I don’t need no doctor

Jeremy asked us last night to write down our biggest need. For the life of me I couldn’t think of anything. I mean, I have everything under control right? I wrote “patience” just because I am ready for all the Canvasians to get down here to get this church started.

I heard a song today that contained these lyrics…

Your Grace is sufficient for me

Your strength is made perfect when I am weak. 

And all that I cling to, I lay at your feet.

Your grace is sufficient for me.

It helped me remember that…

I can’t fix everything, no matter how hard I try. 

I need to admit that I am weak.

I need to stop clinging to stupid problems.

I need to lay it at His feet.

It’s easy to say all this, but actually doing it is a lot bigger issue.

My biggest need is learning to let go.

 

 

good vibrations

 There is no certain style of music that I like. I listen to a lot of different kinds. Lately people have been asking me about different bands and artists. So… I decided that every once in a  while I should highlight some of my favorites on my blog.

Here are some new albums I am listening to right now…

1. OneRepublic
2. Death Cab For Cutie
3. Sondre lerche
4. The Duhks
5. Natalia Zukerman

All Time Favorites…

1. Jamie Cullum
2. Chet Baker
3. John Mayer
4. Donavan Frankenreiter
5. Journey

There are a few to get started. 

 

 

Come Monday

I have had a great weekend.

• Tinkey came to visit
• hung out with Richard, read about it here
• Rick & Jo Lynn came down to take engagement photos on Tybee. It was Amazing
• got to eat at Spanky’s twice
• Went to a great CHEAP! japanese steakhouse last night
• got a new cd from blake
• Doug & Shelly came over from Beaufort this morning to go to church
• going to late church with doug and then having dinner with friends
• doug and I have a few meetings this week

who could ask for anything more?

a song for you

ok… i have been getting a lot of questions about this lately.

The answer is YES… Most of my blog titles share titles with songs. If they don’t then they share a movie title. I started this when I started writing. At first I just did it for more hits. (i had to keep up with shelly). Then it got kinda cool.

So… now you know. 

i can’t tell you why

just some random thoughts…

• i love savannah thunderstorms
• i do not like the traffic on abercorn street
• i think The Office is the best show on television
• i have met some amazing people down here
• i am reading a lot
• i miss my friends 
• i can’t wait for the canvasians to start moving down here
• i have found out that taking photos on the beach in a thunderstorm is cooler than it sounds
• i love photography
• i miss my family
• i think I’m making it harder than it has to be

footloose

This blog inspired by Jeremy…

I remember watching the movie footloose when I was little. Still one of my favorites by the way… In the opening sequence it features a lot of different feet dancing. Different shoes and styles of dancing. I remember sitting with my mom and we would try think of people we knew to match up to the dancing feet. Comparing the high heels to my aunt jan or the white suede shoes to my dad.

The shoes people wear tell a lot about them, or do they? What if we actually put on their shoes for awhile? Jeremy used a phrase from Irresistible Revolution about a church leaving a box on the doorstep of the mission with the words “for the homeless” written on it. When he opened it all that was inside was microwave popcorn. He didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Are we that detached from reality that we would give microwave popcorn to people who don’t have a microwave? Much less anywhere to plug it in.

Basically what I got out of Jeremy’s message tonight was…

It’s not until we seek out the needs of someone that we truly understand what it’s like be in their shoes. When we stop doing things out of vein glory while wondering what we are going to get in return for serving Christ. We do stuff that we consider serving but basically it is to make ourselves feel better. It’s about us. We don’t stop and consider if it is really helping someone else.

In the movie… Wren McCormick moves to a new town where dancing had been outlawed. He fought his best to get the powers that be to change their minds. But from the way he looked they saw a young punk just trying to buck the system. If they had just gotten to know him, they would have realized that it wasn’t about bucking the system. Wren just loved to dance! 

Canvas Church might be the new kid on the block. The new church that looks and sounds a little different than other churches in Savannah. But don’t judge us because of the way we look or the shoes we wear. Get to know us a little better and you will realize that we just Love Jesus!

Get ready Savannah… We’re kicking off our Sunday Shoes! (yeah… i’m a little corny)

 

i will posses your heart

I am a Christian.

I choose to live my life in awe of God’s glory.

I choose to worship.

I choose to serve. 

It’s difficult when I meet people who have made the choice to become Christians but do not understand the potential of the relationship. You wouldn’t marry someone and only see them on the weekends or only talk to them every time you are about to eat. 

When you are in a relationship, you spend time alone and in deep discussion. You talk to them in a way that you wouldn’t talk to anyone else. You tell them your deepest secrets, your biggest dreams. 

God wants that kind of relationship with you. He wants you to acknowledge Him in public. But He also wants you to go into your room and shut the door. That’s where the dirt happens. That’s when He knows that you are serious about this. He wants to know when you are mad, even if you’re mad at him. He wants you to ask for His guidance. Not just to make decisions on your own.

You have got to spend some time with Him talking it out. Once you do this, The relationship will become real to you. You will find love. He will posses your heart. 

If only you could see the potential. 

It’s not a difficult choice. 

 

 

 

they can’t take that away from me

     Tomorrow is Father’s Day. I am spending it in Savannah so that means it will be the first Father’s day in my entire life that I did not spend with my Dad. I am very close to my father, I talk to him at least 3 times a day, everyday. I have learned many things from him. He never boasts about anything except that he has an amazing son.

I hope that I can be as humble as he is one day…

     He was born in Savannah, Ga. on October 16, 1946. He lived there and in California during his childhood and finally settled in Smyrna, where he met my mom. They went on a blind date, where he proceeded to propose to her, and they were married 10 days later. He still worships the ground she walks on.

I hope that I can be the kind of husband he is one day…

     He is a very ambitious man and a hard worker. Even though he works full time at the furniture store, he always did custom furniture on the side. He made sure that my mom and I never went without. I remember him flying to Texas to donate bone marrow to his little sister to help her beat leukemia. She didn’t make it, but she was cancer free when she died. No one can ever say that he didn’t take care of his family.

I hope that I can be that selfless one day…

     He has a great spiritual walk. He strives to be more like His saviour every day. To love unconditionally. When I told him that I was moving to Savannah, he said he knew God was going to use me for something big one day and assured me that I was making the right decision.

I hope that I can be that encouraging one day… 

     I may not remember every little thing about my dad. Like how he loves listening to Frank Sinatra, watching John Wayne movies and playing chess. But I will never forget his humbleness, his love, his encouragement and his sacrifice.

The way he changed my life. No, they can’t take that away from me…

 

truth or dare

     We, as a church family decided to have a fast a few months ago. Not a food fast for a couple of days but a month long fast from something you would really miss. A vice. This was to remind us to pray for our church plant. I decided to fast from caffeine. Those of you who know me can only imagine what I went through. I gained weight and got physically ill at one point. But God brought me through and taught me a few things in the experience.  I am not saying all this to blow my own horn at how awesome I am in my spiritual walk or how close I am to God. I am saying all this to give you a little insight on the need here in Savannah.
      I have noticed that there are people in Savannah who are thirsty. They are searching for something. The problem is that they don’t know what. 

        You see, I knew what I was craving, I knew that at 6pm on May 10th, I was going to Starbucks to get a Venti Americano. Lately I’ve encountered Christians who have been going to church their whole life just because they are supposed too. They perform their weekly Sunday morning duty then go on with their life. And then their are the ones who have fallen away from the church because of judgmental religious people who give them a list of rights and wrongs, the ones that are just about the numbers and not about the journey.

        I have talked to a few people lately about what God sent us here to do. I have told them about our heart for the city.  About “being” the church instead of “doing” church. About embracing the journey. I have seen people light up with enthusiasm. I have seen people look at Christ in a completely new way. The way He intended. The funny thing is that this didn’t quench their thirst, it made it more intense. This is confirmation to me that we are following God’s will and are moving in the right direction.

Francis Chan once asked this question…

” Would you really want to know the truth about God even if it was different that what you’ve always believed?”

If you are thirsty, I dare you to seek the truth.

Just be careful because when you find it, you crave more.

starfish & coffee

Have you ever driven by a big church and wondered… why did they spend all that money on that building?

here are my thoughts on the subject…

Yes, I think that some big churches have spent way too much money on things that aren’t useful to building the kingdom of God. Things that are way too elaborate and are a waste of money. But I suppose that depends on who you are trying to reach. If you build a big sanctuary with pews and chandeliers and ornate decorations, you are not going to reach people who are turned off by religion and church. I have heard people say that these churches are being too religious, surviving only in their christian bubble…

Then there are the new modern churches that have a huge sanctuary with movable chairs and lighting and a great sound system that makes it more like a concert. These churches are not going to reach traditional people (like my mother) who are comfortable where they are and think that it is too worldly. Although she is a great Christian, she has a different view on how “worship” should be done. I have heard people say that these churches are watering down the Gospel in order to attract people. Being too secular…

After hearing Jeremy speak tonight, I am inclined to say that both of these opinions are valid. He spoke about Romans 14. “Christian Liberty”  Paul speaks strongly in this chapter about judging how people choose to live their lives for Christ. Saying that we as Christ followers should not judge each other for the way we worship. Some people need boundaries or lists of right and wrong. Some people do what they think is right before the eyes of God. (Romans 14:20 Don’t tear apart the kingdom of God  over what you eat.) Paul uses the illustration of food. Some people are vegans and think meat is unclean, some people eat steak. 

So before you get mad at me for saying all this, go read Romans 14 and then we’ll talk… Don’t judge me for eating meat and I won’t judge you for being a vegan. But on the other hand, if my eating a steak causes you to stumble in your walk then by all means, let’s go to Lady & Sons and have some Collard Greens. 

Jeremy wrapped it all up by using this illustration…

 

• Some of us color by numbers. We need the boundaries to tell us what to do and where to go.
• Some of us just need an outline of the picture and will be fine picking out the colors to fill in the space.
• Some of us only need to connect the dots.
• what if we … “Just Draw”

To answer my question about big buildings… It is not for us to judge how churches spend the money God gives them as long as they are using it to build the kingdom. 

Verses 12-13: Yes, each of us will give a personal account to God. So, let’s stop condemning each other. decide to live in such a way that you will not cause another believer to stumble and fall.

go Here to read a previous blog on this subject.