Angel Food is Launched!

Wow, what a morning! Angel food had it's first distribution day (at our church) today. It's exciting to see it off the ground. We had a good turn out of volunteers. Not everyone who signed up showed up but that's ok. People probably had conflicts. It was fun to see people getting excited about the ministry. A lot of our volunteers couldn't wait to take menus out to their friends, neighbors, and coworkers. And several "customers" (people who bought boxes) were excited to share with those around them too. It is so neat to see God spread this around. One woman who had bought a box, works with a lot of shut ins and people like that and she sees some of them buy precooked meals for $7.50 a pop. Well Angel Food has a "Senior Meals" box that is 10 meals for $28 and she can't wait to tell all those people about it. She said ours even looks better-tasting. Also, we have a volunteer that just can't wait to deliver to the elderly and handicapped so that will work out wonderfully.

We (CJ and I) have been praying since we got here that God would show people a new way of doing things. A new way to be the church, the body of Christ. And people are starting to catch the vision! It is exciting to see. I see so many new ideas flowing out of people and we are just trying to keep up. I told a friend of mine, Kathy, (who has tons of great ideas) that she just needs to write them all down because every time we talk she has 10 more! At least it seems that way.
I know God has been working behind the scenes, so I'm not going to say he's "finally" showing himself or coming through for us now, but it is exciting to see how our prayers really have made a difference over the last 2 or so years. People seem so "ripe", so hungry for this kind of ministry direction. It's exciting to dream about what God has in store.

However, I can tell that we are meeting resistance. Not so much from people in the church but from Satan. He is attacking some new christians that I was starting to talk to and minister to. We were going to start a new small group that would allow them to learn the basics of the Christian faith and help them get to know the person of Jesus and his vision for life. However, Satan is attacking their marriages pretty hard. It is hard to see this happen. I still think God could turn things around but one has to be open to it first and they seem pretty closed. So I'm dealing with this right now. I don't quite know how to proceed. One of the drawbacks to immersing our lives in others without putting on a happy mask, being real and vulnerable is that life gets messy. We don't always know what to do. We don't know how to help those that are making "messy" choices.

It's easy to greet someone in the hall at church with a smile and ask how they are doing. They will answer "Fine" or "Good" or something along those lines. We have this exchange enough times each Sunday and we feel we've connected with people. That we've invested in someone. That we've made someone feel welcome. That is CRAP. C.R.A.P. We need to be willing to go to the needy, the hurting, the outcasts and downtrodden of society. Those that are divorcing, homeless, poor, hungry, oppressed and hurting. But that makes for a messy life.
What happens then too, if we actually reach these people? What if they decide to check out our church. Will someone be welcome if they walk in hand in hand with someone of the same sex? Will someone dressed in a Marilyn Manson t-shirt, and black lipstick be welcomed in (without being stared at). What about a man who smells bad that won't stop talking to you. What will we do then? Will we be Jesus to those people? Jesus hung out with the outcasts. He built relationships with them. They liked him so much, they invited him to their parties! Does it sound like he felt the need to point out their sin right away? To tell them what they were doing wrong and needed to change before they were welcome in his presence? Who would invite someone like that to a big ol' party of all their sinner friends? I wouldn't! The fact that the very people that were shown nothing but contempt and disdain by the religious leaders of that day would want to party with Jesus shows us that he LOVED first. He talked to them like they were more than just the sum of their sin. That they were people that God loved and longed to have a relationship with. Jesus saw them as worthy of respect and compassion. He built a relationship built on love and respect first and then showed them that there was a better way of living. He called it the Kingdom of God. God's way of living. Living by the ways of his kingdom instead of the ways of the world around them. And the greatest attribute in God's kingdom is Love. Period.
So as we launch Angel Food and hopefully more ministries in this direction. I hope we think about how we can be a part of the Kingdom of God. How we can be the hands and feet and mouthpiece of Jesus. Love first. Period.

It's October!

And it's come in like a lion! It's been cold and rainy for days now. Ugh, not liking it. Plus I've been outside more lately since the weather's been bad than I was when the weather was beautiful. Why? you ask? I've been helping some friends move the past two days and it's been a tad chilly and a bit wet. Not fun to move in but I guess it beats blisteringly hot. Ive done that too.
Wow, life has been crazy lately. The main thing has been potty training Dani. I never knew how much energy it took! She's been doing really good although I think she's regressed a little bit by being around all the chaos of the moving. She's tried to go now and then but she's mostly gone in her pull up. However, at home she's fine.
Overall, I am sooooo proud of her. She's doing really great! She rarely, if ever, has pee accidents anymore. I have yet to get her to poop in the potty but that'll come. (I hope) Maybe, once things calm down around here, we can work on that.
We are starting a new small group and I'm really excited about it. We've become acquainted with a new couple at church who already know some friends of ours. They are fairly new to the faith and are looking to do some basic studies. I'm going to do the study that Donnie (my pastor brother) does with new believers. I trust his judgement. I'm excited that they are excited to learn more about Jesus! That's great. And I didn't even bring it up, they told me about wanting to learn more and happened to turn to me. I feel a little overwhelmed but excited. I hope God can use me in this.
Well I gotta run, Dani will be up soon. More later.