Month: October 2017

Discovery Weekend

Just returned Saturday evening from a quick jaunt to Abilene, Texas for the weekend.  What a great time we had!

I always and absolutely love when Mike and I have opportunity to travel together, anywhere!  We enjoy the ride. It’s a fabulous opportunity for us to talk; whether a visit about how we enjoy our family, friends, and others we dearly love, talk of ministry, discuss serious matters, or share giggles and laughs about our own silliness.

This particular weekend would be classified as a working trip.  We were together as Mike came alongside to support me as I close in on finalizing the requirements for ordination in the Church of the Nazarene. We spent about ten hours in a classroom setting called Discovery Weekend. Mike participated in the course with me and enjoyed the opportunity. Of course, I LOVED it!

Mike~my blessing, my gift, my husband, for almost 36 years~ sitting through a class with me and a room filled with other pastors preparing for ordination.

 

I could talk for days on end about the solid-as-granite support Mike is to me! As I pursue the call of God on my life, Mike supports my education, my travels, my speaking ministry, and has been the instrumental backbone for me and with me in music ministry. So, KUDOS to my man, whose rigid strength is also my shield!

Now, about this weekend:  We gathered with old friends and made new ones. The weekend was exceptional as we had opportunity to spend Friday and Saturday with a room full of fellow pastors and Kingdom workers. We gathered as laborers for the Kingdom of Christ to learn together.

The focus of our time was to discover our personal strengths as ministers, learn more about how those strengths are exhibited  in performing our various ministries, how we work with other pastors, leaders, and volunteers, and how we relate to our spouse and family.

What a joy as Dr. Linda and Rich Cantwell presented the information and facilitated our class time.  The weekend was a blessing, an informative and entertaining experience encouraging one another as we develop and grow as ministers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I am thankful for our District Superintendent, Dr. David Downs, and our Assistant District Superintendent, Earl Robertson, for facilitating a successful meeting.

We ended our time taking Communion together. The presence of the Lord beautifully noticeable on the countenance of each person in attendance filled my heart with His peace and gratitude.

A few pictures from this weekend:

 

Dr. Downs addressing our group Friday evening.

 

 

 

 

Fellow pastors and classmates

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The reason we gathered this weekend; to discover we are each uniquely designed as a masterpiece in God’s Kingdom! Eph 2:10

 

 

 

 Mike, me, Groban George-Pastor of Arabic language Church of the Nazarene, and Earl Robertson, Assistant District Superintendent

 

 

 

Truly, there is no greater joy than serving the Lord. May you discover the strengths placed within you by our Lord and the gifts of His Holy Spirit and walk in them as you encounter the people in your sphere!

 

 

 

My One Thing

One thing, only one

What is the one thing I desire most of all?  It’s worth asking the question.  What is the one thing I am most passionate about in this life?

Many of us would say our spouse or family.  These are the most meaningful and powerful relationships and have the most profound affect upon us.

Many might say their passion is their work or career, or bettering the world by serving in the community or in the political arena. Others would say their one thing is their favorite pastime or hobby. Still, others might believe their pursuit of being physically fit to the ultimate degree possible for them is their greatest passion.

But really, these are all on the outside.  They are part of the story of our life as an individual, but they are not us.  So, let’s cut through the surface and look to the very depths of our being, the essence of who we are, our spirit.  In your spirit, what is the one thing you desire more than any other pursuit?

Yes, it is a deep question and deep questions require more thorough consideration.  So allow yourself the time and energy to be fully engaged in contemplation about it.

What is the one thing I desire in life that drives everything else I do?

For me, because I have considered and meditated on this thought many times, I can confidently answer the question.

Here is my definitive answer:

I desire to know God more today than I knew Him yesterday and anticipate knowing Him even better tomorrow.  I desire to know His Word better today than I did yesterday and anticipate knowing it better tomorrow. I desire to serve God better today than I did yesterday and anticipate serving Him better tomorrow.  I desire to dwell in His presence so I experience His marvelous and magnificent presence all the time.

Believe me when I say this.  If you ever experience the presence of the Lord, you will never be satisfied with anything less.

My daily prayer is charged with the desire to know my God, the Creator of the Universe, the Creator of me!  My quest is to abide in the presence of God Almighty! My yearning is for the Word of God to illuminate my path and that as I follow that path, I am led by Jesus, the Light of the World, into God’s presence so I may dwell where He dwells.

One thing I have asked from the LORD, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD And to meditate in His temple.(Psalm 27:4 NASB)

Because I have entrusted the entirety of who I am and my life’s existence to God through Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit’s presence abides within me.  Recognizing God’s presence and allowing Him to lead me is the key.

May my heart seek after the Lord, all day, every day. May my eyes be opened to the reality of my spirit in relationship to His. He is my one thing.