A Call to Die

Today is just a quick book suggestion. I'm going to try and mention good books a lot as I come across them because I think they make good mentors. When I have times in my life when there's not someone there pouring into me and discipling me personally, I always turn to books. I love all kinds of genres, but I've had to pretty much nix all fiction books at this stage of my life because I have so little time to read I figure that I better make it something extremely useful. So fiction is reserved for laying on the beach, otherwise it's good books that teach me and grow me spiritually.
The book for today is actually a devotional created for students, but I recommend it for adults as well. It's called "A Call to Die" by David Nasser. I am currently going through it with my small group of 10th and 11th grade girls. It's my 3rd time through it and it's still wearing me out. It really is an awesome tool to step up your quiet times. It suggests carving out an hour a day for it, but if that sounds overwhelming you could cut out some of the journaling. I totally recommend actually doing all of the journaling because it really helps you focus on what God is specifically telling you, but I think the book is so good that I'd rather you skip the writing than not read it at all. Some of the applications are more student-focused, but overall it is really for anyone. If you have a teenager in your life (son or daughter, niece/nephew, a kid from church, neighbor), kill two birds with one stone and go through it together...you grow and they get discipled.
It's a 40 day journey of fasting from the world and feasting on God. I've haven't heard of anyone who's gone through it that didn't LOVE it. Click on the pic below to buy it!!!

What Do You Feel Called To Do?

Oh my. I confess right here and now that I am a terrible blogger. If I get really busy or in a funk, this blog is the first thing to drop out of my schedule. Hence the lead in from my last post promising more on a topic "tomorrow"...it's only been 4 weeks. But I'm still as fired up about the issue as I was then (and probably always will be), so here we go.
Here's what gets me. So, there's a need in the church. This body of believers that Jesus Himself is the head of has some holes that need to be filled. Maybe there's no one to invest into the lives of kindergartners or maybe 1 man is trying to disciple a group of 15 6th grade boys and REALLY needs to share the burden. Maybe the children's minister hasn't been in "big church" in 9 months or maybe a community group/sunday school class/ bible study is having trouble being effective because there's no one to keep the kiddos. There are a lot of "holes" that pop up in ministry all the time. But there's also a lot of people in our churches claiming to be Christ-followers. So, you'd think "Lots of Christ-followers. Lots of needs in Christ's body. Problem solved." But this is most definitely not the case, thanks to the wonderful and spiritual phrase, "I just don't feel like that's where I'm called to serve." You gotta admit that's pretty good. I mean, whose gonna argue with that? (Other than me, that is:)) If you're not feeling "called" to do it, who am I to beg and plead with you?
I, however, would like someone to show me in the Bible where that is a legit excuse. I'm pretty sure that by saying they don't "feel called" to it really means that it's not something that gives them the warm fuzzies. It's not glamorous. They pretty much just don't feel like doing it. But what I find in the Bible are lots of people doing things that they don't feel like doing. Jonah didn't "feel like" preaching to the people in Ninevah. I'm sure John the Baptist didn't get all giddy about the idea of confronting Herod knowing it could cost him his life (and did, in fact). And probably the best example is Jesus. He wasn't excited about dying on a cross. He even asked for a way out. But, ultimately, He did what He knew had to be done. So, bottom line, you can't assume that God is only going to lead you to do things that are fun or exciting or right up your alley. There is no promise in the Bible that says that you will hear a choir of angels and get an adrenaline rush when just the right opportunity arises and then you'll know that that is what you're "called" to do. Nope. You may hate the idea. You may sweat blood like Jesus (especially if it's the 6th grade boys' group). Maybe you'll even beg God to "take this cup from you". And that's fine. As long as, in the end, you suck it up and just do what needs to be done.
I do think that sometimes there is a second reason for using the "don't feel called" excuse. For instance, take the aforementioned middle school boys' group scenario. Or maybe leading a bible study. Or discipling a younger man or woman. A lot of times it's not just that it doesn't sound fun and perfect, but also that we don't feel the least bit qualified. We freak out and back out because we know that we will stink at it. And that just may be true. But I've found that that's usually God's point.

"But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise."
-1 Cor. 1:27

Maybe you think, "I'm too foolish to lead that small group". Ummm...maybe that's a sign that God's choosing you to lead that small group.

"My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power." -1 Cor. 2:4

Maybe you think, "But I'm not wise and persuasive enough." Well, apparently if you were there would be no way for the Holy Spirit to demonstrate His power.

"But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me."
-2 Cor. 12:9

Maybe you use your weaknesses as an excuse to not do anything instead of boasting about them.

"That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses..."
-2 Cor. 12:10

The problem is that lots of Christians, hugely including myself, have bought into the lie that their effectiveness depends on their ability (thank you to my dear hubby for giving me that quote last night at his AWESOME bible study). So when we hear that the kids' ministry or the student ministry or the adult ministry needs a new small group leader we immediately assess our abilities. If we don't feel like they measure up, then obviously we aren't "called" to do it. But God says, "Yeah, you don't measure up. In fact you never will. You will never be smart enough or cool enough or able enough to transform someone's life. So would you please just do something that you know you stink at and MAYBE My power will be enough to take up your slack?" It's one of the many paradoxes of the Christian faith...the weaker you are at it, the more of God's power gets revealed.
In summary, I would like to say that I do acknowledge that God does have different "callings" for different people. For instance, Jono and I know that we have been "called" to lifelong, full-time ministry. (Apparently I have an issue with the word "called" since I find myself putting quotations around it every time. It's just been abused.) So yes, I know that there are going to be specific things that God is going to want you to do with your life. But, in the words of my hubby again, "There are some things you just do because you're part of the family." I don't wait until I "feel" like doing the laundry because, I assure you, the day would never come. Jono doesn't wait until he "feels" like taking out the garbage. I don't let my kids just wait until they "feel" like cleaning their rooms.
If you're part of the family and something needs to be done, you do it.
And if you're still struggling with feelings of inadequacy read 1 & 2 Corinthians. Paul, who wrote most of the new testament and was like the ULTIMATE missionary goes on and on about how inadequate he was. You should also check out this book:

*I would like to point out that the examples given as areas of need in a church are just random scenarios that I pulled out of my head. None of them are necessarily needs within my AWESOME church, Crossroads. In fact, our 6th grade boys already have an AMAZING LEADER and they don't need to split. This post is not intended to guilt anyone and is not written as a public service announcement for Crossroads. It truly is something that God had to teach me through the many times I have tried to wiggle out of service because something didn't strike my fancy or I just plain out knew I couldn't pull it off. I apologize for any semblance of pointing my finger. Believe me, this has been and probably will be again a plank in my own eye. Just sharing something I've learned.

Bologna Sandwiches

Last Friday night we took a group of students to The Garden. It is a homeless shelter in Smyrna that houses about 50 women and children. We went to throw a birthday party for all of the children there, which I thought sounded super exciting. Balloons, cupcakes, a pinata, and lots of games and singing with some kiddos. That's right up my alley. I love throwing birthday parties. But we started the evening off by making sack lunches for the ministry there to pass out to homeless people today. So I volunteered for bologna sandwich making. It was just 150 sandwiches and there was about 5 of us working on it, so it wasn't that bad. Then a lady came in and asked us sandwich makers if we could help out and make a "few more" sandwiches. She said around 250, but I swear we must have made a couple thousand mechanically separated meat sandwiches. I would spread a loaf of bread out over the counter. Kevin O. would apply mustard (then "mustard sauce" after we ran out of regular mustard...ugh). I would oh-so-carefully place the bologna on, then both of us would put them together and pass them down to the bagging team. I'm gonna be straight with you and say...it was terrible. I hate monotonous work. Doing the same thing over and over for 3 hours is torture for me. I hate it. And what's worse, I didn't realize I was missing the birthday party until Jono came in the kitchen and said, "Alright. The party's over. Ya'll ready to go?" I was super bummed. Everyone else had bonded with a kid and ministered to them and taken lots of pictures. I had made bologna sandwiches. It was not my idea of a glorious night of ministry. (I must say here that Kevin O'Shields seemed to quite enjoy himself being "mustard man" which I couldn't quite understand except that he attributed it to having a Type A personality.)
Anyway, I say all that to say that sometimes ministry stinks (quite literally when we're talking about bologna). And I don't mean "THE ministry", like being married to a pastor, although that's a completely different post. I mean serving. Doing things for God's kingdom that need to be done. It's not all rainbows and butterflies and coming home with lots of cute pictures of you with a bunch of homeless kids who fell in love with you. Someone's gotta make the bologna sandwiches in God's kingdom.
And, no, it's not a matter of feeling "called" to do it (which I will blog about further tomorrow). Believe me, there was no feeling of "this is what I was made for" last night.
It was not fun.
But Saturday, there were a lot of people living under bridges in Atlanta who got to eat a yummy sandwich for lunch, and that makes me grateful that God stuck me in that kitchen.
I wonder what kind of things God wants you to make happen but you're waiting on it to "feel" right?? More on that rant tomorrow!!

Pass on the Blessing

Last night, a couple of hours after dinner, my family got the munchies. I intentionally do not keep many/any "munchies-satisfying-food" in the house. I always have the munchies so I would always be eating said food, nullifying all of my P90x-ing. So Jono began to scour the kitchen for something and finally decided to fix himself a peanut butter sandwich. Which only led to him having to fix 2 more peanut butter sandwiches for the bottomless pit girls. As he was finishing up Nevaeh's sandwich she requested that he cut the crust off. He then offered (possibly out of laziness) to cut the sandwich in half and then she could just "eat around the crust". No, Vaeh - shockingly - was not willing to compromise and started to beg/freak out. The whole time I was thinking "Really, Jono? You really think dealing with the tizzy that is about to ensue is going to take up less time and energy than CUTTING OFF THE CRUST?!" So, being the awesome wife that I am, I may have pointed out that he grew up with MEMAW and EVERY TIME she made him a sandwich she cut the crust off. How's that for forgetting to pass on the blessing? And Vaeh clearly got her dislike for crust from him soooo. I was just saying. Well, I guess he thought I had a point because, bless his heart, he served her a crustless sandwich.
Then as we plopped down to watch Criminal Minds, I had a thought/conviction. In the same way that I think it is ridiculous for a man who hates crust and has had it cut off his sandwich all his life to refuse the same service to his daughter, God finds it ridiculous when I --who have been forgiven of the unforgivable, loved when I was unlovable, and "beared with" (I think that would be correctly said "born with" but thought that sounded weird:)) when I was being unbearable by Him who has every right to hold all those things against me--refuse to "pass on the blessing" to others. I know you probably don't deal with that, but sometimes I find it hard to extend the very grace and forgiveness that I thank and praise God for giving to me.
Soo...even though I resisted the pb sandwich raid, I still got hit with a wave of guilt. Holy guilt, nonetheless. I leave you with an awesome quote that I stole from John Hall (The Mark Hall's father!):

"No one has ever done anything to me that's worse than what I have done to God."

and a verse:

"Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you." -Col.3:13

and a subnote:

Jono is an awesome father and this post is in no way meant to sound nagging...I can't help it God saw a teachable moment that involved him:).

2 Random Thoughts...

This is a quicky, but I just thought of two neat things that I thought I would share.
The first one I learned about today. Well, correction. I'd heard of it before, but today was the first time I got to see it really work. Peroxide really does get blood out of clothes!! When Jono got home from church with all the kiddos (I didn't go because I was up all night with a yucky stomach bug), Pax had blood on his pants. I Googled what would work, saw the peroxide thing, and-wala (I'm not sure if that's really how you spell it, but it's how I pronounce it :))-the blood just bubbled right out. I'm probably the last person on earth to learn this, but if, by chance, you ever doubted...take my word for it!!

The second thing that I wanted to share is actually a gift idea. This book:

is pretty awesome!! It's called "The Story of a Lifetime" by Pamela Pavuk. It's a journal that asks a ton of questions to lead you to pretty much tell the story of your life. It has sections where you tell of your family background and childhood all the way to the golden years and ethnic heritage. We gave one to Memaw and to my grandmother a few years ago. It's so great to be able to read Memaw's thoughts and memories now that she's gone. I also gave Jono one for his 30th birthday. It's a really big book and Memaw didn't come close to finishing it so I thought I'd give him a little more time:)
Anyway, I'm really big on cool gift ideas so I thought I'd pass this one on. If your mom or dad or grandma or grandpa have a birthday coming up, check it out. Click here to see it on Half.com.

The Hiney-I mean Hidden-God

Today I was driving Alana to school and I was taking two kids' of a friend of ours to school as well. Alana and Nevaeh were in the backseat with their 6 year old guy pal sitting between them. I'm not sure how their conversation got there, but I heard Nevaeh forcefully point out that God is invisible. They fully accepted this fact and that God is everywhere. This led to the three of them pointing out all the places that God is. "In front of us", for instance. This was contributed by Alana. They went on to mention "on my head", "on top of the car", and then-all of the sudden- I hear blurted out: "He's even in my hiney!" Now, I know that I don't even have to tell you which child made such an insightful comment, but Vaeh was quite proud of her observation. So here I will give her credit. I did the obligatory "Nevaeh!" and quickly wondered how much my 4 year old was corrupting our company. But, true to form, she wasn't gonna let it go. "Mommy, God IS everywhere, right? That's what you said!" Well, I couldn't think of a verse that excluded certain body parts from God's omnipresence, soooo. I mean, am I the only one who has had the "God-is-everywhere" moment while I'm using the bathroom and thought: "Really?".
Well, all that got me thinking about how, while my children are amazed at the fact that God can be everywhere at once, I often struggle with the "hiddenness" of God. How can He literally be everywhere and yet sometimes I feel like "Where are You?!" For instance, with the whole adoption thing I find myself trusting, trusting, trusting...Ok, please gimme something God! One little shred of direction, guidance, anything. Now, I know that people have had much darker "nights of the soul" than this situation that I'm in. I'm not enduring terrible trials that others may be. But, you know what? Regardless, we are not the first to feel this way. And feeling that way doesn't always mean that we have wandered off from God. Job was considered righteous by God, but when he begged God to help him...nothing. All through the Psalms the "man after God's own heart" voiced his doubts and complaints. So maybe instead of being a sign of weak faith, our wonderings are expected by God. And maybe, in a weird way, God understands. Maybe He went out of His way to understand. After all, God the Son felt God-forsaken on the cross. And if Jesus Christ can scream out "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?!", then I guess it's ok for me to whisper a little, "Hellooo? God? This is kinda a big deal. Could you appear?" every now and then.
And I'm very sorry if this post makes your next trip to the restroom...awkward:).

Baking, Birthweek, Battlestar Galactica

Last Saturday I added to my appliance family. Ever since we got married (8 1/2 years ago) I have wanted one of these:

Of course, not many people spend that kind of money on a wedding gift, so we didn't get it. Then every year for my birthday or Christmas or Mother's Day it would cross my mind, but I always chickened out on asking for it because they are so darn expensive! We're talking close to $400!! That's crazy. So, life went on with little to no baking. And when I did bake, I would use a $15 hand mixer from Wal-Mart until it blew up and then I'd buy another one. Well, last weekend I cracked. I was at Kohl's searching for a non-chrome breadbox (which, by the way, doesn't exist) when I came across the deal of a lifetime. The lovely KitchenAid Artisan stand mixers were marked down from $365 to $299. I had a 30% off coupon, and there is a manufacturer's rebate for $30. So I paid around $190 for it plus I got $40 in Kohl's cash to go towards the new bath towels I need. That right there is exciting! And not a moment too soon for Jono's birth week. The first thing I made were some yummy peanut butter cream sandwich cookies and I became a believer. It was so fun just leaving that thing running and dumping all of the ingredients in as I found them. My philosophy now is that baking just isn't worth it without this beauty. By the way, those cookies were amazing...here's the recipe.
Now let's refer back to "birth week". Yes, we Long's celebrate the whole week of our birth. We adopted this glorious idea from a very sweet family at our church who actually celebrate "birth month". Now I was all game for birth month, but that was definitely too extreme for Jono. So birth week it is. His started Sunday, and every day until the 13th he gets to pop a balloon, find the clue in it, and have a little surprise. Sunday he got a Home Depot shopping trip. Actually more of a window shopping trip, but it was fun. Monday we ate Japanese and went to the mall with our friends Angie, Allison, and Nathan. Tuesday we had a date night to the movies (which is really a treat to us because I cringe at the idea of paying $20 for it). Wednesday he got some birthday notes and pictures from his dear students, and today I surprised him with a trip to the State Capitol. That was a home run. I have officially raised the bar for birth week. He got a tour of the building, he got to meet Governor Sonny Purdue, and we got a family picture with the governor that will be signed and mailed to us. And here's a shout out to my sister-in-law whose dad is Representative Len Walker who made all this possible. Sooooo, two more days to the big 3-0. What else could I possibly have up my sleeve???
Oh, December 13th better be the beginning of a pure week of bliss for me...
P.s. There is obviously no reference to Battlestar Galactica in this post. That was just a little something for all you Office fans!