Church and the Arts: Part 2

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

We are continuing a bit of musing over the question..."What do I do if the church I attend doesn't have any outlet for my creative endeavors?", which was the topic of discussion in my creative community's monthly zoom meetup. The reason for that question boiled down to..."Should I leave and go somewhere else where I can express that creativity?"

In Part 1, I talked about changing churches in general...why does one leave one church and go to another?  But in Part 2, I want to talk about the question as it applies to art expression in a local congregation.

All of this is strictly from my own experience and observation, so take it how you may.  Not trying to establish doctrine or any such thing.  Just points to think about. Because my creative expression in my church has always been one of my...issues that I've had to wrestle with.  And I attend a church that is remarkably supportive of artistic expression.

I am going to quote from our church's position on the arts, just for background (and because I think this wording is awesome):

We are committed to honoring God in both our art and our lives.  Our identity is found first in Christ, not in our gifts or desires.  As artists, we pursue holiness, humility, and excellence, using our creativity to glorify God and serve others.

We believe that through the arts, we are called to proclaim truth, embody goodness and unveil beauty in a broken world; inviting others to encounter the presence of God through what we create.  We treat our stages as pulpits, our studios as sanctuaries and our performances as offering.

To God be the glory in every note, every brushstroke, every word, and every movement.

With that kind of intentionality in using the arts as a vital part of ministry, questions of expressing personal creativity shouldn't even be necessary, right?

Well, maybe.  What if the church has an abundance of fantastically talented people, and I am a person of just average talent?  Maybe I'm not needed?  Should I go elsewhere that can use a person of average talent?

Or what if I attend a church that looks slightly askance at the arts?  Considers it worldly or inappropriate for the worship of God?  Should I go somewhere that will use and appreciate the arts?

If the question that was discussed in part one is answered...yes, I feel that God has sent me here and no, I don't have a clear word from him that it is time to move, then...how do I reconcile the desire to serve in that area with the frustration that it, for whatever reason, isn't happening?

Those were the questions I wanted to raise...and I struggled with how to put the things I am learning into words. 

And my thoughts are still shifting...as in, I know the way I ought to view it, but struggle with the actual implementation.

The first thing is that, as the above statement says, my IDENTITY is not in my artistic expression: it is in Jesus.  The other came in the scripture that we used for this week's prayer focus, Phil. 4:8 -

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable -- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-- think about such things.

And here is what I wrote in my journal in response to that verse...in the context of arts and expression...

Waiting on God's timing is one of the most difficult -- and most important -- aspects of following him.  But the focus during that waiting time is what will make or break that experience.  Focusing on what is NOT happening -- whether it is not being seen/ not being heard or if it's seeing other  people have favor in the area in which one is trying to operate -- that is the OPPOSITE of Phil. 4:8.

Focusing on what is good, pure, right, true, lovely, honest, honorable, praiseworthy, etc., doesn't just keep the negative away  but is also feeds the soul the very  essence of what is needed for an artistic expression -- in whatever form or medium.  All of those intangibles are aspects of the character of God, and beholding him is the source for all transcendent inspiration.

It's all for him, anyway, and if he is an audience of one who smiles at the offering, who could say it is not enough?

I can remember a time several years ago when I was on a walk around the neighborhood, and I was in a place of great frustration, feeling that the creative things I did were not good enough to be used in a public setting and kinda mourning that it would all be overlooked and missed and how sad was that?...when I had a mental picture, or maybe even experienced for just a moment, myself as a little child, climbing into the lap of Daddy God and showing him the latest thing I'd created.  And he saw it, put his arms around me  in a hug and told me how much he loved it and that he was so glad I did it and how proud of me he was for the work I'd put into it.

Even just typing that memory still brings tears.  It was so very real at that moment.

Because, when it all boils down, creative expressions are for God, whether or not it gets shared with others.  And if it's for him, he knows the best application of it; whether it is an intensely personal response to him or it is something that has the ability to move others to a similar response.  Not everyone has a ministry to the crowd in the center of the room; some folks are called to the individuals in the corners.  We are the ones who put a different value on those expressions; God does not.  

What matters isn't what happens with the art; what matters is my attitude while creating/ expressing it.

I am not here to tell you that I have completely overcome the discouragement that sometimes hits when my creative expression isn't quite lined up with what is needed around me, but I am learning that it belongs to God to do with what he pleases.  And...sometimes...my place of service is in something other than where I feel my talents and giftings actually exist.  That's tough...but God has grace to make it work.

So, I guess the conclusion is...if none of my creative efforts seem to be gaining traction now, but I am where I feel God has placed me, then there is a purpose and a reason for the lack of favor from others, and it becomes a matter of trusting that God doesn't waste anything.  And...who knows...there may be a time when the backlog of creativity...be it songs, canvases, scripts, sculptures, etc...has a sudden and unexpected outlet that is nothing I could have imagined.  Or maybe a generation or two will pass and some descendant will find a bit of a manuscript that has an impact on his or her life.  There's no way to tell how God's plan works from the front end.  

But if I make my church experience about me and my gifting, I will miss what he is doing all together.  And that would be the greater tragedy.

How much is a drop?

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

Image from vecteezy.com ; used under free license

It was my turn to play the role of Grandma last Friday, as the Princess was away on her annual work conference and someone needed to supervise The Little Prince and his brother, Brother Bear, since her hubby couldn't take off work.  We had fun, but I didn't get to do my deep dive into Ps. 119.  Planning to hit that tomorrow....

But there has been something rumbling around in my spirit for a while so I'm going to try to share it....

You all remember the events that happened at Asbury two years ago...google 'Asbury outpouring' and you'll get a reminder if you don't.

At that time, I had a, well, I guess a spiritual picture of a vast reservoir, held back by massive gates, towering into the heavens.  The liquid in the reservoir was golden and thick, like honey, with a  light of its own, and from that reservoir one drop fell upon that campus.

One drop.

At the time, I was flabbergasted by the sheer enormity of the reservoir.   It was completely out of scale of anything earthly...like the Hoover Dam looming over a child's sandcastle at its base.   What would happen if those gates opened?  Nothing on earth could withstand the resulting flood.  

I pondered that for a while, then kinda filed it under 'interesting thoughts' and went on with life.

But last month that whole scenario replayed itself in my mind when I was in a prayer meeting.  Only this time, what stood out to me was the drop, and I heard in my spirit

"You called ONE DROP an outpouring."

That shifted my prayer.  Folks, we pray for an outpouring...but we don't have any idea what that really entails.  I think the outpouring is coming, on his timetable, and it's not up to us to pray it down but to be ready when it happens.  A drop here, a drop there is just a glimpse of what will happen when God sends the flood.  We won't have time to argue about whether or not it matches our theology.  My prayer is now...God, get us ready.  Grow us up.  Turn our gaze to what truly matters.  Give us wisdom and discernment to recognize things that are merely distractions.  Open our ears and our eyes to hear and see what we need to hear and see.  And give us grace for each other's fears and foibles so we can all serve the kingdom together.

Amen.

Of Comfort and Sweet Memories

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

We've known it was coming for a long time.  And yet...somehow, we had grace for still more years.   

 I remember their 50th anniversary; we didn't think we would gather like that again.  But we did for the 60th.  And the 70th. And even beyond that...most of the family was able to be on hand for the 75th wedding celebration last June.   How amazing.

But time marches on, and my Father-in-law fell back in October and couldn't get back up.  He went in to rehab to try and rebuild his strength but he had problems with hemoglobin counts and other things and just couldn't get back on his feet.  Christmas was a good day, but he began a serious decline right after.  He spent about a week on hospice care and passed away on Jan. 21st at age 98; he would have been 99 in April.

With family coming in from Pennsylvania, California, Florida and Alabama, it took a minute to get everyone organized and travel plans made.  My Sweet Babboo and I drove up to my folk's farm west of Indianapolis on Wednesday, picked up the Florida kids at the Indianapolis airport Thursday evening and drove up to Elkhart; The Artist and his wife arrived at the farm a couple of hours after we left and came to Elkhart on Friday, swinging by West Lafayette and picking up a cousin from Purdue on their way up.  The Princess was on a work trip to Florida (She's a Disney travel agent,  but was learning about Universal Studios), which she cut short, flying back home on Thursday and she and her hubby and the two wee boys made the entire drive up on Friday.  By Friday evening, everyone was in town. Only one granddaughter, who was ill with the flu, was unable to attend; the memorial service was live-streamed so she could see it.

The memorial service was Saturday afternoon, in the 100 + year old Methodist church all the siblings grew up in.

He was a member of the Greatest Generation...a Purple Heart/ Bronze Star WW 2 veteran.  He taught chemistry for years at the local high school, and sang Barbershop, in both quartets and a chorus, and in the church choir, for decades; the memorial service was full of music.  We sang his favorite hymns, and listened to recordings of his barbershop quartet and also of the family, including the special music we sang at church for their 70th Anniversary (I confess to wiping a couple of tears at that point).  But my Mother-in-law was insistent that this was not to be a 'sad affair'; she wanted us to sing and remember good things.  

I was surprised to see some folks I knew; it was good to see distant cousins and old friends we had not been able to contact for a while.

Memorial services are good for that.

My sister-in-law said it well, in a meal blessing on Friday: "We gather to comfort and encourage one another, and to honor the memory of our beloved Dad."

Yes.

In Which She Muses about Imposter Syndrome...

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

 Unrelated sunset post for Facebook thumbnail

Tonight I took part in an online chat for an online artistic community that I kind of follow.  I had difficulties getting my computer to talk to Zoom for some reason and I was a couple of minutes late...and kind of quickly got asked to share about my current wins/struggles/ inspiration/ etc.  Didn't really have time to come up with something eloquent, so I just went with my gut and confessed to dealing with imposter syndrome...like, I am here hanging out with creatives to try and convince myself that I really am one.

Now, I do have some objective evidence that at least a few people appreciate my creativity, but I always kinda brush it off as 'yeah, well they're friends/ family so it doesn't really count' (Hi, Mom...).  A number of my closest friends/ family are NOT fans of my creative efforts, so that kinda cancels it out, right?  I mean, folks in the online community I was chatting with have artwork in shows, are published authors/ songwriters/ have actually gotten formal education in their area of talent and I'm...just out here winging it.  And often getting shot down.  Which makes me think, hey, maybe what I'm creating just really isn't that good.  I mean, it's a possibility, right?

But when I confessed to Imposter Syndrome tonight, the chat moderator offered his thoughts... remember, we are accepted in the beloved. It's not about how my art/ creativity compares to any one else, or even if it gets a big audience.  It may just hit one person and inspire them in some way, and ...that's worth it.

And suddenly I remembered a moment at a women's conference back in 2008...the very conference that gave me the impetus to start this blog, now that I think about it...at which Wellington Boone himself gave me a prophetic word, with the central theme that I was 'Accepted in the Beloved'.  I hadn't thought about that moment in a long, long time.

There are some challenges coming in the next couple of months...I'll talk about them when I have to...but it's good to remember that whether or not the end product gets published or performed or even recognized, it's still creativity, it's still my voice...and we all know from reading Dr Seuss that even the tiniest 'Yop' makes a difference, right?.

So...for anyone who happens to stumble on this post who may be struggling with creativity or whatever is in your heart, and you are starting to think that you don't measure up...just remember, if it's your way of sharing what God stirs in you, it's not fake or cheap or bad.  He hears; He sees; He smiles.  

Because you, too, are Accepted in the Beloved.  Whether you have any kind of audience or not.  

You are not an Imposter.  Just a different sort of The Real Thing.

From the old files: The Call

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

A not particularly relevant picture of moonrise a few weeks ago...

I'm not even sure why I was digging around in obscure files last night but I stumbled across this bit;  I have no idea when I wrote it.  Years ago, I'm sure.  I don't remember writing it, so it hit me like a new thought, lol.  Strong enough that I thought it worth sharing...

Sometimes the call is loud and clear from a long distance.  It brings plain instruction for bridging the gap between the here and now and the there and then.   A plan to be walked out, diligently, to be in the right place at the right time.

Sometimes the call is a beacon, flashing, with no more than a direction.  Move towards the light.  Somehow the next bit of the path becomes apparent at the right time…a door opens, a door closes.  The way may not be straight but little by little, making it up as it goes, it seems, comes the surprise that what looked like a detour was actually the most direct route.

Sometimes the call is a whisper.  No far-off goal or dreams of the future.  Just a hint of where to set the foot next.  And then where to set the next.  And the next.  Not knowing exactly where the journey will end but trusting that it is going to be exactly where it should be.

And sometimes the call is to be still and wait. Because the end goal is a place that can only be reached if one is divinely carried.  Oh, sure, it would be possible to laboriously toil along in what appears to be the right direction, but, as He must carry the traveler to the end there’s no benefit to slogging and fighting until being picked up when it would be just as productive to rest and worship at the origin. Arrival Is in His timing in either case.

Your call isn’t my call. Sometimes my current call isn’t the call of ten years ago.  We can’t judge the validity of a call by its clarity or its effort. 

Only by the peace that comes from hearing His voice say, ‘This is the way. Walk in it.’

Pondering...

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

Tonight's sky

Here's a thought that bubbled up this evening and won't go away.  I am going to try to articulate it...

Humans are body, soul and spirit, intertwined.  It is not compartmentalized.  Any attempt to separate the spiritual from the secular will cause damage.  We wound ourselves when we spend any aspect of our lives living purely for the physical, material world and ignore the spiritual component of our everyday activity.  

Practicing one's faith only in a religious setting and setting it aside when in other environments denies its validity and starves the spiritual aspects of one's own existence.

Life is a continual spiritual practice.

I'm not sure that quite gets it but it's close.  The thought that slapped me is that we damage our soul when we deny our spirituality...whether it's our choice or it's forced upon us by others.  We are spiritual beings.  We cannot disconnect  that aspect of ourselves from any area of our lives without repercussions.  

I found myself thinking, as I often do with such things, about Genesis.  It was just such a disconnect that resulted in Adam and Eve eating the forbidden fruit;  Cain bringing an offering that was his idea of good enough, Lot's reluctance to leave the pagan society, even with the threat to his life and family...and his daughter's unthinkable actions to preserve the family line.

Or my own 'this one time won't matter' failures over the years in a number of areas.  

It does damage, and the damage is cumulative.

Fortunately God is a healer...if we're willing to let him restore the connections.

Thoughts on ....Immersion...

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

And I ain't talkin' about baptism...

Last week was a Big Family Vacation, and we spent it at a 50th anniversary celebration...

All the parks, Cirque du Soleil, fireworks shows, prix-fixe dining, and an average of  21,873 steps per day.

It was first mentioned back on Thanksgiving 2020, sitting socially distanced around the front porch, with the two-week old  grandson. 'What about Disney in 2022?' someone asked, and from that moment the planning was afoot.

We thought then that we'd be through the Covid threat, surely.  Then about eight weeks before we were gonna leave...omicron loomed.  The girlfriends both caught it...one works in food service, the other in a day care.  One didn't test negative until the day we left; it was that close. The rest of us got our boosters, did our best to avoid gatherings and wore face masks when we had to be out. Did that help?  Who knows.

I am going to confess I was really conflicted about the whole thing.  I hated that we were deliberately cutting back...doing the church at home thing...just so we could be healthy for a trip to see the mouse.  It seemed kinda frivolous, like we weren't focusing on what is truly important.

But just before we left, with all this ambivalence swirling around in my head, I felt like I heard 'Stop downplaying this.  It's not about a fun trip...there are connections to be made.'

So...what connections might have been made kind of remain to be seen, but it did change my perception of the trip a bit.

We got home Sunday evening and I hit work full on yesterday...swamped with vacation recovery, I didn't even get to eat lunch. But I think I'm pretty much caught back up to where I was when we left...and I have been thinking about the trip.

And, you know, the word that keeps coming up over and over is 'immersion'.  Because if you head to the home of the mouse and stay in one of his guest rooms and ride the buses to the parks it is a very immersive experience.

And it is somewhat seductive.  Oh, not in a sordid sort of way...in a cheery, family-friendly, welcome friends to the happiest place on earth sort of way. Which is even more of a temptation for folks who would never stumble into something clearly sinister.

Now, don't misunderstand me, I am not saying that the mouse and his domain is sinister or evil or even wrong.  I'm just saying it's...seductive.  It kinda needs some resolve to resist the siren song that seems to make it a good idea to make life about either going to visit the mouse or counting the days until the next visit.

Because it is immersive.  It can dull the pain of real life, for a price.  It's a whole 'nuther world that welcomes all travelers with open arms...so long as they abide by the rules, lol. 

And I am contrasting that with my every day life; how immersed am I in the true Kingdom?  And what would my life look like if I were to get out of just busy and get into that pursuit?

I do know this...the folks who truly make a difference in THE kingdom are the ones who are immersed.

Food for thought.  And a personal challenge.

For Whoever Needs This...

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

Sometimes, listing to a sermon sparks a whole train of thought.  That happened this morning...sitting at my table, watching online, listening to a sermon taken from 1 John 3 and 4.

Pastor made a reference to people who believe that, because of what they have done in their past, the choices they've made, the people, they've hurt, whatever, God could not possibly love them.

Suddenly, the train left the station.

I don't know who might read this at any point ...whether it's ten minutes from the time I hit the Publish button or ten years later...if you found yourself agreeing with the statement 'God could never really love me,' Then this post is for you.

The point that stuck me suddenly is....you are not what you do.  In our culture, it's common to consider someone according to their occupation...housewife, engineer, nurse, teacher, janitor, waitress, etc.  It's one of the first questions we ask when we are getting to know someone. 'What do you do?'...and we have all heard the chiding from folks who study these things that say it's not good for us to sink our identity into our profession...into what we do.  Because, while we may be someone who teaches, or someone who has medical knowledge to care for the sick and injured, or someone who knows how to run complicated mathematical algorithms to build amazing vehicles or buildings...that's is still just what we do.  It is not...identity.

By the same token, someone who has made bad choices, who has deceived or hurt others for their own advantage, who has been angry at God and deliberately undertook to get back at Him for some perceived injustice, who has [you fill in the blank with your particular issue]...is not what they did.  That is not their identity.  It is just what they did.

Now, humans don't see past that.  We are limited in our vision. We judge, point fingers, write people off...God help us.  But God...God sees through the murk and mess of bad choices and reprehensible actions.  He looks through the layers of consequences that seem to trap people in their error.  He shuts out the lies of the enemy declaring that the actions have made us unloveable.  

Because He knows every human child is created in His image.  He knows that every person who has breath has value.  

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this:  While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. -- Rom 5:8, NIV 84

People love conditionally.  God loves unconditionally.  While we were still in rebellion, still living according to our own agendas, still refusing to listen to Him or even appreciate what He was doing...Jesus died on our behalf so we could be restored to Him.

And that has nothing whatever to do with anything any individual walking around on the planet did or did not do.  He has already done it for you.  It is already there.  He loves YOU, and whatever you have done, whatever pain you have caused, whatever foulness you have gotten involved in doesn't matter.  

You do.

All you have to do is receive that love and let Him straighten everything out.  Because that's what He does.

Has 'Church' Become an Idol?

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

This is something that has been percolating in the back of my head for a while now.

Now, by 'Church' I am not talking about the universal body of Christ.  I mean...our routine, typical Sunday Worship Experience...however that looks in whatever denomination.  The building and its accoutrements.  Stained glass windows?  Cushioned Pews?  LED Wall and smoke and lights?   Robed choir?  Orchestra?  Sister Bertha on the organ?  The jammin' rock band behind the worship team?  First, Second, and Last verse?  The latest [Bethel Worship, Hillsongs, etc] displayed phrase by phrase on the overhead screen?  You know...church.

It really doesn't matter because every one of those styles represents something that is COMFORTABLE to folks, even if it would be uncomfortable to others.  Too loud, too long, too boring, too predictable, too unorganized...whatever.  We all gravitate to what feels right to us.

I wonder...did we stop thinking about what God meant when he said we were not to forsake gathering together?  

Now, please don't take this as a criticism.  I'm not after being critical or judgmental.  I enjoy and am blessed by the worship experience at my church, as I am sure you are by the worship experience at yours.  

But the events of the last few months has really got me thinking...and wondering.

Particularly when I hear folks getting vehement about their 'right' to have church services in the manner in which they are accustomed.

Here's something to consider.

Now, this is the United States, where we are guaranteed the right to worship and the right to assemble.  But what happens when we, the body of Christ, begin to demand our constitutional rights in the face of a potentially devastating condition?  Not wanting to get into a discussion of whether Covid is a threat or  a hoax; even the folks studying it are not sure of its long-term implications.  But it has killed folks, and it is unusually contagious in that a fair percentage of folks can be ill with it and either be asymptomatic or have such mild symptoms that they don't even realize they are carrying it...and so spread it to others, who may not be so fortunate.  Which is why I used the phrase 'potentially devastating'.  Because we just don't know.  And I agree that it is hypocritical...at best...to allow folks to congregate for protests and deny permission to folks to congregate for worship.  But are 'our rights' worth making followers of Christ sound petulant and concerned only with themselves?

Paul addresses the idea of legal rights somewhat; granted, it's not the same situation (and Paul was known to play the 'rights of a Roman citizen' card at times...but always as a last resort, never as a way to show up those in authority), but I think the principle applies.  "Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated?" he writes in 1 Cor 6:7b; imploring with the Corinthian believers to consider what their actions said about Jesus in front of an unbelieving world.

Which brings me back around to my title question...has doing church in our accustomed fashion become an idol?  So that it is more important to stand on our rights as Americans and go to church than it is to actually worship the Father in spirit and in truth?  Are we giving too much importance to organized church programs?  Am I only able to worship God if I am sitting in my church?  Can my kids only learn about the faith in the kids' ministry programs?  Is the only place a person can come to faith a legit sanctuary?  If that is true, then church is a necessity.  But if it is not true...then maybe church has become a substitute for an actual relationship with God.  And if that's the case...then it's an idol, my friend.

God is in control.  Covid 19 did not take Him by surprise, and I don't think the closures of activities...including church services...has offended Him.  Maybe...he's even allowing this to shake us out of our comfort zone and reliance on church services and programs instead of personally seeking to spend time in his presence one-on-one.  Maybe it's time for the body of Christ to dig into scripture individually and pray for personal discernment on how to deal with the current season.  Maybe this is even training for days ahead, when we will need to be able to seek and hear from God continually... instead of, you know, a couple times a week at church.

I don't know.  I honestly don't know. But I do know that it DOES MATTER how we represent Jesus in this season...and that responsibility to faithfully represent him supersedes our 'rights'.

Food for thought.

How should we pray for revival?

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

I have heard it (well, technically I guess I saw it on a social media post) again...a call to 'assail heaven' with prayer for revival. 

And I believe the heart of the person who wrote that is right; they truly want to see God move in our land.

But...'assail' is typically a word used for attacking an enemy camp.  Something about that doesn't seem quite...aligned...

See, God told us what to do when we need revival.

It wasn't... 'If my people will bombard me with requests to send revival'.
It wasn't... 'If my people will forward a facebook meme to everyone on social media'.
It wasn't... 'If my people will elect the right political candidates'.
It wasn't... 'If my people will will express righteous indignation at the actions of unbelievers'.
It wasn't... 'If my people will send large amount of money to large ministries'

It was...'If my people, who are called by my name (Um, hello, Christians) will humble THEMSELVES, and pray and seek my face and turn from THEIR wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive THEIR sin and heal their land.' (2 Chron. 7:14).

Prayer...even travailing prayer... is certainly in that description, but it's not begging God for revival.  It's confession and repentance.   I have to confess MY sin and turn from MY wickedness.

I am convinced that revival comes when people are positioned for it.  It makes no sense that God would withhold his Spirit from his people just because they haven't asked him with enough fervor.   Scripture is full of God's willingness to pour his spirit out and call people to repentance (that's what revival is, at it's heart, right? ); why would he NOT move at any opportunity to do just that?

Maybe we have the wrong idea of what revival is.  Maybe we think revival is getting the folks who don't think like me...to think like me.  Maybe we think revival is weird things happening in a service...like feathers falling from the ceiling or some such thing. Maybe we think revival means things will go back to being like it used to be...when biblical morality was the socially accepted norm and not considered close-minded bigotry, just so believers can be comfortable in their communities instead of feeling at odds with those who are not the least bit interested in following God or the standards he gave.

We overlook that some of the deepest movements of the spirit, some of the purest expressions of faith, came in times of extreme persecution, when it was not only not comfortable to be an evangelic believer...it was hazardous.

As it is right now in some parts of the world, I would like to point out.  American Christians pout because someone ...who doesn't believe and doesn't understand...behaves as if Christians were unimportant to their customer base or target audience.  There are folks in other countries who are dying....who are watching their families murdered, their churches burned...because they follow Jesus.

But we, in our comfort-driven Christianity in America, seem to think that revival means that everyone will recognize that we were right and adjust their attitudes (and voting) accordingly.

Can I just hypothesize that if being comfortable in our culture is our motive...even deep down, where it doesn't show...we're not ready for revival.

Here's what I think I need to pray...

I need to confess the inclination I have to be lazy and detached.  I need to give up the idols of 'comfort' and 'security'.  I need to repent my selfish thinking, and my judgmental attitudes towards others.  I need to give up the need to express myself and make my thoughts heard (and I wonder even now if this blog post is part of that...). 

Confess my sins.  Turn away from my wickedness.

And maybe I need to just start off by confessing I don't have the strength to do that and asking for the grace to do those things...and especially for the insight to see the sins I pretend I don't have and the wickedness that I rationalize as something else.

Ouch.  This hurts, y'all, because it's real and I KNOW I am loathe to give up comfortable.  But I kinda have a feeling that if I don't willingly give it up...it's gonna get taken anyway. And that may be what revival looks like in this time...stripping away everything that really isn't important in the light of the kingdom, taking away all our security blankets and pleasurable distractions so that all we have left is God, so we will know that God is enough.



God...make me ready for revival.  Purge, purify, strengthen. Teach me to let go of anything that is not you.  Let me be honest with myself to see my real motives...and turn my heart away from any motive that is selfish in any way.  Keep my heart tuned to you, teach me to see what my reaction should be in everyday circumstances, so that I learn to do what you are doing. Cleanse my heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.  Make me wholly yours.

Story Time

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

If you hang out on Facebook, you know there are memes and challenges and such that make the rounds...and every once in awhile, someone tags me in one.

Some I skip....because, well, it's just not something I have anything worthwhile to say on the subject..  Some I do when there's a more convenient time frame.

I got tagged in one last week that I decided to participate in.

The idea was that you post a picture of a book you love once a day for seven days...and challenge one other person each day to do the same.

Foster the love of reading!  Find out who loves the same books!  Maybe find another great read that you hadn't met yet!

Of the 7 people I tagged, only one actually did it.  Four gave it a pass...not the right time for them, or they just don't do those things.  Two appeared to be confused by the instructions.

But those things should come with a warning...because I sat down and re-read 5 of the books post haste...as in, I sat up past midnight every night re-reading one of the books I loved.  Here are the 5 I re-read last week:

Granted, most of them are very short.  I didn't re-read the first two that I posted ...Silverlock, by John Meyers Meyers and  C.S. Lewis's Space Trilogy (yeah, I know, that was three books but it's one story, lol)...mostly because I knew it would take more than just a couple of hours to read those, so I resisted the siren call.  But by the third night I failed at resisting and jumped in and read.

I slept really late this morning, making up for lost sleep.

I didn't chose the obvious favorites...I tried to pick books that likely weren't going to show up on someone else's list.  But all of them were books that I have loved for years...although Ender's Shadow is a newcomer to the list that I found within the past 10 - 12 ish years.

But today, thinking about the books, I realized something.  If you asked me what my top favorite books are, the ones I read over and over...the list would be overwhelmingly fiction.  Not completely...some of Madeleine L'Engles non-fiction would be on the list...but generally speaking, my old friends are...stories.  And even the favorite non-fiction are autobiographical.  Which is, of course, story that is factual.

Stories have shaped my world view in a way that non-fiction,  however good, doesn't often do. I have read many really, really good topical books, but...I rarely quote them, and even though I remember that they were good and I learned from them, I can't really articulate what it was.  I can't think of many that I have read more than once

It's no wonder at all why Jesus used story so much.  Story tells truth in a way that we can remember it.  The illustrations of story make the lessons stick.

Something to keep in mind when the creative urge comes...

Pondering the Creative

posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

Late afternoon moon...not really pertinent to the subject, although  I could probably make some kind of roundabout connection if I had to.  Mostly  just to give Facebook a pic for the thumbnail, lol.  

With the trip to Israel...a trip designed for Creatives, at that, happening in a matter of days, I'm finding myself contemplating my creative activities.  If I am going on this fantastic trip to be creative...I should, well, be creating.

But, I'm sure the dearth of posts over here means it's probably no surprise to anyone that my creative is currently somewhere in the desert.  It's dry and not terribly productive.

So, my over-analytical self is trying to figure out what's going on.  Why am I  so dry?  What's going on here?

I've come up with a few theories...in no particular order....

1) I'm really not as creative as I'd like to think I am.  Of course, I don't want this to be the reason, but I have to face that it may be the truth.  On the scale of creative talent...I may be somewhere around a 5 or a 6, and there are plenty of 10's out there who are not getting the opportunity to put their talent to its fullest and best use; so why should I expect opportunities to fully engage my 5 or 6 level?  Maybe my creativity is meant for personal expression only...or, just enough to appreciate the real superior talent when I see it, so I can encourage the folks who really have the goods?

2) I am distracted by many things...using my creative time and energy for things that really aren't productive; hung up on pride and performance rather than the good thing.  Doing what gets affirmation rather than doing what would express those creative vibes. My job involves being very analytical and systems-minded; I get to do a LITTLE creative problem-solving, trying to think outside of the box, but mostly I'm about processes and procedures.  I've even been told I 'just don't understand the creative mindset'...which makes me think I have really subjugated my creative to the urgent and necessary. Folks don't expect me to be creative so...I'm not.

3) I'm afraid.  That number one might really be true...I'm just not that gifted.  And, as long as you don't venture out with creative things, no one will shoot down the dream.  Or maybe I'm afraid that the opposite is true...I really DO have a creative gifting, but to serve the gift I need to give up other things that I love and enjoy.  What if I needed to quit sewing in order to have time to write?  Sewing gets lots and lots of positive affirmation.  I sew for church...often heading up the sewing effort when there is something needed.  Would it be selfish to say, 'Oh, I really don't have time to do that anymore'...because I want to spend time writing something that, even if I were good at it, might not get past the computer?   Either way, it's a risk that I will get rejected, either because it's really not that good or because I'm in the wrong place at the wrong time and the people who have the yay or nay vote -- vote nay, just because it's not suitable for their plan.  And, in a nutshell...I'm afraid of rejection. Again.  It's a old sore wound. So...safer to just think about being creative, maybe?

4) There just isn't any demand on the anointing, so to speak.  Creative is like a hand pump...it's easier to be creative when the flow is already going.  If the pump loses its prime, it's hard to get it going again.  I put a demand on my own creative for a season, but then it hit a point where my demand wasn't enough...there needed to be an outlet for what I created.  And there wasn't.  So the pump quit pumping and it lost the prime.

I guess I'm really hoping the issue is number 4...that I just lost the ability to inspire myself to create for the sake of creating; even if number 1 is true, that level 5 - 6 creative needs some kind of expression.  So...hoping to re-prime the pump, so to speak, by being in the land of the Bible, with folks who definitely are in the 9 - 10 range of creative expression.   But other than that...I really have no personal agenda.  Just go and observe and absorb.

Between Studies

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

The photo is not really related to the post, but Facebook wants a picture to post with the link, so...

I thought I'd do an update on the 3 + 1 (three chapters in the Old Testament, one in the new) reading...I'm kinda embarrassed to admit that I'm a total of at least 3 months behind.  Reading 6 days a week should have been easy, right?  Somehow, since it wasn't EVERY day, it got easy to overlook.  I'm still plugging away; I'm in 2 Samuel (David is thinking he's covered up everything with Bathsheba), just read Ps. 139...we are fearfully and wonderfully made...and grieved with the Ephesian believers as Paul told them 'you will never see my face again;' as I near the end of Acts.

It's a good plan to read through the Bible in a year.  Well less than a year, if you do it daily.  I tried backing it out to 6 days a week...which would still finish in a year...but, well, I got behind.  I thought about skipping Joshua, since I was doing the study on it, but part of the reason I am reading is to systematically mark the ESV I'm reading in...and I did the Joshua study from the NIV.  So I didn't skip it.

So, you know, it's going to take more than a year.  I'll just keep plugging away and maybe finish around Easter. Cause, you know, the important thing is to be intentional, not to finish on a schedule.  Having a goal is good...but the main thing is to keep going.

I'm not sure what the next study will be.  I'm still kinda mulling over the lessons from Joshua and letting those sink in.

I know I need to be much more intentional about 'inquiring of the LORD' before I undertake things.  I've found myself getting tripped up...again...by assuming I know what's going on and what I need to do and then finding out, well, I didn't.  My results weren't as dire as some of the results from running ahead in Joshua's day, but I'd still rather have not made those errors.  I got hurt and I hurt others.  No bueno.  

God gives us a promise, but we still have to do it His way.  Because His way really and truly is the best way in the long run.  And I generally don't figure out His way on my own.  It comes by asking.

So, yeah.  Still chewing on it...

Celebrating 70

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

So, yeah, I missed the Joshua study again last week.

We were out of town; My Sweet Babboo's parents were celebrating 70 years of marriage.

The entire family came in...with the exception of the spouses of the only two married grandchildren, who couldn't get off work.  So all four kids, their spouses, and all 10 grandchildren.  Between us, we represented Indiana (the ol' stompin' grounds), Alabama, California, Florida and Pennsylvania.

It was pretty low-key, as far as celebrations go.  We took the folks out for dinner on Saturday (their anniversary was actually the 27th, but we couldn't make Wednesday work for a gathering) and basically hung out for the weekend.

Oh, and we sang at church.

I think I've mentioned the musicality of my inlaw family;  My FIL was a barbershop singer back in the day; both My Sweet Babboo's brothers are barbershoppers and I even think his sister sang with a Sweet Adeline chorus a bit.  The folks, their kids and their kids-in-law all sing in a church choir or barbershop chorus.

Two of the grandkids sing regularly and a third is a musical theater participant.  The others are, um, not particularly pursuing vocal music at the time.

But we have a tradition that began with the folks' 40th anniversary celebration...the entire family sang the special music at church on the celebration weekend.  We did it again for the 50th...the 60th...and now the 70th anniversary, adding the grandkids as they got old enough to participate.

Thanks to the advances in technology, here is the performance from the 9 AM service at St Paul United Methodist Church in Elkhart, Indiana on Sunday, July 1st.  All 20 of us are singing, although some of the grandkids might be doing so rather quietly. 

And, as it seems the video file is too big to upload to  Blogger, here's the facebook link.

It is an amazing blessing to get to celebrate them.

A little speculation....

posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

The picture, from a recent ladies' retreat, hints of things at a distance, things that can only be glimpsed....not really seen....

Sometime recently I stumbled across a little discussion of heaven...eternity.  What will folks do?  Folks who all know boredom...or at least, knew it on this side.  If we all know as we are known, will there be a need for apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors or teachers?  What will we do?

Such speculation is as crazy as a six year old trying to imagine living life as an adult, I know, but I had a little hint of something as I was pondering that.

I think all of us have moments when 'If I could do anything at all...' wanders through our minds.  If money wasn't an object, what would you do?  If you knew you couldn't fail, what would you do?  If you weren't afraid of anything, what would you do?

Some folks might get a solid picture of something.  I don't.  What I get is a door with a dazzling light seeping through the cracks and gaps.  Something big.  Something shining.  Something free.  Free of fear, free of judgement, free of fetters. Something that is so much more me than I even recognize; something that demands the aspects of myself that I have clamped down and boxed up as unacceptable.  Something that soars.

And, the other day when I found myself confronted with the 'What will we do in heaven' question, I had a glimpse of the 'what would I do if.....' door.  And it clicked.

 What if that thing that is so bright it hurts my eyes, so big I can't get my head around it, so much me that who I am now looks like a cheap imitation, is exactly what I was created to do, the expression I was meant to have,  the yoke that was made specially for me...and is the eternal assignment?  Not a JOB I will do, but the purest expression of my identity in Christ?

No, I can't describe it, because it's probably out of my experience and vocabulary.  But I believe it's there. Seen through a glass, darkly, maybe, but there.

Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known.  But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.  -1 John 3:2

What's My Motive?

 Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

(The back cover of the journal I customized at DIVE in 2014...that I use to record original song lyrics and other poetic stuff...)

One of my Blogging Buddies (and former BSF Teaching Leader), Suzanne Matthews, recently posted a question:

What Bible verse or quote impacted your life in 2017?

When I first read that, I paused, but came up with a blank.  I couldn't really think of one that stood out.

But, as these things go, one verse that caught my attention last year has resurfaced again and again in the time since I first read that question.

How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God?  - Jn 5:44

I've just started reading David Binon's book The Invisible Worshiper, and, even though he hasn't mentioned that verse (at least not in the first two chapters, lol), I keep hearing that question over and over again.

Am I making an effort to obtain the praise that comes only from God...or am I looking for approval/praise from other people?

See, at the turning of the year I have become keenly aware that my creative self has all but shut down.  Oh, I'm puttering away here and there, but there's nothing consistent.  The urgency that had me writing even just three years ago has pretty much evaporated.  I sit down to write and...nothing.

I'll be honest; a lot of the reason I found myself floundering to write/create is...it went nowhere.  I began to feel like I was spending a lot of energy...not just creating, but anticipating and hoping that the work was worth doing, could make a difference...and, by and large, it was met with a 'Oh, that's nice.'...and then, nothing.

Case in point...not meant to be a complaint or a whine, just a statement of fact...I went back and counted the comments I've gotten on the blog in the past year.  Not counting my own...seven.

I shouldn't have counted.    Am I trying to gain the praise that comes from God...or praise from people?

I pulled out my songwriting notebook and read through some of the lyrics.  And I honestly think at least some of them are good.  But my attempts to turn them into something have just hit brick wall after brick wall.  So I'm pretty sure turning them into something isn't my calling.

That's trying to get praise from people, right?

Then... the Passion and Purpose post challenged me...I realized that another reason my creative unction had failed was that I failed to spend time in the presence of the Creator.  He is the SOURCE.

A wee bit squeezed in here and there ain't gonna cut it.  Not if I want to move forward.

I had given up on writing because it was going nowhere.  And I'd stopped spending quality time with God because the creativity that came from those meetings drove me to write...but the writing was going nowhere.

Looking for praise from people ultimately shuts down not only the output of creative but closes off the source of creative.

Ya'll, I am having my clock cleaned good at the start of the year.

So here's a paradigm shift...a challenge for 2018...become a person who seeks to please God...

The Epiphany Challenge

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?  We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him."

When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.  (Matt. 2:1-3; all scripture today from NIV 84)


While we have many traditional ideas of the Christmas story that don't really line up with scripture; the Magi's part is probably the most distorted.  My little china nativity set underscores the errors...first, that there were exactly 3 (they have even been given names somewhere along the way...Melchior, Balthazar and Gaspar.  According to this CNN Story,  Bede the Venerable listed their names and descriptions in the 8th century, but no one knows the exact origin of the tradition); secondly, that they came to the manger with the shepherds.  Nowhere in scripture is the number of Magi stated; given the stir they caused when they arrived in Jerusalem, disturbing the whole city with their quest, I rather think it was somewhat more than three.  And as to them coming to the manger, that's pretty much disproven later in the second chapter of Matthew.  It was somewhere in the neighborhood of two years later when they came to the house in Bethlehem where Joseph and Mary and Jesus were living.

But, be that as it may, it still is an astonishing bit in the story that wealthy learned men (again, not kings...nowhere in the narrative are they referred to as kings) understood the signs in the heavens and undertook the journey to worship the one they called the King of the Jews.  They had to also have understood the significance of that King...that His coming was for the nations, not just for the Jews.  Why else would they undertake such a journey? 

All Jerusalem was disturbed.

Herod called in the chief priests and the teachers of the law and asked them where the Messiah was to be born.

"In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied, "For this is what the prophet has written:  But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means the least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel."  (Matt. 2:5-6)

Now, if you were a Jew, living in Jerusalem,  hearing the news that a troupe of foreigners, well-dressed and well-mounted, had arrived looking for the long-prophesied king...who was to have be born only about 5 miles away...what would you have done?

The Jews of that day did...nothing. Not one of them is recorded as going to see for himself if the story the Magi told was true.

Of course, perhaps they reasoned that it had been two years and there was certainly no guarantee that the family hadn't left the area, but still.  They had been looking for the coming of the Messiah for CENTURIES.  Would you not have been a little curious?  Would you not have taken a day to check the story out?

But Herod instructed the Magi to go and find the child and then come back and tell him...and everyone else, I suppose...where to find him.

After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.  When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.  On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him.  Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and myrrh.  And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

I have heard critics of the gospel state that the sum given to Mary and Joseph should have set them up to be wealthy; I think it just financed the urgent flight they undertook probably less than 24 hours later.  Joseph had a dream warning him to go to Egypt; he got up and took his family and left in the middle of the night.   Herod, in his fury that the Magi did not return and tell him where to find anyone, sent his soldiers to kill all boys two and under in the entire area around Bethlehem.

The Jews had missed their opportunity to see their Messiah.  Of course, He would appear to all of them later, but that blessing for that time was gone.

So, here's the challenge to me from the story of Epiphany...Jesus is near to us today.  We can encounter Him just by taking the time to seek Him.   Every day is a new opportunity...but when that opportunity is gone, it's gone.  How many days do I let go by without spending some time with Him?  Why do I let the busy of life stop me from the very little effort it takes to hear a word or two for that day?  How can I shake my head over the Jews who wouldn't interrupt their routine for a 5 mile journey if I won't interrupt my activity for 30 minutes?

Purpose and Passion

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

 (the sunset photo really doesn't have anything to do with the post; but sunsets in general are good for a reflective mood and it gives Facebook a nice photo to post instead of the CWO button...lol)

I actually made it to the beginning of staff prayer today; many days I come in right at the end of the 'quiet personal prayer time'  and catch the corporate prayer and the exhortation from one of the pastors.

But today, I got there early enough that I could do my Jericho march around the sanctuary.  I like to walk and pray...number one, it keeps me alert and, number two, it keeps me warm, lol.

As I was walking and praying, there was one particular face that came to mind and I found myself praying that God would put a passion and purpose into that life...someone who's in need of a bit of direction and motivation to get out of a rut.

When enough folks had arrived that the aisles were beginning to be congested (many other staffers like to walk and pray as well), I sat down, and the following thoughts just ran out of my pen onto my notepad (slightly edited for clarity and coherence, I'll admit...)....

Passion and purpose are essential for a satisfying human existence.

Folks who have neither move aimlessly through life, ineffective and invisible.

Folks who have purpose but no passion lose their sense of value, living under the drudgery of duty.

Folks who have passion but no purpose burn out on frivolity.

A God-given passion for a purpose will change the world...for someone.

But each of us have to CHOOSE to pursue the passion and purpose of God; it is tailored to fit each individual life and will go unclaimed if the person for whom it was fashioned...or, perhaps, who was fashioned for it...doesn't rise up and possess it.

Because the enemy will provide a counterfeit; passion can be twisted and purpose can be misdirected.  It needs an intentional choice to live in the passion and purpose of God.

And choice is never just a decision; choice is an action.

What am I doing today to choose to pursue the passion and purpose of God in and for my life? 

A good ponder for the start of a new year...

Stay The Course...Around the Bend

A slightly overexposed IG pic of the She Tent at the 2017 Seeking His Embrace conference.  

The paper flowers were all handmade by volunteers and were A.May.Zing.

The answer to my last post's questioning was repeated...in Friday morning prayer, in the Session Messages, in the sermon by our guest speaker on Sunday following the conference and again in our Pastor's sermon this past Sunday:

Don't let the discouragement that you are experiencing distract you from the purpose God has for you.


I don't think it could have been more plain to me if someone had called me out of the congregation for a prophetic word.

And, I really and truly am on the edge of New Stuff.  Not that I need to walk away from anything now, but that I need to buckle down and  be ready because I'm about to be stretched.

Item one...the Life Group semester has found me teaching a half a dozen or so folks who want to be able to get into the Bible for themselves.  We just had our second class last night and they amazed me...they had all done the homework!  And they were finding applications for themselves!  After just one week!  I was blinking back tears, which kinda surprised me,  as I watched the lightbulbs flash on.

I didn't do that.  I just opened the door.  They walked through and the Holy Spirit made it real.

I had forgotten what it was like to watch that happen.

Item two...we're about to kick off a new ministry in the evenings, twice a month during life group semesters, for women.  A chance walk through the fellowship hall during the life group sign up in the spring landed me in the position at the end of the summer to be invited to join the team to make that evening study happen.

And I'm going to have to go out on a limb and build relationships.  If you've been around here long, you know I've backed away over and over again from that relationship thing. But this is where I am and that is what is needed and...I can do all things through Him who gives me strength.  I've got to push past that gut level retreat into that new place of service.

And I saw a floorplan of the office space in the high school that we're renovating.  One whole classroom 'pod' (yeah, the high school dates from that era...lol) is being dedicated to staff offices.  I really figured I'd be in a large classroom with 3 - 5 other folks, but I saw my name on an actual office with a door.  I won't have to pack my office decor...pictures and stuff...up.  I'm going to on be on the hall with the IT crew instead of the Finance ladies, which is going to be a little different.

It made it feel...almost scary close...the move is coming.  Instead of being out there on the horizon...it's actually closer than the horizon now.    Conversations are starting to not be 'when we get to Butler' but about events that are going to happen after the move.  Deep breaths.

Change is coming. And I'm not going to let the enemy throw discouragement and frustration at me.  Not at this point.

But I still need a new phone.

When Change is Coming

Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi

Sunrise from the suspension bridge at Turkey Run Aug 17,2015

It may just be that the cold front went through and the air is cool and clear instead of hot and muggy.

Or it may be that I'm tired of letting things pile up in the corners...allegorical corners and real corners...and it's time to shift focus and deal with it.

Or it may be that I've run into a virtual brick wall one too many times and now I've stepped back and begun to wonder if I'm moving in the right direction.

Or it may be that I've run the course and done all I can do and it's time to put down the tools and move on to a new challenge.

Or it could be that the Enemy is having a heyday throwing discouragement at me and I'm letting my perspective be skewed by subconscious cynicism.

Or it could be that the Spirit is just beginning the whisper saying it's time to step out of something old into something new.

Or it could be something I recently told a friend...change happens about every five years and it may be there is a five year cycle that's coming to a close.

Or it could just be that it's time to give up the flip phone.

I honestly don't know.   I just know that there's a restless angstyness that I haven't felt in a while.

This weekend is our Women's conference.  It's a bit abbreviated this year, as we are in a huge building program (yes, change IS coming...).  I don't have any major responsibilities; I'm hoping to just soak and listen and see if there is more to this unrest than just sticky keys on my old phone.