Monday Moment

Sunday's message from Phil 2:14-18, Joy in Shining not Whining, is one you leave thankful you heard it but a bit beaten and bruised from it and also wishing everyone could hear. Thankfully, if you were at any of our 3 services, you were able to hear it. 

Whining definitely comes more natural to most of us but shining is what disciples of Jesus are commanded to do. 

Grumbling, that beneath the surface, behind closed doors murmuring that we do, if left unchecked,  almost always leads to arguing and robs us of our joy. Critical talking always diminishes our light and hinders our influence. 

There is purpose in our shining. In our dark world where our thinking and actions are warped, depraved and crooked, we are called to live for Jesus and shine light.  

The days are dark. Many talk about God but when we say the name Jesus, that narrows it down. We are to be willing to be poured out, even going up in smoke for the kingdom as we know our light can mean sacrifice. 

God wants a proclaiming church not a complaining church. 

If you were there, you know Eddie shared very openly about his views on the upcoming election. So openly that I actually thought that one day 

all he shared may be considered against the law if we continue going in the direction we are headed. But we know that in our unashamed culture, light offers direction and I'd say we are desperate in our country for godly direction. Thankful for my husband's boldness in sharing and his commitment to standing on the truth whether it's popular or not, even whether it's legal or not. And praise God, our answer isn't in the White House or the court house but in the church house where as God's people we are called to humble ourselves and pray and turn from our wicked way.  No matter who is elected, God is on His throne and in charge.  God help us! 

Monday Moment

I've thought for the past few weeks a lot about how thankful I am that my children grew up hearing their dad preach their entire life. I'm sure many times, especially when they were young, they tuned out during the message, but I'm a believer in the fact that it sinks in anyway. And I also see effects from it today. I would tell any young parents...NEVER sacrifice preaching for anything else when choosing where to take your family to church. I tell mine all the time still, don't take that for granted. Every church doesn't have it. And music, programs, coolness, whatever, can never be as important as what they hear proclaimed through the preaching of God's Word. Ok, moving on! 

We were blessed to hear a great message on Working Out our salvation as we continue through the great book of Philippians. So many good points were made but a few of my fave were...

...the only running some do is running others down.

...the only lifting some do is lifting self up. 

...obedience is key. Do you always need an authority figure over you to make you do what's right?

...God is our ultimate authority. He sees all. 

...the Holy Spirit lies dormant in too many of us. Connect to the power source. 

...spend more time in THE book instead of facebook. 

...pray and personalize scripture. Eddie gave us an amazing example of how to do that. 

It was a glory bump kind of service. Cross Talk led beautifully and powerfully and prepared us for the message. Always thankful for great worship! 

Speaking of worship...Rise worship was fabulous. When I get to heaven I'm going to be able to sing like these young ones! And the volunteers amaze me with their servant hearts and attitudes of joy!

Justin Broome brought the roof down as he preached from Mark 10 on blind  Bartimaeus. He challenged us to use our stories of redemption to reach those who are hurting and in need of Jesus. Some of my favorite statements...

...the broken pieces of our life matter to God. 

...mercy is radical, a troublemaker. 

...miracles happen in the unexpected places, the in-between places. 

...so often we are identified by our brokenness and we start to believe it when we are called by it. 

...stop making excuses for what we don't have and use what we do have. 

...there will always be people who will tell you to be quiet. 

All in all it was a very good day at Fairview. Grateful!

Monday Moment

It would be safe to say, without exaggerating, that Sunday was one of Fairview's all time best. At least in my opinion. And at least in the 3 1/2 years I've been here. Numbers were low in every service, fall break means long weekend 😕, and I'm sad if you missed it, but even with that it was a great day. 

Our Alive student band led worship. They are always fabulous. My heart beats a bit faster as I see them step up and lead without a hint of intimidation or fear. My prayer for them is that they would continue to press on, letting no one look down on them, and always maintaining that focus on their audience of one, not worrying about who's on stage with them or instead of them. I pray they continue to walk in victory and humility before the Lord in a world, even church world, that says it's all about the stage.  

We were led again in worship at our 6:00 Rise service by two young men whom we adore. They are uber talented and talk about humility and graciousness! They lead the same whether there's a few or hundreds. I've seen them do both, and they do it well. 

How perfect our pastor's message was today from Philippians 2:5-11. Our attitude and mindset should be the same as Christ. He humbled Himself even to death on a cross and God exalted Him. He came to serve. "Love in the form of a servant" pretty much wraps up who Jesus was and what He came to do. He stepped down from His heavenly throne to come to earth that we might be saved and also that we might know how we should live. 

Application today is found in the previous verses of chapter 2. If we think like Jesus and have the attitude of Jesus, we will be able to live like Jesus.   

Justin sent us from Rise praying that just as Jesus is our victory, may we walk in that victory this week. May we all do that and lead others to do that as well. 

Summer's last hurrah

So we ended summer with a bang and went storming full speed into fall. I think that's just the Leopard way. It's all or nothing. Full speed. Go big or go home. 

I never like seeing summer end so Labor Day is rather bittersweet. It's my very favorite season and it never seems to last long enough or go slow enough. I know those of you who hate the hot weather, and I agree there were a few too many 100+ degree days, are ready to see it end but I'll take 104 degrees over 24 degrees any day. Unless there's snow 😉. 

So anyway Labor Day weekend was a memorable one! It started with our youngest proposing to his girlfriend. I know! Another Leopard wedding!  Already! We are so excited and looking forward to evening things out by adding another girl to the fam. It's actually an amazing feeling to feel like all four of your children have chosen so well. Well meaning that they've all chosen to spend their lives with someone who loves Jesus more than they love them and that makes this mom and dad very happy. Yes, they all love their spouses, and soon to be spouse, they serve one another, prioritize one another but Jesus is everything to them. So we are adding one more of those to the fam and she's a perfect fit for all of us and most importantly she's perfect for John! Which is very important around here haha! 

Most of us were able to spend Labor Day together at the lake. That was a wee bit surreal. When I was growing up we spent so much time at my uncle's lake house. He still owns that same house on lake Bowen and it's been probably 20 years since we've been able to go. We lived away for so long and of course being in ministry and not getting away a lot on weekends, we missed a lot of family times there. We didn't have the entire extended family, but we did have a lot of us. It was great seeing cousins again and enjoying the same things we did when we were younger, much younger. It's the same place we all learned to swim. I even remember times my mom and her brother would ski as we rise in the boat. Good times and a good time remembering. 

We saved our family beach vacation til September this year since Mackenzie was due in August. I think we all agree it was worth the wait. The weather was better. The crowd was smaller. It was a great week. Very thankful for the time away and that everyone was able to go. We did all the normal stuff: beach, eating, beach, shopping, beach, eating. Did I say beach? We are all beach lovers and sub crazy! And eating? This crowd eats a lot of food! All kinds of food! That was how most of beach week was spent. And it was all good! 

I have to admit I've enjoyed the cooler days of fall so far. It's been a fun fall so far and it just got started! Looking forward to some days away at a friend's mountain home where we can all spend a few days together again. I'll go ahead and tell you, it will be filled with football games, food, porch time, food, cool temps, food! And I'm sure pics will follow. Have a great week!

Monday Moment

Joy in the battle was the focus Sunday as we studied Philippians 1:27-30. 

We know as believers that Jesus has  won the war, but until He returns we will face battles. With the power of His Spirit, we can win those battles, but we can't be lazy, unprepared or deny that we are in a battle. 

Paul gets right to it in verse 27 as he charges us to conduct ourselves in a worthy manner. We don't live according to what we believe to be right in our own eyes, we live according to God's standards. 

How we live is either a benefit to others or a stumbling block. 

Our defensive posture is standing firm in one spirit, defending the faith as we are attacked. 

Our offensive posture is to contend as one. Dissension causes teams to fall apart. We shouldn't care who gets the credit as long as God gets the glory. 

And Paul tells us to be willing to suffer for Him. Suffering is a privilege and there are things we can only learn through suffering. 

Pray we will learn what He wants to teach us in our season of suffering. 

Our evening service at 6:00 was on point. Nathan kicked us off with a great word from scripture and our worship leaders led beautifully. Justin Broome preached a powerful message from John 16 on trusting God through the pains of life. I love how he pointed out that if we live as citizens of heaven the problems of earth won't be as bad as they seem. Trouble is inevitable. Peace is a choice. God is always working and He is working in ways we could never dream possible. 

1Peter 5:8 warns us that the devil is prowling around roaring like a lion looking for someone to devour. Justin reminded us that he can roar all day but Jesus took his bite away through the cross. 

Two great messages from God's Word on persevering through the battles and pains of life. We should be ready to face Monday with renewed strength and some fortitued. Don't back down. Don't be frightened. The One within us is greater than anything or anyone we face. Let's do this!