God Can Do Anything, You Know...

I had a phone call early (for me, anyway) this morning.  It was a friend who wanted to share something from the Bible that she felt was really pertinent to our church right now.  

It's a scripture verse I've read before, but in light of the week's events and the undercurrent of electricity and anticipation that I feel about our the future, it spoke powerfully to me today.

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."

My friend emphasized the part about glory in the church and encouraged me to seize that.  

It's resonated in my head and heart all morning.  I sought out that verse in The Message, knowing that Peterson always gives a slightly different slant to the words of scripture that ALWAYS prompts me to think and often touches me deeply.  Here's his take:

"God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us.

Glory to God in the church!
Glory to God in the Messiah, in Jesus!
Glory down all the generations!
Glory through all millennia! Oh, yes!"

I'm keeping that close to my heart today, this practical voicing of an immense idea:  God can do anything, you know...

Oh, yeah.

It makes me wonder what's going on, what he's working within you, deeply and gently, to create something that you can't even imagine.  It's happening in many of us.  It's happening in our church.

Oh, yeah.  

What's he doing in you?

Scriptures from Ephesians 3

Must-See TV

This is pretty much my favorite tv show now.  And 'The Biggest Loser'.  Love that, too.  Makes me cry.

But 'The Office' has become a favorite, simply because of the unbelieveably painful humor to be found in real, live humans.  I can laugh at those characters, surrogates for some of the strange situations we encounter in real life.  The tv situation depicts a weirder workplace situation than I have ever encountered.  It's sort of refreshing to be able to watch from afar and laugh a bit without hurting anybody's feelings.  Loved the new episode tonight, when Angela's two-timing is revealed and we get to witness Andy and Dwight work through their reactions.  It was so fitting to see the chickens come home to roost as they each symbolically cut their ties to the woman who betrayed both of them.

Our staff at church all received word this week of some pretty harsh pay cuts.  Everybody's hurting - some more deeply than others.  It's a lot to process, but a great opportunity for growth.  Our workplace situation is full of some amazing characters - some with interesting personality perks, quirky habits and interesting passions.  But every one of them is good and decent.  I trust them all and care for them deeply.  I think we all ache for one another as we each navigate the change in our paychecks.

It's not 'The Office', but at times it's just as entertaining.  And, in the end, it's a lot more rewarding.

I love my job.

Making Something Out Of Nothing

The church gets to be the church when we reach out and help someone.  Sometimes it's an emotional need, sometimes spiritual.  Sometimes people need a friend, a listening ear.  Sometimes they need guidance and direction.

Sometimes they need the basics of life.

Frances and Shannon Wells go to our church.  They are a young couple with three small children - Andrew, Brittney and Lee.  They're awesome people.

Yesterday, their house burned.  They were renting, and without renter's insurance, they're left with nothing.

Nothing.

We're rallying around them to help - at band rehearsal last night, our small group of musicians handed over gift cards from their own Christmas gifts and over $400 in cash.  One of the junior high small groups took Frances shopping and spent $120 on basic necessities for the family.

Maybe you'd like to help, too. Nothing like the joy of making something out of nothing...

The church is handling monetary donations; you can contact the church office at 804.598.1174 or at www.powhatancc.org. You can mail a contribution to:

The Wells Family
c/o Powhatan Community Church
P.O. Box 834
Powhatan, VA
23139

If you have any tangible items you would like to donate, please contact John Starkey (johnS@powhatancommunitychurch.org).

Care

This made me cry today.

I'm floored when God reveals some part of life to me, when I - in my utter self-absorption - am running around caught up in all the minute details of my life, and things like this are happening right around the corner.

God of mercy, grace and compassion - give us your eyes to see, and hearts to understand the painful challenges facing the people around us.  

The ones who give care.

The ones who receive care.

The ones who don't care.

http://6yearmed.blogspot.com/2009/01/boulder.html

My Workday

I'm whipped.

But in a good way.

We kicked off a new series at church today, and everybody was back in the saddle after all the Christmas breaks and vacations and whatnot.  It felt the same, and yet it was different.  We are tackling 2009 with purpose and intention, as we prepare to move into our first permanent facility and continue to follow God's leading.  It's very cool.  Our pastor was bold today, at one point stating that we were going to do some things that might upset some people, make others uncomfortable; but that we were commited to God's vision for this church and planned to focus exclusively on that.  And we had to realize that "it's not about you."  And if you have a problem with that, maybe you should find another church.

Whoa.

Brian is able to deliver these sorts of messages with a gentleness mixed in with his passion; he really loves people and he loves God's church.  So I don't think it's really offensive to many people.  In fact, it might be a welcome release to some.

It feels good to feel momentum.

I'm transitioning into a communications role coupled with my music/production/programming role.  It's fun and I love it, although I seem to find something every day that I didn't do correctly or forgot or overlooked.  It's so hard being human....

My biggest venture in the past few days has been finishing work on our new website.  We purchased it from Clover and so far have been pleased with how easy it's been to navigate.  A few of us on staff have put most of the new site together and I've been heavily involved.  I've enjoyed learning something new.  Check it out here - hopefully the link will work, as we announced that we'd launch Monday, January 12.

I'm tired.  Looking forward to an easier day tomorrow.  Hoping to get the Christmas tree down (yes, seriously) and tidy up the house before next week explodes into activity.

Three Small Words

The new song is available here. For free.

Nice To Meet You, Kate Campbell

We had our Middle District Minister's Appeciation Banquet tonight; a good meal, nice company.  It's a yearly event designed to honor "Ministers and their spouses", which is awkward.  Being that I don't have a spouse.  But I go anyway.

Our small denominational group is chugging into the new cultural context in some surprising ways.  Tonight, the surprise was a great - in fact, a marvelous - blessing.  Jim Hamacher, the Executive Director and event planner, brought in a guest artist for the evening.  He did a great job talking her up; frankly, I figured the hyperbole was a bit much. 

Turns out the man knew exactly what he was doing.  I found it a bit risky - which I respect and admire - and in terms of an artistic and meaingful experience, he nailed it.

Actually, I should say she nailed it.  Tonight was my second exposure to Kate Campbell; I'd heard a song on NPR some years ago and remembered it only when she sang the first line tonight.  I didn't realize I'd ever heard her before.  We sat together for dinner and chatted.  She took the stage and her guitar and told us some incredible stories, woven in and around beautiful, poignant melodies.  There's something wistful about the tales she tells, of road signs in small town America, elderly black church custodians and some spiritual longings.

What a night.  And what an unexpected treat, to be deeply and richly moved by a secular market folksinger at a local meeting of Baptist church ministers.

God never ceases to to amaze me.

Here's a taste of Kate Campbell.  I purchased just one starter cd; I'll be soaking in it for a few days.  You can check her out here, and she's got a lot of stuff on iTunes.  

Feeling blessed....