Wide Shots

Our church is celebrating TEN YEARS in ministry this weekend. My super hard-working, creative husband Sean got this iconic shot of Time Warner Cable Arena filled to the brim on Easter Sunday 2010. So much happened that year it would be a blur if we didn’t take time to look back and reflect on God’s faithfulness.

Our first Love Week, Egg the City for Easter and the opening of Elevation Blakeney.  It was a personal time of stepping out in faith to take the gifts God cultivated in me in 22 years of TV News to say yes to a call to come on staff at Elevation Church.

It’s funny how we can’t see what God is doing when we are in the midst of it. It’s when we zoom out and take the wide view and we can see how we get to be a part of something so much bigger than ourselves. When we FOCUS on God, his goodness, and all He has done for us, the struggles we’re facing seem to fade away into the background.

I love John 3:29-33 in the Message version. “That’s why my cup is running over. This is the assigned moment for him to move into the center, while I slip off to the sidelines. The One who comes from above is head and shoulders over other messengers from God. The earthborn is earthbound and speaks earth language; the heavenborn is in a league of his own. He sets out the evidence of what he saw and heard in heaven.. anyone who examines this evidence will come to stake his life on this: that God himself is the truth.”

I had no idea how God would grow and stretch and love our family through the work we would get to do together. Or how God would strengthen, encourage, teach, and change us through the messages we heard from our Pastors Steven and Holly Furtick. Or how friendships with our first eGroups leaders Chunks and Amy Corbett would teach us how to lead and serve with passion, excellence, simplicity, and grace. Looking back, I can’t believe God would love us so much to order our steps in such unexpected, beautiful ways. Our marriage and family are stronger because we said YES to God’s leading in our lives.

As I become less, he gives me so much more.

Happy #Superversary @ElevationChurch. We love you. #Elevat10n.

Thank you #FMFParty for the Five Minute Friday word prompt, FOCUS.

Gather

Occasionally to keep myself from giving up on this personal blog writing thing I link up with other writers across the nation for something called “Five Minute Friday.” We write for just five minutes from a one-word prompt. Today’s word is “Gather.” GO.

Recently I’ve been asking those in my closest work relationships to share with me the results from their Strengthsfinder assessment. It’s a great tool to build teams and help team members understand and work together better.

According to my test, my top strength is INCLUDER. It means I’m instinctively an accepting person. I don’t want anybody to feel left out, and I want to “stretch the circle wider.” It means, when I’m having a meeting or a party or a group function of any kind – I want to GATHER up everyone I know and help them feel included and important.

This kind of behavior I’m finding can drive some people crazy – including my husband and some of my closest colleagues. Thankfully we gatherers have learned how to get along with our hunters and learn and grow together. I’m grateful for the opportunities I have to work together with those in our church to make everyone feel welcome. If you’re an INCLUDER, too, you’d probably enjoy working in outreach like I do, or maybe you’ll find your sweet spot as a greeter in church.

No matter what your strengths, I hope you’re getting involved so you can feel the warmth of the group. Everyone is welcome.

Because He Said So…

My dad isn’t a big words guy. He doesn’t use a whole lot of them. But the ones he does use certainly stuck with me growing up. He always told me he loved me – and he often used the phrase “Because I said so.” This Five Minute Friday post is dedicated to my dad. I shared this story this week with students at my boys’ school… It’s cut and pasted here with a few minor edits to get it out there in five minutes. Because it’s Sabbath Friday in my house – and I’d better get back to resting.

Because He Said So.

Psalm 30:2 says “Lord my God, I called to you for help, and you healed me.”

Have you ever had a pain that just wouldn’t go away? Maybe it was a pain on your body – Maybe it was a pain in your heart. Maybe it was both. For me it certainly was both.

My sons Cooper and Asher have two older sisters – One is Ciara, the other is Kira. Ciara is my daughter who just finished college in Washington State.

There was pain in that relationship because I didn’t get to see her as much as I wanted to because of some of the choices I’d made. I had gotten a divorce – It’s a decision that breaks God’s heart and he tells us not to do it. But I did it anyway.

I had pain in my heart because of the choices I’d made and because of the circumstances those choices created. I had pain in my body, too. For several years I had a condition called TMJ – temporomandibular joint disorder. That’s a very big word for very bad pain in your jaw.

I lived with this pain for several years – I’d gone to the dentist to get a fancy bite device and I tried many other things on my own when one day, a miracle happened.

It started out as a terrible, no good, very bad day. I was upset about several things – about my daughter Ciara – I was missing her so much – about my job – about so many circumstances in my life I felt like were out of my control. I was driving down the road this day feeling very sorry for myself and I had this very strong feeling (I believe it was God) who told me to stop that. Not a whole lot of other words like please, not a lot of discussion about why or how I was hurting myself – just simply – Stop That.

Stop feeling sorry for myself and praise Him. Though I didn’t really WANT to do that in that moment, it seemed like God was telling me to.  So I did – I turned up Elevation Worship CD very loud in my car, and I started singing out loud. And as I was praising God and singing and saying thankful, grateful things about Him – HE did something amazing.

Why? Because He Said So. God’s word says when we call to him for help, he will heal us.

God healed me. He took the pain in my jaw away. For the first time in years I felt no pain – God healed the pain in my heart and in my jaw. I praised Him. And I continue to praise Him and give him glory for the healing he brought me in that moment.

God promises he will heal us. I believe he calls us to participate in that healing. I didn’t sit around waiting for him to heal me. I praised him – even when I didn’t feel like it – at a time in fact when I ESPECIALLY didn’t feel like it… I praised Him and he healed me.

My dad’s “Because I said So” was not very comforting or fulfilling at the time. But today it is.

Jesus, thank you for your word and your promises. Thank you for keeping your promises to us even when we make mistakes. Help us remember your promises, father and cling to them. Today I pray for friends who are hurting and need healing in their hearts and in their bodies. Believing in healing and hope today for each and every one of them. Amen.