Who is great?

What does greatness look like?

I think we could all agree that we desire greatness.

We want great lives.

God wants greatness in our lives.

When it comes to greatness and God, we confuse it with perfection.

God never intended for us to be perfect.

He made men and women, not little gods.

The whole point of Christ is that his perfection stands in for where we are lacking.

But just because perfection is out of our grasp does not mean that greatness is.  Many of the “great” men of God were far from perfect.

God wants for us to be great.

Satan wants us to be perfect.

Once you have accepted Christ into your life you belong to God forever.  Satan is a sore loser.  He can’t change your outcome, but he can keep you from greatness with the temptation of perfection.

We cannot achieve perfection.  Ever.  Just watch ten minutes of “Hoarders” almost all of them will admit to being held hostage by their perfection.  If they cannot do it perfectly they are paralyzed from doing anything.

The best you can hope for is greatness.  Whatever the outcome, ask yourself what is the greatest thing you can do?  I can be big greatness, or it can be “I have ten minutes, what’s the greatest thing I can do right now?”

When you let go of the perfect plan, you will have room for a great one.

Where are you going to be great, right now?

Do you view church as a building you go to or is it the people who love and serve God?

Personally, I view it as the people who love and serve God.  The church (building) is pointless without the church (people).

Where ever you may find yourself, in a church regularly or not you can still be part of the church as a whole.  There are debates as to which is better, mega-church or home church or something in between.  Either way, I have been taught that there are five indicators of health in a church, (building or people)

Evangelism

Evangelism is just a fancy church word for marketing.  Are you marketing the product?  Are you telling people about Jesus?  This one is an easy one for the church (building) and very hard for the church individual.  If you are not marketing the product, why not?  While I listed it first, it is probably the last step if you are new to the process.  You cannot effectively market a product in which you have no personal investment.  I admit that I am not a top marketer.

People, I have found, have a misconception as to who Jesus is.  They see religion as a place of judgment and people telling you what you can and cannot do.  I would like everyone to see Jesus as a person who loves you.

God loves you.

Period.

You cannot change God with your behaviors.  You cannot get him to love you by being good, nor can you get him to stop loving you by being bad.  He just loves you.

Which I guess, my telling you that would fall under the heading of….

Discipleship

Which is just a fancy church word for “teaching”.  Those who know need to teach those who don’t.  God has rules.  True.   These rules are NOT in place to separate the good from the bad.  The rules are guidelines for us to live a better life here on earth.  You can be Jeffrey Dahmer and God loves you, but because Jeffrey Dahmer chose not to follow God’s rules, he kind of had a rough life here.  It’s been reported that Jeffrey Dahmer found Christ in prison and died a Christian.  This is something that someone close to me really struggled with until they understood that if God can love him, then God can love me.

Which leads us to…..

Worship

Worship is just a fancy church word.

What it means is that we are in awe of God and profess it.  We sing.  We dance. We shout.  We do whatever it means to us to let God know that he rules.  He rocks.  We get it God.  You are the awesome!!

That’s all well and good but what do we do with that?

Mission

A mission, is really just service.  How can we serve others?  For some it may mean that we leave the comforts of our own community and go to other parts of the world.  For others it means finding a need in their own community and filling it.  If every church (person) had a mission, I believe that there would be no needs.  That, of course is just my belief.  I do think that serving where you are is a very important thing.  If every Christian in the world headed for the jungles we would be in trouble.  Not to mention the poor tribesmen we were trying to “save”.

and finally.

Fellowship

Fancy word for hanging out.  Are you hanging out with people who have similar interests as you?  Most of us do.  We have drinking buddies or golf buddies or running buddies.  We like to do life with people who “get” us.  Same thing applies to church.  This can be a tricky one.  It’s the most fun for sure.  But it can keep us from hanging out with people who are different from us.  People who don’t know who Jesus is or how much God rocks.  We can lament about the poor sods who aren’t as good as we are.  We follow the rules, or say we do, and are therefore better than everyone else.  Of course none of that is true.  We are all human with all the human struggles.

We need to be authentic in our lives in every aspect.  I pretty much suck as a person.  Left to my own devices I would be a lazy adultress who punched babies and spent all the money I could get out of this sugar daddy before I moved on to the next. (Not that there’s anything wrong with that).

I’m not saying that I am perfect in these areas.  Not by a long shot.  These are the things that we are called to do.  Go (evangelize), make disciples, teach them the rules.  Help them to understand what God has done for them.  Don’t forget to hang out with each other and encourage each other and for goodness sake, don’t do this for God’s benefit.  Do this for man’s benefit that they would know God because we loved them and not because we judged them (which isn’t even our department).

None of the other things really matter.  Whether your building is big or not isn’t as important as whether the people inside are doing big things or not.

• Day One: A marathon
• Day Two: Smile
• Day Three: Sharing stories
• Day Four: Healthier Eating
• Day Five: Intentional Relationships

Day six landed on Christmas.  The day we celebrate the birth of Christ.  Is it his actual birthday?  Probably not.  Does it matter?  Not at all.  Just ask anyone born on February 29.

So, we celebrate the birth of Christ.  Why?  Because he changed the world.  Believe in him as your lord and savior or not, you have to admit he changed the world.  Even if for you it may just be another day off of work.

For me, it’s more.

I believe that Christ is my ticket to heaven.

I believe that because I believe that he died to pay my debt of sin that I am going to heaven.  I also believe that our relationship could end right there, with him being just my ticket.  I can acknowledge and accept that he bore the price for my sin and tell him thanks when I get there.  I also believe that I would be short changing myself if that were the extent of our relationship.

What I have experienced is that it is to my benefit to have a more meaningful relationship with him.  To try to be like him.  He lived a perfect life, so his actions were always the right action in any given situation.  If I were to emulate his actions then I would be doing the right thing.  In order to know WWJD I need to get to know him.  There are many books in the bible that are exclusively about the life of Jesus.  Starting in the first four books of the new testament.  He did not stone adulterers, maybe I should not condemn sinners either.  He talked to people who were considered “unclean” maybe I should look a little past my own comfort zone to see people that others readily dismiss.  He talked to God.  A LOT.  Maybe I should too.  He knew scripture.  His closest friends were not the leaders of the church, but ordinary everyday people.

Some of these things I find easy.  Like not hanging out with religious types.  Nothing makes me want to stab out my brain with a fork more than religious rule followers.  I’m not talking about people who are in an active relationship with Christ, but those whose main relationship is with the rules.  Those who are assured in their relationship with Christ don’t have a list of do’s and don’ts for MY life.  Nor do I have one for you.  This is especially true if you AREN’T a Christian.

Christmas reminds us that Christ gave up his spot in heaven for a time so that we may have ours.  He had a purpose for being on this earth.  If we are to be like Christ, then we too should have a purpose for being here as well.

In 2011, I’m going to find out what that purpose is.  Or at least be more intentional with my spiritual life.

Luckily I have enough room in my life for more awesomeness.

Maintenance note:  I am granting the former foster boy, who is hanging out with us, the name Corey.  Why Corey?  Because I always wanted a Corey, but due to a conflict with the last name was unwilling, in good conscience, to saddle a child with that.

So, we had planned on going to the seashore to windsurf with Corey and his roommate, but there was no wind.  No. Wind.  Which was odd.  Also too, it was 40 or something this morning.  Not exactly beach weather outside of Seattle.  So instead, we went to the art museum, where on display was a bunch of Lego sculptures.  No, I don’t have pictures.  Because had I taken a picture you would then go and buy 82,000 bone colored Lego blocks and make your own T-Rex.  True story.  Don’t deny it.

I am calling them on Tuesday and asking for special mom blogger permission to do a story.

You’ll notice some of my sentences are shorter lately.  I have to cut out a lot of words because I’m vowing to only say nice things.  Which is like cutting off an arm.

And while I was at the museum I was recognized by the paparazzi (Someone I met a couple months ago) and we had a lovely time chatting while the kids built (fought over) Lego structures.

Tech Support reminded me that it’s often my mouth that gets me into trouble.  Like, when I told the story of how we went to a different town last weekend and left the kids at home.  While I figured it was assumed that others would not think we had left them unattended with a big bag of Dorito’s and a case of Mountain Dew, he felt the need to insert “with a babysitter”.  Oh yes, we left the kids with qualified child care.

Where was I going with that…..

Anyway, new friend.  We’re going to have lunch.

She’s the awesome.

I realize I’m two weekends behind on the ol’ memoir blogging.  I still need to do the annieology version of the half marathon, and Women of Faith.  Both of which were awesome.  Maybe someday.

Tech Support came up to meet me after the conference last weekend and we went out.  Found a quaint little Irish Pub and sung Irish Pub tunes with 100 or so of our newest best friends.

And I got hit on.

Which was awesome.  Not only did I get validation for my own physical awesomeness.  Which I totally don’t need….but also got to brag on my awesome husband. “Yes, that seat is VERY taken.”

Now, Tech Support and I have only gone out drinking together twice in the fourteen years we have known each other.  The last time I ended up pregnant which is enough to scare you off it for a dozen years.  Then someone explained that going out drinking with your husband is NOT what gets you pregnant.  Also, having 24 kids kind of puts a damper on your social life.  So, fast forward to last Saturday.  We had a jolly good time.  I ended up having many under alcoholed drinks, and meeting many new friends.  I know, seems like I make friends easily.  I guess for the most part that’s true.

Anyway,

We made it back to our hotel in plenty of time to get several minutes of sleep before our church meeting the next day.

And we were late.

Not because we were out late, because we left late.  We are small town living.  Did you know it takes longer than 20 minutes to get somewhere in the big city?  Oops.

Yes, pub then church.  It’s how we roll.

What?

Yes, I realize that’s a bit, unconventional but here’s a shocker.  Drinking is not illegal.  Gasp, I know.  There may be some people who think that alcohol is evil and sinful.  It’s not.  It can be for some people.  I am not one of those people.

Since it’s almost Sunday, here’s church for you….

Sin is anything that separates you from God.  For some people alcohol would fall into that category.  I am not saying that I am immune to the effects of alcohol, but I have never had a problem with it.  I moderate my intake.  Never get “drunk”, my drinking does not interfere with my day to day behavior and only drink while my husband is present.  IF we have children with us, only one of us is drinking at any given time.  Also, we never ever drive after even one drink.  Because, we have learned, alcohol impairs your judgment.  So, were I not to have rules associated with my drinking, I might decide that if I can drive after one drink I can also drive after four.  So, we just don’t do it.

Now, you want to talk my sin triggers.  Let’s talk about the mall.  I can get into a lot more trouble in the mall than I will ever get into in a pub.  But, the mall is “socially acceptable” even in Christian circles.  I really like stuff.  Doesn’t matter if I need it.  I tend to spend more money than I have budgeted for and feel the need to lie about it to my husband.  So you tell me.  Hanging out in a pub dancing and singing with my husband having a drink or five and then walking back to our hotel room and not ruining the rest of our weekend, OR buying crap I don’t need ( because I need crap) stealing money from the family budget, or putting it on credit (which we don’t use) and then lying about it to my husband because I bought crap I neither really want nor need and don’t want him to know the reason we can’t do x is because I bought yet another shirt that will lay in the bottom of my closet unworn for two years.   Which one is worse?  Sinfully speaking?

Also, while in the pub I had four conversations with people about God.  A lady who just finalized her fourth divorce, two of the waiters and another lady who was confused on “Christian” words.  I would really have to wrack my brain to think about the last time I had four spontaneous conversations about God on the same night.

Church is over.  Send your donations to God.  If you don’t have his address send it to me.  We tight, me and God.

This Saturday we are back to the puritan lifestyle.  Although we had pork for dinner.  Some people would think that is wrong as well.  I am not one of them.  And let me tell you, the pork we made tonight was the awesome.

It appears that a sleep bomb has been detonated in the living room and I need to carry the many small children to bed.  So, until next time.

Be awesome.

They interviewed a girl who had returned from her Rumspringa, she was grateful for the experience because she knew that she wanted to live the Amish life now.  If she was missing out on something, she was doing so conscientiously.  She admitted she had done things she was not proud of.  She said, “I wish I had not done some things.  I drank.  I did drugs.  I went to a Baptist church.”

Huh?

You went to a Baptist Church?

Oh the humanity.

Now, I don’t mind if you choose to be Amish.  That’s fine.  If you happen to be on the Rumspringa and run across this post, you might be able to answer a couple of questions for me.

First.  The technology.  Where do you draw the line.  You are known for your horse and buggy, but isn’t that technology of some sort?  I mean Jesus didn’t have a horse and buggy.  How do I know this?  The bible.  Were Mary to have access to a horse and buggy I can guarantee you that she wouldn’t have been put on a DONKEY when she was in labor and gone to Bethlehem.

Also.  The speaking of Pennsylvania Dutch?  You do this because, what, Jesus spoke Pennsylvania Dutch?  No, I don’t think so.

I can understand being set apart.  If you can’t tell the difference between me and someone living for themselves then I am not doing what I’ve been called to do.  Does that mean that I give up my car and turn off the electricity?  Not necessarily.  But maybe it means I give up the importance of having a car that I have to finance and turn off the Housewives.  Setting yourself apart does not mean isolating yourself from the rest of the world.  We were commanded to go into the world.  I would like nothing more than to buy five acres and put up a wall, but I also know that the world needs some of what I got and separating myself from it would only be for my benefit.

I’m not saying that I know the right way.  Having never lived an Amish lifestyle, I may be missing out.  I have screwed up, but in that have gained understanding for others.  I have done things I wish I could take back myself.   Although I have NEVER been to a Baptist Church.  (as far as you know)

We have at least 47 kids based on the number of bikes abandoned at our door, and their may be a body buried somewhere.  We don’t have any money to buy meat, or candles, or make-up.

It must have been important.

It was Jesus.

Or more precisely, someone to tell us about him.

Before I could indicate that Jesus was already here, Boog came racing around the corner.

JESUS?

So, I left them to chat.

That is one of the benefits of having many small children, they are useful at ridding us of telemarketers and bell ringers.

Boog is one of the reasons Jesus likes kids.  He’s standing there, in his Sponge Bob undies, which are on backwards, telling total strangers about how cool Jesus is.

I’m worried about doctrine and perception and getting it right.  Making sure not to mention anything controversial like judging those who kick kitties, lest I offend a kitty kicker.

While I’m sure that some of the message would be lost if I were to stand around in my undies, I could certainly learn a lesson from one who did.

I’ll let you in on another secret.

God only gave us his top ten list, because we (as humans) need a measuring stick.   We figure as long as we don’t make the top ten, we’re good.   It’s also a nice way to distance ourselves from undesirables.

So, we needed a list of do’s and don’ts and we got the law.  And we obsessed over it for thousands of years.  Every detail of life was spelled out.  Everything from what day to circumcise the boys to what fork to use when eating a salad.  What fork we use isn’t in there?  Oh yeah?  Prove me wrong.

Anyway, (yes it still applies, get yourself a drink)

The law was burdensome, and complicated, and can I still get an epidural on a Sunday?  But God did not intend for us to live under the law.  He was only proving his point, in a way that only God can.

We did not need rules, and regulations.  We needed love and grace.  Which he provided through his son.

And when Jesus was asked which were the greatest commandments he said this

³⁶“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” ³⁷Jesus replied: ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’^{[a] 38}This is the first and greatest commandment. ³⁹And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’^{[b] 40}All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

I have known this for years.  “I love God.  He’s great.  I love people (not so much), they’re super.”  Although tonight I was busted with that one word.

All

Oh sure, he could have ALL of my Sunday.  Or ALL of my something.  But I decided which ALL’s they were.

Ten years ago it was ALL of my leftovers.  I faithfully gave him all of my leftover time and all of my leftover money.

I slowly added things over the years.

ALL of my money.

ALL of my marriage.

Guess what areas in my life are strong right now?

He got some of the rest of it.  Some of the time. Some of the  kids.  Some of my dreams.  And in return I got equal portion to what I had given.

In reality.  He was still getting a lot of nothing.

Because without me giving my ALL in every area of my life, I am not giving it my ALL.

And as much as I think I know what is best in my life, I have been proven wrong.

“I cannot possibly live with someone, TIL DEATH DO US PART,  that has a membership to NPR.”

“I cannot possibly give up my credit cards.  What if…?”

“Oh and if you think you are getting my sex life mister, well, you better rethink that.”

ALL is ALL.  ALL of it.

Including the orphans.

I can say “Thy will be done” but mean “they will take these kids when they pry them from my cold dead hands.”

And I have said it, and I have thought I meant it.   There was always the clause, anything but taking them from our home.

As much as I DO NOT want to say “Thy will be done”

Thy will be done.

And if I stand let me stand on the promise, that you will pull me through, and if I can’t let me fall on the grace that first brought me to you. Rich Mullins

Why aren’t you in church?

Really, I want to know.

Don’t worry about offending me.

I’m just researching.

Hate God?

I won’t take it personally.

Hate his employees?

Not a problem.

You’ll notice I did not read you your Miranda rights.  There is no need.  I will not use anything you say against you in trying to convert you.  Pinky swear.

My only interest in this is why.

First, let’s talk about the Tim Tebow, Focus on the Family, Super Bowl commercial.  The “most controversial” ad of the year, even though there were tire commercials where the men chose tires over their wives, and men “not complaining” that their women have emasculated them because they can drive whatever they want?  How is that less offensive than a mother saying she is thankful for a son that she almost lost. Nowhere in the Tebow ad did anyone say anything about abortion or give a judgment as to its morality.  It simply pointed you to a website to learn more about their story.

I don’t know what has happened over there at family.org but, and they might pull my Christian card for this one,  thank God James Dobson isn’t the public face over there on this one.  He needed to step aside a long time ago and let families tell their stories about how Jesus rocked their world.  Like the guy from KORN.

I have been spared, not from anything like meth, but spared none the less.   In many cases suburbia might be as dangerous as meth to eternity.  Because we are “good” on our own.  We can debate the loftier sins without actually getting our hands dirty.  We go to church on Sunday, sit next to people who look like us, make the same amount of money as us and have the same hygiene regimens as us.   We send $30/month to charity who sent us a picture of a kid in Africa and we are doing our part for God and for orphans.  We pray for the homeless, and by pray I mean, “Dear God, please help that homeless man (not go crazy at this particular moment, pull me out of my car and kill me in front of my children because I’m pretending I don’t see him while I talk on my phone).  And we have done our part without really doing anything at all.

We take care of orphans only when it serves the purpose to ease the pain of our own need to fill our families, not as a directive from God.  Truth be told, most Christians do not want to face the realities of the orphans.  They want nothing to do with babies born addicted to drugs, or who have been sexually abused and may in turn abuse others.  We want healthy, well adjusted orphans that fit it with our own  family and who have no residual family members that we will have to deal with.  Somehow, I think we have really missed the boat, and are doing it in the name of God.

We can blame the gov’ment, or society, or the culture we live in but WE are the problem.  We expect the world to play by our rules when they aren’t even playing our game.  Let me just throw this one out there,  I think that Satan is proud of the work we are doing as Christians.  I think he’s great with the work churches are doing in America.  Sure, he’s lost a few to God, but those few pale in comparison to the numbers he would lose if we were effective Christians doing the work of God.  Because right now, churches are the only place you can discuss God, and if you aren’t already in a church, what is the liklihood that you will find yourself in one?  Because they are not known as safe havens for the hurting. That is something that we cannot blame on others.

A quick plug for my own church Imagine Fellowship we meet in a movie theater on the first Sunday of the month, shortly before the first showing of Saw IV.   We don’t have a building, don’t want one, because the church is not a place we meet, the church is who we are.   If you take away the building who you are becomes more evident.  What difference are we making in the world?  If we are not affecting our world, then what is our purpose?

********

I wrote this in response to something I read on A girls site.   A girl and me do monthly co-writings.  She wrote about abortion and the Tim Tebow commercial here.  And to be fair she wrote this before the commercial aired, and didn’t know that I was writing this in response.

Does everyone remember the story from Sunday school about Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego?  It’s in Daniel for those of you who want it straight from God.

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused to worship an idol of the king, and he promptly had them thrown into a fiery furnace.  The fire was so hot that the guards who threw them in died just getting that close to the fire.

As is the right through time and history, when being executed you get to record your last words.

They had great ones, which I will now misquote.

“Our God whom we serve will rescue us, AND EVEN IF HE DOESN’T we will remain faithful.”

I can probably profess to say that, but I’m surely not thinking it.

I wonder if they were thinking it.  I don’t know who said it, but I wonder if the other two looked at him, like you’d look at a person who said something like that as you are about to be thrown into the fire.

As many of you know, we are nearing our fifth anniversary of having the kids in our house.  We are only about three steps into the journey, and most days it feels as if we are about to be thrown into the fire.

And there are days when I think “God, where the hell are you today? Can you rescue us already?”

On those days I imagine God saying “they haven’t even thrown you in the fire yet.”

Then I feel all bad.  Oh yeah, I don’t really want you to have to rescue me from the fire, but my feet are hot, and I’m tired, and I guess we’ll just chat for awhile until somebody decides to throw us into the fire or let us go.

And I feel better.

But Tech Support has rubbed off on me a little over the years, and I think too much.  Then I feel bad that I’m yelling at God for not rescuing me from a fire that I ain’t in.

I’ve spent the last couple of days with the Women of Faith, and it’s been pointed out more than once, purely for my benefit I’m sure.  That when you don’t communicate it causes problems.

The same holds true with God I suppose.  I get all pouty and refuse to talk to him.  Because I’ve been telling him the same thing FOR FIVE YEARS and apparently he isn’t listening so I give up.

I ignore him.  Throw a tantrum.  Swear I’m going to out him on the blog.

Luckily HE remains faithful.

He reminds me that he’s right there.  Waiting with us to see if they will throw us into the fire, or let us go.  That I’ve been so focused on me that I cannot see him.   He’s probably even thinking the same thing.

“Either throw them in or let them go, I got stuff to do.”

But there he is waiting with us, and he will rescue us.