A Musical Journey

Within the first four days of eating a normal amount of calories I gained 10 pounds! However, I'm glad to say that my body has now adjusted.

And on each of last two mornings I have been able to work out for a full 60 minutes. I'm definitely getting stronger and healthier. This only makes me hurt even more for those who will never experience the health and strength that we so take for granted.

This morning, the morning after a very divisive election, I went on a bit of musical and spiritual journey for the last 20 minutes of that workout. As I chose songs from my playlist, I found that each one gave me insights to God's truth.

Come along with me. Experience the journey for yourself.

The first song I listened to was "Trendy". This song always makes me think of my son because he introduced it to me many years ago.  It's all about our need to fit in.  

Be different!  Political parties have taken advantage of our desires to "belong".

Song number two original came from the move "Footloose" but the version I listened to this morning came from the movie "Shrek 2".

Up where the mountains meet the heavens above,
Out where the lightning splits the sea,
I could swear that there's someone somewhere watching me.

Through the wind and the chill and the rain
And the storm and the flood,
I can feel his approach like the fire in my blood.

We certainly do need a hero...but we aren't going to find him in any presidential election. Take heart. He is approaching.

The third song really got my attention. Although I've known this song for decades and even sing along with it, I had never thought much about the words.

Crazy, but that's how it goes--
millions of people living as foes.
Maybe it's not too late to learn how to love and forget how to hate.

I've listened to preachers,
I've listened to fools,
I've watched all the dropouts who make their own rules.
One person conditioned to rule and control...
the media sells it and you live the role.

Next time you hear that song before a sporting event, remember the message behind it: Man-made leaders will let us down. You cannot put your faith in any man/woman. But...maybe it's not to late to learn how to love and forget how to hate.

(By the way, I'm a firm believer that you need to listen to preachers, fools, dropouts, experts, failures, scientific geniuses, atheists, etc. That doesn't mean that you believe them all. But it certainly exercises your ability to discern the truth.)

Finally, an Aerosmith tune. Alright, alright...it was first recorded by a few British guys, but they are not included on MY iPod. :)

The lyrics of this song are about the members of that famous British band...and are extremely bizarre. The line that everyone remembers and can sing along is:

Come together right now over me.

But I can pull out some other lines from the song that also make me think of Jesus Christ:

He says, "I know you, you know me. 
One thing I can tell you is you got to be free."

Jesus Christ bought our freedom. All you have to do is know him...he already knows you.

He says, "One and one and one is three."

He only spoke the truth...the absolute truth that so many still today refuse to see.  And there IS absolute truth.

The only way we will ever come together is over God...Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Lost and Found

No time to blog last night. I was busy having a nervous breakdown about my Greek class. I'm quite certain that the grade for the quiz I took last night will be disappointing. Afterwards the only thing I was up to doing was sleeping...and even that didn't come easy.

After work today I went to get my hair cut along with my kids. The little gal that does our hair has been a supporter of this project and I always look forward to seeing her.

Today I realized as we talked that she didn't know how Bruce Springsteen became part of my story...which made me realized that you probably don't know either!

Well, before I explain, take a look at this. It's a blog post I wrote in January of 2009 that will introduce you to the beginning of this little journey.

No peeking ahead!  If you haven't read it yet, stop now and click the link above and read it before you go on!

There are so many details that I can't explain in this short blog, but I have come to associate the loss of my spiritual life with the loss of this magazine...and the return of my spiritual life with the return of it.  No, I'm not blaming the person who stole it, I believe this was God's will and God's timing.

I don't believe that the magazine itself had anything to do with my relationship with Christ. And I certainly don't worship Bruce Springsteen. But I do believe that God knew it would get my attention.

Several events were triggered by this one act of redemption...the reading of my first book on Christian apologetics, followed by a hunger for more, followed by a conversion of sorts that resulted in a renewal of my soul that could only come from the Holy Spirit.

Yes, I believe that God talks to me through Bruce...without that man even knowing it.  And I love that!

How is God trying to reach you?  Because He is trying to reach you.

I Got To...

I got to preach this morning.

I can't tell you what an honor it is to be used in this way...to have the privilege of sharing the Word of God with others. It's a strange thing. On each of the three opportunities that I've had to preach, I have felt a tremendous amount of "heaviness" prior to Sunday morning. Particularly on Saturday.

It's not heaviness like the pressure I've felt to score well on an exam or to perform well on a speech, but a mental and spiritual heaviness that reminds me of the weightiness of God's message for each of us.

Although I pray through the whole process asking the Holy Spirit to provide me with the message, guide my words, and guide the hearts of the listeners, I understand (and take very seriously) the warning given by James to those who would answer to the call to be teachers of God's Word.

I also got to visit a few of our members in the hospital on Friday.  What a privilege to enter into a private place of healing and pray with someone who needs God's healing, comfort, and strength.  Some of my favorite conversations with fellow brothers and sisters have taken place in that sterile environment in the presence of God.  (Where two or more are gathered...)

I got to visit with young college students about Christ this past week.

I got to serve Holy Communion last Sunday while several of our members said those familiar phrases, (Christ's body/blood broke/shed for you.) in their home languages--seven different languages!

I got to help setup our recently renovated fellowship hall for the upcoming auction to benefit our missionary to Honduras while visiting with the other volunteers and occasionally picking up my friend's little girl who happens to like me...and honors me by wanting my attention.

I got to grow in grace as I experienced hunger for another week and gained new insights into this suffering.

Serving my God is not a chore, it's a privilege.

I am so grateful that I get to do it.

Only When Necessary

I knew it was going to be a good day when Bruce woke me at 5:00 with "Glory Days" followed by my oldest daughter knocking on the door to get me up to go work out.  Exercise always makes the day go better.

I felt good today...strong even.

That's saying something when you realize that I made caramel apples with the kids after school! Sometimes things like that are enough to put me over the edge.

I've been working on my sermon for Sunday.  It's on the biblical concept that we are all called to be in ministry.

That doesn't mean that you are expected to run out and quit your job and start going to seminary.  But, no matter what your job is, you should be serving others on a regular basis using your gifts, abilities,  passions, and prior experiences.

Although many people do this by serving in their churches, they are missing the boat if they are not also serving outside of their churches.

Most people immediately equate this with "volunteering". And volunteering is a wonderful way to be in service to others. But you can also be in ministry by raising your children to know and love God, having a conversation with your neighbor in which the Holy Spirit prompts you to share the Gospel, or even writing a blog.  :)

Each of us should have a personal ministry where we intentionally reach out to others based on our specific and unique set of gifts. This isn't always through our words, but through our actions. In fact, Francis of Assisi is famously quoted as saying:

Keep in mind that God created you with inborn gifts and talents, blessed you with others who helped you develop specific abilities, and guided you through the experiences in your life that have led you to this point right now. You are the only person in the world who is that specific combination that defines who you are.

And God has a specific plan that involves YOU. You are the only person who can reach certain other people in this world. If you are a Christian, the Holy Spirit is calling you to your task.

Are you listening?

Even more importantly...

are you answering?

Following God's Leading

Sixty days!

One of the things that I have promised myself from the beginning of this project is that I would end it when I felt led by the Holy Spirit to do so.  With my weight dropping faster than I expected, a year does not seem reasonable at this point.

Although I have considered different strategies to protect my health while continuing the project (adding a fruit and/or vegetable, nuts, doubling my portion sizes, etc.), mostly I have just continued through life feeling that I would know the right thing to do when it was time.

This weekend the decision was made.

I try hard to listen to God.  When some people talk about listening to Him, I feel frustrated that I am apparently so hard of hearing.  It is my belief, however, that God finds ways that make sense to each one of us individually.  And, once we figure it out, He uses that method over and over.  If we pay attention, we will "hear" Him in other ways and He will use those, also.

But for right now, if you have been a faithful reader, you know one way that God "talks" to me.

I honestly don't know why I didn't see this earlier, except that I'm a bit stubborn and wanted to complete this project in the way that I set out to complete it.  Yeah, yeah, yeah.  I know..."Man plans.  God laughs."

The final day of the project will be November 17, 2012.  I will have completed 109 days of hunger at that time.

Why November 17?  Because I will see Bruce Springsteen live in concert for the first time in my life that night.  (The number 109 has some significance in my life that I think my sisters would appreciate.)  I think it's been God's plan all along.

In 60 days I have lost nearly 50 pounds.  Although this 60 days has been difficult, I expect that as my weight continues to drop it is going to get much harder.

All along I thought that if the time came in which I felt the project would be cut short, I would feel that I failed.  I don't.  This is another reason that I know God is leading me to this decision.  I am at peace with 109 days.  Excited even.

But this means that I also plan to move up the packaging event in Salina.  I will be promoting it around the city and securing a venue to do this sometime in the early to middle spring.

If you would like me to present the project to your group, club, or church; I would love to come share the journey and invite them to participate.  It is not "my" project.  It is "our" project and I would love your group to be a part of it.  You don't even have to live here or near here to participate in this effort unless you specifically want to help package.  In that case, make sure you are within a reasonable driving distance.   Email me at admin@onedailyserving.com to schedule a time and date.

Now...what will be my first meal as a midnight snack after the concert?  Decisions, decisions...

You Are All One

Ugh.  I'm so hungry tonight. 

I walked around the mall with my daughter this evening looking for homecoming shoes with my stomach growling. 

At dinner tonight my family was asking me what I want to eat for my first meal at the end of this project.  I don't even know.  How can I narrow it down to one food or even one meal?  Honestly, hot fresh bread and butter sounds good.

It's been an emotional few days.  Since Sunday I have had people each day call, email, or come see me to tell me how much my message during worship meant to them.  I can't explain how humbling that is.

This afternoon one of the older men of my congregation told me that a group of men meet every afternoon at McDonalds...and that they were "inspired" by the words that God gave me to share.  Wow. 

With my personal struggle of being a woman in ministry and wrestling with the Bible's words on this matter, the support and encouragement of older Christian men is huge.

Another older man from my congregation called tonight to offer similar words of encouragement.  He made it clear that his feelings were not just his...but that his friends had expressed the same.  And then he asked me to teach his Sunday School class one day next month.  (How could I say no?)

After each of these encounters today, I cried.  I just can't express how it feels to know that God is using me to reach others.  These people weren't moved by MY words, they were moved by the Holy Spirit. 

This encouragement might have come through man but it is proof to me that God has blessed my ministry and will use me to further His Kingdom.

I am grateful.

In the News

The hunger is back.  I had more of a battle with it mentally and emotionally today than I have had lately.

I haven't remembered to share this in the last few day, but Numana was in the news recently!  The story starts at 2:14.  Check it out...

I did go work out tonight...and felt pretty good through it.  I think I really needed this today.

Although it was a day full of affirmations with several kind words from others about the message I delivered during the church service yesterday, it was one of those days that I just didn't feel God near.

But our faith isn't based on feelings, is it.

Remember that just because you sometimes feel that God seems far away, doesn't mean that He is.  We just need to remember to reach out in prayer.  He's there...around you, near you, in you.

Prayer is important.