It Would Be Easy..

One of my favorite movies is "The Proposal" starring Sandra Bullock, Ryan Reynolds, Betty White, Craig T. Nelson and a host of others that just had my side splitting!!!!

We watched it the other night and one of my favorite scenes (of which there are many) just won't leave my head. So, the next best thing to do is blog about it!

In the end, Ryan's character comes running back to officially propose to Sandra's character. Initially she tries to shoot him down.
"Margaret, marry me so I can date you," he says.
"You don't want to be around me. There's a reason I am alone. I like being alone. It's safe. It would be easier if we just forget this all happened..." she states.
"You're right," he replies, "It would be easier."
"But I'm scared," she says. "So am I," he replies. And then they kiss and the rest is Hollywood history and magic!!!

In essence, her character wanted to quit on the hard parts of life and just find a way to start over somewhere else. In short, she was looking for an escape.

Listen, I get that, sometimes, church life and even ministry within the church can be hard. It can be scary. It can be a pain in the (insert your own word here).

It's NEVER meant to be easy. Quitting on your church is NOT an option. Quitting on relationships within the body is NOT an option. Quitting on GOD is stupid and dangerous - and NOT an option.

Yes...it would be easier to just walk away when things get real tough. And that's exactly what Satan would have you do. That way he wins. He's the one who got into the mix to begin with and really stirred things up. Tell him where he needs to go back to!!

I don't know where you are in your church or in your walk with Christ. Let me encourage you to press into His Word more now than you ever have. Seek out a mentor, a brother or sister who is grounded in Christ and allow them to speak into your life. I can tell you that the situation you're in will look different and even hopeful. And when God gets done cleaning up all the crap in your life and you see His hand at work, it will blow you away. Trust me - been there!

See you in church.

Stadium Thoughts - and Church

This is a photo from the Steelers-Ravens game that Austin and I went to in January. To sum up the experience - WOW!!!

Here's what I love about being at this stadium:
1. We all were gathered for one purpose - to cheer on our team to victory.
2. We all were focused on the same purpose.
3. We were one voice, in unison all the while we were together.
4. We never lost hope when things looked dim (down 21-7 at the half).
5. When the team needed us most, we ALL came together to let them know they were not alone.
6. We were united. Complete strangers, all walks of life, different views and agendas. But for the time we were together, nothing could deter us, separate us or move us off our goal.
7. We were, in a sense, family. No matter how crazy, goofy, fired up anyone got, it didn't matter because we were all a family.

MAN...I wish church could be like that!
Instead, we get caught up in our own agendas.
We get focused on what we want instead of what God desires.
We get focused on US and lose sight of those around us who are so desperately in need of a Savior.
We get divided when things don't go our way, or when things get too uncomfortable.
We lose sight that we have the Living Hope.
It's almost as if we are ashamed of who we are and lost sight of WHOSE we are.

I shared Sunday a passage from 2 Timothy 1 that was a great reminder of how much God has done for us, and that we should not be ashamed to celebrate it, even (especially) when things are going tough. Here's Paul, speaking about being a prisoner for Christ AND LOVING IT! What an honor to be in chains for the gospel. And then he goes on to talk about how GREAT this God of ours is. "Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him for that day." (vs. 12)
In chains he is not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. In chains he is not going to shy away from being a witness, running the risk of being called a fool for the sake of Christ. He has entrusted his very life until the day of judgment knowing that God will take care of him as He promised!

If we're all on the same team, pulling for the same hope and promise, seeing lives changed and redeemed from death - shouldn't that get us on your feet? Shouldn't that get us a little fired up, enough to want to share it with anyone who needed to hear it? Shouldn't that get us, as His body, fired up to GO and BE the changers He's called us to be? That's my prayer for us and for any church that is seeking to be a difference maker in their community.

Let's get our game faces on, church!