soldiers torn apart, our families are also torn apart.

We lament the effects of this war on our country. The war has undermined our religious and national values. International perceptions of the U.S. church’s support for the war have hurt the cause of Christ. The abuse of prisoners and use of torture have damaged the U.S.’s moral standing in the world. The war is squandering billions of dollars that are urgently needed for other domestic and international needs.

We repent of our failure to fully live the teaching of Jesus to be peacemakers. Some of us believe our faith leads to a rejection of war, while others affirm just war principles—but after five years of conflict, we are convinced that continuing occupation and war in Iraq cannot be reconciled with just war teaching, and it is the obligation of Christians to help bring unjust wars to an end. The U.S. occupation must end; a transition to an international solution to Iraq must be found. A peaceful resolution is possible and must be pursued. Our country should end this war, not try to “win” it, and we must help the Iraqi people build a safer and more peaceful country.

We believe repentance means more than just being sorry. Repentance requires a change of heart and a commitment to a new direction. Repentance means transformation—breaking out of our conformity to a foreign policy based on fear and war to a policy that is rooted in seeking justice and pursuing peace. There is a better way—and the U.S. church must take the lead.

We dedicate ourselves to the biblical vision of a world in which nations do not attempt to resolve international problems by waging war on other nations . We believe the followers of the Prince of Peace should be the hardest ones, not the easiest, to convince to go to war. We are not utopians—we acknowledge that human beings and nations will have conflicts. But given the toll that the habit of war has taken in our violence-torn world, we must begin to learn to resolve our inevitable conflicts by learning the arts and skills of conflict resolution and a new international approach to just peace-making and law enforcement. We must seek a world in which we allow our Lord “ to guide our feet into the path of peace."

As a sign of repentance and commitment to lead our nation toward a new path, I pledge to:

● Pray for our nation to learn lasting lessons from th e tragedy of the war in Iraq and commit to greater wisdom in the future.

● Help heal our nation by talking and listening to our fellow Christians, finding better ways to resolve conflicts—by seeking the reconciliation of our divisions and working together for a more peaceful world.

● Reach out to the veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, who often, after making terrible sacrifices, feel abandoned.

● Urge our elected representatives to:

pursue a foreign policy consistent with moral principles, wise political judgments, and international law
ensure that veterans and their families are provided with the medical, psychological, financial, and spiritual support they need
fulfill our responsibility, working with the international community, to stabilize and rebuild Iraq, provide humanitarian support, and resettle those displaced by war.
Repentance requires a change of direction and a new commitment to follow Jesus, who tells us very clearly, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.”

Sign the statement

This ain't no bull

Mixing the church and state is like mixing ice cream with cow manure. It may not do much to the manure, but it sure messes up the ice cream.

--Rev. Tony Campolo, p.20 Jesus for President

Read it.

Wow.

www.jesusforpresident.org

Consider this

To cure us of our immoderate love of gain, we should seriously consider how many goods there are that money will not purchase, and these the best; and how many evils there are that money will not remedy, and these the worst.
Charles Caleb Colton

Quote of the Day

I think joy and sweetness and affection are a spiritual path. We're here to know God, to love and serve God, and to be blown away by the beauty and miracle of nature. You just have to get rid of so much baggage to be light enough to dance, to sing, to play. You don't have time to carry grudges; you don't have time to cling to the need to be right.

- author Anne Lamott, in a recent interview. (Source: The Washington Times)

Today

Well, today are the Ohio Primaries. Ohio does things differently from other states that I have voted in ... and I like it. Even though I voted for a different party in the last election, I was able to go to the polling place, ask for the ballot of the party I want to vote in this time, sign a form stating that I am changing my party affiliation, and bam! Time to vote! Sweet.

Definitely out of character for me, I was up and out of the house by 8 am this morning and on my way to the polling place.

Oh. Who did I vote for? Well ... it wasn't for the last party I voted for. You know, the one that sent us to war. The one that has destroyed our economy. You know the one.

And um, I voted for a man.

Do the math.