Compassion at work

I had another post, on another topic, almost finished and decided it just wasn't right. So I've filed that, for another day perhaps, because I want to point you to something cool.

Two blogs that I've linked on the sidebar have met up in India. Only God does stuff like that.

Compassion, International has trips to some of its ministry sites, and as it just so happens they invited both Angie Smith of Bring the Rain and Melissa (um, she just got married and I don't remember her new name! Anyway, she's Beth Moore's daughter) who is one of the contributors to Living Proof Ministries Blog to the current trip to India. And both of these ladies are blogging about the trip from their individual viewpoints.

You want your world shaken? Go read what they're finding in India.

Me, I've read it...now I need to write a letter to our Compassion child, Charlotte, in the Philippines...

A Year at Beer Lahai Roi

Actually, the true blogiversary was last week, while I was on the blogging break.

Sure has gone by fast.

I started the blog with the idea that I'd use it primarily for Bible study...to push myself to study as if I were teaching, then teach. And I have done some of that, although, except for the study of Ruth, none of those studies have been what I thought I'd do.

And, I'll be honest, there's not a lot of y'all reading these things. Unless there are a bunch of feed subscribers that don't show up on Sitemeter.

According to that ever-present snoop, I have three regular readers...Miriam, Terri and my mother. There are a few others that drop in from time to time, and I usually have one or two folks who drop by after searching for information on 'Beer Lahai Roi'.

Now, I'm really not all about the numbers. I taught in a small church for years, and maintain that one student deserves the same amount of effort to teach as a roomful. So don't think I'm not delighted that I've got three who come by regularly. Three was an average class for me. Really.

But, as a blogiversary celebration, I'm going to do a roll call. Just leave a comment...who you are and how you found BLR. Just because it's nice to know if I'm really talking to more than three people.

And if it's, say, six, well, six is a good class too. And that way you'll all know one another. ;)

Jubilee Monday #34: Sharin' the Love

A friend celebrated her 49th birthday yesterday, and I commented to her that it was now *her* Jubilee Year.

I got to watch the revelation hit her...and she lit up. 'Oh! It is, isn't it?'

It's a whole different way of looking at what is often a traumatic 'I'm getting OLD!' occasion. I'll be honest, I don't know if it makes it *less* painful, but it does provide something else to focus on so that the sting is maybe less noticed. ;)

Catch-up time!

My calendar tells me it's time for my quarterly internet break; so , aside from checking my email and the daily weather, I'll be off the 'net this week, working on stuff that got wwwaaaayyyy behind while I was sewing costumes!

Plus, I've got an out of town trip at the end of the week that's sure to get my focus adjusted and provide some good blog inspiration.

So...ya'll have a blessed week and I'll catch up next Sunday!

Seven Pillars of a Wise Woman

This past Tuesday was our monthly Mentoring Moments women's meeting at church. We usually end up splitting up into small groups for discussions at some point; this month we actually did a quick little study and then had to present our findings to the group.

In my group were two ladies that I've recently become acquainted with and four first year Huntsville Master's Commission girls.

We had a ball.

Our passage was Proverbs 9:1 - 9: (NIV)
Wisdom has built her house; she has hewn out its seven pillars. She has prepared her meat and mixed her wine; she has also set her table. She has sent out her maids, and she calls from the highest point of the city. "Let all who are simple come in here!" she says to those who lack judgment. "Come, eat my food and drink the wine I have mixed. Leave your simple ways and you will live; walk in the way of understanding. Whoever corrects a mocker invites insult; whoever rebukes a wicked man incurs abuse. Do not rebuke a mocker or he will hate you; rebuke a wise man and he will ove you. Instruct a wise man and he will be wiser still; teach a righteous man and he will add to his learning."

Just for discussion, we took the seven pillars mentioned in verse 1 to be the things wisdom did in the next few verses.

1)prepared her meat and wine

2)set her table

3)sent out her maids

4)calls from the highest point of the city

5)She speaks to those who lack judgment

6)She does not correct fools or wicked people

7)She corrects and teaches the wise.

Each group (there were 8 groups) was to determine a modern day application for each of those seven things and, after about 15 minutes of discussion, we each selected a spokesperson to present our applications to the whole group.

Can I just say that 15 minutes is a really skimpy amount of time? So we had ideas flying around our group...some were from the 'Moms' in the group, others were from the young ladies. When the ideas were presented, it was cool to see that some folks had taken completely different approaches...one group (in which our children's pastor was the spokesperson) took the approach of mom feeding and teaching her children, which was really cool. It was at least very uniform all the way through! Ours rather jumped around, but here's what we came up with...a woman of wisdom will:

) (food -nourishes the soul/body…wine - new wine of the Spirit - nourishes the spirit) She makes preparation; nourishes herself in preparation for nourishing others

2) She sets the atmosphere…walks in that atmosphere, brings His fragrance wherever she goes, walking in His purpose

3) She disciples those who are younger (Titus 2), training them up and delegating tasks; sending them out into the world to serve

4) Seated in the heavenly realms, in the secret place of the Most High, she seeks God's perspective and interceeds, making the declaration over her city

5) She speaks words seasoned w/salt to those who have no knowledge without passing judgment upon them

6) She doesn't 'cast her pearls before swine' -- she uses discernment not to give people truth they can't handle

7) She's real and can be trusted to speak the truth to those around her; she has strength and wisdom and she's not afraid to offer it to her peers.

It was so cool to get the very varied responses...and to see how much we saw the same way!

I love those monthly meetings... ;)

News Flash...

I just discovered that we have a revamped church website...and the video from our Easter Sunday 3rd service is posted!

Click on the link on the side bar and, about in the middle of the page is a little box that says 'latest message' or some such thing, and there is a 'video' button.

That'll get ya there.

Worship and everything...including the Tye Tribbett song I posted about.

Cool.

Jubilee Monday #33- Jubliee Joke

If this is supposed to be a year of rest, anyway.

The High School Musical opens this weekend, so the Actor and I will pretty much be living at school this week. He'll be rehearsing; I'll be sewing.

Rest is not happening...this week....

But, in a year, some weeks will be like that.

Don't expect much posting this week. ;)

He Is Risen

This is another one of those days that the sewing blog bugs me. With the wonderful, awe-ful, radical truth that Christ is Risen! to proclaim, my post over there is about what I wore. And what my daughter wore.

There really is a reason for that. There are a bunch of folks who read the sewing blog because they're interested in sewing, and they are NOT interested in anything remotely connected with evangelic Christian faith. The trick is to be an evangelic/charismatic Christian standing by my faith and my convictions without compromise...without running off the folks who don't live by those convictions.

Because if I run them off, I lose any opportunity to speak to them.

Hence Beer Lahai Roi. Here, I can talk about faith issues...and if anyone who reads the sewing blog desires to see more of what I'm about, they can come here and find it. There, it's just referenced as necessary in connection with the sewing I do (and there is a lot of connection between how I serve God and my sewing, so, well, it overlaps a bit).

So, here, today, I can say that a song we sang in choir today has been resonating in my spirit all day long...it's Tye Tribbett's 'Bless the Lord (Son of Man):



We had some amazing services this weekend... Bless the Lord, Oh my soul!

The Rooster Crowed

I taught the youth (grades 7 - 12) Sunday School class for years and years in our previous church. The curriculum we used, which that denomination has since dropped, was designed to cover the entire Bible in six years. It wasn't terribly even in its approach, and there were things about the way the studies were written that bugged the stew outta me, so instead of using the lesson plans I just used the syllabus...we covered the scripture that was listed for each lesson in its entirety, rather than looking only at the few verses that were termed the 'focal passage'.

Despite the flaws, it was a great idea...kids who grew up in the church got at least a passing acquaintance with the entire Bible in the six years they were in the youth age group. Not something that can be said of too many churches any more, more's the pity.

However, there were a few times each year that the lesson material deviated from the steady journey through the Scripture. One was Easter Sunday, on which we *always* interrupted the study of whatever book we were in and looked at the Resurrection.

Now, I'm just gonna say that no matter how incredible the spiritual truth is, repeating it over and over again creates a risk of losing the awe that it should inspire. So I worked hard to keep the story fresh with each year's telling.

I don't know if I managed to keep the story fresh for the kids, but those gems of revelation kept my awe-meter up.

One year, the revelation that hit me had to do with Peter's betrayal. (You didn't know all that was the *introduction* for today's Bible-studyish post, did you? But hang in there...this is a nugget, not a sermon!)

The way I approached the story was to piece together the events from the different Gospel accounts. And, as I was doing that, a couple of verses in Luke grabbed my attention. The passage is Luke 22:60-61 -
Peter replied, "Man, I don't know what you're talking about!" Just as he was speaking, the rooster crowed. The Lord turned and looked straight at Peter. Then Peter remembered the word the Lord has spoken to him: "Before the rooster crows today, you will disown me three times."

I'd come to the conclusion that Jesus was being led from Caiphas' home to the meeting of the Sanhedrin just as the rooster crowed; he was outside at that moment. And he knew exactly where in the crowd Peter was.

Peter, watching as Jesus was pulled/pushed/led in chains out of Caiphas' house, had just denied knowing him for the third time...and the rooster began to crow.

Jesus, already bruised and abused, turned and looked straight at him.
Eye contact. Acknowledgment. Devastation.

This year, especially, I am finding myself startling at the rooster crow. Yesterday's post was an acknowledgment of sorts that I am in denial mode...denying not only myself the time to spend in His presence, but denying His claim to my life...my minutes, as I posted back on New Year's...which is a denial of Him.

And He is looking straight at me.

Busted

I just realized something.

I can gauge my spiritual health by my, um, 'Beer Blog' (the shorthand for 'Beer Lahai Roi' -- and I hope that doesn't generate a bunch of weird search hits).

And, looking at it lately, that gauge is reading mighty low.

See, when I'm seeking and learning and growing I have lots of insight that is pounding away at the back of my head wanting to be expressed. So there are frequent blog posts.

But, a lack of blog posts not only means I'm really scrimped for time, it means I'm not digging in and finding lots of cool insight to share. 'Cos, y'know, I'd *make* time to share an insight...if I had one.

In other words, I'm running on spiritual fast food. Just enough to keep me going. And that ain't good.

Only, I didn't realize until just now that it showed.

The spiritual blog-o-meter tells no lies...I'm not pursuing the passion of God like I need to be.

Ouch.

Jubilee Monday # 32 - I'm Not Doing This Right

Crawling home from a night of costume sewing, it hit me...I'm not doing this Jubilee thing right at all.

It's supposed to be a year of rest. If I were doing it right, I would tell people who want my volunteer hours that this is my year 'off.'

I would take a sabbatical from all non-essential duties and spend time tending to business at home and seeking God.

Funny that I just now realized this...with just about 3 months left in the year.

Not to mention already committed up to my eyeballs in stuff.

The High School Musical is hitting crunch time; there will be late night rehearsals (and late night sewing) for the next two weeks...IOW, it's going to get a whole lot worse before it gets any better.

But, I've only got to get through the next two weeks. I've got an out-of-town trip the second weekend of performances, so anything that needs doing for those shows will have to be done by someone else.

It's time for Wellington Boone's Kingmaker's Conference, and, if all goes according to plan, I will be there. That was a pivotal event for me last year; I'm looking forward to getting away for it again.

It's my reward for persevering through the costume crunch... ;)

Cross over that Jordan

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

I'm really trying hard to stick to the 'Bible Study Friday' format. I hope soon to have a clear picture of what study to do next, but in the meantime I thought I'd post another outline from the file...seems like every time I pull this one and read it something new occurs to me.


Cross Over the Jordan

Numbers 32:1 - 19

Review of Israel’s history to this point
-left Egypt ~ 42 years earlier
-Crossed the Red Sea; saw God defeat Pharoah’s army on their behalf; ate the manna and the quail, drank the water; heard God’s voice at Sinai
-Stayed at Sinai a year, receiving the Law and the Commandments, making the holy things and dedicating them. They celebrated Passover again, then left the area and headed to Kadesh Barnea.
-Spies returned with evil report, and Israel refused to obey God. God decreed that they would stay in the desert until everyone who was 20 years old or older had died; only Joshua and Caleb would survive the desert and enter the promised land.
-After 40 years of wandering, they began to march toward the Promised Land, going around the southern edge. Edom refused to let them cross their land; Arad, King of the Canaanites in the Negev region, attacked Israel and was defeated; Sihon, King of the Amorites attacked Israel and was defeated; Og, king of Bashan attacked Israel and was defeated. They camped along the Jordan, across from Jerico.
- Balaam advised Moab to seduce them; plague broke out; Moses reviewed the Law and Commandments and the Covenant with the new generation prior to his death.

I.(vs 1 - 5) Reuben and Gad ask to remain on the east side of the Jordan
They saw that the land was good for livestock; they had livestock, so they decided where they were was good enough and they wanted to stay there, saying “Do not make us cross the Jordan:”
-God’s Promised Land was on the other side of the Jordan
-There was adversity between them and the Promised land
-They would rather settle for good enough rather than face adversity and get God’s best

One can never receive God’s promised blessings without first persevering through adversity
Don’t confuse adversity with the consequences of sin:
Satan throws adversity at us to discourage us from persevering
God allows the adversity because it is necessary for maturity (James 1:2-4: “Consider it wholly joyful, my brethren, whenever you are enveloped in or encounter trials of any sort or fall into various temptations. Be assured and understand that the trial and proving of your faith brings out endurance and steadfastness and patience. But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be people perfectly and fully developed with no defects, lacking in nothing” – AMP)

II. (vs. 6 - 15) Moses’ reaction to their request
-Shall your countrymen go to war while you sit here?
(They didn’t reach their current place without the help of the rest of the nation)
-Why do you discourage the Israelites from going over into the land the Lord has given them?
(It will take the whole nation together to fight the battles and enter into the blessing)
*You didn’t get here without them and they can’t go on without you
-This is what your fathers did (v.8)...here you are, a brood of sinners, standing in the place of your fathers and making the Lord even more angry with Israel...you will be the cause of their destruction”
Disobedience of parents promotes disobedience in children

III. (vs. 16-19) The compromise
- All the fighting men will cross the Jordan with you and fight, then return when the fighting is done.
- We will leave our livestock, women and children in fortified cities here
- We will not have an inheritance on the other side: our inheritance will be on the east side (v. 19)

Doing the bare minimum will secure only inheritance of mediocrity for yourself and for your children

“The lukewarm seldom realize they’re lukewarm; in fact, they’re among the most self-satisfied folks around, thinking everything’s just fine.” - Bill McCartney

If the parents do not pursue the blessings of God, the children cannot inherit them

Hm. I need to think on this today anyway...

This Year's Talent Show....

For the last couple of years, the Friends class (grades 6-7-8) has performed a 'Human Video' (drama pantomimed to a musical selection) for the annual MPact (formerly 'Missionettes') talent competition. We used Barlow Girl songs for the first two, this year we're going old school Newsboys.

We use the human video as the project for one of our units of study. The unit we've just finished is 'Personal Evangelism' and we had a fair list of possible songs. One I suggested was 'Going Public', about not being afraid to be a witness. That one got a rather mediocre response, and I mentioned that 'Shine' was on the same CD. Suddenly, the girls wanted to hear 'Shine' and, when the voting was done, 'Shine' was the choice.

I didn't see the connection 'till later, but it's kinda cool that the theme for this year's MPact events is 'Shine Like a Star'.

Now to just figure out some compelling choreography...I think it's going to be abstract. We certainly will not demonstrate barbecuing a hamster. ;)