From "It" to "He"-- A Journey

Today was a great day at Bible study! Melissa (ZOE) and I are leading worship each week which has been fun. I planned out today's songlist and I even sang lead and let Melissa sing alto! It was fun to switch it around for a change.

The one thing I am finding is that there aren't many songs about the Holy Spirit in the C of C repertoire! This is not surprising considering no one I know ever heard sermons preached about the Spirit, either. I think we were all just too afraid to tackle the subject-- if we couldn't explain it, then we preferred to just leave it alone!

Anyway-- I have been on a quest to have a better comprehension of Him since my mid-20s... I am hoping this study challenges me in ways I have never thought about Him before.

Some points I liked from this week's lesson:

• 1 Corinthians 12:13- "we were all made to drink of one Spirit"; 1 Cor. 12:30- "All do not have gifts of healings, do they? All do not speak with tongues, do they? All do not interpret, do they?": Beth used these two verses to show that having the Spirit dwell in you does not equate to having the ability to speak in tongues, etc. Many often say that having the Holy Spirit requires this gift. Her point is that speaking in tongues may be a gift from the Spirit, but that not all of us will have this gift. "No matter how you feel about the gifts of the Spirit, the baptism of the Holy Spirit and speaking in tongues are not the same thing" (Moore, pg. 37). I think this is one of the major reasons we have shied away from teaching on the Spirit; We can't explain tongues, prophecy, and healing so we altogether ignore His gifts of wisdom, knowledge, and faith (vs. 7-9).
• John 16:7-11: 7 "But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. 8 "And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; 11 and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged. One of the ministries of the Spirit is to convict or reprove. Whenever we have felt the burden of reaching someone who is lost or correcting a believer from sin, we must remember this is not our job-- it is the Spirit's role. We can only be instruments used by Him in the process. No arguments we make or testimony we give is effective apart from the Spirit. The only power we have is intercessory prayer on his/her behalf.
• "The spiritual life will never come 'naturally'" (Moore, pg. 48). We have to make a deliberate choice to yield our spirits to Him each day. Surrender must be a daily choice.

Of course, there were many more challenging ideas this week. The best part is that it has me thinking about the Spirit and His role in my life.

The Spirit is slowly becoming less of an "It" and more of a "He" to me! Thank You, Lord!

Buy My Sister's Book! (shameless plug)

My Two Sisters: Nancy, Me, and baby sister Mary Kate.

Yes! My sister, Nancy has a new book coming out on October 9th. It is called A Red State of Mind: How a Catfish Queen Reject became a Liberty Belle. It is published by Time Warner Books. Visit the site to read an article about the book. Visit Amazon to pre-order now! Mary Matlin wrote a blurb for the cover and actually read and liked the book.

The book tells the adventure Nancy has had over the past several years living as a conservative in a land of liberals. It is a comedic take on her first-hand experience of being a conservative outcast while in New York and Philadelphia:

• Downtown Philadelphia was not the most welcoming place for a conservative during the year of the hotly contested Bush/Kerry 2004 Presidential campaign. As a mother of two, I pushed a double jogging stroller all over the City of Brotherly Love, which frequently put me right in the middle of some serious political tension. When I walked to church, voter registration activists urged pedestrians to "take back our country." When I shopped for groceries, pollsters stood at the doors mocking my stance on the war. When I got my haircut, it was under a gigantic sign that mocked the President. When I walked through parking lots, the bumpers of the Subarus explained that hate is not, evidently, a family value. When I visited my six year old's public school, the walls had signs up that read "America Hates George Bush Because He Lies." And the teachers even wore Kerry buttons.

So-- if you can't get a shameless plug from your sister, who can you?!?!

Seriously, Nancy is extremely talented and always has been. In high school she was loved by all-- well, except maybe her senior English teacher, Linda Montgomery--- that's a LONG story, but suffice it to say, if Nancy becomes a famous author, she'd definitely have the last laugh! (speaking of English, that is a very poorly constructed sentence!)

Visit her blog for many more amazing insights. You can also visit her website www.nancyfrench.com , but please note-- this is only a site that I put up for her several years back before she was famous-- her "official" site is almost ready and will be launched soon at the same address.

There is also some "Church of Christ" humor in the book! In what other Time Warner book are you going to find that!?!

Nancy lives in Columbia, TN, now with her husband David and her precious kids Camille and Austin. David is a Harvard law grad specializing in constitutional law. He works for the Alliance Defense Fund and has defended the rights of Christians on college campuses all over the country-- including several landmark cases like the one at Tufts. He is amazingly talented, too, and is an author in his own right-- four books, including A Season for Justice: Defending the Rights of the Christian Home, Church, and School, and numerous op-eds. Read his latest article on the National Review.

He spent this past week at the White House meeting with Dick Cheney and Karl Rove! Both he and Nancy are politically involved-- with some big name future presidential candidate-- more on that later-- when he actually announces he's running!

Yes-- this is my family! We're a talented bunch?!? Did I tell you that my dad is a wood worker and has made most of the family articles of furniture like beds, desks, bookshelves?!?

Living Beyond Myself

I am so thankful that I have started a Bible study. I have just completed the first week of Beth Moore's new study, Living Beyond Yourself. It is based on the fruits of the Spirit found in Galatians chapter 5. This will be my 5th Beth study.

There is something about being in an organized study that I just LOVE! I need the accountability and the discipline that a group study brings, plus I also thrive on the discussion times. I am fascinated by how others view Scripture, and I love to hear all the different perspectives.

I am always amazed at how Beth comes up with her ideas. She really has a depth to her teaching that resonates with me. Today she talked about how we were created to be filled-- this is from God, and it can be extremely rewarding as long as we allow Him to fill us up with His Spirit. But, if we allow this need to be filled to become driven by the flesh, it can be totally destructive. We begin searching for anyone or anything to cling to in order to fill the void in our souls. Isn't this SO true?!

When I think back to the times in my life when I was most out of control as far as sin and "self", I can now see that it was all just a desperate attempt to be needed or to feel love-- to fill up the empty places in my heart.

She also believes that America has never been more empty and desperate. She alluded to Proverbs 13:12 as a possible explanation:

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.

She suggests that we have never been surrounded by more "stuff". We live in such a materialistic society and in a culture that tells us to look to all sorts of things to find happiness and fulfillment. We place our hope on the "next new thing" to come along, praying that we will finally find the answers and peace we have been searching for.... But, it never happens-- at least no longer than a small amount of time.... Then, we're off again, looking for our next fix.

Nothing we grasp onto brings us what we ultimately want and need-- It is simply "hope deferred," and it leaves our hearts sick. Yes, that seems to be an apt description for all of us.

Instead, God calls us to something so much more than that! He offers us His Spirit! He wants us to be filled to overflowing with Him! NOTHING that our flesh desires or tries to offer us can compare to what God has promised us.

No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him" but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. 1 Corinthians 2:9,10

Praise be to Him! I want more than I can "ask or imagine" from this life.

I also LOVED her insight on the "FRUITS" of the Spirit. She adds that of course they are called fruits-- They exist in our lives so that others may get their first "taste" of the Lord, so that they can taste to see that He is good. Being filled with His Spirit places us in a wonderful position of ministry. Our Spirit-filled lives drive us to share this abundant life with all we meet!

He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant - not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 2 Corinthians 3:6

So-- I am just excited to have a renewed joy for the Word! I have allowed myself to get way too busy and have neglected meaningful study for too many months now.

I feel so blessed to have the opportunity to take part in this and to be challenged by His Word.

I'll keep you posted on any cool insights I gain along the way!

OC Consignment Sale 2006

I'm Ba-a-a-a-a-ck! :)

Yes-- I am ashamed to admit that it has been a month since my last post! Every spare moment that I had went toward the Otter Creek Consignment Sale. And, I am proud to say that it was a grand success! In two days we sold over $18,000 and our playground fund kept half of that.

We really had no concept of how much we could make-- I think we were all shocked that we raised so much. Everyone who came to the sale complimented us on how well-organized it was and how neatly the items were displayed. Over 100 volunteers helped to make it such a success-- it could not have happened without their hard work! :)

So-- Luke has started pre-school at Otter Creek. He is in Miss Betsy's class, and he loves it! We are so happy that he is in school there.

Here are some pics of our life over the last month:






Luke with his teacher, Miss Betsy.


Caroline is SIX months-old! :)




She is proving to be a good eater like her brother.


Big Brother and Little Sis! Favorite thing: Luke will put his arms around Caroline and say, "Oh-- she's so sweet!" :)