There's a meeting for the ladies in leadership tonight to start the conference. I'm really glad that's been scheduled, since often those in leadership are busy doing jobs that mean not fully participating in all the sessions.
The team that is coming this year is the same group of ladies that came to the first RFWC women's conference I attended back in 2001; they returned three more years but haven't been here as a team in 5 years. I know one of the ladies, Dawn Sweigart, has an amazing testimony of healing that has happened since we last heard from her; Teri Furr has gotten married and is now a mom and Rita Springer adopted a little boy...they've all had significant life changes. It's going to be really good to hear what God has given them.
But...the good news is that the Friday and Saturday evening services will be broadcast live on the church website (Click 'Live on the Web' under Central Campus or click on the SHE Rev promo when it comes up on the scroll) . We start at 6:30 Central time w/worship...if you're interested and have time, give a listen!
I'll *try* to blog my responses...if I'm awake enough when I get home. ;)
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Puddles IN the car?
According to our online hourly forecast, today was supposed to vary from sunny to partly cloudy, with only a 10% chance of rain.
I left the windows on the momvan cracked about 1 1/2" , put the sunshade up and went into my windowless office. Without the umbrella, I might add.
10 minutes before time for me to leave, we had a bone fide severe thunderstorm, complete w/National Weather Service warning, dump a boatload of rain and a bit of hail on the center of the Rocket City...right where I was. Of course, I'd completely forgotten about the cracked windows.
When I finally was able to exit the building without drowning, I was shocked to find water in the car. The doors were dripping, the dashboard was dripping, the sunshade was dripping. There was a puddle in the cell phone tray in the cupholder; the umbrella lying on the floor had water standing in it also. I couldn't figure out what happened. Then I noticed the gap at the top of the windows. Oh, yeah...
My backside was rather damp by the time I got home, too.
Maybe I should find a new weather info source....
I left the windows on the momvan cracked about 1 1/2" , put the sunshade up and went into my windowless office. Without the umbrella, I might add.
10 minutes before time for me to leave, we had a bone fide severe thunderstorm, complete w/National Weather Service warning, dump a boatload of rain and a bit of hail on the center of the Rocket City...right where I was. Of course, I'd completely forgotten about the cracked windows.
When I finally was able to exit the building without drowning, I was shocked to find water in the car. The doors were dripping, the dashboard was dripping, the sunshade was dripping. There was a puddle in the cell phone tray in the cupholder; the umbrella lying on the floor had water standing in it also. I couldn't figure out what happened. Then I noticed the gap at the top of the windows. Oh, yeah...
My backside was rather damp by the time I got home, too.
Maybe I should find a new weather info source....
Monday, September 7, 2009
History Repeats...
Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi
During the fast last week, I spent some time reading the book of Jeremiah (actually, I'm reading through the Bible w/my Friends club class, and Jeremiah happens to be where I am at the moment). I read chapters 37 - 49, which covers the days before, during, and after the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians. I've read this before...taught it before (there's an interesting character study of Zedekiah in those chapters), but this time it struck me very differently and I found myself almost weeping over the folks of that time and the loss of their city and their sovereignty.
Jeremiah 37:2 jumped out at me and grieved me, and I think that stayed with me as I read the following chapters:
Neither [Zedekiah] nor his attendants nor the people of the land paid any attention to the words the LORD had spoken through Jeremiah the prophet.
From that point on, the book is a litany of the sad things the people experienced and losses they endured because they would not pay attention to the words God spoke through Jeremiah.
They all considered Jeremiah, at best, a crackpot and, at worst, a traitor. His words did not match what the political, religious and social leaders of the day believed. So they paid no attention.
At one point, Jeremiah even told them, 'You made a fatal mistake when you sent me to the LORD your God and said, "...tell us everything He says and we will do it."' He knew the people had already made up their minds as to what they would do, and, again, they paid no attention to what he said and followed their own course of action. They said, "You're lying! The LORD our God has not sent you to say [that]! But Baruch son of Neriah is inciting you against us to hand us over to the Babylonians, so they may kill us or carry us into exile to Babylon." (43:2b-3). So they went to Egypt anyway.
None of the folks that went to Egypt against Jeremiah's instruction returned. No child of theirs returned. Jeremiah told them the truth. Only no one was left to acknowledge it.
I see many people who are honest servants of God being considered, at best, crackpots and, at worst, hatemongers and traitors. If I'm honest, I wasn't just grieving for the fallen of ancient Judah...I was grieving for my own people, who cannot allow themselves to consider that maybe, just maybe, what those servants of God are proclaiming to them may be the truth.
During the fast last week, I spent some time reading the book of Jeremiah (actually, I'm reading through the Bible w/my Friends club class, and Jeremiah happens to be where I am at the moment). I read chapters 37 - 49, which covers the days before, during, and after the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians. I've read this before...taught it before (there's an interesting character study of Zedekiah in those chapters), but this time it struck me very differently and I found myself almost weeping over the folks of that time and the loss of their city and their sovereignty.
Jeremiah 37:2 jumped out at me and grieved me, and I think that stayed with me as I read the following chapters:
Neither [Zedekiah] nor his attendants nor the people of the land paid any attention to the words the LORD had spoken through Jeremiah the prophet.
From that point on, the book is a litany of the sad things the people experienced and losses they endured because they would not pay attention to the words God spoke through Jeremiah.
They all considered Jeremiah, at best, a crackpot and, at worst, a traitor. His words did not match what the political, religious and social leaders of the day believed. So they paid no attention.
At one point, Jeremiah even told them, 'You made a fatal mistake when you sent me to the LORD your God and said, "...tell us everything He says and we will do it."' He knew the people had already made up their minds as to what they would do, and, again, they paid no attention to what he said and followed their own course of action. They said, "You're lying! The LORD our God has not sent you to say [that]! But Baruch son of Neriah is inciting you against us to hand us over to the Babylonians, so they may kill us or carry us into exile to Babylon." (43:2b-3). So they went to Egypt anyway.
None of the folks that went to Egypt against Jeremiah's instruction returned. No child of theirs returned. Jeremiah told them the truth. Only no one was left to acknowledge it.
I see many people who are honest servants of God being considered, at best, crackpots and, at worst, hatemongers and traitors. If I'm honest, I wasn't just grieving for the fallen of ancient Judah...I was grieving for my own people, who cannot allow themselves to consider that maybe, just maybe, what those servants of God are proclaiming to them may be the truth.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Peace in the Storm
I finally got to try my hand at painting...something I've never really done before.
During our 'night of worship' services, we frequently have a group of folks doing artwork over to the side, as part of an expression of worship. Some of the paintings produced have been quite powerful...they're always amazing.
'Course, the folks who do that actually have some artistic talent. Me, not so much. But I thought it looked like it would be a fun thing to do. And, today we had a 'mother daughter pre-SHE paint party' after church...with worship music playing and paint and canvases available for moms and junior high girls to experiment with letting the Spirit flow with creativity and painting.
This started out to be a picture of flowers. But, when I was painting the background, I saw stormclouds in the brushstrokes...and flipped the painting 180 degrees and started working with that idea. Then I had a rock in the sea...waves crashing against it...and finally, a bird sitting on a nest on the rock.
Peaceful in the midst of the storm's fury.
'Course, not everyone saw that...at least, not right off the bat.
I attempted a second painting, but, well, I was not competent enough to express what I was reaching for and that mess will probably go in the trash can.
It was interesting...and surprisingly difficult. Painting is not my gift.
But I'm glad I did it.
During our 'night of worship' services, we frequently have a group of folks doing artwork over to the side, as part of an expression of worship. Some of the paintings produced have been quite powerful...they're always amazing.
'Course, the folks who do that actually have some artistic talent. Me, not so much. But I thought it looked like it would be a fun thing to do. And, today we had a 'mother daughter pre-SHE paint party' after church...with worship music playing and paint and canvases available for moms and junior high girls to experiment with letting the Spirit flow with creativity and painting.
This started out to be a picture of flowers. But, when I was painting the background, I saw stormclouds in the brushstrokes...and flipped the painting 180 degrees and started working with that idea. Then I had a rock in the sea...waves crashing against it...and finally, a bird sitting on a nest on the rock.
Peaceful in the midst of the storm's fury.
'Course, not everyone saw that...at least, not right off the bat.
I attempted a second painting, but, well, I was not competent enough to express what I was reaching for and that mess will probably go in the trash can.
It was interesting...and surprisingly difficult. Painting is not my gift.
But I'm glad I did it.
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Change of Plan: An Unscheduled Break
We have some events coming up at church in the near future that have the potential to impact many lives; for that reason, our Pastor has called the church to a seven-day fast for alignment and focusing ourselves on hearing God in preparation for these.
This will be a Fast of Submission, and, as part of my fasting, I will be doing another internet break.
If you're curious about fasting, our Pastor has posted some simple fasting guidelines
Guess that will give me a good chance to sharpen the sword, eh?
I'll be back next Sunday! ;)
This will be a Fast of Submission, and, as part of my fasting, I will be doing another internet break.
If you're curious about fasting, our Pastor has posted some simple fasting guidelines
Guess that will give me a good chance to sharpen the sword, eh?
I'll be back next Sunday! ;)
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Days Like This...
Honey, you know, sometimes 'sugars out'. It's easy enough to fix; you just set the jar in a pan of hot water until the honey liquefies again.
But, what if your jar is a plastic squeeze bottle?
It's impossible to get the granulated honey out of the bottle into a glass container; I thought I'd just set the bottle in the hot water until it 'just' got hot enough to liquefy the honey and then pull it out fast.
Unfortunately, on Wednesday when this event actually took place, The Flute Player was a bit late leaving for school and the moment she left I dashed off to get into the shower.
Forgetting completely about the honey on the stove.
When I came back down half an hour later, the bottle had blown up like a football. It hadn't ruptured...but when I pulled it out of the water it all collapsed. Wouldn't even stand up.
I kinda propped it up so it could cool...but, wow...
I didn't think about it, but the general consensus is that the honey has been contaminated by random plastic molecules, since it was heated to the expansion point.
Rats.
But, what if your jar is a plastic squeeze bottle?
It's impossible to get the granulated honey out of the bottle into a glass container; I thought I'd just set the bottle in the hot water until it 'just' got hot enough to liquefy the honey and then pull it out fast.
Unfortunately, on Wednesday when this event actually took place, The Flute Player was a bit late leaving for school and the moment she left I dashed off to get into the shower.
Forgetting completely about the honey on the stove.
When I came back down half an hour later, the bottle had blown up like a football. It hadn't ruptured...but when I pulled it out of the water it all collapsed. Wouldn't even stand up.
I kinda propped it up so it could cool...but, wow...
I didn't think about it, but the general consensus is that the honey has been contaminated by random plastic molecules, since it was heated to the expansion point.
Rats.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Prep Work 2: Sharpen the Sword
Tuesday night there was a prayer meeting called for the deaconesses in the church to come together and pray for the women's conference. We were exhorted to go aside from our routine and let God deal with us as individuals...so that we would be ready to minister to the women who are coming.
The specific word was, 'Sharpen your sword'.
So I'm going to look at a couple of verses today, just because they were the first ones that popped into my spirit when I heard 'Sharpen your sword'.
(NOTE: what follows is exactly what I learned, written as I found it. Sorry it's so long...it's a paradigm shift and I haven't completely processed it yet. But it's very interesting!)
Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. - Eph. 6:17
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart - Heb. 4:12
Whoa. Brain freeze.
See, I have been mulling this over for the last couple of days as I went about the necessary business of life, thinking about what it means and how I need to apply it to sharpen my sword. Thinking it is about digging into my Bible and refreshing myself on the truths contained there-in.
But, as I just typed those words out, reading them for the umpety-ump-umpth time, I suddenly realized something.
When Paul and the author of Hebrews wrote those words, there was no Bible. All they had was the Law and the Prophets....and the common folk did not have access to copies of those. It certainly wasn't available to the Gentiles living in Ephesus. They probably weren't even terribly familiar with the Hebrew scriptures.
But, according to my dispensational upbringing, 'the word of the Lord' always means the written word...the Bible. So I pulled out the Zodhiates and looked it up.
The Greek word used in Heb. 4:12 is, indeed, logos (Strongs # 3056). Okay, I thought, that actually is the written word. But, when I looked it up in the Word Study Dictionary, I found this (I have omitted the rather lengthy descriptions of the secondary meanings):
-[taken from the noun lego - 'to speak intelligently.']Intelligence, word as the expression of that intelligence, discourse, saying, thing.
I - Word, both the act of speaking and the thing spoken.
A) Word, as uttered by the living voice.
B) An emphatic word, meaning a saying, declaration, sentiment uttered.
C) Word or words, meaning talk, discourse, speech, the act of holding forth
D) Word, meaning talk, rumor, report.
II. - Reason, the reasoning Faculty as that power of the soul which is the basis of speech, rationality.
A) A reason, ground, cause
B) Reason as demanded or assigned, meaning reckoning, account
III - The word Logos in [John's writings] stands for the preincarnate Christ, the spiritual, divine nature spoken of in the Jewish writings before and about the time of Christ, under various names, e.g. Son of man
Wow. The Greek word that I had always thought specified the written word doesn't imply anything about writing...it has to do w/speech.
File that and go on to the next one...because the word used in Ephesians, the one specifically referring to the weapon we are to wield, is rhema. That, I've always been told, is the 'proceeding word'...a word spoken from God to one's spirit.
Here's what the Word Study Dictionary has to say about rhema (Strong's # 4487):
-[taken from the noun rheo, 'to speak'] That which is spoken, a statement, a word.
I. Particularly a word as uttered by a living voice.
II. Collectively, word, pl. words, meaning saying, speech, discourse.
III. In the New Testament usage, often it has a particular meaning depending on the adjuncts or context:
A. Charge, accusation
B. Prediction, prophecy, equivalent to rhemata proeiremena, sayings foretold. Rhemata tou Theou, sayings of God.
C. Promise from God
D. Command
E. Spoken of a teacher, word teaching, precept, doctrine...
F. A pronouncement from God.
IV. Metonymically* for things spoken of, a matter, affair.
Syn logos, the expression of thought, while rhema stands for the subject spoken about...
(*I had to look up 'metonymy' in the American Heritage Dictionary...it is defined as 'a figure of speech in which an idea is evoked or named by means of a term designating some associated notion.')
So...I don't really think I can so easily say now that logos is the written word and rhema is the revelatory word anymore. They both have the connotation of being spoken by a living voice. Actually, buried in the descriptive terms of application III - E of rhema is 'word of God...of the Lord, meaning the doctrines and promises of God revealed and taught in the Bible.'
Definitely a paradigm shift.
Obviously, the written word does fit aspects of both terms; but it appears that the word God speaks to us as individuals is the sword that pierces us and the weapon in our hand. It includes the written word and will never contradict it, but...if I'm going to sharpen my sword, what I really need to do is clean out my ears and shake off any sluggishness (throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles...Heb. 12:1) so that I can respond to the Word that He quickens in my spirit instantly.
Lord I want to hear Your voice more clearly; I want to obey more immediately; bring your Holy Whetstone that the Sword will be swift and sure in my life....
The specific word was, 'Sharpen your sword'.
So I'm going to look at a couple of verses today, just because they were the first ones that popped into my spirit when I heard 'Sharpen your sword'.
(NOTE: what follows is exactly what I learned, written as I found it. Sorry it's so long...it's a paradigm shift and I haven't completely processed it yet. But it's very interesting!)
Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. - Eph. 6:17
For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart - Heb. 4:12
Whoa. Brain freeze.
See, I have been mulling this over for the last couple of days as I went about the necessary business of life, thinking about what it means and how I need to apply it to sharpen my sword. Thinking it is about digging into my Bible and refreshing myself on the truths contained there-in.
But, as I just typed those words out, reading them for the umpety-ump-umpth time, I suddenly realized something.
When Paul and the author of Hebrews wrote those words, there was no Bible. All they had was the Law and the Prophets....and the common folk did not have access to copies of those. It certainly wasn't available to the Gentiles living in Ephesus. They probably weren't even terribly familiar with the Hebrew scriptures.
But, according to my dispensational upbringing, 'the word of the Lord' always means the written word...the Bible. So I pulled out the Zodhiates and looked it up.
The Greek word used in Heb. 4:12 is, indeed, logos (Strongs # 3056). Okay, I thought, that actually is the written word. But, when I looked it up in the Word Study Dictionary, I found this (I have omitted the rather lengthy descriptions of the secondary meanings):
-[taken from the noun lego - 'to speak intelligently.']Intelligence, word as the expression of that intelligence, discourse, saying, thing.
I - Word, both the act of speaking and the thing spoken.
A) Word, as uttered by the living voice.
B) An emphatic word, meaning a saying, declaration, sentiment uttered.
C) Word or words, meaning talk, discourse, speech, the act of holding forth
D) Word, meaning talk, rumor, report.
II. - Reason, the reasoning Faculty as that power of the soul which is the basis of speech, rationality.
A) A reason, ground, cause
B) Reason as demanded or assigned, meaning reckoning, account
III - The word Logos in [John's writings] stands for the preincarnate Christ, the spiritual, divine nature spoken of in the Jewish writings before and about the time of Christ, under various names, e.g. Son of man
Wow. The Greek word that I had always thought specified the written word doesn't imply anything about writing...it has to do w/speech.
File that and go on to the next one...because the word used in Ephesians, the one specifically referring to the weapon we are to wield, is rhema. That, I've always been told, is the 'proceeding word'...a word spoken from God to one's spirit.
Here's what the Word Study Dictionary has to say about rhema (Strong's # 4487):
-[taken from the noun rheo, 'to speak'] That which is spoken, a statement, a word.
I. Particularly a word as uttered by a living voice.
II. Collectively, word, pl. words, meaning saying, speech, discourse.
III. In the New Testament usage, often it has a particular meaning depending on the adjuncts or context:
A. Charge, accusation
B. Prediction, prophecy, equivalent to rhemata proeiremena, sayings foretold. Rhemata tou Theou, sayings of God.
C. Promise from God
D. Command
E. Spoken of a teacher, word teaching, precept, doctrine...
F. A pronouncement from God.
IV. Metonymically* for things spoken of, a matter, affair.
Syn logos, the expression of thought, while rhema stands for the subject spoken about...
(*I had to look up 'metonymy' in the American Heritage Dictionary...it is defined as 'a figure of speech in which an idea is evoked or named by means of a term designating some associated notion.')
So...I don't really think I can so easily say now that logos is the written word and rhema is the revelatory word anymore. They both have the connotation of being spoken by a living voice. Actually, buried in the descriptive terms of application III - E of rhema is 'word of God...of the Lord, meaning the doctrines and promises of God revealed and taught in the Bible.'
Definitely a paradigm shift.
Obviously, the written word does fit aspects of both terms; but it appears that the word God speaks to us as individuals is the sword that pierces us and the weapon in our hand. It includes the written word and will never contradict it, but...if I'm going to sharpen my sword, what I really need to do is clean out my ears and shake off any sluggishness (throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles...Heb. 12:1) so that I can respond to the Word that He quickens in my spirit instantly.
Lord I want to hear Your voice more clearly; I want to obey more immediately; bring your Holy Whetstone that the Sword will be swift and sure in my life....
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