"Story Telling"

Jessica Noblett

Since I was a little girl, I’ve devoured books with an insatiable appetite. With three younger siblings running around, this was no easy feat and I developed the ability to shut out literally any noise and hear only the voices of the story. To this day, I whiz through novels in a matter of days, even hours. 

I love being immersed in another world and the hearts and minds of each character. But trying to escape through a book comes with a price and as a child I’d emerge at the end of each book, exhausted, hazy and blinking back into the real world. My world was not as exciting as whatever exotic land I’d been living in for those past few days and coming back down was a bumpy ride. 

I’m beginning to think that maybe I read the Bible the same way. Interesting characters, exciting plot twists, extreme weather conditions, supernatural encounters, good stories- and then back to real life. 

Because otherwise, isn’t it a little strange that we need to learn and be reminded of God’s plan for story telling? After all, I don’t think I know anyone whose relationship with Jesus wasn’t ignited, encouraged or nurtured by the stories of others. How forgetful we are. 

Ironically, one of my favorite Bible stories points to that very thing. It’s in the book of Joshua when God commands the Israelites to build the monument of 12 stones when they reach the other side of the Jordan River. He had them build the monument because otherwise after a generation or two they’d forget what God had done and He saw it coming. Or in Numbers when God tells the Israelites to wear tassels on their garments to remind them to “remember all the commandments of the Lord, to do them, not to follow after your own heart and own eyes.” (Numbers 15.39) 

We may think we’ve come a long way since then, but our memories are no better. These stories remind us that God knows exactly how wayward our hearts are and still remains faithful to us. 

All this to say: how truly incredible is it that one of God’s favorite ways to draw people to Him is through other people’s messy brokenness?! It is so comforting to me to see this constant promise of Jesus that not only will He redeem me, he’s so invested in my mess, so willing to see it through, that He even shows it off to other people and calls it “hope.”

How many of us have people in our lives who instead of shoving our crap in a closet, they show us off to everyone near and dear to them, proud of every inch of us? It’s a kind of love, a kind of acceptance, that’s practically unheard of.

It’s exactly the kind of love worth talking about.

Potty Blog

Sarah Howard

“Mommy! Bethie’s trying to hurt me! Mommy, she’s going to hurt me! Mommy!” Ava, my three year old daughter, is sitting on the toilet, basically freaking out. She’s crying, and frantically pulling the toilet seat lid that’s behind her against her back as tightly as her little hands can, so that she’s sandwiched between the actual toilet seat and the toilet seat lid.

This same scene has been happening every afternoon for the past 2 weeks or so. One day Bethany, my 11 month old daughter, realized that while her older sister was ‘going poopies,’ she could pull herself up and stand right next to her sister. Unfortunately, Bethany has started to grab the toilet seat lid from behind Ava and slam it into Ava’s head. Needless to say, it’s been an unpleasant experience for Ava when Bethany grabs that lid. Hence, the freaking out on Ava’s part when Bethany starts crawling in her direction.

About 3 days ago, I decided that it was time for me to step in and stop Bethany’s little habit. It was time for me to teach Bethany that although she could stand next to Ava, she would NOT be allowed to even touch the toilet seat lid anymore. Ava, however, has still been crying at her sister’s approach. Her anxiety is obvious in her little hands clutching that toilet seat lid against her back with all of her strength. 

In the midst of this potty dilemma the other day, Ava and I had a powerful conversation. Bethie was crawling towards Ava on the toilet. Ava was doing her routine of freaking out. I had been trying to counsel Ava to realize that her sister wouldn’t hurt her. Ava wasn’t listening. All of the sudden, I said to her, 

     “Ava! Stop!”

That got her attention. I said,

     “Your mommy is here.

     Your mommy is your helper. 

     I will take care of Bethany.

     I will teach her to not touch that part of the potty.

     That’s MY job.

      I am helping you.

     You are safe.

     I will not let her hurt you.

     I want you to let go of the lid.

     I want you to take a deep breath and relax.”

She half-way relaxed…and loosened her grip on the lid. I said,

      “My job is to teach Bethie.

       YOUR job is to sit on the potty and relax.

       YOUR job is to trust your mommy. Trust that she’ll take care of Bethie.

       YOUR job is NOT to teach Bethie or hold onto the lid so she doesn’t hurt you.”

Ava looked at me, and said, “But, Mommy, I want to hold onto the lid so that Bethie can’t get it. Is that the wrong thing to do?” I took a deep breath and said,

      “Yes. That’s the wrong thing.

      You need to let go of the lid and trust that Mommy will do her job. 

      You don’t have to do Mommy’s job.

      The right thing for you to do is to SMILE and say, ‘My Mommy is my helper. 

      She will help me with Bethie.”

So we practiced saying that. We practiced smiling. We practiced deep breaths and relaxing. 

Later on, sitting in Sundays’ sermon, I thought, talk about Gospel Thinking!!! I know I’m not God, but I was, through God’s grace and help, coaching my daughter to practice ‘Gospel thinking’ principles while she pooped! Nate said,

      “Gospel thinking focuses on: Who is God? What does God do? 

      Who am I as a result? What should I do as a result?

      False Gospel thinking focuses on: What do I have to do? Who am I as a result?

      What, then, must God do? And as a result, who is God?”

Ava started with False Gospel thinking: ‘I need to protect myself from getting hurt! If I can keep myself from getting smashed, I’m safe. If I can’t, I’m not safe. My Mommy has to keep Bethie from even standing up next to me. If she does, she’s helping me. If Bethie is allowed to stand next to me, she is not helping me and I am alone.’

The Gospel thinking order was completely opposite for her: ‘My Mommy is my helper. My Mommy is keeping me safe and teaching Bethie. As a result, I am safe. I can relax. I can smile. I don’t have to freak out.’

That situation spoke to me. I so often ‘clutch the toilet seat lid’ and freak out. I’m guessing we all do. God, give us grace as a church to learn to invert our False Gospel thinking! Give us grace to learn to do Gospel thinking well…then we can let go of the lid and take a deep breath.

How about you? Can you identify ‘false Gospel thinking’ in your everyday life yet?

My chains are gone, I've been set free

​Sherry Engel

“My chains are gone, I've been set free

My God, my Savior has ransomed me

And like a flood His mercy reigns

Unending love, amazing grace”

After the events of last week, how can you not correlate the words “My chains are gone, I’ve been set free” with the miraculous escape from bondage of Gina, Amanda and Michelle.  Living in bondage for so many years, and even when there’s an opportunity to escape, two of the three are paralyzed by something, holding them back from freedom from their captor.

It made me think about our everyday life and what Pastor Nate shared in last week’s sermon about the Gospel, “Good News”.  We, just like Gina, Amanda and Michelle, have an opportunity to escape from our bondage but continue to be slaves to our sin. Why?  What paralyzes us from freedom?

Do you live in bondage to something, anything?  Maybe it’s work, people-pleasing, substance abuse, anxiety; the list could go on and on. So, what’s your story?  

Did you ever wish you could live a different story? How do you live a different story? How do we escape from bondage?

Over the course of the past few years I have been searching for that different story.  The problem was that I was looking for another “life circumstance” story, not the story that God has planned for me.  The searching of that story left me more in bondage than ever, wondering why God didn’t provide when I was such a faithful servant.  As I’ve learned to change my perspective, I’ve realized who I am. I’ve realized that God is all-knowing, all-powerful and all good, and if this is the life story he has chosen for me, it must be the best story there is.  I’ve learned that life on this earth isn’t utopia and never will be, but I’ve also learned that someday “there will be no more tears”.

How did I learn to live this different story?  I am so blessed that as I called upon God, the Holy Spirit guided me.  He guided me to Living Faith Alliance Church, and to an amazing Pastorate family. He guided me to a great group of theological study friends and to an amazing counselor, and he continues to guide in my everyday thoughts and actions.

What do you need to do to live the different story?

There are Friends and there are “Friends”

​Jeff Hyson

“No man is an island.” – John Dunne, 1624

“I am an island.” – Paul Simon, 1966

Much has been written in recent years about the fact that technology, and in particular social media, has made us a less social species. Given the fact that I have around 200 “friends” on Facebook, whom I can interact with at the drop of a hat, surely my circle of influence has to be greater now than it would have been in, say, 1950.  But what if I was able to compare my social life with that of an average man in 1950.  We would compare his friends with my “friends.”  First, he would probably have far fewer friends.  Second, he would probably have deeper friendships than I do.  

Never in the history of the world have we had such instant access and so many connections with so many people, and never before have our social connections been so shallow.  Am I in relationship with all of my FB friends?  It’s a tricky question.  I probably know (or knew) most of them in real life.  Can I impact their lives?  Do they even want me to?

When our circle of influence is continually getting wider and shallower, sharing Jesus in impactful ways can get harder.  I want to be ready to show Jesus to the depressed, anxious, and hopeless people that I know are among my 200 FB friends.  The problem is that I don’t want to show the love of Jesus in shallow ways. Sharing an inspirational picto-quote just doesn’t cut it for me.  How do we cultivate real relationships as they become less and less common?

I think it starts with exactly what Diego was talking about on Sunday.  Jesus didn’t come seeking those who were already righteous (or self-righteous, perhaps).  But I’m not talking about my FB friends who seem to have it all together.  I’m talking about us.  It seems like more often than not, we like to be connected to so many people because it makes us feel good about ourselves.  We can have a connection, albeit as deep as a dinner plate, with a lot of people.  We suppress our need for real relationships, because we have so many “friends”.

There are real actual people, not profile pics and wall posts, within our circle of influence who need real actual relationships.  Twitter and Facebook are nice tools for connecting with people, but when it replaces relationships, we lose something.  Relationships take effort.  Being close enough to see that someone is hurting or seeking or ready to accept love means putting in the time to selflessly love them.  

Social media is great for keeping in touch, but if you ever hear me suggesting a new pastorate that only meets on the internet, remind me that no man is an island.

Vision Problems

​Nancy Vasquez

I have vision problems.

Matt Cohen’s story of planting and growing a church in Philly was compelling, thought-provoking, and full of Scriptural Truth, yet I walked away with a nagging uneasiness about the message.

It wasn’t an issue with the speaker. It was with me.

My gut reaction was to say, How am I supposed to plant churches? I’m not young, dynamic and full of energy. I feel wild and crazy if I can stay up until 11pm. And I certainly don’t have the social skills to go out and recruit people for a brand new church.

You see, I think the vision to plant churches is great...as long as it doesn’t involve me...it’s just not my “thing.” Oh sure, I’ll volunteer for all kinds of ministries that are comfortable for me. Ones that use my skill sets and make me feel safe. But not, you know, ones where I don’t belong or excel at.

As I reviewed my notes from the sermon in the midst of this stream of thought, I saw one of the speaker’s points that I had written down. As the new church hit difficulty, the pastor was forced to come to the end of himself and realize how “unprayerful” he was.

This is my vision problem. This is what I wasn’t seeing. It’s not about me or what I want or what I can do or what makes me feel good. It’s not about my social skills or my energy level or lack thereof. I’ve learned much over the past few years about my identity in Christ and my purpose in His kingdom, but it is so easy to unwittingly fall back into self-centered blindness. 

Only when I drop the “me” from the frame can I truly release myself into what Jesus wants for me and what I can do for Him and what skills He wants me to use in what place at what time to further His agenda.

I can’t say I fully understand the church planting concept yet, and I sure don’t know yet what my place is in this endeavor. But I do know that I need to be in prayer for this vision of our church, and purposefully be asking what Christ wants me to do with it. So I’m praying, His will, not mine, be done.

What are some ways you are working though “vision problems?”