Prayer

Today I was still unpacking things in the garage and the only station I could get to come through was country western. I don't listen to much country. I heard this song by Jason The Long Road To Love, that I assume is suppose to be funny, but I found it really sad. I thought the first verse was so sweet and said "ahh" and then came the rest. Guess I was surprised that it would be such a mockery of church and prayer. Don't know where I have been but this song made it to the top 20 in 2009?? Guess it makes me glad I don't listen to secular music much and VERY thankful that this is not the kind of prayer warriors I have praying for me.

"I haven't been to church since I don’t remember when
Things were goin’ great ‘til they fell apart again
So I listened to the preacher as he told me what to do
He said you can’t go hatin’ others who have done wrong to you
Sometimes we get angry, but we must not condemn
Let the good Lord do His job and you just pray for them

I pray your brakes go out runnin’ down a hill
I pray a flowerpot falls from a window sill and knocks you in the head like I’d like to
I pray your birthday comes and nobody calls
I pray you’re flyin’ high when your engine stalls
I pray all your dreams never come true
Just know where ever you are honey, I pray for you

I’m really glad I found my way to church
‘Cause I’m already feelin’ better and I thank God for the words
Yeah I’m goin’to take the high road
And do what the preacher told me to do
Find More lyrics at www.sweetslyrics.com
You keep messin’ up and I’ll keep prayin’ for you

I pray your tire blows out at 110
I pray you pass out drunk with your best friend and wake up with his and her tattoos
I pray your brakes go out runnin’ down a hill
I pray a flowerpot falls from a window sill and knocks you in the head like I’d like to
I pray your birthday comes and nobody calls
I pray you’re flyin’ high when your engine stalls
I pray all your dreams never come true
Just know wherever you are, near or far, in your house or in your car,
wherever you are honey, I pray for you."

Church Excellence

I have been spending a lot of time looking at church websites. We have visited all of the churches of Christ in Colorado Springs and I was interested if there are any nondenominational churches we could visit that still would fit into our belief system. The most important being that they practice baptism. Yesterday I came across this statement on one churches website ""We value punctuality at Christ Church, contributing to a spirit of excellence. As such, all services and events start on time." I thought it was interesting that this would be on their homepage. I heard a speaker at a workshop years ago say that a church will only be as good as the bar that is set. This church obviously lets people know one bar anyway. Is it the most important one? Probably not, but nevertheless at least they recognize being purposeful as a sign of excellence.

I posted this on my FB page and here are some of the comments people made?
"That church is, obviously, NOT in New Mexico!"
"Have they ever been to church? No one is on time!"
"LOL, I'm sure they have the same number of late folks as everyone else"
"um...makes you wonder, do they tell everyone that events start an hour earlier than they actually do to ensure punctuality?"

Isn't it interesting that we just accept the standard of lateness when it comes to church? How many people have that attitude towards work or school? How many people show up late for a wedding? What about a sporting event or concert? If we were told we were going to have the opportunity to meet an important dignitary would we be late? And yet, week after week people think nothing of being late for worship. Would you say that is putting our best foot forward for the Lord?

I know as a Bible class teacher this used to be so frustrating. Starting your lesson and then having to catch several children up as they came in late so that they would understand what was going on. We would start out each year explaining that importance of punctuality to parents and it would start out better but get worse and worse as the year progressed. You really couldn't fault the children, they didn't have a driver's license.

In looking for churches you also find that there are several that they have labeled "anti churches": anti Bible class, anti children's homes, anti multi cup, etc. Well today the church we visited wasn't an anti church but we noticed on Sunday mornings they have about 200 in worship.....last Wednesday night?? 47. To which Steve said "they may not be anti Bible class in theology but they are in practice."

Yes, it is easy for me to be critical, the harder thing is for me to personally strive for excellence in my own life. "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." Philippians 4:8. I can't control what anyone else does, all I can do is strive for excellence in my own life. Believe me there are lots of areas I need to improve on, and yes, even being better at time management so that I am not late to Bible class or worship.

Pity Party

So if you read my blog yesterday, you know it was pretty much a pity party. Well it continued today until God did what He always does with me.....gives me proof that it could be so much worse. I heard today that Joni Eareckson Tada has breast cancer and will be having surgery on the 28th. My first reaction? Good grief! Has she not had enough! And then to put fire on top of my attitude, here was her reply "Yes, it's alarming, but rest assured that Ken and I are utterly convinced that God is going to use this to stretch our faith, brighten our hope and strengthen our witness to others," said Tada.

If only I approached adversity with that kind of strength!! Thanks Joni for showing me today that I should definitely be counting my blessings! And sorry God for the pity party...I am thankful for all that You have done for me!

I Just Didn't Know

Wow! Hard to believe that we have been in Colorado Springs six weeks already! There are a few things I like about being here. First would be the weather. Just today on Weatherbug it said we were 20 degrees cooler than Richardson. Most of the days we are just leaving the back and front doors open. Second would be just seeing the mountains everyday. I have always loved the mountains and just seeing them from my table when I eat and when I drive around town is nice. I like the convenience of shopping. Everything I need is ten minutes away. Although I have to admit I wish I had another choice of grocery stores and wish there was a convenient store close by for when I just need milk. But I don't have to drive on the Freeway at all for any reason but to leave town. That would leave me to another thing I really like and that is being closer to family. We have already had several opportunities to be together with family members in Denver.

I am thankful that my dad has felt better here. He still has good days and bad days, but he is so much happier here. He really likes their new condo. He has been getting out a little bit more.

But what I didn't know is how very much I would miss friends. It's not like I called and talked to friends everyday, but I could always count on seeing them several times a week, just because we would be at "church" actitivities together. There is nothing to look forward to here. Everyday is the same right now. I do know that this isn't a permanent status. Eventually we will get plugged in and make friends, but for now....it is just lonely.

Looking for a church home hasn't proved to be easy either. Of course we have only visited each one once, except for Eastside which we visited for a second time last Sunday. Wow! I had forgotten how hard it is to visit churches!! I am just waiting for someone to make eye contact and notice that we are visiting. Those people have been few and far between. Steve is much better than I am about being assertive and not waiting for the other person. I have found it interesting that we have filled out that visitor's card at each place noting that "we are looking for a church home" and yet we have only recieved one phone call and two form letters. But more than that we have been praying that we feel the Spirit's leading and know where the Lord wants us to be. So far, neither of us have felt that leading. Did I mention that patience is not my greatest virtue??

Unfortunately, I should be using this down time to just spend time with the Lord, and read and listen. But instead I am spending WAY too much time on the computer just playing endless games. I turn it off on the end of the day and amaze myself that I have been on 7-8 hours straight! That cannot be good!!

So I thought perhaps if I blogged about it, I would be motivated to be better. Because I will start blogging about what I have read each day. Not that this is for anyone else to read. Just to keep me accountable to me. Hopefully along the way I can also share some positives about meeting people and finding ways to get involved in ministering to people.