Summer is COMING!!!!!!!

Just wanted to stop in and give you an update.  God has been so very good!  I'm amazed and He just continues to blow me away!  I realize that I should not be shocked because He loves His children and blesses them continually. 

My brother was actually discharged today!  He went in about a week ago to be "put back together" after his major ordeal back in October.  What a few months it has been but as I said, the Lord has been gracious and blessed us!  His surgery went great and he is on the road to recovery!  He had no ill effects from the anesthesia this time and was up on the side of the bed that evening.  So very grateful!

My "Overcomer" Lynn has been through so much! She has fought such a battle and has never lost her faith.  She has been through extreme radiation, extreme chemotherapy and has received her Bone Marrow Transplant.  She has endured all of the side effects and has done so well.  Every week we have prayed for her during our Life Group Meetings.  It's been such a blessing!  

Life Group continues to be our high-light each week.  There is something so precious and yet so powerful about learning, growing, praying, fellowshipping and of course, eating with brothers and sisters in Christ!  We have grown as group so much we are getting ready to as Pastor Michael says, "Birth" into another group.  Our group will divide into 2 groups and then continue on.  It's just amazing!  It's such a blessing! 

Kaleb continues to blow our minds.  Of course there is never a dull moment in the house for sure!  He has received straight A's on his last report card and his progress report.  He finished out his season in the Youth Bowling Team.  He came home with 3 trophies, 1 patch and 2 plaques.  I'm not sure who was more excited, Kaleb , us, or my parents.  He and Bo are bowling in an Adult/Youth Summer League.  Kaleb bowled last night for the first time without bumpers.  He did so good and had such a great attitude about it!  Very proud of the Little Man! 

There are just a few more things to share about the Nine Arts and I will be getting to those n the next couple of days.  I am using them and they make such a huge difference.  The people that I don't know and the fact that I make eye contact with someone is just mind blowing to some of them.  I'm sure they think...."Obviously, she is not from here"......I just smile and keep going! 

My prayer life has grown by leaps and bounds since reading and studying and being in our Life Group.  It is something that can be so simple and yet we miss it.  We talk to others. We talk to family. We talk to friends. We even talk to our spouses.  We need to FIRST talk to HIM1!!!!  I'll share more on that later. 

Now that you are caught up, we will be sharing a lot this summer.  Please join in!!!!!!

Nine Arts- LOVING!!!!!

Do you love people?
Do you love your parents?
Do you love your Spouse?
Do you love your children?
Do you love your Family Members?
Do you love your friends?
Do you love your neighbors?
Do you love the waitress at the restaurant?
Do you love the teen that waited on you at the fast food restaurant?
NOW A BIG QUESTION>>>>>
DO YOU LOVE JESUS????

Oh WOW!!!!!  It may be easy to go down the list and say YES to 95% of those.  Let me ask you another question....do you love them unconditionally?  Do you show your love to them?  If you do, how do you do that? 

Let's really think about that.  He loved us first!  He loved us unconditionally.  Scripture even says that "While we still sinners, Christ died for us."  He loved you even in your sin, so much that He was willing to die for you.  That really just takes me to my knees in gratitude!!!! 

Let's look at some other scripture to consider....
"The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save.  He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing" (NIV) Zephaniah 3:17 " And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.  May you experience the love of Christ, through it is too great to understand fully." (NIV) Ephesians 3:18-19 "Love is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.  It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.  Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.  It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." 1 Corinthians 13:4-7
"We love because he first loved us"(NIV) 1 John 4:19

Here is something for us to consider when we are going through this process of seeking those that are lost. 
"Musician Aaron Niequist explains it this way in his song "Changed" 
We have been blessed,
now we're gonna be a blessing.
We have been loved,
now we're gonna bring love,
We've been invited,
we're gonna share the invitation.
We have been changed, to bring change"

"God invites ordinary men and women in their every day lives to make an extraordinary impact with an extraordinary message.  What's the message?  God extravagantly loves ALL PEOPLE!!!!"

Nine Arts- Asking Questions????????

Ok, so let's recap.....
Noticing- looking and watching and noticing intentionally.  Looking a little deeper than just the superficial
Praying- Seeing people and their expressions or their circumstances that they are in and praying while you are noticing them as well.
Listening- Probably one of the hardest.  Listening to what they share directly or indirectly that tells you so much more about them.  More details means more specific ways to pray.
Now we come to the new one. 
--Asking Questions-  That doesn't seem very difficult.  It seems pretty straight forward.  So, let's say that you have found this person, that you have noticed, you have been praying for/about and you have listened to what they share directly and/or indirectly.  Now it's your turn to ask questions. 
-What are you going to say? 
-How are you going to start a conversation?
-Have they said something that interested you in your earlier conversations when you were just listening to them?

So why is it important to even ask questions?  Asking questions opens doors and starts conversations that can very well turn to spiritual matters.  Asking questions also takes the focus off of you and turns it to them and allows them to share their experiences which of course opens up for more questions. 

Let's think about this.  The Lord wants to have a relationship with us and we all know that a relationship is built on communication.  We also know that communication is a two way street.  It requires conversation with questions and answers.  One important thing to remember is to ask open ended questions and not yes-no questions. 
Let's take a look at one of my favorite passages of scriptures.  Starting in the beginning....
Genesis 3:8-13  Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.  But the Lord God called to the man, "Where are you?".  He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid." And he said, "Who told you that you were naked?  Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?"  The man said, "The woman you put here with me-she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it." Then the Lord God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?"

Did you notice that the Lord asked questions that required an answer and not just a yes or a no.  Questions about where they were and what they were doing.  This gives us a jumping off point for our conversations and asking questions to those that we are learning about!

So, now you have another piece of the puzzle and you are ready to take another step.  We have just a few more to go.  I hope you are enjoying this as much as I have enjoyed sharing this!!!!! 
I would LOVE to hear from you!!!!!!

Nine Arts.......Listening

LISTENING!!!!

OK, so you have noticed.
You have prayed.
You are doing FABULOUS!!!!!!

This is the hard one for a lot of people.  When you are having a conversation with someone, are you REALLY listening?  I know that we have to make a conscious effort to listen.  Maybe we need to make eye contact. Maybe turn off the computer, the iPad, the television or even your cell phone! 

If I were to ask your friends, would they say that you were a good listener?  It really makes you stop and think.  I know it did for me.  I have to make sure that I don't say "Yeah" to everything that Kaleb has to say because he will take it and run with it and the next thing I know, I have agreed to purchase something totally our of the budget.  On the other hand if someone is talking to me and sharing their heart and I am not listening, then I have totally missed the boat!  That is NOT where I want to be and for sure I will not be a good listener. 

The study posed this question.
When others are talking to me....
I find myself finishing their sentences
I give my opinions before hearing them out.
I get restless and impatient
I lose track of what is being said
I mentally rehearse what I'm going to say next.
I take control of the conversation
I interrupt with frequent comments or questions
I try to diagnose and help them fix their problems
I worry about what I'm going to say next
I answer before gaining real understanding.

OH MY GOODNESS!!!  That one really hit home.  If I'm standing in the grocery line and my checker starts talking to me, am I REALLY listening?  Yes, this requires you to FOCUS!!!!  Hear what she/he has to say. You can learn a lot!  If you are talking with a friend or family member, what do you do?  I am a FIXER!!!!  I want to fix everything.  GUESS WHAT????  It is not up to me to fix it or them.  I am to LISTEN!!!!  Do you lose track of what is being said because you left the conversation 5 minutes ago and then they ask you what you think....OH NO!!!! 

So what in the world does this have to do with sharing your faith?  EVERYTHING!!!  LISTENING to people talk tells you about them.  From the study it states.... " It requires you to prove, explore, reflect back what you've been hearing to ensure that you've truly understood what's been revealed to you.  It seeks to discover people's stories, to learn what interests them, and ultimately to discover where God is at work in their lives."  It takes the focus off of you and me and puts it on them.  They are comfortable talking to you because you listen!  As they are sharing with you, ask them questions. Simple questions that they can share with you.  Remember the lady that I was telling you about at the grocery store.  I talked with her and remembered what she told me.  That gives me the open door to talk to her when I am in her line.   

James 1:19-20 (NIV)- My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.

There is another very neat idea that they shared in the study that you can use.  Just to make sure that you are truly LISTENING is to try and use some of these statements.
So, if I'm hearing you right.....
So the really big thing for you is....
You seem to be saying....
I think I hear you saying....
It sounds like.....
MAKE SURE YOU LISTEN!!!!  You can learn so much!!!!!!!!

So, we have notice.  We have prayed.  We are listening.  How are you doing with this?  SHARE!!!!!!

The Nine Arts.....Praying

PRAYING!

How easy is that!  You have noticed people.  GREAT!  Now what?  Pray!  You and I can both do that VERY easily!!!!!  All of these people that you have noticed and written down their names or remembered to get in their line at the grocery store, are you praying for them?  This was another one of those things that seemed so simple. 

Praying for those that you are coming in contact with.  Standing in line, praying for your checker that you are going to be face to face with.  Praying for that Mom that is struggling with her child in the store that doesn't want to cooperate. Praying for that Dad with his special needs child that you saw in Target.  Praying for the waitress/waiter that seems to be so distracted while serving you.  Cary, in my Life Group, calls the "Pop-Up Prayers".  True, you may never see them again. True, you may see them somewhere else.  The fact is this....You NOTICED! You PRAYED! 

Those that we are coming into contact with that are non-believers that are searching, wounded, hurt, disappointed, depressed, stressed and don't have a relationship with Christ.  Can you imagine what you would do without your relationship with Christ?  Something that Oswald Chambers wrote, really hit home with me.  Satan wants to keep them and us so busy, that we don't have time to pray for them.  
"The prayer of the feeblest saint who lives in the Spirit and keeps right with God is a terror to Satan.  The very powers of darkness are paralyzed by prayer....No wonder Satan tries to keep our minds fussy in active work till we cannot think in prayer."  WOW!  Chew on that!!!!

Scripture says..."And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.  With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord's people.  Ephesians 6:18 (NIV)

So here is your challenge.  Notice them!  Pray for them!  You can do that!  There is no excuse for NOT doing that. It's easy! 

Let me know how you are doing!  I want to hear from you!!!!!!!!!! 

The Nine Arts......Noticing

NOTICING!

This is so easy.  We see people and run into people all the time.  Think about this......
The grocery store
The drive thru window
The bank
The school
The office
The doctors office
The fast-food restaurant
The convenient store.
You get the picture.  In most of these places, they wear a name tag.  In our busy schedules we forget to pay attention to those that we see or meet.  Do you notice their name? Do you call them by their name?  This seems very easy but it can be a little tricky as well.  It requires something of you.  First, you have slow down.  Are you kidding me? No, I'm not kidding.  Pay attention.  Notice something about them.  Their clothes. Their expression. Their lack of expression. Their comments. Their lack of comments. You get the picture. 

Matthew 9:36-38 (NIV)  When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.  Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.  Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send our workers into his harvest field."

Christ noticed.  He noticed the crowds. He had compassion on them.  Do you notice people as Christ did?  Studying this Art was a real eye opener for me. 

What have I done?  I have found 3 different ladies that I check out with at my grocery store and I try VERY hard to get in their lines if they are there.  One I have talked to more.  I know that she likes to talk. She has a child. She works days. She doesn't like the snow.  I try very hard to notice people when I am out.  Sometimes it's heart breaking watching and noticing people's faces.  You can see it written on their face!  I have started running again.  I go to the same park.  I see people there.  I watch. I notice. I see some of the same people and sometimes different ones.  I'm noticing people EVERYWHERE!!!!  Talk about a change!!!!! 

Give it a try!  Notice!  It simple. It only requires you to see people.  We can all slow down to do that.  Let me know what happened!!!!!!!!

The Nine Arts of Spiritual Conversation

Well, the title could almost scare you away when you read it!  Please don't let is scare you.  They are very easy and just plain common sense. 

The Nine Arts are...
-Noticing
-Praying
-Listening
-Asking Questions
-Loving
-Welcoming
-Facilitating
-Serving Together
-Sharing

Seems very straight forward.  It is the basis to building relationships.  There in lies the key.  The relationship is everything.  We have been going through these steps in our Life Group.  We spend 2 weeks on each section.  It has really changed how you look at people.  It is absolutely mind blowing.  I want to share these with you. 
Most have been involved in the "techniques" and "methods" and "programs" about how to share our faith.  Anything from standing on a street corner to cold door knocking.  Sometimes, these methods work.  Sometimes they don't.  For someone that has questions as a non-believer, it will take anywhere from 7 to 13 interactions before they come to the point of realizing their need for a Savior.  Seven to 13 times!!!!!!  That's A LOT!!!!!  This is where this is so simple and so straight forward.  I just absolutely LOVE IT!!!!! 
Have you shared your faith? Do you know HOW to share your faith?  This is so exciting!!!!!  I hope you will stick around.  Check in and read along with me as we go through these.  I'll go ahead with the first 3 Arts and keep going as we go through them with our Life Group.  You don't want to miss out!!!!!!!!