Are You Eager This Christmas?

12 / 18 / 1412 / 18 / 14

What a gift we have to read this week before Christmas, this last week of Advent. Jessica Russell from SMC is writing for us today sharing how this Christmas season is like no other to her this year. Thank you, Jessica for taking the time in this busy month to write and give us this gift of your Christmas story.

ADVENT… emergence, dawn, the arrival of a notable person, thing or event.

A few weeks ago, I didn’t know what to expect from SMC’s Women’s Advent Bible Study. To be perfectly honest, I’d never really given Advent much thought outside of dully anticipating the lighting of the Advent candles for four Sundays leading up to Christmas. Just another tradition in the little church I grew up in. Just another something else to check off the list.

But, giving it proper time for reflection and study, I’ve discovered that Advent is so much more than that—so much more than another to-do item scratched through, and certainly so much more than just another present not-so-gingerly unwrapped in the haste and excitement of Christmas morning.

Advent is the time in our faith life when we celebrate the arrival of God come to Earth, God in flesh, God gifting himself to us forever and ever. Oh what a gift!

The most moving thing about this gift for me is that I’ve come to know, without doubt, He’s so real…He is, He was, He will always be. This man, our Jesus, and that place called Bethlehem, and the gift of them and that night, spoken down through ages and ages before and after, and continuing to speak into us today. So far away in time and space, yet so close you can feel it. A ribbon through time that connects us all.

This shared heritage…one of peace, one of guidance from our loving Shepherd, one of love. The transcendence of His message and His greatness, the gift of Himself, all that came before Him and all that continued after His earthly life – that connectedness is what takes me over and calms my spirit when I take time to stop and think on it. I know He is here, near to me. I know I can find Him in the most subtle places and subtle ways. Turning my eyes and heart to Him means I can detect His presence just under the surface, when so many other things or people distract me away from Him or drowns Him out.

The eagerness we pick up on when the angels arrive to announce His birth to the shepherds, the eagerness of the Wise Men to get there and honor Him, is the same eagerness I feel for Him today. Now more than ever, should we be eager for Him, with an unquenchable thirst. If we are truly His light in this ever darkening world, what better time than this time of year to outwardly yearn for Him and yearn to be more like Him as we remember His coming, the start of His great rescue plan?

Like moths to the flame of His light, as His followers may we ever draw nearer to Him. Wherever we are in our faith walk, He lets us choose. He’s not a dictator. He gives us the choice because He loves us. If we are awakened in Him, then we will choose Him. We will be His light to our world for folks much farther away from His flame. If we can do that, then we will help them draw nearer and know our Heavenly Father. I can feel that warmth around me, when I’m attentive to it. My hope is that others can pick up on that warmth radiating from me to them, and that they will be eager to seek it out as well, flittering ever closer to light ahead.

Immanuel, God with us, Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace:
I pray that we all will feel the connection to You and to each other that this Advent season reminds us of. I pray that these connections will give us strength to pursue you, despite the many distractions swirling around us, so that like moths on a darkened night, we can clearly see your flame shining forth and we will pursue it with an eagerness and zest that is contagious to those around us or following behind us.

Thank you for the gift of Jesus. Merry Christmas! Amen.

Something Beautiful Will Happen

9 / 4 / 149 / 5 / 14

School has begun. Dance and soccer practices are on the calendar. You’re starting to think of the Fall Festivals and pinning holiday, decorating ideas you see on Pintrest late at night. It’s a new season. It’s a new start.

As the calender fills up, are you making time to be in the Word? Oh yes, it’s essential- that one-on-one time with our Abba. Yes, it’s just as important to get involved in a Bible study with others as it is to have coffee in the morning. How beautiful times are when you’re in communion with other women reading God’s truth, applying it to your lives and praying together. Oh, the feeling of the Bible laying open in your lap, holding onto your favorite coffee mug that will warm your insides while God’s promises and your conversations warm your soul.

September 14 and September 21 is Ministry Expo at SMC during all services (except the 5pm on the 21st). There’s going to be so many amazing Bible studies to check out and sign up for. We’re hoping there will be one that’s just right for you (and your calendar).

As the Word says, “When we come together something beautiful will happen as we are encouraged by each other’s faith.” (Romans 1:12)

Let’s come together…

When Grace Happens – Lynne’s Story Part 2

8 / 22 / 148 / 22 / 14

This is part 2 of Lynne Parr's story of redemption.  If you haven't       read the first part, find it here.  As our SMC Super Bowl Sunday    approaches, Lynne's story is a beautiful example of coming out of the  water a new person.  Thank you again, Lynne, for sharing your heart and joy with us!   Hopefully you'll see her this Sunday!  She and her      husband, Craig, will be at the water's edge this Sunday at Lake        Cammack welcoming those getting baptized into the water and cheering  them on...maybe you!

After my nine day inpatient treatment, I completed an eight week intensive outpatient treatment program at Behavior Medicine. After successfully completing this treatment, I continued attending St. Mark’s Church (SMC) and accomplished radical amputation of my previous circle of “friends” of seventeen years.

It was critical I avoided any form of contact with them, which was strongly emphasized in my outpatient treatment. This seemed like an impossible task at first. There was never any more communication with them. With the new life I was experiencing, I didn’t want to take any chances to return to the dark place I feared most. And, it certainly wasn’t worth the risk of losing the presence of peace or my marriage! Gradually, new friendships were established at SMC, whereby I found a genuine and compassionate church family.

Not only did I need God’s encouragement, I also needed fellowship and encouragement from other believers.

When I started my healing and recovery journey with Christ, my new life started to fall into His plan so graciously. Just a few months after my last suicide attempt and coming out of denial, Craig and I joined SMC. It was there where the truth set me free from bondage. It was there I started serving others and attending year-round bible studies to grow in Christ, striving to live more like Him.

My Bible studies proved there will be times when God allows us to go through hardships and struggles. It was reassuring to believe God also delivers his people from all kinds of tribulations. I was astonished that kings, disciples, prophets and other God-loving individuals struggled with trials, loss, and hardships. What they all had in common was their infinite faith, honor and love for God.

This new life of mine became exceptionally peaceful that it starting showing in my life. I was experiencing the authentic meaning of joy by embracing His Amazing Grace! I felt genuine and my love for Christ could not be contained. Craig and I started praying together each morning kneeling and watching the sunrise from our second story landing. We’d never prayed together until this point in our lives. Our relationship with God came first and then our marriage was reconciled and restored stronger than I’d ever imagined.

The real joy came when we were baptized together at Lake Cammack. We were both baptized as infants in the Catholic Church but this was different now. We’d both came together in Christ around the same time, and we were ready to accept him publically as our Savior. During the summer of 2007, North Carolina had a horrific drought so we had to walk quite a way out into the lake. I took this as a sign from God that no matter whom I used to be or what I did in my past, or how far I had to walk in the lake to be immersed, my past would be forgiven. Receiving His Holy Spirit in our lives renewed us; He gave life to my lifelessness and hope to my hopelessness.

Reflecting back on my life prior to my redemption, it never occurred to me that Pastor Bob and SMC would literally save my life. Even though I frequently attended service before my intervention, I always felt like an intruder… trespassing on His Holy church. I did believe in God but I was not a Christian and didn’t deserve to be in church. Still in denial and consumed by guilt, little did I know, I would soon embrace freedom by His Amazing Grace.

If Craig had not accepted an invitation to SMC, our lives would have turned out differently. Mine, tragically. Craig started to change in a new direction, with or without me. His convincing me that Christ was the answer, I longed to have the peace he was experiencing. Because I was still in denial with my addiction, I assumed the messages on addiction were a coincidence? Not at all! I will no longer believe in coincidences as this is how God works through other people. His timing is always perfect in reaching out to broken lives.

Today, I have been drug and alcohol free over seven years. My drug and alcohol habits departed entirely when His Holy Spirit entered my life! I have been forgiven, I have forgiven and my life has been restored through Jesus Christ. I continue my daily faith walk by encouraging those in bondage to be set free. I’m privileged to be a high school link leader, attend and lead Bible studies and sing in worship arts. I cannot change who I used to be and why would I? I would not have the conviction I have today. And, all this time, it was in His plan for me which I’ve learned not to dispute His timing!

What I thought was going to be the worst moment of my life, turned out to be the greatest moment in my life. The results from my written psychological test at behavior medicine diagnosed me with “a desperate cry for help” and not a disorder, I realized

“I waited patiently for the Lord to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry.” Psalm 40:1(NLT)

Relying on my renewed hope has provided me with incredible faith. It was effortless to give up my addiction and desire the true love of all times, our Heavenly Father.

This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person.       The old life is gone; a new life has begun!  2 Corinthians 5:17

Summer Ordinaries

7 / 30 / 147 / 29 / 14

July’s activities are now memories as we start our last summer month. Looking back over the past two months, what’s been happening in your faith journey? Today, Susan Disher shares with us what’s been going on in her heart.

This summer I have been pondering and praying.

I have been pondering hard questions found in books. Questions that make me suck in my breath and want to hold it because I am afraid of the answer that will seep out.

“What do you want me to do while I am here?”

“What is the theme of my heart?”

“What is my God purpose?”

”If God is really real and I am going to live with him forever shouldn’t he be the only thing?”

“What if my life was going so beautifully because I wasn’t chasing after God?”

“What would my life look like if I would completely abandon my life to God and chase after him?”

And I am stopped cold by the statement in Luke 14: “…anyone of you who do not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.” Everything I have, all the stuff I have accumulated, all of my little gods, everything that I love other than him was never going to work. I was made for his glory and his glory only.

Jesus says the way we glorify God, the way we step into his story is by accomplishing the work God gives us to do.

Acts 20:24 says: “But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.” Or as The Voice states: “finish my race…fulfill the ministry that Jesus our King has given me…gladly tell the good news of God’s grace.”

That is the race I have been given…this is my part in his story. “Lord, you can have me for anything while I am here.” Gutsy statement made with shaking knees but with a strengthened heart.

As Luke 1:38 says: “Let it be with me just as you say.”

But my finish line is coming upon me faster than it ever has. I am in the last one-third of my life, a very sobering thought. I need to order my days, be deliberate in my ordinary, and be intentional in my walking. What does my work look like? How do I go about telling of God’s grace? By letting everyone I meet know all about this incredibly extravagant generosity of God.

So I keep pondering and storing thoughts and whisperings in my heart to bring out on cloudy days and doubting days and days that don’t shine bright with God’s promise in my eyes. Days that I feel alone and lost, and wonder, “what am I doing here?”

It has been a summer of pondering and praying. Prayers have been said for our niece and her husband as they faithfully watch their newborn fight a courage journey into a healthy life. Prayers uttered in the silence of doubt for a mother of 9 children fighting stage 4 cancer with unbelievable grace for the last 3 years. Walking by neighbor’s houses, I pray for the families unsure if they know the Lord.

Names circled in red and knots tied tight for spouses sacrificing to care for each other, friends with aging parents, a sweet friend whose life has been swept off its mooring; prayers that have been shouted out loud and whispered softly and uttered in groaning.

So as I ponder and I pray, I am once again brought back to the truth that the Lord is my portion and I will wait for him, abiding in his love. Beth Moore states in Praying God’s Word: “…We dwell no further from His side than the place we are most keenly aware of His great affection. Place your ear against the chest of the savior so that, when troubled times come, you may not know what will befall you, but you can hear the steady pulse of the boundless love of him who holds you.

Pondering, praying, and now abiding, have become my summer “ordinaries”, the daily rhythm of God time.

I hope the same for you.

Lovingyougood…sd

I need my space

6 / 23 / 146 / 22 / 14

Confession: I enjoy summer with days lighter longer, seeing lightning bugs at dusk, picking a ripe – bigger-than-your-palm tomato off the bush in our back yard and eating it on a piece of bread with a little mayo, hearing the recorded children’s songs in the distance becoming louder as kids holler for some money as the ice cream van approaches, along with some vacation time and reading a good book.

It can be a refreshing break from the routine I’m used to the other 10 months of the year. Most of that is a good thing, but there’s one thing that’s not so great about it: In the summer I struggle with being disciplined to be in the Word and prayer.

Why is that? Am I the only one?

I think most of that is because I’m wired to live best on a regular routine.

Early in the morning I’ll try to quickly read a short, one page daily devotion and often skip the time of solitude in prayer. So while I’m taking our dog on a walk I start to pray but my mind drifts off to so many different, random thoughts and honestly, I become frustrates with myself. Now none of those things are bad but it makes me feel lazy and I’m less intentional like I am the other time of the year.

During the school year I join a bible study (which I highly recommend doing) that teaches me, challenges me, and helps deepen my spiritual maturity and relationship with Jesus. For some reason in the summer though, in years past, instead of staying on the track, I find an exit and a hammock.

But it’s my responsibility to make space in my day to spend time with God. I need to be disciplined to make space.

We need our space.

We need to make space in our year-round, daily lives to spend one on one time in His Word with Him.

So God asks “When and how will you make the time?”

Ask Him. Listen. The Holy Spirit will put answers and opportunities in your life for you to make it happen.

Here’s some ways that have helped me lately and might help you.

Find a special space at your home. It could be at your kitchen table, in a cozy chair to curl up in, or a lounge chair on your porch. Put a pretty plant or a pot of flowers beside you along with a cup of coffee or iced tea. It makes a welcome feeling for you and the Holy Spirit to commune. It really can make a difference and becomes a holy space you look forward to going to each day.

Set your alarm a few minutes earlier in the morning or turn off the TV in the evening. Sometimes this can be more challenging but once you make it a habit and discipline yourself to do it, it becomes one of the sweetest parts of your day.

Join a summer bible study. There are some for women at SMC like Threads of Hope or Good Morning Girls, (an online bible study) and both you can join in any time.

Challenge yourself to read a book of the Bible and write in a journal what stood out to you in the verses you read and why. There’s many to choose from in the Bible! SMC has a link to help guide you.

Keep a prayer journal. This personally helps me stay focused and intentional when I pray. It keeps my mind from wandering. I simply write what I’m telling God. And then it’s a blessing to be able to go back and read them to see how God has answered them.

So, make that space and time. It’ll bring you joy in so many ways.

What are some ways that keep you disciplined in your quiet/bible study time, especially during the summer? We’d love you to post a comment below and share how you make time in your day to spend time with Him.