A lady in our church is doing her own mission to collect School Supplies for Sarah J. Anderson school. If you’d like to donate school supplies of any sort, she is willing to sort and deliver them with a note from North Creek. Just bring a bag full on Sunday morning and we’ll have a box there ready for drop off!

We had Simply Worship last night which is an hour just to focus on God. In this crazy world, that seems to be a forgotten time in our lives! I am thankful for the reminder that God is God and worthy to be praised! It also gives me a purposeful opporunity to pray over some of the people in our church one on one. I ask God whom He would like me to pray with and then I wait until I feel like God is prompting towards someone. That’s when I feel like God uses my life in prophetic ways to speak over His kids.

As I spent some time praying to God about the people of North Creek as a whole, it was strong on my heart that we all seek righteousness. That if we, as a church, would set aside the sin in our lives to walk in His righteousness, He would poor out His spirit on our lives in a mighty way. As I prayed, I was impressed with the idea that many of our people are in spiritual chains and honestly can’t figure out why they are not blessed. Many times that struggle is because there is a lack of obedience to the things of God. Some of you are struggling, rather than soaring, through your walk with Jesus. Some have been Christians for decades and are still dealing with the basic tenants of faith!

It is imperative that we as a church do two things: #1 Read the Bible so that we learn what is right in the eyes of God and what is wrong. #2 Do it. I want to be a part of a movement of Christians that live it out. And when we live it out, get ready. God will pour out His spirit and power in ways that you will not believe.

My mother has a green thumb like no other. She has one of the most amazing flower gardens I have ever seen. It’s overflowing with one healthy plant that looks just perfect next to the plant beside it. She has meandering paths, ponds, bushes, bird baths…it’s like a walk through Heaven. Since I moved out 15 years ago, I have been trying to tap into her amazing ability to mold and shape a garden. Year after year I get closer, but there are always a multitude of things that aren’t “working”.

I think I have officially discovered her secret…she has no mercy on what is just “good”. She has no problem ripping out a plant that is slightly unhealthy. She has no problem ripping out a plant that doesn’t go with her particular style that year. She has no problem saying no to something that is perfectly good in order to say yes to the best thing for her garden. And if something didn’t work the year before, she doesn’t give it a second thought. She just simply tries something new and doesn’t beat her head against the same brick wall.

I find myself being a sucker for a deal. If there’s something on sale…that’s my plant. If I get a free flower on Mother’s Day, it’s going in the ground. Not because I love it or it fits into the overall look that I have, but because it’s there. And what I keep ending up with is a conglomeration of some things that I love and some things that throw off the feeling that I was trying to get. I spend the rest of the season looking at the odd ball plants with a twinge of bitterness and not focusing on the plants that I love.

And here’s the irony…my mom and I are both really frugal and don’t spend a lot. She just is willing to wait longer for what is perfect, rather than what is convenient.

How many times do we look at what’s around us and settle? It’s “there”, so that MUST be God’s way of giving it to us. It MUST be “His will”. Or maybe it’s just there. Maybe it’s not God’s way of speaking through opportunity. Maybe it’s just another moment for God to teach us how to make the “best” decisions rather than just making “good” ones.

It’s time to settle for the right additions to our garden of life. If it’s not beneficial, it’s not the right thing for this season. And in the end, I know what will happen…life will be a beautiful place filled with all of the things that you value the most and not a lot of junk that is just altering your focus. Thanks, Mom. You continue to teach me through your love and life.

Mark and I recently cut down a 40′ tree in our front yard. We did it ourselves to save some money and it was a job like none other. It just kept going and going and going. The first day we cut the bulk of it, the second we chopped up the boughs into pieces and hauled away the excess, and on the third day we chopped most of the wood into firewood for the winter. As I bent over for the millionth time to pick up a chunk of wood, a man drove by and stopped at the edge of our driveway. I am sure he had driven by a dozen other times over the last few days and watched the progress unfold before him. He rolled down the window and said, “Man, you guys are inspiring!”

I thought a lot about that as I continued to stack the wood without an end in sight. What the world wants to see is people who take on more than they should and keep going until they accomplish their goal. Isn’t that a trait that we all admire? Olympians who train for years to have one moment of success. Architects who plan for structures that seem daunting and then before our very eyes they become reality. Runners who train for the marathon and then cross the finish line in a flurry of sweat and tears. We honor people in our society who finish what they start. Most of the time whether we agree with their task or not.

In a world where Christians need to make a difference, it could be that simple…ask God what you should be doing and then, regardless of how massive it seems, finish what you start. As Christ followers we have no excuse to go half way. The Holy Spirit is our source and our strength. We must be the ones who have the ability to finish…and finish well.

So, what’s your “tree” today? Face it and finish it. Every day when I would go out to tackle our tree issue, about an hour in, I would say to myself, “Really? How am I ever going to do this? How many loads will I have to carry to get this pile of limbs out of my driveway?” And then I would just keep going anyway. What happened was a not a miracle, but it sure seemed like it to me…the pile went away. One load at a time and one backache to show for it.

Let’s be inspiring to the world. Let’s finish what we start.

Sundays come altogether too quickly these days! Here are this week’s high points:

First of all, I got my weekly hug from Mackenzie – extra tight this week with her feet completely off of the ground! No matter what else happens in a day, a kid can make it all worth while!

My daughter, Kennedy, had a good attitude at church this morning. Good thing. After a week of fitful disobedience I was about to begin negotiations for boarding school. I love three year olds, but I’m also pretty sure that God created them to test your willpower at times. How can something be so adorable and so challenging at the same time? I know in my heart that she will be a world changer…after all, she’s certainly changing my world…

Kim Goodrich, our children’s pastor, preached this morning. She did a fabulous job telling about Moses and how it related to her personal story. We serve a God of second chances. The reality is that even if we have blown it BIG time, He still has a plan for us. Period. You are still useful in the Kingdom of God.

Had a great conversation with Kurt and Heather this morning. I really like them. They have a 5 year old and a 3 year old (Happy Birthday, Lauren!), which is just what I have, so we obviously have a lot in common. When you meet some people, you just like them right away. They are some of those people.

The church took an offering last week to bless Mark and I with some vacation cash. That was cool! It’s funny because I really feel like God has been working on my heart about being better at receiving gifts. I tend to want to sacrifice any luxuries in order not to burden anyone. Not necessarily a bad trait, but I take it too far by not enjoying what is given to me. I’ve been growing in that area all summer. So, even though I want to use the money to pay bills, I won’t. I promise. Kris said we have to use it for vacation, but Mark wanted to know if a 40″ inch flat panel television counts as a vacation??? I suppose it would if we watched the travel channel…ha ha ha! Admit it, you laughed out loud.

The Little Adventurer door fell off it’s hinges today. Not totatlly, but it’s well on it’s way. I love our old building. It cracks me up. Things just randomly fall apart. On one hand, I want to scream. On the other, it adds to the charm.

Katie’s dad is in the ICU this morning with a heart attack. We are praying, Katie! We love you and believe that you are a gift from God to this church family.

And another Sunday morning has flown by with great gusto. Next week Mark is finally back in the pulpit after 5 weeks off. I am very excited to have him back in the saddle again. It’s going to be a great week!