Can We Talk? or Starting something new for Lent. Wait...Is that how it works?

Hello ladies,

I was wondering if we could...um...talk? I know it is the weekend, and you are busy. There's laundry to finish folding, dinner dishes to load into our modern time saving devices, clothes to lay out for tomorrow's church service, items to move from freezer to fridge in preparation for tomorrow's lunch or dinner. Or maybe you are taking a much needed rest after a week that upped that Excedrin demand in your household: Work was tough, school was tough, both were tough, and you just want some peace and quiet. And not to talk. You are reading this fully knowing that sometime on Sunday you will have to think about what lies ahead in your upcoming week and you'd rather take a bubble bath than think about that, or anything else.

So...um...I've been struggling with how busy my weeks are and how busy my weekends are, and wondering when oh when can I just relax and do nothing, and say nothing and  think nothing without feeling guilty about all that nothingness.

So far no date jumps out at me from my calendar. No super-special alarm is ringing telling me it is that special nothingness time, all for me.

Thinking about that got me to thinking-I know, I know, vicious circle- if that is how God feels as I go about my business wishing for time with no business to go about.

I mean, if I can't find time for me, when am I gonna find time for Him? And if I am waiting until I have more free time before I read my Bible, or listen for the Creator of the Universe' still, small voice then the Creator of the Universe is likely to be waiting a long while as well.
No date jumping out at Him from my calendar; no super-special alarm ringing to tell God that it is that special He and me time, all for us.

I talk to God during my waking hours. Sometimes a simple, "thanks." when He blesses me with seeing a bald eagle fly by the window at work, sometimes a full on prayer request or praise.So we've got that going for us, God and I. It isn't enough. 

Many of you remember when I challenged myself, and anyone reading the post to read just a couple of Bible verses a day. That worked really well for many of us. We not only did our own reading and sharing of verses on the Facebook Event created for that purpose, but as Lisa Boyer pointed out, we got more than two verses daily, as we read others' posts. It was super- special God, His Word, my girlfriends and I (and Facebook) time. 

So um...I was wondering...Can we talk? You and me and God, and okay, we can let Facebook into the mix. It is a convenient vehicle. I would like to share God's word again for about thirty week-days. Which will actually mean from Monday February 27, through Friday April 6, which happens to be Good Friday. So yes, math-fans and calendar buffs, that is 30 weekdays encapsulated within the next 40 days. Instead of giving something up for Lent we'd be starting something up. Again.

Starting this Monday.

Even though it is not yet Monday, I would like to end with these verses I really, really like.

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." John 1:1-5

Blessings on us all-Lorilise

This is What We're Trying to Do

A few weeks ago while serving in our children's ministry I took a picture. Not at all unusual, the kids are cute, they enjoy seeing their pictures on our phones moments after being photographed, and some of them are hams and love making silly faces during free-play time.

Several of our little girls, Gabby, Natalie, Brisa, Kahmylia, and Bella had squished onto a see-saw together and giggling, said, "Miss Lorilise!" calling for my attention.

As I looked, they continued smiling and laughing and I saw the beauty of that moment. Five beautiful little girls with varying shades of beautiful skin representing different races and ethnicities.

"This is what we're trying to do." I said aloud to Melissa Blake, our fearless leader, as I took the picture, my eyes filled with tears. really good, happy, joyful tears.

When Keith and I asked the Methodist Conference if we might turn down their request to plant another suburban church west of Morning Star where Keith had been serving as an Associate Pastor, and pretty, pretty please, go to the city, our beloved St.L. instead, this is what we had in mind.

Keith often explains what called us to the city by quoting one of our personal heroes, Dr. King, who said, "The most segregated time in America is Sunday morning at 11."

And Dr. King thought that was wrong. And we thought that was wrong. And the powers that be gave us permission, blessing and a huge amount of encouragement and help to start a church at 4265 Shaw Blvd., because they think it is wrong too.

The morning I took the picture down in the basement of our church (our children's ministry is ironically named, "Word Up"), Dr. King's voice was in my head. I clearly heard his voice, from his famed "I Have A Dream" speech, "I have a dream; one day right here in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers."

And here we are in what has been reported to be one of the most racially divided cities in America, living Dr. King's dream.

Another dreamer, Sister Antona Ebo spoke Sunday about her own experiences going from St. Louis to Selma to march and express her desire that all should be free, all should have their God-given rights recognized and upheld. I hope she was gratified in seeing the full spectrum of God's rainbow represented in our congregation. I was gratified as I watched one of our little girls from that see-saw picture speaking one on one before service with Sister Antona. I don't know what was said, but there was smiling and a bit of giggling on both parts which brought me great joy.

Sister Ebo talked about Joy, giving us this acronym: Jesus, Others, Yourself. Sister Antona said this then, is how we should love. This is the order.

At the Word we have a reminder as as vision statement, though it isn't an acronym.

We say, Know.Love.Serve.

Know God, Love all, Serve others.

By this we shall be saved, we shall find joy, we shall be free.

I know that is a bold statement. But I believe it. We show the love of Christ, love we have experienced ourselves, and it fills us with joy. And it does free us.

Because the thing that tears down past hurts is love. The thing that fills us is love. When love pours out of us into the community, past hurts are torn down, replaced with love. We are free from pain, free from the past, free to know, to love, to serve.

And that is the thing. That is what we're trying to do.

Here is another quote from Dr. King, "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."

And one more quote for our day. From 1 Corinthians 13:13 "And now these three remain:faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love."

The commonality between Dr. King's quotes, Sister Antona's quote, The Word's Vision statement, and God's Word is love. Because the greatest of these is love.

That is what I wanted you all to know. Love brings only good. Its absence brings that which we want to eradicate. And to do so, we must love.

Blessings, Lorilise

Through Him

Hey Soul Sisters,
here is the second post by our own, Melissa Blake.
With Valentine's Day on the horizon, I set out writing this blog wanting to talk about love. I had visions of conversation hearts and flower arrangements with inflated prices in my head. Then my world was turned upside down instead. This blog will be going in a different direction. To the romantic, I'm sorry.

During a Professional Development Day, I was walking on air. I had an ADORABLE new outfit on and I got to wear jeans. The jeans factor makes my day infinitely better. Some people prefer sweatpants. Not I. I look forward to jeans day at school about as much as Spring Break. Ok...not really but I needed to be a little dramatic for you to truly understand. I was sitting with close friends, pretending to collaborate...really? Grading. I got a text. It was from my Lauren. (see: best friend ever...coolest girl I know...the person I go to for EVERY success and EVERY defeat...yeah, her) The message said, “Hey any chance I could see you today?” This didn't have deep meaning to me instantly. It was when I said, “Possibly. What's up?” and just got the following reply, “What do you have going on?” A question...not an answer...that I felt panic run through my entire body. THIS is what 17 years of friendship will do to you. I tried to get more information out of her. Called her. No answer. Sent a text to her husband who basically just told me, “Get there. Promise her you'll go to her.” I walked back into the room with my coworkers (friends). They saw the panic. I had hives and I was shaking.

I was finally able to leave. I had felt every second of that half hour of waiting. I walked up to her porch. She opened the door and fell into my arms, sobbing. I asked her what was wrong. Finally, she came out with it. She had cancer. Not just any cancer. Colon cancer. My husband's mom was diagnosed with this. My husband's mom lives only in our hearts now. I literally tried to cry for about 3 seconds and couldn't. What was WRONG with me? This is not how the best friend is supposed to react. I calmly talked things out with Lauren. I asked about next steps. Consoled her that we would get through this. I knew we would. I didn't figure out, until recently, why I was so calm. (I'll get to that part.) I got into my car and broke down. Got to my mom's house after collecting myself and broke down again. Seriously...waterfalls of emotion. I freaked my momma out AND my daughter. I couldn't catch my breath. Mom practically shook me, asking what was wrong. I finally choked out the word, “Lauren.” This didn't help. Another minute or som went by. Now everyone was freaked out. Finally, I said the words, “She has cancer.” It was real now. Lots of tears followed. My husband picked up the pieces nicely.

Days passed. Lauren went to her doctor. He told her  that she would need surgery to remove the tumor and scheduled a consult for the following day. That following day, I saw a missed call from her at basketball practice and went to the hall to call her back. She answered in a happy voice, but after telling me she would be having surgery the next day, I could hear the fear in her voice. This was a good thing, and I told her too. I told her I wanted to be there the whole day, both for her and her husband, a truly wonderful man, who I knew would need support as his wife went into surgery. She said something to the effect of “Of course, I want you there.”

Since the unveiling of this paralyzing news, I sent Lauren a quote for each day. On the day of surgery, I found my own quote. Dang...I needed one. I decided on a Bible verse. “He comforts us in all our troubles so that we can comfort others. When they are troubled, we will be able to give them the same comfort God has given us.” -2 Corinthians 1:4 This was perfectly fitting and is currently in the running as my life verse. This epitomizes how I want to be viewed in life. I want to be the strong one...especially for my friends. My goal on surgery day was to comfort...not cry. I came super close after she came out of surgery to breaking this promise to myself but held on. Phil needed comfort. Lauren's mom needed it. Everyone else in that waiting room (of which there were 8 in total) needed a positive word and a smiling face.

There were many prayers in that waiting room. I could literally feel a protective dome throughout the day. The feeling started in the prep room while I sat with Lauren and Phil, waiting for them to wheel her off. I cracked jokes about everything I could think of. This was after the nurse rudely told me to throw out my coffee. (I don't think she understood what she was doing and I'm still bitter towards her.) I felt it as I hugged Phil when they DID wheel her off. The prayers were wrapped around us both while it felt like our lives were falling apart. I sat in the waiting room with their families and felt the prayers there. I've long since felt to be a part of this family. They knew me in the awkward stages of adolescence and still love me. That's family.

By the time she was out of surgery and I had hugged her as much as one can when hugging someone in a hospital bed, and kissed her on the head a few dozen times, I decided it was time to go. I had done what I set out to do and I had only called out to God (literally, audibly) once. “Lord, keep giving me strength. #pleaseandthankyou”

On the long drive home, I thought about the day and the past few days. I asked myself...how on earth did I get through that and stay, ultimately, so dang positive.? How did I have the strength to put on a happy face and provide comfort for Lauren's family? The answer was clear. This whole time...I had simply trusted in God. I gave all the worry..all the tears...all the pain to him and, even subconsciously, I knew I could do that. “He's got this.”

Sometimes I question my faith. I wonder if I really follow God like I'm supposed to. I worry that I don't pray enough...that I don't thank Him enough...that I don't rely on Him enough. And I don't. The kicker is... I have faith in Him, always, to get me through the hard parts by giving me the comfort that I need. Right this very moment on this very page.. I give thanks that he gives me strength every day so that I, in turn, may comfort those who need it...through Him of course. :)

Always be joyful and never stop praying!

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18  Contemporary English Version (CEV)

¹⁶Always be joyful ¹⁷and never stop praying. ¹⁸Whatever happens, keep thanking God because of Jesus Christ. This is what God wants you to do.

I am so excited to be doing my first blog for the Shaw Soul Sisters.  Each week when I receive the blog it’s one of the emails that I don’t just skip over in my inbox; I take the time to read it because it usually puts a smile on my face and reminds me that I’m not alone in the things that I go through.

I’d like to start by telling you a little bit about myself.  I’ve been attending The Word at Shaw for almost a year now.  I was brought here by the Holy Spirit.  As a child and early teen, I went to church about every Sunday, attended Church Camp every summer, and knew that Jesus had given his life for my sins.  But as I became a young adult and went away to college, I forgot about Jesus and what he had done for me and why.  I walked away from my faith.  I still occasionally prayed but almost always out of desperation when I couldn’t figure things out myself.  I never remembered that all the good things that happened to me were manifested by God!  Life went on like this for over ten years or maybe even closer to fifteen.

Then almost exactly a year ago, I found myself fleeing to The Women’s Safe House; hurt, afraid, emotionally and spiritually broken.  I made a choice to be free!  Not just for me, but for my boys too.  Free from over five years of about every type of abuse that can exist within a marriage.  I went to the safe house, not because I didn’t have any other place to go, but because it was not safe for me.  I had made an extremely dangerous decision.

I had no money, no job, and very little support because of the years of isolation, but I was determined to make a better life for us.  So over the next couple days, The Word at Shaw beckoned me. And I am so glad that I made it that first Sunday, and the next, and the next, and the next…

I have been able to rebuild my relationship with Christ.  He never left me, he never turned his back on me.  I just had to be open to his love and forgiveness.  People used to tell me, “trust in the Lord for all your needs and he will provide.”  I believed that they knew what they were talking about, but I didn’t think I had ever experienced it first hand.

Finding God’s love again was the most joyful thing in my life.  I kept praising God for my freedom and praying that I would understand His plan for my life.  The more I praised God for what He had done in my life and asked for things I felt I needed, the more He showed Himself to me.  My fear was disappearing, my self-esteem was getting better, and I started feeling safe again.  God was bringing people into my life that truly cared about me, people who would encourage me and tell me to “trust in the Lord and He will provide”.  The more I trusted God the better things got in my life.  Now here it is a year later and I have a wonderful home, a great job, more food to eat than I could ask for, and a church-family that loves and supports me.

I chose the verse above, 

     “Always be joyful and never stop praying.  Whatever happens, keep thanking God                           

       because of Jesus Christ.  This is what God wants you to do,” 

because I’m sure there are times when we forget how blessed we really are.  When my kids and I pray each night the list of thanksgiving goes on and on.  I’m gonna give you a small example.  “Thank you Jesus for today, thank you Jesus for our bed, thank you Jesus for our covers, thank you Jesus for our family, thank you Jesus for our friends, thank you Jesus for our food, thank you Jesus for our hot water, thank you Jesus for the bus, thank you Jesus for the metrolink, thank you Jesus for socks, thank you Jesus for our tv, thank you Jesus for our toys, …”

I use this as an example because my kids and I are so grateful for even some of the smallest things.  Yes we really do pray for the bus because without it we couldn’t get anywhere and for the t.v. because without it we wouldn’t get to watch the weather.  Sometimes it’s Goodwill that we pray for because we can buy new clothes without spending much money. 

God provides!  He provides so much that I think sometimes we forget that there are others out there who are praying for something that we take for granted.  Like last night, while most of us watched the Super Bowl, don’t you know there were hungry children in our own city praying for something to eat?  Don’t you know there were men and women in our city praying for a warm place to sleep?  While we rooted on a team and ate lots of snacks, there was a mother crying because her child had just died. 

This isn’t to say that we are all ungrateful and that we should be ashamed of ourselves.  No, it’s just a reminder to be joyful and continue to pray, no matter how good or bad life is for you in this moment.

My challenge to you this week is two-fold.  Each day take a moment to thank God for something that you usually take for granted, find something new each day.  And secondly, each day pray for someone you don’t know or for something that is foreign to you.  Pray that someone else’s prayers are answered in a way that our Father in Heaven gets all the glory.

I’ll start:  Thank you Father for a refrigerator and microwave at work so I can bring my leftovers and save the money I would spend on lunch.  And I’m gonna pray for the students in the job readiness class that no matter what they are going through they will find the courage and confidence to become a better them and get on a path of success.

Have a great week and I’ll be praying for you!

Your sister in Christ,  

Ruth Gary

Ohhh Mondays

I've been waiting to post this blog until today as it is all about today.
 Mondays. The day that signals the end of the weekend, the beginning of the long work-week, long school-week, and for some the day when we ask, "Where did that paycheck go?"

Mondays. When everything goes wrong and a co-worker, fellow-scholar or friend says, "Well, it is Monday." we accept this explanation as a valid reason why the coffee was spilled , the fax machine jammed, the server was down, the co-worker or scholar three desks over is grouchier than normal and the boss or professor just dumped an impossible assignment on us. We accept it as the cause of our fruit cup leaking all over our lunch container making our sandwich soggy. Of course we thought we zipped the Ziploc fully but actually didn't. We accept, "Well, It is Monday." when at the end of the day it's raining and we are in a building needing to get to our car-where sadly, our umbrella is, And our spouse calls us right as we get to our car to ask us to pick something up for them on our way home-when what we needed was for them to say, "Hey, just thinking about you. I Thought I would call and see how your day had gone. I Love you, bye." We say, "Well, it is Monday" when we arrive home where our children are in refusal mode no matter what we say or threaten, our best friend tweets to say they cannot make the Monday night girls-night at Hobby Lobby we had set up so Monday would end on a high note, and finally the national news anchor reports that surprisingly, several candidates slung mud at one another, and here are those highlights.

Perhaps this is why I have never heard anyone say, "I love Mondays!"  I'm not about to tell you that I do. Nope. Not gonna happen. Forget it sister! Move off of that thought and back to reality.

But... You knew that was coming, right? Yep, Pastor's wife always has a big but. (I just threw that in there to give you a laugh on a Monday). So what's the but?

Just this. Maybe Mondays are doomed to be this darkened catastrophic day of gloom and mishap. But what if we chose to go through our Monday in conversation with God? What if when the coffee spills we say, "Lord that is hot!.Ouch." and when the fax machine jams we can look heavenward and say, "Really?" not as if to say we blame God for a fax jam, but more to say, "Really God, Can you believe this Monday I am having?!"

When the server crashes we might say, "I wanna hit this computer with a hammer. Good thing I don't keep a hammer here, right God?".

When the boss or Prof. dumps that ginormous assignment in our lap, or on our desk, we can say, "Again Lord, good thing I don't keep a hammer here." and/or, "I know I should pray for all people in my life Lord, but I confess my prayers for him/her would probably not be good prayers right now. Can you help me to see their side of things?" I know...I know, that would be a tough thing to ask for. Some might rather say, even though it is wrong, "Hey God, can you hand me a hammer?"

When we find our soggy sandwich, we can joke with our creator, "I was thinking of fasting and praying through lunch anyways." and then ya know, maybe pray during lunch since you suddenly have some time freed up in your day.

When we run through the rain to our car, we can acknowledge that God is with us, and sent the rain n the first place. "I know, I know, the farmers need it, we've been in a drought. But you couldn't turn it off for five minutes?"  Because God can handle a little complaining. It may even give him a laugh on a Monday.

After our spousal let-down we can ask God to help us not to turn into a total grouch as we run our extra errand, and to please, please, help us be nice to our family when we get home. This could be a really important prayer if those kids are in refusal mode.

When our pal has to cancel girls-night, we can look heavenward and sigh. He understands.
When we see the evening news we can look heavenward and sigh. He knows.

Our God is a God who sees all and knows our hearts. He doesn't need us to tell Him what we are going through or how we are feeling about it. We need to tell Him. Because it draws us closer to our God and being in conversation with Him reminds us that we are not alone. He is with us. Always.

In Genesis 16:13, after God sent an angel to speak to Hagar as she hid alone in the desert, she learned what we know: He sees us, He is with us.We can talk to Him and He hears us.

 "Thereafter, Hagar referred to the Lord who had spoken to her, as, "The God Who Sees me." for she said, "I have seen the One who sees me."


Have a tolerable Monday, and share it with my friend and yours, Our Father in heaven.
Let me know how it goes.
Blessings-Lorilise

Speaking of Great Expectations....

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for; the evidence of things unseen.  Hebrews 11:6

Last week Lorilise shared a post about expecting God to make a way for us to do the things for which we are called.  As I've been ruminating over this, it occurs to me that I don't often expect great things from God.  Frequently, my faith is reduced to barely a shred of hope that God will step in at the last minute to cover the little tiny gap that is left  between my effort and something truly great.  The implication here is that I've got it mostly covered on my own, and I only need God to grant me a few drops of His strength and goodness to get it the rest of the way.


WHAT?

Yes, this is actually how I (often) function.  So, when I'm finally at the end of my own strength (which really doesn't take that long, if we're being honest), I am able to recognize God when He steps in.  Of course, I'm totally blown away because His strength and goodness far outweigh anything I could ever conceive.  Then it strikes me that He's been at work in my situation- in my life- all along!

He is always at work; He doesn't step in just to save me from myself at the last possible second.


Let that sink in for a minute.

I've had this idea, and I don't think I'm alone in this, that God is around to help me do good things.  When in reality it is God who lets me participate in His good work.

How did I get that backwards?

I think it is because at my very core, I still would prefer to do things my way.  But wouldn't it be so much easier to do things God's way?  I mean, seriously, He's GOD!  I'm pretty sure He has the best, perfect plan, plus I'd be willing to bet He's considered everything and has all the details worked out!

So where does this leave my faith?

My expectation = My faith.

Based on my expectations, I would say my faith needs quite the adjustment!  I need to recognize that God is always at work in my life, and He is always doing greater things than I could ever do on my own!  Changing my expectation of God to reflect who God really is, increases my faith in Him.

So, what are your expectations of God?  What does your faith look like?  Do you see any upcoming changes in your expectations?

Great Expectations

Expectations can be a great thing. Or a beyond, beyond less than great thing that creates great disappointment.
I expect food delivered hot and fast when I go through a drive-thru. Mostly because I am in a hurry, starving because I've been "too busy to eat", and oh yeah, the establishment's commercials set up that expectation.
So while receiving an order of  limp, luke-warm fries and a less then tasty sandwich, I feel disappointed and ripped off, I tend to chastise myself, "What'd you expect? It's _______, (insert fast-food joint's name here).

Even though half the responsibility surely rests on the disconnect between a New York ad agency, the restaurant's Marketing Department and the actual restaurants, some responsibility is mine. Because I have had bad fast-food meals more often than I have had good fast-food meals.
I should at least switch locations, or chains, right?

This type of expectation falls into the category of I expect this because I want it to be true. Really more wishful thinking on steroids.

There are great expectations that come to fruition and I am always so thrilled.

 In July of 2011 Keith and I stood at the altar of a sanctuary with carpet so worn you could see the holes in the floor underneath. Dust on the widow sills was measurable in inches. The windows themselves were beautiful-just dirty.( In fact to put it in realty terms, the building had great bones. It  needed cleaning and updating).

We prayed together to God. We told our Heavenly Father that if this was where He wanted us to do ministry, we would do it, we would give it our all, we would meet His people in the Shaw community and do life with them, helping in the ways we could, sharing the Word, breaking bread, and working really, really, really hard.

We did not place expectations on God as to what color the walls would be painted, who would paint the walls, how many people would help us, or how hard it would be to renovate a building while serving in the community. These things mattered but were not at the forefront of our prayers,

Our expectation was if God wanted us here, He would show us the way, to continue on Eva's theme from last week, step by step.  I continue because Eva was right, and Dr. King was right when he said, "Faith is taking the next step even when you can't see the whole staircase." Keith and I believed in God's ability to move us through our journey, And we just had to take the next step. And then the next step. And the one after that. One at a time, each one taken with equal faith in the God we love.

God brought us people to help with the building. Actually-we helped them as Keith and I epitomize the term unskilled laborers. God brought us people to help work at our first National Night Out only a month after being blessed with our church building.God brought us people from the neighborhood who have become our mentors, sounding boards, friends and great church members. With each step we took in faith and continue to take, God showers blessings upon us. Most often in the form of the beautiful people of the neighborhood.

My expectation now is that God will continue to bless if I will continue to step, alongside my favorite pastor and yours, Keith.

I do come to church every Sunday with great expectations. I expect to encounter God through Worship in music and in hearing His Word. Harry and the rest of the praise team and Keith, are vessels for this encounter.

I also expect to share life with friends, reveling in their victories, and praising God with them for those. Praying with them about their struggles and mine.

When I go to work each day I expect to work hard to earn my pay and am never disappointed. I also expect God to show me ways I can be Jesus' hands and feet for those I encounter. I pray to God each morning to show me someone I can minister to and to give me the right mindset and words to do so. As long as I am praying that prayer, and have that expectation, I have had that opportunity. No kidding.

This is a lot of me going on and on about how great our church is-and it is. And a bit of me sharing about my Monday-Friday life. But my point and I do have one, is that if we want to love others the way Jesus does, and grow as a disciple of Christ then we all have a job to do. We need to know we are on a mission from God. We need to have an expectation that God will show up if we ask, that He will bless our lives by allowing us to be His hands and Feet not just on Sunday but daily.

Who's willing to do two things with me?
1. be willing to be one of those vessels of God's love for others.
2. set up the expectation.
Okay three things.
3. take the first step.
So are we willing? Are we ready? Let me know how it goes. You can share in the comments section so we can all be encouraged by your great expectations.

Blessings, Lorilise