And We Shall Be One in Christ!

Today was an awesome day of worship! Not that every worship isn't awesome, but this one was even more special. We were finishing up our "One Another" series and we had a combined service with our Latino church Highland Oaks Iglesia de Cristo. It was absolutely wonderful!

We sang in both English and Spanish and even had the sermon in English and translated into Spanish. It really was a little taste of heaven. It was great to hear brothers and sisters from different backgrounds and different languages all praising the Lord as one. It really reminds us of how we are all one when we stand before the Lord.

We heard an amazing story about Sixto Rivera, our Latino minister and and his conversion to Christ in El Salvador. His father was converted 40 years ago by a man who was once a counselor in a kids camp in Louisiana. Long story short, the counselor left that camp and an impressionable young man behind to follow a calling to El Salvador 40 years ago. This man talked to Sixto's father about God and Sixto's father became a Christian. This father in turn taught his son Sixto to follow God. Now, 40 years later, Sixto has been reunited with the boy the counselor left behind in Louisiana when he went to El Salvador. And now they are going to be working together with Genesis Alliance in planting Latino churches all over America! As Sixto said, "God is Good!" To hear the entire amazing story, go to www.hocc.org . It should be available Monday or Tuesday.

Everything that happened today just reminds you, you never know where God is going to lead you. You never know how someone you touch, may in turn touch someone else, even in another country. And you surely never know what great and amazing things God can accomplish. God is everywhere and working in every situation.

Always be alert, you never know when God may you use to ultimately touch someone from another country. But don't think God has to only use you to connect with missions far away. Your mission field may be right outside your front door, it may be at the grocery store, it may be within your own family. Your life is a mission field...everywhere you go, everything you do, everything you say shows the world how God is (or may not be) working in your life. Use your life to live for God and show God to others. Be Jesus with skin on to the world around you and be amazed at how God will use even you!

May the God who gives endurance and encouragement
give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow
Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may
glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you,
in order to bring praise to God.

Romans 15:5-7

Blessings!

You Might Be Someone's Miracle

This past Monday Chris and I were meeting for lunch, as we do pretty much every day. Monday was a little different though because I had driven a different car to work. Since I didn't drive my car I had forgotten my regular keys at home which also had the keys to my desk on them. At any rate, I needed to go home at lunch so I could get my keys so I decided to just pick Chris up at work rather than meet him. We went to a Barbeque place which is right by the High School.

I know all of that sounds rather pointless, but it's because of all of those things that something happened at lunch that day. You see, if I had not forgotten my keys at home, we would not have decided to eat at this Barbeque place, we would not have lost track of time and we would not have been there at the precise moment in which we needed to be.

When we are on the way to our truck someone approached us who had already approached someone else. We of course figured they were asking for money which of course they were to some extent. A woman came up and said she and her brother had a flat and had no money to their name. We were of course skeptical but then saw her brother rolling a tire towards us from across the street. They were not from this area so had no idea where anything was. When we saw the tire, Chris told them that all he could was to take them to a place to get their tire fixed, he didn't have any cash on him. We found out then that their car was parked at the high school across the street in the parking lot and had another flat tire on it. Two tires had blown on their car on the same side. So we took them back to their car to get the other flat tire and then took her to a local tire place while he stayed with their car. Did I mention that the tire place just "happened" to be a half a block down the street from the barbeque place we had lunch at?!?!

Once we got to the tire place Chris took their tires in while I sat in the truck with the lady and visited with her. She told me about the hard times they had been having and how thankful they were for us helping them. She said that a man earlier that day had stopped to pray with her, and now we had stopped to help them. She was really touched by his prayer and he told her afterwards "Get ready, you're going to have a miracle today!" She said they got back in their car and not 5 minutes later the tires blew out! She thought, "wow, that's not the miracle I was expecting".

About that time Chris came back with the tires, put them in the back of the truck and gave her the receipt in case they had any problems with the tires. At that point she realized that he had bought her 2 used tires because the old ones were too bad to use. She looked at the receipt and said, "The man that prayed with me today told me I was going to have a miracle today. You were my miracle!" She was so gracious and felt so bad that they had know money to help pay for them. We told them we were just paying forward. Someone 2 weeks ago had stopped to help us when our truck broke down while we were pulling our trailer home from a camping trip. It was truck drive who stopped and unhooked his load so he could pull us off the road. He told us we were his blessing that day, because someone had helped him a few weeks before when his truck broke down. We told this woman, that she was our blessings today.

I say all of that not to say what we did, but to say be aware of what's happening around you. Sometimes the weirdest things will get set in motion during your day that would normally never happen. Be aware when that happens. It just might be happening for a specific reason. It might be happening so you can be someone's miracle!

Do not forget to entertain strangers,
for by so doing some people
have entertained angels without knowing it.

Hebrews 13:2

Blessings!

The Hands and Feet of Jesus

I have always been very involved in church work or church ministry. I love being a part of a vibrant church. We came to Highland Oaks a little over 3 years and I've been working full time at Highland Oaks for a little over a year and a half. I love my job without a doubt. I have worked at other churches but this is the first time I've done it full time. Full time work for a church is a little different. You get very busy and you can get caught up in feeling like your job is your ministry. Which I guess to a degree, it is. But if that is your only ministry, you are missing out.

Highland Oaks has begun to go out into the community lately. It's something a little new to Highland Oaks and I'm sure something a little scary for some. Highland Oaks hosted Hoops in the Highlands a few weeks ago and we were able to serve that group. My family was out of town, but I heard it was a tremendous blessing.

This past Saturday, Highland Oaks hosted an Easter Egg Hunt at a Mesquite school including a "cookie" walk, egg tosses, egg decorating, popcorn etc. I was blessed to be able to be a part of that event. It was Saturday afternoon, Chris had to work and couldn't go, so I was really kind of dreading going by myself. I even tried to talk myself out of it a couple of times, (ok, more than a couple!) but I kept feeling this nudging from God to go, even if I had to go by myself.

Well, I went...and it was amazing! It was so much fun getting to interact with the kids from that neighborhood. They were all so excited to see all of those eggs out there. We let them hunt eggs every 10 minutes and let 30 kids go at a time. After everyone had gone through once, we put out the rest of the eggs and let them go to town! We had over 8,000 eggs, yes eight thousand eggs, and we had about 300 kids! So you can imagine the excitement at the grocery bags full of eggs they all left with.

On my way home, I sat in the car and thanked God for giving me that nudge to go alone. I was truly blessed by that one hour, more than I have been in a long time. It reminded me what we as Christians are supposed to be all about. Yes, I love my job, and I wouldn't trade it for anything! But that Egg Hunt was what ministry and serving are all about! I can do all the great work for God possible inside that church building that needs to be done; and don't misunderstand me, it's work that needs and has to be done. But the work outside the church walls are what it's all about!

I had more fun Saturday than I've had in a long time serving God. That's what it means to be "The Hands and Feet of Jesus"! I pray that as a church, Highland Oaks is ready to do more of that kind of work. Not only will it bless those around us, but it will bless us more than we can possibly imagine! As the old Acappella song says, "You can't go to church cause the church is you"! So let's get that church outside more often!

Blessings!

Blocked Paths and Missed Opportunities with God

This past Friday I was trying to get my oil changed. I went to a Walmart fairly close to our house. There were about 7 or 8 cars already in line so I decided to go to a different Walmart. I dropped my car off at the automotive center and went into Walmart. Within 5 minutes they were calling me to the automotive center. I went over there knowing there was no way they could have already finished. She told me that they don't have the oil change bays that you drive over and where they walk under the car. They have to drive your car up onto a ramp and my car sits too low to the ground to get it on the ramp. She said I could take it to another Walmart which happened to be the one I had already left!

I left and headed yet again to the other Walmart and passed a Kwiq Kar which is right by our house. I thought for a moment about stopping there, but they had a ton of cars in their parking lot so I drove on passed and went to the Walmart. When I got there, there were only 2 cars in line so I thought "this is great, in and out!" Wrong.......after he took all of my information, he said it will be at least an hour and a half! By this time, I was supposed to be leaving my house in an hour and a half. I told him never mind, I can't wait that long. I drove by the Kwik Kar one last time as I headed home and they had no one in line so I was able to stop and finally get my oil changed!

During this whole process, I felt kept feeling like I was continually being blocked at every path. After all, I was in a hurry and didn't have time to just stop and take care of it. That night as I sat thinking about my day, I thought of all the time I really ended up wasting driving around because I didn't want to just stop and the take the time to get it done. If I had just stayed at the first Walmart, the first time, I would have already been finished by the time I drove all over town and ended up back where I started. And I might add I was still no further along with the oil change that I was before this whole trek started.

How many times do we do that with God? We sense Him urging us to take a break, to spend a moment or two with Him, but we keep pressing on toward something else. We sense the need to pray, but we occupy our mind in some other way. We walk passed our Bible and catch a glimpse of it out of the corner of our eye and feel a soft prompting to stop and rest in God's word for a while, but in our busyness on to some where else we let that feeling pass. After all, we do have important things to do. How many times do we let other things block our path to God? Do we really think those things are more important than time spent with our Creator?

I know I am sometimes guilty of those very things. How sad must God be when he gives us every opportunity to stop and rest in Him, but we keep passing it up thinking a better time will come along. A more opportune time. How much time do we really waste while waiting on a more convenient time, a better place, etc? How much closer could I be to God if instead of waiting for or looking for the perfect place and time to spend with God, I just stopped and spent that time with Him every time He prompted me?

My guess is, (in fact I know!) my relationship with God and my life in general, would be dramatically changed for the better. It's always so easy to say I'll do that in just a little while, but then in a little while something else happens, or you become exhausted, or fill in the blank.....

For me, I think it's time I realize that the time is now. When God speaks I need to listen. When He gives me that gentle nudge, I need to be aware and act upon it. No more letting things block my path to God. When you stop and obey at the moment you sense God's presence and calling, you are extremely blessed. It's time to rest in God and be blessed.

Blessings!

Terry Rush...The Great Encourager

Terry Rush, where do I begin. We had the privilege of meeting Terry over 10 years ago at our first Tulsa Soul Winning Workshop. (That continues to be a highlight of my year. I always get great hugs!) We had the privilege of getting to know Terry when we scheduled him to speak in Mesquite a few years later.

Terry was very instrumental in changing the way I thought about God and my walk with Him. He speaks from the heart and with great passion. God has greatly equipped Terry for ministry and not just in preaching. While Terry is one of the most dynamic preachers I know (I think he's much better than some other well known guys he thinks are better than him and I've told him so!) he is also one of the most encouraging people I have ever met. He does not say anything that is not of encouragement to someone. If you read his blog you know what I mean. God has gifted him with great encouragement and continues to put Terry into people's lives who need encouraging and who need God. He can tell you countless stories of things that have happened to him in random ways and random places and how God has used him to encourage those who are thirsty for God.

I don't say that to brag on Terry although I would, I say that to say that Terry is someone who allows God to use him every second of every day to bless others. Terry is truly God's vessel and God continues to give him more because Terry so faithfully uses what God has already given him.

Terry will be speaking at Highland Oaks Church of Christ in Dallas and Plano this coming Sunday, January 11th. Plano's service is at 9:00 a.m. Dallas' worship service is at 10:00 a.m. If you are in the area, I encourage you to come and be blessed by the word of God through His faithful servant Terry Rush. You will leave uplifted, encouraged beyond belief, blessed and forever changed by God's word as He speaks through Terry. And you will have a true friend for life. If you have never heard Terry, you won't want to miss this opportunity; and if you have heard Terry, well, you will for sure want to be here! Come and be blessed!

See you soon Friend!!

Blessings!

Faith...Do I Have Enough...

I don't know about you, but I really struggle with faith. Not "my faith", but wondering if I really have enough faith and trust in God when things gets tough.

I really do have faith in God and faith in His promises, but when you are in the middle of a major struggle or crisis in your life, sometimes faith is hard. I have complete faith that God will answer prayers, but then I wonder, "Am I praying enough, am I praying the right things, when I wonder why things aren't happening does it mean my faith is not strong enough, when I think about the worst case scenario and what could happen, does that erase all the prayers I've prayed because I'm doubting the outcome, does it make me have to start over with my prayers, does it hinder the prayers I've already prayed?"

For me those are all really hard questions I struggle with in crisis. I know God is there and I know He has a plan, but is my faith or sometimes lack thereof a hindrance to what He is trying to accomplish or change? What if the outcome is different than what I am praying for, does that mean my faith wasn't strong enough?

Matthew 17 says, "If you have faith as small as a mustard seed...nothing will be impossible for you." When you think of a mustard seed you think of something so small. I think surely my faith is at least as large as mustard seed. But how do we measure faith, is my faith as large as a mustard seed?

I know I have to trust that the God I serve is bigger than any crisis. I have to believe that my faith is strong enough. I know I have to have faith in God's promises. I do have complete faith in God. I do know that God is bigger than any crisis in my life. I do know that my God can accomplish anything. So why is it that those little shreds of doubt are always creeping in?

I will continue to pray the prayer of the boy's father in Luke 9, "I do believe; help me overcome my disbelief".

Blessings!

Christmas Funk (sort of) & 4 weeks of Randy Harris

I love Christmas time!! I love the hustle and bustle, hearing Christmas music, the excitement of it all. I love that this is the one time of year when it generally seems to be "ok" to talk about Jesus. I'm going to try and be more aware of what's going on around me and of opportunities I might not otherwise have because of this season.

But this year is going to be different for us. For the last 15+ years (ever since both the kids could walk) every Christmas morning has been a wake up of Ashley in Jeremy climbing in bed with us all excited to get started with Christmas presents. This happened all the way up to last Christmas when they were 21 and 17!! I love it!! It's the one time of the year that I can get wrapped up with my kids and remember all the years of them growing up in that one moment.

This year will be a little different. Ashley is married so she won't be here when we all wake up Christmas morning. She will be spending Christmas morning with Warren, her new family, as it should be. Jeremy is now in college and although he will still be here, it won't be the same for him either without having Ashley here. We will still all be together on Christmas Day it will just be different.

Our family has always been big on traditions especially at Christmas, but last year was the end of one of those traditions. While it has sort of put me in a funk this year knowing Christmas is going to be different, I am really looking forward to starting some new traditions. I think one of them is going to be having Mexican food for our family Christmas meal on Christmas Day. Homemade enchiladas and homemade hot sauce... my mouth is watering already. One tradition we will continue is going to see one of the movies that comes out on Christmas Day. That's always fun! I look forward to having Warren become a part of our traditions and I look forward to seeing where God will lead us as we begin new chapters in our families lives.

On a different note, I am looking very forward to having Randy Harris as our guest preacher at Highland Oaks for the next four weeks. I love listening to Randy. He always challenges me. Our topic is going to be "Hope for the World". I know I will come out of the next 4 weeks challenged and in a different frame of mind. If you are in the area, I invite you to come and hear Randy the next 4 weeks. I know you will be blessed.

Blessings to you for a great holiday season!