Christ IN Me?

At our DRIVE conference this afternoon, I was talking to my friend and co-worker Kristen about the quote I posted the other day… the one by Shannon Ethridge. She said how much she enjoyed reading it and that is what she longed for people to say of her as well. Just now I revisited this quote and was somewhat disheartened because I know that sometimes my words and actions don’t line up with this. I tend to cycle through some of the same struggles in my life and just when I think I’ve overcome them, I end up right back in the middle of it somehow.

Do you ever get frustrated with the disciples in the Bible? There are so many times when reading the Word of God that I get aggravated with them. They make ridiculous decisions sometimes and do things that are blatantly unwise. And I want to say to them… “um, hello… you are walking and hanging out with the Son of God. He’s right there with you… teaching you… loving you… guiding you… pouring into you constantly… He’s tangible. How can you disappoint Him when He is right there?” As frustrated as I get with them at times, I know what they would say to me. “Shae, we may have been surrounded by Christ… but Christ is IN you!!!!”

Wow… He really is. Christ IN me… the Hope of Glory!! Are you kidding me??? Despite my struggles, despite my mistakes, despite how poorly I love Him at times, and despite the fact that sometimes I have a hard time accepting how much He truly loves me, I will fight so hard to bring Him glory in all my circumstances and shoulder my burdens/struggles with great strength… His strength that allows me to live in freedom because He lives IN me!

 

I Wish This is What People Said…

I was reading Tiffany’s blog tonight and stumbled upon this quote that she used from the book Completely His by Shannon Ethridge (which I must definitely read). It’s beautiful and what I long for others to say about me…

She shouldered her burdens with great strength, maximized her opportunities to bring glory to God, and squeezed every blessing out of life that her Creator intended for her to have.”

 

Hosanna

Hosanna, by Hillsong United, has been dominating my world lately. I can’t seem to shake these lyrics. I feel like I come undone everytime I hear this song. And the lyrics to the bridge are my prayer…

Heal my heart and make it clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love like You have loved me
Break my heart for what breaks Yours
Everything I am for Your kingdom’s cause
As I walk from earth into eternity

Wow…. there’s nothing left for me to say after that…

 

Jury Duty…

Well it’s been long enough since I’ve written anything. This morning seems “blog appropriate” because I’m just sitting in a tiny cubicle with nothing but time on my hands. Not my cube at work… but a small cube that used to be a phone booth at the courthouse. Why am I at the courthouse? You guessed it… jury duty! Exciting, huh? I’ve only been in this area less than two years and already I’ve been summoned. It’s actually been a great morning. My roommate happened to have a training today in the city as well so we both woke up bright and early and took Marta down. We then enjoyed a brisk walk through the city to the corner Starbucks for a Venti White Chocolate Mocha. (Which by the way, is it really April 15… because it’s freezing outside!) I left Hannah at Starbucks and ventured through the city on my own with the soothing voice of Michael Buble in my ears. I must admit, I thoroughly enjoyed my walk this morning. I love the city and it was so fun walking down the streets, coffee in hand, waiting to cross the streets with people headed to work. I had so much time to think and admire the city. It’s so gorgeous outside too… despite the freezing temperature. A morning like today makes me want to work in the city in the midst of tall buildings, trendy restaurants, corporate folks. I’m sure this routine would get old everyday, but for a girl from South Georgia, it was pretty exciting. And, to be honest, I’m proud of myself for getting around down here on my own!

So now that my journey to the courthouse is over… I will sit and wait. Thank goodness for my friend Talie who did this last week and gave me some good tips on what to expect. Maybe I’ll catch up on some reading or surf the internet all day. I’m sure this morning was as exciting as my day will get… but maybe there will be satisfaction in knowing I’m fulfilling my duties as a good citizen

 

Easter Weekend

This past weekend was unbelievable!!! I feel like if I tried to put our Good Friday and Easter service into words, I would be doing such an injustice. Good Friday was probably my favorite service ever here (which is saying a lot) and I was so moved by the Holy Spirit. At one point, I couldn’t even call my cues because of fighting off tears. Lives were definitely changed this weekend and once again I was blown away to be apart of this place and this amazing team. Kristian led worship both days and did an incredible job.

Here are some pics from Sunday that Brian Korosec took for us:

 

Remember

I feel like I’m constantly apologizing for my absence. When life gets busy, this seems to be the first thing I cut out of my schedule.

We have been super busy this week at work preparing for our Good Friday service tomorrow. This will be the first year we have done this and we are all so excited. We have spent a lot of time and prayer in preparing for this service and really feel like God put this service together for us. The night will be a night of remembering the cross and the sacrifice and suffering of Jesus for us. It will be a somewhat heavy service… focusing on what happened that day over 2000 years ago.

Our team has been working hard all week to pull this off and we know we can only do it by the power of the Holy Spirit. But I do want to brag on my team… they have been awesome!!! In the middle of all the hard work, everyone has kept a smile on their face and done everything with excellence. I think the graphics for this service might be one of my favorites yet… and they were created by our very own Ryan Shove.

I can’t wait for tomorrow!!! I’m expecting huge things!

“With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last. The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, heard his cry and saw how he died, he said,

“Surely this man was the Son of God!”
Mark 15:37-39

 

This Morning at BBCC

We had a great time of worship this morning. Instead of our full band, we had a one man band. Steve Fee led worship with only his guitar and it was amazing. This was something different for our church and they LOVED it! We did three songs, including an old hymn. Steve reminded our congregation that they are created for worship and that they worship constantly with their thoughts, words, and actions. God used him in such a cool way this morning. He really is annointed and when speaks it is so Spirit filled. I love how God uses Steve to reach out to the first timer, while still taking people to the throne in worship. This morning I was led into worship not only by Steve, but by watching all the people in our auditorium engage with our Savior. I love what God is doing here and I am so humbled and grateful to be apart of it.

I didn’t get any pics from this morning, but here’s one from awhile back when Steve led from the piano.

 

How He Loves Us, Eddie Kirkland, and Orthodoxy

Tyler and BJ have both posted this on their blog, but I wanted to add it to mine as well because it needs to be heard. It’s an amazing song that our team has gotten ahold of and it’s shaking us up in a great way. This song has soooo much power behind it. The Holy Spirit is all over it. It was written by John Mark McMillan. He wrote it the morning after his best friend was killed (check out the story on BJ’s blog).

Eddie Kirkland, one of our worship leaders, just put it on his new CD Orthodoxy, which you should totally get… it’s incredible!! One of the best CDs I’ve heard in awhile.

We’re also doing the song on Good Friday. My favorite version is Kim Walker’s. Check it out below and let me know what you think.

 

I Drive Myself Crazy

today at work, a few guys from my team sat together and analyzed our personality profiles. i’m such a nerd because i love this stuff… it’s so fascinating to me. once again, i was reminded in the “struggle” section that i take on too much… and try to do it all to perfection. meaning that i get overwhelmed very easily and push myself a little too hard. i definitely see this in myself… especially when it comes to organization and feeling like i have a handle on things. we had a in-depth training on these profiles at our staff meeting a few weeks ago. our trainer said something that has stuck with our team. she said that when you are stressed, you tend to revert to your struggles. basically saying, that when i’m stressed out, i feel overwhelmed and exhausted because i’m trying to juggle and manage too much.

prime example is my life right now! i’m so terribly sorry for my absence. i think i’ve had lots of new visitors on my site and i’ve had so few posts lately. moving is getting the best of me. i’ve attempted to paint an entire house (small house) in 2 days (still need to finish the kitchen and bathrooms) and then move all my stuff in immediately afterwards. it’s been a rushed process for various reasons and tomorrow will make 1 week that i’ve been working on the house nonstop. and the boxes are driving me crazy!!! not to mention that i want to clean the heck out of everything before i put anything on shelves. i’m getting there though. just really, really tired and ready to enjoy my new home… which i know i will love as soon as i get organized.

oh, and funny story - sunday night was my first night here. around 2 am, i finally laid down to go to sleep… so excited about resting… and i couldn’t fall asleep because of all the bleach fumes coming out of my bathroom. maybe i cleaned a little too much?? see what i mean.

i’ll post some pics of the new place soon (just for you bob and jen)… i’ll be back to regular blogging in a few days i hope. pray that i’ll get some rest and recuperate. who knew that painting makes every muscle in your body ache? does that make up for my absence at the gym too?

 

Pray For Leslie

Hey guys! Sorry for the lack of posting lately… there is so much going on in my world that I can’t wait to fill you in on! Things at work have changed some, which has been extrememly cool but has also been keeping me busy. And I’m beginning the moving process (in about 2 hours) to a great house I’m renting. We’ll be painting for the next few days and then start moving stuff Friday/Saturday.

I did want to pull away for a few minutes and ask you guys to please pray for Leslie. I’ve been leading a small group for almost 18 months now and about 6 months into our group, one of my girls, Leslie, was diagnosed with a rare myloproliferative disorder that had turned into leukemia. The only cure for her disorder was a bone marrow transplant. Leslie received chemotherapy to destroy her immune system and then had a bone marrow transplant this past May. For reasons the doctors are unclear about, Leslie’s body rejected the first transplant. She was matched with another perfect donor and in July, Leslie received her second transplant. It’s been 8 months since the last transplant and she is now suffering from chronic Graft vs. Host Diease. She is in extreme pain and receiving a type of antibody to help resolve her problems.

It’s been a long, hard road for Leslie and her family and I would LOVE it if you guys would pray for her healing. If you want to know more about Leslie, you can get updates here