Reaching Out

The phrase "reaching out to people" is kind of a "church word."  We use the phrase all the time, but how often do we actually reach out to people?  What does that even mean?  Who is supposed to do the reaching?

I have recently discovered that it is not my job to wait around and wait for people to reach out to me.  For years, I went to my church every Sunday and waited for people to reach out to me.  I did my share of trying to start conversations here and there, but I never tried very hard to befriend anyone because I was a new-comer and figured that it was their job to befriend me.

After waiting for the past several years for people to try to get to know me, it was time for me to start trying to get to know them.  I don't have any really close friends at church, but I am getting to know some of the younger girls.  I have had the privilege of becoming (unofficially) a "table leader" in my Sunday school class.  What this means is that I am able to be a part of these girls lives every Sunday morning.  I love teaching and pouring into younger kids, and I am able to do both of those things by being a table leader.

I remember very clearly the first girl that ever talked to me at church.  I was in the third grade and had been going to my new church for at least a month before any of the girls approached me.  It made a huge impression on me for this girl to talk to me because I had been so lonely before.  Remembering the way I felt so many times when I had no one to talk to on Sunday mornings, I have begun to seek out those with no one to talk to.  It is amazing the effect you can have on someone with such a small effort.  I love making people's days by just a few simple words and a smile.  I hope that I can make an impression on someone by taking the time to talk with them for a few minutes.

I have been amazed at the way my outlook has changed because of the way that my actions and attitudes have changed!  My eyes have been opened to some of the work that God has been doing in my life, and guess what!  I have started to get to know some young people at my church!  I hope that God will use me in the lives of others around me because of the new attitudes that He has given me.

So, what does it mean to reach out to people?
Do what it takes to get them involved!  Don't let people sit there on the sidelines and be too cool to talk to them.  You never know when a few simple words can make someones day.  It might even make your day if you take the time to show some of Christ's love to someone!

Who should reach out to people?
You should!  If everyone sits around waiting for someone else to reach out to them, then no one will reach out to anyone.  Take that step and reach out to someone around you.  Ask them about their day.  Give them a hug.  It can even be as simple as giving someone a smile.  It isn't hard!  Sometimes, it really doesn't take much to show someone the love of God.

I challenge you to ask God how He wants you to reach out to the people around you.  Not only will it encourage that person, but you never know, you may learn something from the experience!

Hard Lessons

For those of you that don't know, I play the violin.  I have played for the past six years and have become very involved with my youth orchestra program as well as occasionally playing at my church and special events.  I started playing because I saw my sister (who is an incredible musician) playing the violin.  I used to like to copy everything she did because I looked up to her so much.  (It has taken me years to admit that I copied her in everything, so if she is reading this she is probably doing a happy dance...)  Coming from a musical family where music education is a priority, I have been playing music in various forms for the past ten years of my life.  Naturally, I loved playing the violin even though I sometimes hated to practice.  Even so, I practiced every single day for the next 4 1/2 years.  

Last fall, I finally decided that I was ready to "be serious" and practice a lot so that I could actually become a decent violinist.  I began to double my practice time in order to achieve this goal.  And then one day shortly after Thanksgiving last year, I suddenly got a shooting pain in my hand as I was playing.  At first, I didn't think much of it.  I took a break from my playing and then went back to it later that day, but my hand still hurt.  I had never had much pain when I was playing, so this was a new experience for me.  Over the next two days, the pain seemed to move up my arm.  I began to get scared because it didn't seem to be going away.  I Googled tendonitis and "internet diagnosed" myself with tendonitis.  (Tendonitis is caused by the tendons in your arm/hand/etc becoming inflamed.)  

I knew from other contacts that had had tendonitis that it can affect your playing abilities for the rest of your life and in some cases prevent you from being able to continue playing your instrument.  At this point, I began to freak out a little.  I couldn't give up playing my violin!  I loved it, and besides, I had a lot of performances coming up that I couldn't miss!  The next step was to go to the doctor to have my hand looked at.  Unfortunately, the doctor wasn't helpful at all!  All he could do was compare it to sports injuries.  He told me to take a few days off from playing and then I would be fine.  I was pretty frustrated.  I knew from many sources that if I kept playing, the pain would only get worse and eventually I would permanently injure myself.

I could give you all of the other details and tell you about all of the physical pain that my hand caused me, but that would take too long and you probably don't want to hear any more boring details of my injury.  So, what is the point of this blog post then?  Well, I wanted to share a really importance lesson with you that I learned because of my tendonitis--a lesson that I am still learning day after day.

As I struggled with the physical pain of my tendonitis, I also struggled with a lot the of questions and emotional pain that it caused me.  I knew that God had given me the gift of music.  I am not an incredible violinist, but I love music!  God gifted me with the ability to to glorify him with my violin playing.  All this I knew, but what I didn't understand was why He would take that away from me?  Why would God allow me to get an injury that would hinder my violin playing?  I thought God wanted good things for me?  I didn't have answers to these questions.  I couldn't figure out the "Why," and so for days I swirled them around in my brain.

At some point, I came to a point of grudging acceptance of my injury.  It wasn't going away, and I was doing the best I could to take care of it.  I had never realized what an outlet for my emotions my violin was until I had it taken away from me. I struggled with not being able to play as much as I wanted to and having to drop out of some performances because of my hand.  

But, God wasn't looking for grudging acceptance of the situation.  He was looking for total and complete trust in Him whether or not I liked the situation that He had put me in.

After a period of just shoving the emotions away so I wouldn't have to deal with them, I started to view them from a new perspective--the God perspective.  Slowly, I began to realize that I had been viewing my music from the wrong perspective.  I had been thinking of my music as my ability, my gift, my talent, my hobby.  But, it wasn't my music or my ability or my gift--it was all a gift that God had given to me and I needed to start treating it like that.  Once I began to view music as my gift from God, it was easier to let it go and allow Him to work things out.  He had given it to me, and if He thought it necessary, He could take it away.

Once I had my perspective on that issue worked out, I had an answer to my question, "I thought God wanted good things for me?"  He does want good things for me because He loves me very much.  But, sometimes those good things come in the form of lessons that He has to teach us.  Those lessons are sometimes hard or painful to learn, but they are important and God always knows what is best for us.  (Jeremiah 29:11 says, "For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you.  Plans to give you a future and a hope.")  

Eventually, I came to terms with my injury because I trusted in God's sovereignty (His authority over everything).  Some days were still really hard, but I always came back to God's sovereignty and love for me.  He would never do anything to hurt me, only to teach me.

You might be thinking, well that's great, she learned about God's sovereignty, but can she still play her violin?

Yes!  I can play, and through God's provision and guidance I have begun a slow (but sure) healing process for my hand.  I am having to retrain a lot of my playing habits--which is a pain--but my hand doesn't hurt like it did before and I know I am on the road to a full recovery.  At times it is still frustrating, but I still see God's hand at work in my life.  I trust that God has the best plan for my life.  He can see it all when I can only see my immediate concerns.  I trust in His love and sovereignty and I am eternally grateful for all of the things He has been teaching me!

Even A Child...

Proverbs 20:11 says, "Even a child makes himself known by his acts, by whether his conduct is pure and upright."

When I was younger, this verse was quoted a lot in my house.  It was a reminder to my parents that their children would be known by their actions, but it was also a reminder to my siblings and I that people would come to know us by the way we acted.  This is kind of a scary thought!

Have you ever noticed a kid who misbehaves and wondered what kind of parents he/she has?  Maybe you have "passed judgement" on that kid's parents and labeled them "bad parents."  I know I have.  When someone mentioned that kid, did you think of all of his/her misdeeds?  I have been in that situation many times, and sometimes I wonder if people ever labeled my parents "bad parents" because of the way I acted.

I want to caution you about this verse.  Don't read the verse and think that is okay to judge kids and their parents by their actions because the Bible says we will know them by their acts.  Yes, you will know them by their acts, but you can still love them like Christ would.

Guess what!  Teenagers and adults are also known by their actions!  Your actions at home and in public will be associated with your name.  Be careful what you do because even when you think no one is watching, you can be sure that God sees everything.

This post is not meant to scare you!  On the contrary, it is meant to encourage you to act in a Christ-like way all of the time--not just when you think someone is watching.  Here is my question for you.  What are you known for?

Beneath the Cross

I came across this song while playing the piano today and I began to reflect on the words of the song and the impact that they have had on my life.  I hope that these words will be a reminder to you today of the incredible gift that we have been given.

               Beneath the cross of Jesus

               I find a place to stand,

               And wonder at such mercy

               That calls me as I am;

               For hands that should discard me

               Hold wounds which tell me, "Come."

               Beneath the cross of Jesus

               My unworthy soul is won.

"Beneath the Cross of Jesus I find a place to stand..."  

Jesus is my rock and my salvation.  He gives me the strength to stand tall even when I think I can't keep standing.

"And wonder at such mercy that calls me as I am..."

In God's wondrous mercy, He called me to himself just as I am.  A sinner.  But, because of His grace, I have been forgiven and have new life in Christ!

"For hands that should discard me hold wounds which tell me, 'Come...'"

The hands of Jesus should have discarded me along with the rest of sinful humanity, but He chose to die for me.  Now His wounded hands give testimony to the fact that He loved me so much He chose to die in my place.

"Beneath the cross of Jesus my unworthy soul is won."

I am so unworthy of His perfect love, but He has won my soul.  I have given my whole life over to Jesus, and now I daily strive to live for Him.

"I'm so unworthy, but still You love me."  (Phil Wickham - Cannons)

Take some time to reflect on what Jesus did on the cross for you.  Even though we are not worthy of His love, He chose to love us anyway.

Beneath the Cross

by: Keith and Kristyn Getty

With All Your Heart

Right at the beginning of the summer, the little sister of a friend of mine was killed in a horrific accident while camping with some of her family members.  While I had not known the young girl, I struggled with some of the typical "Why" questions after the accident.  Being a very empathetic person, I also felt much grief for my friend's family.  

This summer, I spent a lot of time working at a day camp at a church near me.  I love working there, and it is one of the highlights of my year!  One of the things I love most about that camp is the people that I work with--they never fail to encourage me and show God's love to me.

During the course of the summer, a good friend of mine who was working at the camp with me gave me a note with the verse Proverbs 3:5 written on it.  The verse says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding."  Little did I know how much that verse would encourage and challenge me during the course of summer.

This all happened shortly before my friend had encouraged me with Proverbs 3:5.  In looking back, I began to realize that I wasn't always going to understand some things in life.  I would have learn to go through life sometimes with trust in my Lord as my only companion.  It was time for me to learn to lean on God instead of my own fallible human wisdom.

Throughout the course of the summer, God tested my resolution to trust in Him and lean on His understanding.  I was struggling to understand why God had placed me in certain situations and why things seemed to not work as I was hoping.  It was a painful and emotional time for me.  But, each time I began to struggle inwardly with my emotions, I returned to the verse that my friend had given me.  I was always reminded to trust and lean on Him who gives me strength.

While it was a trying time for me, I came through it with renewed strength and trust in my Lord.  He taught me to quit leaning on my own human understanding and to trust in the Lord.  Little did my friend know, but he had helped to teach me a very important lesson with that one verse.

When you get discouraged and you go through rough times, look back at Proverbs 3:5 and be reminded that we are leaning on God's strength and not our own.  Trust in the Lord with ALL your heart!

    

You've Been Remade

As I was laying in bed one night, a few lines of a song by Tenth Avenue North came into my head.
                
                You are more than the choices that you make.
                You are more than the sum of your past mistakes.
                You are more than the problems that you create.
                You've been remade.

As I lay there, I began to contemplate what those words mean for you and I.  Do the choices that we make determine who we are?  Do our past mistakes ever get to be so great in number that we can no longer be forgiven for them?

So many of us know the verse, Romans 3:23, that says, "For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God."  This is often interpreted to mean that there is nothing we can do about our sin and we will be forever separated from God.  Yes, that is true; our sin separates us from God.  But, God offers us forgiveness through His son, Jesus Christ, who died on the cross to save us from our sins.

While we all probably memorized Romans 3:23 as little kids, not as many of us are familiar with the next verse.  It says, "and all are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Jesus Christ."  Those two verses (3:23-24) acknowledge that we have all sinned, but they also point out that we can be redeemed from our sin by Jesus Christ.

No matter how big or terrible you think your sin is, God is bigger, better, and more powerful.  All you need to do is call on the name of the Lord, and He will save you from your sin.  "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."  (Romans 10:13)

Don't delay forgiveness another moment!  God is waiting and ready to forgive you if you ask.  He will make you into a new person.  Then you can say, "I've been remade!"

Based on the song:  "You Are More," by Tenth Avenue North
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwtcwQwgdsA