Pass The Hat

Our church is becoming missional minded. Yes, we support missionaries. Yes, we help those in the congregation who need help. Yes, we support the local food bank. But those things are allocated into our annual church budget. How do we intentionally get past ourselves to see what Christ sees? To discern the needs around us and be willing to be uncomfortable to meet those needs?

One of the ways we learning the answer to these questions is by Passing the Hat. Every Sunday after the tithes and offerings are taken, we pass a hat from pew to pew. People are encouraged to put whatever little bits they can spare into the hat. For some it is the cost of a cup of coffee, for some it is spare change, for some it is a five, a ten, or a twenty. No one is expected to give more than they can afford but all are encouraged to think of those less fortunate than themselves.

At the end of the service, someone is chosen from the congregation to take the money and ask God to reveal who they should give it too. The only requirement to giving the money away is to tell the recipient that Jesus loves them. We will try to accurately record stories from week to week to keep you all informed of how God is using Pass the Hat to help others and to help us learn the joy of giving and living missional minded.

The first week a little over $137.00 was tossed into the hat. A gentleman from the church was randomly picked to give the money away. A big smile crossed his face. He already knew who God wanted him to give the money too. He selected a young couple who were going to have their first baby. The husband had recently lost his job and this gift couldn’t have come at a better time.

God is good. Stay tuned for the next installment of Pass the Hat.

Yeah, I know it's been a while again. I was walking with a friend the other day up my favorite trail & they were talking about their life situations & how God has been at work in their life. The trail can get rather steep, and it was during the steep part my friend began to doubt they could make it to the top without a stop, whether or not they were in shape enough for the climb. I told them, you determine how good of shape you're in by how fast you recover from the exertion. Dawned on me the same is true in our spiritual walk. How good of shape we are in spiritually is determined by how fast we recover from our lapses in sound judgment, otherwise known as sin. Do you wallow around in it, or do you set your heart on getting right with God again so you can continue the climb. That's the mark of a spiritual growth.
PJ

More

Last night we where at Muncher & Randa's picking up Carole's computer, which gave me a chance to play with my grand kids, Braska & Kinlee. Kinlee, who is only 14 months old, came over to me as I sat in the couch & lifting her arms said, "Up." Instead of just lifting her unto my lap, I tossed her into the air & caught her. She loved it & laughed with delight. So I asked her, "More?" Which she quickly responded to with her sign lamguage & the word, "More!" Everytime I tossed her up she would laugh & squeal with delight, and as soon as I would catch her & set on my lap she would sign for & ask for "More." After a while I got tired, so I quit & put her down. Wasn't very long before she was back, lifting up her arms to me & asking for "Up?" And as soon as I picked her up she signed for & asked for "More." Of course I complied.
That's how God wants us to be with Him in life. Coming to Him with outstretched arms wanting "up", and when He stoops to comply, asking for "more". More of His love, His grace, His hope, His peace, & His joy. God loves to make us laugh & squeal with delight; and He loves it even more when we return again & again asking for "more' - MORE of Him.
PJ

Last Sunday was my birthday & almost my whole family was over to help me celebrate it. Xander, my 13 month old granson, who has justed started to walk managed to find his way to the open patio door, which is 2 steps off the ground. Yep, he went for it & landed squarely on his forehead on the cement patio. Immediately all of us adults rushed to his aid & began to swoon over him & doing whatever we could to tend to his what would prove to be a minor injury, feeling absolutely lousy for allowing it to happen & for him being injured.
That's the way God is with us when we take steps we shouldn't & fall down & injure ourselves. He rushes to our side to pick us up, doing all He can to help heal our wounds, feeling lousy that we choose the steps we did, wanting to protect us from all wrong; but knowing because we get to chose, we will continue to fall down & get hurt; which in turn hurts Him as well. Makes you think a bit, doesn't it.
PJ

Together

Last Sunday I dismissed the kids for children's church like I do every week. This week my 4 year old granddaughter & another little girl a year younger than her were walking down the center aisle together, just the two of them. You could tell by the way they walked they were unsure where they were going, but they were going there together. God spoke to me right then. We often don't really know where God is taking us, where we are headed; and in truth it really isn't that important. What is important is that we are going there together, with each other, and most importantly, with Him!
PJ

Toddlers Walking

Our 1 year old grandson is just beginning to walk. A few weeks ago it was a few hesitant steps, & now its 15-20 in a row. I love how he does it. He pulls himself up by something to steady himself, gets his balance, raises his arms apart & above his head, and with a grin that stretches from ear to ear he takes off, one slightly wobbly step after another until he either reaches his destination, or he runs out of gas or gets off balance and flops himself down on his rump. Only to crawl to next the nearest support object & do it again... and again... and again. He's not ready to run yet, but soon. Until he is, it's one baby step at a time.
Our life of faith is to be like that. Too often, we put to much pressure on 'baby' Christian's, or allow them to put to much on themselves. They aren't given the opportunity or time to learn how to 'walk' in Christ. They miss the joy, of simply 'walking', because they are expected or trying to to walk like an 'adult', when their still a 'toddler'. We & they have to realize, their 'walking', is going to be a little wobbly, & from time to time they're going to take some flops on their rumps. But if they will find someone they can trust for support, and they will keep on trying to 'walk', again... & again... & again, eventually they will learn how to run! But until they are ready & steady & they can stand on their own, it's one baby step at a time.
God bless you.
PJ

Hidden Paths

Wow, I see it's been 10 months since I last posted, so I assume it will be a while before anyone looks at these 2 posts I intend to do today.
Next to our house is a state park that has two & quarter mile trail up a rather steep hill that I try to walk as often as possible. The trail winds it way up over some rather rocky terrain, which I like. Many times when I come to this one certain spot in the trail I have been tempted to leave the trail & blaze my way through the brush until I relocate the trail again; but I haven't because you're NOT suppose to leave the trail.
A couple of weeks ago, as I got to that point & once again felt the urge to blaze my own way, I did, I gave in. I climbed up a dry creek bed until I broke into a semi clearing, where I discovered a deer trail, hidden from sight, that led me back to the original trail. It was great! I felt like I had been on some sort of an adventure. But what was even greater is what happened next.
God has a way of speaking to me from time to time when He wants me to learn something & I am in a place spiritually to hear; which I must of been. What I believe I heard God say to me was, in order to really experience this journey in life with Him, one has to get off the well traveled trail & take a step in faith, in order to discover the hidden paths He has prepared for each of us.
I hope from time to time you are discovering yours.
PJ