The Main Thing...

Priorities. How many blog posts, sermons, magazine articles have you read that focus on this topic? Enough, I'm sure, but for some reason I found myself thinking about the order of my priorities this weekend.

I like to think of myself as a creative person. I'm a novice songwriter, I get to contribute my ideas for worship times, I oversee our kids performing arts program at church...and I get to be around a lot of creative people. And I've noticed, for myself, that the proper order of my priorities really effects by ability to create. Here's what I mean...because I'm a Christian, most of the things that I want to create are an outflow of my personal relationships. First priority, my relationship with God. If I haven't spent any time in His word...I'm out of whack, right from the get-go. Everything else falls out of order at that point too. Second, my relationships with my family...this is a tough one...if I'm being self-serving or impatient or thoughtless toward them or their feelings, again, my priorities are out of whack. When I expect God-anointed creations or ideas to flow out of me when I'm completely self centered....all my efforts are in vain!

Any of you creatives out there have this experience? I'd like to get your take on it...thoughts?

Min-ja's

Ok, so Christmas was coming, and I, like every other thoughtful mom in America was trying to do the last minute shopping for my kids. Foster, my 4-year-old, specifically told my husband that he wanted min-jas. Let me translate: he wanted those tiny little plastic ninjas that you get at CiCi's pizza when you put your coins in that quarter eating, toy holding, rip-off of a machine they have in the back by the video games. Are you all hanging with me here? So, 2 days before Christmas, while I was out running errands, I decided to stop by CiCi's and get the min-jas. I scratched through my purse and came up with 6 quarters (pretty good, I thought) while I sat in the CiCi's parking lot. I walked in the door and waved at the manager, "I'm not here to eat, just here for ninja's." -as if everyday a mom walked in for the same reason. So, I walked to the back and started pumping in the quarters. Honestly, I think it ate every other quarter without giving me a min-ja. "UGGGGGH!!! I just want my min-jas!" I had to go to the manager so many times to replace my lost quarters, that he finally came back there with me and watched as I used the last batch he had given me. After about 20 minutes, I left with a half a dozen min-jas and a great story to tell Foster one day. I got home and carefully placed them in the tin spiderman pencil box I found at Hobby Lobby, (the perfect min-ja container, by the way), and I wrapped them all the while imagining the look on Foster's little joyful face when he opened them. And he delivered. The min-jas were a hit! They went on our post-Christmas trip with us, and I even think most of them made it back home to Texas, too. The things we do for our kids!

Hey friends-
The worship Ministry at First Euless just launched a new Christmas blog that will follow all the prep, creativity and production behind the scenes of Image Christmas 2008. Take a minute to visit and read the introductory thoughts behind this exciting event, written by Lainie Thomas, Imagine Christmas Producer. Go to www.firsteulesschristmas.blogspot.com. Don't forget to join to be a follower of this new blogsite. See ya there!

The Sunday Morning Sacrifice part 1

This is another post about worship philosophy...but I've been thinking and talking with Robert a lot about it lately, so I thought I'd share.

I have 3 children, 3 small children, and getting ready for church on Sunday morning has always been a challenge. To complicate things more, my husband has always served on staff at our church, so I basically function as a single mom on Sunday mornings. Let me just pause a minute and say, I know I'm not really a single mom, and that has got to be there hardest job in the world. I am so thankful my husband is at church serving early on Sunday mornings, instead of laying in bed while I take my kids to church alone. But, with that said, back to my story...

One Sunday morning, about 4 or so years ago, I was feeding my 6 month old daughter her breakfast while trying to keep my 2 year old son from getting himself dirty or needing a diaper change before we all loaded up to leave, and to be honest, I was having a pity party. I was thinking about how hard it was to get up at 6:30, get myself completely ready, then wake up the kids, feed them both, get them both ready, and get to church in time to drop both of them off at their classes and make it to the choir room at least 5 minutes before the service started...just in time to put on my choir robe, find my place in line, and take a deep breath. I thought about my husband and how easy he had it on Sunday mornings. Sure, he had to wake up earlier than me, but he got to take a shower, get dressed and walk out the door. Heck, he could even drive through Starbuck's if he wanted (he would never want to do that, by the way, but he COULD if he wanted to). Wah Wah Wah! Then the Holy Spirit convicted me. I clearly felt the Spirit say to me, "This is your sacrifice for me, on Sunday mornings". The Lord confirmed in me that what I was doing to get my children ready was not only a great thing to do as a parent, but was part of the worship I was bringing on Sunday mornings, as long as I did it for Him. He reminded me of all the ministry wives I knew, and how they had done this very thing...Janice Thomas (4 kids), Carol Ann Draper (3 kids), Kim Meador (6 KIDS!) and they all survived! But from that moment on I began to think of that Sunday morning ritual as the beginning of my worship service that day. Carol Ann Draper once said to me, "It's not hard to get to church with the kids, it's just hard to get there happy." Boy is that true. But thinking of it as my offering of worship helps me not to lose my temper as often. It helps me get up a little earlier, and really want the morning to go well, so when I get to church I'm not "undone".

Now, for those of you that are not in the same boat as me, maybe you are at a different life stage, and you do have the priveledge of getting up early on Sunday morning, with your spouse, or alone. You drive through Starbuck's on your way. You arrive 15 or 20 minutes before the 9:15 service, get out of your choir and walk casually to your place of service or worship. I'd like to ask you to be mindful of the people like me. There are young moms that are only about 3-5 years behind me in this parenting journey. They sing faithfully in the choir, they teach Sunday School, they serve in preschool. If there is any way you can help them...do it! I'm not talking about myself, now. I've reached a place on Sunday mornings, where I feel my pre-service time with the kids is under control. I've really got it down, now. But there are others, I think of Melissa Spivey, Holly Putnam, Tiffany Ingram, Ellen Bearden, Marnie Sanders, Liz Walker, Tiffany Crenshaw...all of these women serve. Sometimes their husbands are able to help, sometimes they are not, because they serve too. So when you see these moms, and others you may know, offer to carry diaper bag...all the way to the classroom. Hold a door open for them while they push their stroller through, help them check their children in quickly, so they can be in their spot on time, give them a little grace if they come to choir (or Connection Class) right on time or even a little late. Remember, a great amount was required of them JUST TO GET THERE, help them out when you can. Maybe it could be your sacrifice to arrive even earlier, offer to meet them at their car and help drop off their kids. What would it cost you? 15 extra minutes of sleep? Believe me, it would be invaluable to one of these moms and worth more than you can imagine. Please comment, I'd love to get your perspective on Sunday mornings.

I'll post the Sunday morning sacrifice part 2 in a few days. What do you sacrifice during worship?

Worship Thoughts and this & that...
OK, so I'm back! Yes, it's been a while, and I don't know why the task of blogging seems to grow more looming and daunting the longer I put it off. Maybe because I feel like I need to come up with something profound. I don't know why!!!!

Ok, so Robert, my husband, has started a blog. That is truly something I never imagined would happen. But, I'm really glad he's done it! We have a friend that likes to say of Robert, "Still waters run deep". It's really true in Robert's case. He can be kind of a quiet guy, in some situations, and a lot of people don't have the same opportunity that I do, to hear his thoughts on many things. So read his blog. I promise you'll enjoy it. You can find him at firsteulessworship.blogspot.com.

Robert's first post was about unity. Unity in our worship. Our church has been making a few adjustments to what we all refer to as our worship "style". Because we are a 105 year old church we are a multi generational family, and understandably, each generation will connect with a different type of music. So, we have recently gone to 2 worship styles. It's been a very interesting journey. These are some thoughts I seem to be having a lot lately, and would LOVE for you to respond.

The further we get into this transition of worship "styles", the more I'm realizing that people don't really even understand what the worship time is meant for. I assumed that everyone realized the minute we walk into the door (really a lot sooner than that), we should be focused on meeting the Lord and responding to who he is. And truthfully, I think if asked, most would tell you that is what church/worship/Christianity is all about. But people's action speak otherwise.
I long to see people completely engaged in a prayerful time of worship that is sincere and heartfelt. What was Jesus talking about when he said true worshippers would worship "in spirit and in truth"? He did not give us specific instructions on what songs we should sing, or what the decibel level should be. (I wish he had!) But He does want our worship to be sincere! Now you may think, "How can I worship sincerely, when I sincerely don't know the song?" Let me tell you.

Recently, I attended another local church, that is pretty progressive in their worship style, during a conference they host every year for those in ministry. I was having a great time, doing my best to engage in worship, when about the 3rd song in, I realized, "I don't know any of these songs." Well, I felt myself begin to get a little bit irritated. I can appreciate a new song as much as anyone else, but I LOVE to sing! I love to worship through singing, and I felt myself slipping into that selfish mode of, "How can I sing if I don't know the songs"? I would much rather sing a loud full-out chorus of "Worthy is the Lamb" than learn a 4th new song...in a row. But then, I had a moment...a light bulb above my head...I looked around that HUGE room and saw hundreds of people worshipping! Raising their hands, singing at the top of their lungs, clapping, dancing (a little). And I realized...this is not about me! If I could've taken the roof off that building and flown over that worship center, and gotten a "God's eye view" of what was happening in that place, I would've gotten a glimpse of what God wants from us. We were hundreds of worshippers, focused on God! Singing his praises! Imagine it with me, if you can! Except for me, of course, who had become irritated because we weren't singing my choice of song. Even now, when I think back on my selfishness, I'm ashamed of they way I acted. But, let me tell you what I learned from that experience. There is always opportunity for worship! Even if I don't know the words, I can appreciate and be compelled to worship just by seeing others do it! And the ultimate goal is being achieved...we are lifting up the name of Jesus! Jesus name is being praised! Just the thought makes me wanna shout!

Ok, now back down to earth. Would I attend that church and choose to worship that way every week? No, I would not. But there will always be songs that we sing at my church, that are not my favorite. In fact, I think the song, "Forever" should be retired. It's a great song, but I'm ready to move on...if we sing that song on Sunday, should I cross my arms and refuse to sing? Shame on me if I do! No, I should focus on that song in a new way. David paid for the threshing floor in Jerusalem, which later became the Temple Mound, because he did not want to offer God that which cost him nothing. It may actually cost me a little more to praise the Lord through a song that's not my favorite. But I will still praise. I want to sacrifice, I want to be earnest, I want to focus on Him! If my pastor or worship pastor leads me to sing, "I Surrender All" or "Mighty to Save", I will give all I have as I sing it, and not think about whether or not I am enjoying it. I won't focus on how old the song is or how new. I'll just praise. That's my challenge to you...let's just praise. Forget about our personal preferences and give all we've got this Sunday. Will you?

New York Trip- part one

Robert and I just return from the vacation of a lifetime. There's so much to tell, so I thought I'd post in parts. I'll begin with the conference at the Brooklyn Tabernacle. We left Texas on Thursday, the 4th of October, for a worship conference that began on Friday. We had never been to Brooklyn Tab before, and couldn't wait to experience it for ourselves, and let me say...worshipping at the Brooklyn Tabernacle is life altering experience!

Robert and I were both convicted by the expression of their people in worship. I'm sure much of it is a direct outflowing of their absolute and utter dependence on the Lord for everything. I'm convicted how in our upper-middle class world, here in Euless, TX, we don't recognize our need for the Lord in our minute by minute existence. The culture in Brooklyn is, of course, extremely different. And it made me wonder if our blessings are blinding at times to our need for the Lord. Our dependence on God doesn't go farther than getting me to soccer practice on time, or helping me to maintain my weight. These people are praying for freedom from life-threatening addictions, gang violence in their neighborhoods and their next meal. It was convicting!

We noticed there is no need at Brooklyn Tab for all the "bells and whistles" a lot of churches (including ours) feel is vital to our weekly services. Let me explain, there were no elaborate sermon intro videos, drama to interpret the theme, iworship video supporting the worship time, no cool lighting effects, or songs written especially for the day. Basically just lifting up the name of Jesus, and the people are drawn, hallelujah! What an amazing concept! Of course I realize we're in a different culture, but what freedom they must experience at Brooklyn Tab during their worship services. I was totally inspired!

When we arrived for the first session on Friday night, I almost immediately discovered I was sitting directly behind a friend of mine I hadn't seen since highschool! (Jennifer Mosley Norris). Her husband, Chris, is a worship pastor, and recognized Robert because his church has done some of Robert's choral arrangements. It was great to see her and catch up a little! The southern gospel group, The Greens, were there and they are amazing! Taranda Greene is an amazing singer...check her out! I bought all 3 of their CD's!

In the final session on Saturday, all the conference attendees we invited to pray at the altar. Robert and I did, and Carol Cymbala came and prayed for us. It was a humbling and inspiring moment! Below: Me and Carol Cymbala

Finally, on Sunday, the conference attendees were invited to sing with the choir. It was the experience of a lifetime. I'll never forget the way it felt to be worshipping in one accord at that church. A taste of heaven for sure! The photo below is of the Brooklyn Tab choir at choir reharsal on Friday night where they "took requests" from those attending the conference. Have you been to Brooklyn Tab? What did you think? More about New York to come...

Miracle Celebration Sunday
On Sunday, July 1, First Baptist Church celebrated one of the most exciting days in the history of our great church. After 28 months of wilderness and paying on a $6.6 million debt owed on our current facility, our church celebrated the retirement of that debt. I've included photos above. It was a day I'll never forget as long as I live. We had almost 3,000 people in attendance at the 10 AM service. We burned the note and the band erupted in "Great is the Lord Almighty". The entire place started clapping in rhythm like at a rock concert. It was so energetic and joyful. You'll see pictures of Robert leading the choir, the congregation worshiping, my friend, Kristi Brown singing, "God IS Here" as we rededicated the building, and the carrying in of the capstone and burning of the note. All glory be to God! As Solomon wrote in his book of songs, when the world sees First Baptist Euless they will say, "Look, who is this coming out of the wilderness leaning on her beloved?"Praise God!