There Must Be More

Slurpy

You ever offer someone something out of the kindness of your heart...not expecting anything in return?  Only to find out by their rejection of your offering that you really did expect something in return...acceptance of the offering...or at the very least acceptance of the effort. 

I had a friend working in my house and I offered him a slurpy.  He accepted and I hit the road with my kids to fill up on slurpies.  My friend had a brother that was waiting in their truck until the work was done.  I decided to bring him a slurpy too.  When I got home I gave my friend his slurpy and asked if his brother would like one.  He said I should check with his brother.  So I walked over to the truck parked in front of my house and offered him a slurpy.  He declined.  No, thank you.

I walked away telling myself, "All you can do is offer.  It's his choice what he does with the offer." 

Then I heard another voice saying,"But you bought that slurpy just for him.  He didn't even smile when he said no.  You tried showing him kindness and he rejected it!"

"Maybe he didn't like the flavor," I reasoned.  Either way, I was a little bummed.

I realize that there is always a risk of rejection when you try to show kindness, love, or trust.  So I try not to expect much in return...although I always hope.  However, the truth of the matter is, I'm always looking for the effects of the impact I make on others through acts of love.  I'm not talking about material things.  I'm talking about heart things.  A smile, a tear, a hand shake....a conversation.  I didn't really mind that he didn't accept the slurpy.  I minded that he didn't open the door to building a relationship when I knocked.  That's what the slurpy was all about...knocking on his door.

Well, there are plenty of slurpies and plenty of opportunities to offer someone a slurpy as an act of kindness.  Some will say yes and accept your offering.  While some will say no but accept your effort and let you in through the door of conversation.  Then there are those who will say no rejecting both the offering and the effort (just because they don't get it). 

In the end, we need to keep in mind, there will be other opportunities, we can always offer the slurpy to another, and/or (if there are no takers) thank God for the slurpy He has provided for us!

Jesse

Two Years

We've been in Yuba City two years now (July 19th to be exact) and it seems like we're starting all over again with the church plant.  I think there's one big difference this time though.  We have more relationships in Yuba City now than when we first started.  I also sense a level of intimacy with Jesus that I have been longing for now drawing me and embracing me when I pray.

We ministered at the Chico church yesterday.  We'll be ministering off and on to help fill in until Pastor Dale Rash is able to get back in the saddle after having experienced a stroke.  We went to visit him and Judy after service.  We had a great time hanging out with them.  He's getting stronger and it was just great talking about how things were going.

I talked to a homeless guy last week.  I asked him how he became homeless and how he was making it from day to day.  There's quite a few homeless in Yuba City.  I'm wondering how we can help them.

We'll be starting our bible study/cell group on Thursday this week.  We'll be going through Rob Bell's Nooma videos.  We'll be advertising it in the newspaper and pray that there is some interest.

We're pressing on of course because...well...we know there must be more.  Chris Tomlin sings:

Greater things are yet to come and greater things are still to be done in this city

Greater things are yet to come and greater things are still to be done here

David Crowder sings:

For the glory of it all is he came here

for the rescue of us all that we may live

for the glory of it all for the glory of it all

Charlie Hall sings:

Let my life shine, come and let my heart shine

We're going to walk the world and lift the bread and wine

Like the stars shine, come and let our hearts shine

In a dark world, we lift the bread and wine

(all from the Passion CD: God of This City)

Paul says:  ...I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.  Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it.  But one thing I do:  Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.  Phil. 3:12-14.

Jesse

Cracked Nail

While in the house one day, Scar began chasing Thanael.  Thanael was jumping around as usual and Scar tried following his lead.  Suddenly, Scar yelped and panted in pain.  He held his paw up and was limping.  I thought Thanael had landed on him and hurt him.  I checked out his paw but couldn't find anything.  I left him alone and he walked away without a limp. 

Later that day as I was barbecuing outside, I started playing fetch with Scar.  He was running and chasing his toy when he suddenly yelped, panted, and favored the same paw as before.  I re-examined his paw and found blood on one of his toes.  Scar had a cracked claw.  His dew claw to be exact.  I put some medicine on the claw to clog the bleeding.  After Scar licked at if for a few moments, he walked away without the limp...again.  Did that mean he was well?  No, it just meant that the spot that hurt wasn't being aggrivated.  That specific toe is higher up his leg.  The only time he would make contact with the ground with that toe is when he's jumping...more specifically, when he's landing.

Scar may feel fine when he's just walking around the house.  He may even feel fine running around for a while.  However, if he gets at all excited and tries to pounce, jump, or even stand up on the sliding glass door HE WILL FEEL PAIN.  He will hurt.  He will cry.

There are people walking around with wounds.  They go about their everyday lives with these wounds.  They forget they are wounded until they do something to aggrivate the spot that hurts.  It could be a physical, emotional, or mental pain...and that always affects our spirit.  We tend to lick our wounds and move on as if they have been taken care of.  We pretend the pain is gone, but in reality, it's just waiting to be aggrivated again unless we take steps to complete healing.  Our spirit is weakend due to the carrying of such pain.  We pretend we're strong...when in reality we have become weak.

Scar can't and won't do certain things until his claw heals up.  He's understood that when he does certain things he will hurt (because his claw is cracked).  He may not know why he hurts, but he knows pain...and so the pain prevents him from jumping over the fence or getting overly excited and making quick turns.  Not jumping the fence is good, but not being able to function the way God created you to function is not good.

Instead of pretending to be strong, we need to acknowledge our weaknesses.  We need to be honest about our pains.  Only then can we deal with them and fully recover.  Otherwise, we're like Scar with that cracked nail.  Always worried about the pain, and never really livng life the way God meant it to be lived.

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 of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 2Co 12:10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2Co 12:9

Jesse

Falling Down

I took the kids out to the front yard to ride their bikes in our culdesac this morning.  They were having a good time racing each other and hollering at one another.  Suddenly, I heard the unmistakable sounds of someone munching it on their bike.  I looked up to see Natasha mangled in her bike along the gutter.  Some parents would rush to the scene to make sure everything was okay...I'm not one of those parents.  I called out to her to see if she was alright.  She replied with a somber, "Yes," as she attempted to pick herself up.  It took her a few times to pull herself apart from her bike, but she did it.

I watched as Nathanael rushed to see if she was okay (Izzy wasn't far behind).  They looked over her and everything seemed to be okay.  Izzy came jogging back with the in tel on the wounded.  She said Tash would need a band-aid.  She walked past me and went inside to grab a band-aid for her big sister.  Tash finally walked over to me and I checked out the wound.  Her hand had been scraped so I sent her in to wash her hand and cover her wound with a band-aid.

I wonder...maybe God does the same thing.  I mean, just because I didn't run to Tash  doesn't mean I don't love her.  I heard the crash...I saw she landed on a patch of grass...I called out to her to see if she was okay...then I let her pick herself up.  I didn't hear any crying and her response told me she was alive.  Maybe God does the same thing.  He sees us when we fall...instead of running to our situation he waits and allows His children (you and me) the opportunity to run to the place they fell and check to see if they're okay (relationships), bring back the in tel to God in prayer (intercession), and sometimes even bring a band-aid for the wound (servant hood). 

Natasha learned to pick herself up because she's fallen quite a few times.  Some falls have been greater than others.  Sometimes I had to pick her up.  Other times I gave her the opportunity to pick herself up...always knowing she could call for me if she needed me and I'd be there.  Kelly and I never let our kids ride their bikes alone.  One of us is always outside with them.  I think God does the same thing.  He never lets us go out alone.  He is always with us and He has placed people around us to help us when we fall.  He also gives us opportunities to face hurts and valleys so that we become stronger with each testing of our faith.

Tash hasn't lost her smile, and she's not afraid of riding her bike.

Jesse

Conversations

I sit in a corner most times I go to Starbucks to study.  I watch as people come and go.  I look out the windows on occasion…waiting.  Waiting for what?  Anything.  Change.  A spark.  A conversation.  I mean, this is a social gathering spot right?  I’ve had a few…conversations that is.  Each one made an impact on me and left a lasting impression.  I remember each face and some names. There was Tom the script writer, Kelly the Starbucks worker on her break, and the nice girl with the tattoos. I remember each conversation and the atmosphere that surrounded it.  What made the conversations so memorable were the people and the words they spoke, the thoughts they unlocked, and the time we spent in each other’s company.  I don’t know what kind of impression I left them with, but our paths crossed for a brief moment in life and my hope is that for that moment they saw that someone took interest in them.  Someone finally listened to them…someone cared about their thoughts…someone put them before themselves…someone encouraged them…someone noticed them.

Conversations were never meant to be one-sided.  Relationships were never meant to be one-sided.  Love was never meant to be one-sided…but we’ve got to start somewhere…and trust that as we pour into others eventually they will pour back into us, and even if they don’t…others will.  That’s just a basic principle God has given us.  It all begins with a simple conversation.

Jesse

Everyone Makes an Impact

We were away from home for almost three weeks in June and part of July!  Although we were with family, I started missing home.  Why?  Well, besides just being able to sleep in my own bed again, we had a surprise phone call from one of our neighbors.  They were worried about us because we had not returned at the scheduled time (we were only supposed to be gone a week)!  Wow...have you ever had someone care enough about a relationship with you that they would call just to see that you were okay?  Of course you have, but this was a very heartfelt moment for Kelly and me (after being away from Yuba City for three weeks).  You see...sometimes...you just wonder if the relationships you're pouring into will "produce fruit".  You long to hear a friend say, "We're missing you.  Things aren't the same without you here." 

To be honest, the phone call was on Kelly's cell phone, and she called back and talked to two of her good friends (our neighbors) that we've built relationships with since we moved to Yuba City almost two years ago.  Their words of love and friendship really encouraged us.  Their words tugged on the deeper part of our hearts.  The part that longs to know we are missed when we're away.  The part that hopes that we make a difference in peoples lives for the better.  That part that desires more to this life in the way we embrace and nurture relationships to be long-lasting and meaningful.    That part of the heart that beats with passion when it hears the words, "Welcome home."

You see, we miss our neighbors when they're out of town, but we didn't really know what impact we had on them (if any) when we were out of town.  EVERYONE MAKES AN IMPACT when it comes to relationships.  The only question is what kind of impact are you making?

Go ahead...pick up the phone...surprise someone...let them know how much they mean to you and that they're missed by you.  Let them know things aren't and wouldn't be the same without them.  I guarantee you will impact their lives for the better.

Share the love.

Jesse

Withholding Love

Izzy collected a bunch of Youth Camp postcards with my picture on it.  (Really I brought some home and she just decided to play with them).  Nathanel decided to play with them too, but Izzy wouldn't have any of it.  She chose to withhold the postcards from him.  She had about six of them but had a hard time sharing.

Have you ever withheld something from another?  Why did you do it?  I can think of a few reasons why we choose to witthold things from others.  1)  We think it's bad or harmful for them (drugs/alcohol), 2)  We think they're not ready for it yet (car, debit card), 3) We think we're protecting ourselves from being hurt again (love), and 4)  We think we are owed something and want the debt paid first (offense).  Notice that the first two reason are thinking of others, but the last two reasons are thinking about self.

I was praying one day at Youth Camp this summer.  I was going to be speaking on offense that night.  While praying, I found I was living in offense and I had been an offender.  There were people I had been withholding love from because of the last two reasons I mentioned above.  I didn't realize how much it was affecting my walk with God.  I didn't even make the connection spiritually until God revealed it to me in prayer.  I went to those people and apologized to them.  I asked them to forgive me for withholding the love I knew I could give but hadn't fully given.  I thank God for healing those relationships and freeing me from the emotional prison I had put myself in. 

Love should never be something we withhold from each other.  Why?  God didn't withhold His Love from us.  Also, when we begin to withhold love, our thinking becomes self-centered, our heart becomes cold, and our relationships die.

It is impossible that no offenses should come.- Luke 17:1

How will you respond to offense?

Jesse