Holy Humility

I was reading from "Glimpses Of Grace" by Madeleine L'Engle the other day where she wrote concerning humility.

"There's an old story of a student who went to a famous old rabbi and said, "Master, in the old days there were people who could see God. Why is it that nobody sees God nowadays?" The old man answered, "My child, nowadays nobody can stoop so low."

Then it hit me. What is keeping us from stooping that low? I'm reminded of Paul's letter to the Philippians in the 2nd chapter verses 1-12 where he sets before us the person of Jesus and the work offered by his modeling humility as he became obedient to death upon the cross so that we might see God...

When do I get to the place where I'm not concerned with how it looks when I stoop that low?

Speak On it...

Fieldstone On TV

Yo...check out some of the interns and the students from SPY (Summer Project Youth). It's awesome!

http://www.wsls.com/sls/news/local/article/spys_change_lives/14482/


Here is the written article from News 10...

By Lindsey Ward

Published: July 22, 2008

An old house is getting a new face with the help of some young students.

SPY, short for Summer Project Youth, extends work for kids past the last day of school into the long days of summer. They pick-up their paint brushes and hammers and work to make a difference.

“We help out needy people, the handicap, and the elderly,” said Harrison Weinhold, SPY Intern.

Juanita Allen’s home is one of SPY’s largest projects yet and a she’s spent a big part of her life in this house.

“I was born in this house,” Allen explained.

Approaching 80-years-old, Allen admits she and her husband are no longer able to keep up with the maintenance. Unaware of a serious leak on her front porch a neighbor knew turning to SPY was the only option.

“They worked so hard. They’ve faced wasps, they faced rain, they faced insects, they faced heat and they carried on joyfully,” said Allen.

It’s estimated this project would cost the Allen’s upwards of $2,000 in supplies alone, but thanks to community donations and SPY’s free labor the new porch comes without a price tag.

In the past five years SPY has invested $250,000 into the New River Valley, but for many the help is priceless.

“It’s such a blessing to see young people willing to do something for the older generation,” Allen said tearfully.

Summer Project Youth says their next goal is to expand their work to other areas of Virginia.

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Vacation Bible School is not even half of it...

Basically I'm just taking a moment to sit and think about what's going on here at Fieldstone UMC. Thursday night we started Vacation Bible School and around 30 kids came out to learn a little bit about having a beach party and a lot about Jesus. They were on one side of the building while about 50 more students and all the SPY staff along with member of our community were preparing for dinner and evening program and then it hit me...

God is totally rocking this place out. The energy is wild and contagious. It's typical camp stuff but it's more than that here. It's a picture of what the church is supposed to be like. The ecclesia, the called out community of God actually living into the love offered by Jesus Christ. This is indeed a powerful place. I just wanted to take a vivid picture of what this community looks like and share it with the masses. I want other people to know that the church is not just a place that sticks to the established way of doing things, but a place that I feel is committed to truly following Jesus. Dude, I'm so fired up right now.

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Spirit Is Moving...

Proverbs 3:4-6 says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all of your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your path straight."

And so it begins. The whole trusting thing. You know it's like sometimes, you fight the trust factor don't you? A couple of years ago I was continued in my ordination because I couldn't articulate in ministry terms some of my thought. It didn't take long before the lack of trust starting eating away in my soul. I prayed hard, had some conversations with God, dug deep into the scripture and fought against myself. I wanted to trust, I needed to trust and yet there were parts of me that didn't want to trust. Maybe you should throw it all away, maybe this isn't what God really has in store for you type thing...BLAH!

Obviously I moved on because I trusted that God had called me into this thing called ordained ministry and God had specific things to do within that ministry. Thank You Jesus!

Fieldstone. A place alive with the spirit. A warm place. A community dedicated to loving God and loving people, while reaching out into the community with a tangible piece of love in so many different ways.
Fieldstone. A community that has already blessed us. A gathering of people who want to know want to experience Christ in a way that transcends the mundane and mediocre, a place for you to come just like you are, be called by name and welcomed at table to experience the holy power of a "come close" God who changes us from the inside out.

It's time for us to trust in the Lord...

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Heaven isn't too far away....

Somewhere around lunch Jackson started to talk about how Jesus and God know everything and how they were both in Heaven and how he really wanted to go to Heaven. SLOW DOWN. I was like "What!?" He said he really wanted to be with God in Heaven. So Lori & I started thinking real fast and I said, "remember when we say the Lord's Prayer, and we say, 'thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven." He says yes, and then I say well, what if we could bring Heaven here?

Right then he really starts listening. "How can I do that dad?" Love people, I said. I said, all you have to do is love people the way that God loves you and you can bring a little bit of Heaven right down here on earth. He started smiling. Then he says, "I can love people and tell them about Jesus right dad?" Bingo. that's what I'm talking about brother.

So here's the thing...that's our job. This is totally not original with me, but to see Jackson's eyes light up when he thought that he could bring a little bit of Heaven down to earth it was awesome. It was one of those moments where I sat back and gave God some mad praise. Thanks for the hearts and minds of the little children.

Speak On it!

PS. I know you remember the song from Warrant...right?
Heaven isn't too far away
closer to it everyday
no matter what your friends might say
we'll find a way...

Transitions...

So here's the thing...moving is tough. We just got cable & internet today! We still have a couple of boxes yet to unpack and I'm not sure I know where all my underwear is. (Don't worry, I've got enough clean ones!) When you are getting all of your stuff out of boxes and you are meeting new people everyday it's easy to get overwhelmed. It's easy to lose your path so to speak. It's easy to want to stay in bed and just listen to the rain. There seems to be so much happening. That's when it gets dark.

Psalm 119:105 says, "By your words I can see where I'm going; they throw a beam of light on my dark path." The boxes are still there. I'm still faced with some tough decisions and things to deal with, but the words throw a beam of light on my dark path and things begin to change. I'm reminded of stories of healing and justice, where somebody actually did the right thing. I'm comforted and find peace that allows me to rest. I find out how to do work and I am reminded of a God who never leaves me, even when I can't seem to find Him. That's the good news friends...because we are all in transitions aren't we?

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Bringing Back The Funk

Yo...Finally back online, well at least at Fieldstone, and I'm just trying to get back into the swing of things on the blog. I really haven't written since we found out we were moving to Fieldstone. Basically we are fired up and we're close to having all our boxes unpacked, and in case you were wondering the house is pretty killer. I'm just saying, we've gotten two rooms painted and as you can imagine, we are living the dream. So, this is just to get moving again on the blog front. Much Love & Peace,

Speak On It....