Community

Tuesdays have become one of my favorite days of the week, although, most of the time it is forgotten. Mashed between the ever dreaded Monday and the most infamous of the week days, hump day, it garners little fame and quietly passes us by. However, I have grown fond of it and wake up each week excited about what lies ahead.

For me the enticement is the group of ladies I meet with. The group is diverse, ranging from the mid twenties to middle age. Some are married, some are not. Some of us have children and some are hoping for them. For two hours each week we study God's word, share our stories and pray for one another in going forward. I have found these ladies to not only be an encouragement, but also a source of inspiration.

God means for us to live in support of each other in this way. His church is meant to be a resource for this type of living... teaching us, leading us and preparing us to replicate the mindset in our own communities. However, I have found this purpose can be lost in the mix sometimes. Often, it is set aside in the drive to grow larger. Managing the two can be challenging at best, but... it can be done.

Almost daily I hear an encouraging story about churches who defy the norm and concern themselves with community while also, growing larger! For these churches, growing larger isn't the concern... however, growing their impact is.

I think of a church in Charlotte that my best friend Christina attends. This church picked up and moved their meeting place in order to better a community that had fallen on hard times. The impact they are having has had a ripple effect, inspiring area business owners, local neighborhoods and people who work in the area. Although it wasn't their motive in moving, they have seen their numbers increase! Concerning themselves with community has had a magnetic effect of sorts.

We have seen this before... if you have spent any time reading through the book of acts you will know what I mean. Acts is a book of the bible that is an account of the time immediately following Jesus' ascension. The apostles are all left to live in this truth that is Jesus and lead others in the way. It went a little something like this...

"They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."

To the apostles, community was key. They lived the call of Christ, day in and day out. Those who were part of this gave of themselves and their possessions... and get this, they did it willingly!

Although we the church tend to get this wrong, a lot, I am choosing to focus on when we get it right.

I will think of my friend's church Renovatus and how they are bringing hope to a neighborhood that had none.

I will think of my church, Forest Pointe and appreciate that impacting the world around us for the cause of Christ is of the utmost importance.

And I will think of the women with whom I share my Tuesday mornings. How we encourage one another in our walks and engage in thing called community.

I know this list could go on and on and in that realization is some hope.

The telling.

I love movies, books, songs, anything that tells a story. They fascinate me, capture my attention and leave me mulling over the characters. It is a real passion of mine.

To me, it doesn't really matter if it is a chic flick, comedy, action or just a great book. My concern is with the telling. Do the characters reach beyond the surface? Does the story line invite me in? Is there a journey?

Every now and then I will come across an exceptional telling, one that leaves the characters lingering in my mind for days following the movie credits, final lyrics or last page. This is the sign of a great story teller.

However, for every great story, there are those that miss the mark. Those that leave you annoyed, wanting your money back as well as the time it took to watch, read or listen! The reasons vary... bad acting, bad writing, tired lyrics, no plot, predictable plot, overdone plot... the list could go on and on. However, the stories that really leave me frustrated are the ones that are not only bad, but damaging. For whatever reason they leave a negative mark on an unsuspecting viewer.

Now I know some of you might disagree. I have heard and argued myself that art is subjective... sort of like beauty is in the eye of the beholder, right? I believe that. However, when does art cross the line to trash? When does someone's dangerous or out right incorrect depiction warrant a response? The line can be blurry at best.

The mom in me would like to regulate Hollywood, the music industry, magazines, TV and so forth to a point I am comfortable with... however, the story teller in me fears this. So I am left to be the auditor of what my children and I read, see and hear.
And you know what? I am OK with that.

I faced this the other night while renting a movie based on an old cartoon for kids. In fact, I loved the cartoon growing up. It was action packed, hero filled and the good guys always won. To be honest, the movie was much of the same except for one thing... the depiction of women. To say I was disgusted would be an incredible understatement... appalled was more like it.

In this movie women were made to be nothing more than mindless sex objects! Bending over in a suggestive manner while doing totally mundane tasks... wearing outfits that left VERY little to the imagination and all the while appearing to be desperate for sex and men. The only female character with any depth whatsoever was killed off with in 1 minute of her introduction into the story line.

I think what bothered me the most was this movie had been marketed to children in particular... to my children.

How are we to raise young men and women of God in a world that more often than not defines their roles in this way? Men are more than empty sexual pursuers and women shouldn't be reduced to looking good and giving it up! But yet, that is the message society most often sends.

However disheartening this can be, I know there is hope. In the midst of this mess, God is working. He is calling on women everywhere to take up the cause of reclaiming the worth of women. God has laid this passion on my heart and it has been incredible to see where He leads.

He nudges me at home to direct my childrens path, giving them God's word instead of the worlds. He leads me in story so that I and others may heal. He crosses my path with women who share my passion and with this new found mass comes forward momentum. He is changing the heart and mind of women everywhere... reaffirming what He created them to be. Glorious, thinking, respectful, beautiful women of God.

I have to remind myself of this when I come across a movie or story that is so disappointing. But most of all, I remind myself of this when I face the real life women who dress, act and feel like the most demeaning female character of any story. I know their pain and pray that they too can find their worth in God. I want them to know they don't need to dress like that anymore. That, their body is merely a vessel for the beauty inside. That God created them for more than "this" and that He loves them endlessly.

I pray they can know the peace I now know.

Some day, if women begin to understand this, there will be a collective sigh of relief reverberating around the world. The exhale will be love. Love for one's self, love for other women and love for the God who created us. What a beautiful telling that will be.



Scripture to meditate on this week...
John 1:12
Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—
If you choose to believe, you have chosen to be His.

John 15:16
You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.
You are special and chosen.

My Anchor.

For many, going home is something to look forward to. I know folks who can't wait to visit family, friends, old schools and places they use to hang. Sometimes their remembrances of home are accurate and other times they are a hyped up romanticized version of the actual place. At any rate, when it comes time to go they are excited for the journey down memory lane.

However, I am not one of those people.

For me, going home is a time consuming and arduous process. Home is 12 hours north of where I live now and the place I made all my bad choices. It is a living remembrance of a lifestyle left behind and I have a hard time going there.

This anxiety I have with going home is not because of the family or friends there. Yes, they are part of my memories however I made my own decisions. Decisions based in part on my circumstances and the rest out of being a broken, lost girl.

In the end, I am left with the challenge of not wanting to hurt loved ones but at the same time not wanting to visit home. To be honest when I do visit, it is at times exhausting when trying to balance the two realities.

But because my angst with going home sometimes hurts loved ones I have spent a lot of time burying my feelings. However, two weeks ago when a dear Aunt died I had to face all the apprehension head on.

There was no time to prepare, no time to tell myself over and over "You are not that person any more" and, there no one to go with me. I was going home alone. Basically, with this trip I had no anchor to my present. I know it may sound strange, but the anchor helps. When my husband or friend is with me, they serve as a physical reminder of the truth of my new life. A life forgiven, full of grace and mercy.

But, there was a funeral. A funeral for an Aunt and I needed to go, even alone. To be honest, I love my Aunt and not only needed to go, I wanted to be there.

I spent a lot of time praying on the plane. Praying for safe travels... praying for my children... praying for my husband... praying for strength and praying God would be with me the entire time, that He alone would be my anchor.

Solid Rock
When darkness seems to hide His face
I rest on His unchanging grace
In every high and stormy gale
My anchor holds within the veil

On Christ the solid Rock I stand
All other ground is sinking sand
All other ground is sinking sand

Christ is our anchor and He promises so in scripture.

Hebrews 6:18-19
So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary.

I went forward with my visit. Confident not in myself, but in my God who promises to be my anchor.

More truth.

Romans 8:28
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."

I can tell you Romans 8:28 is true, not because it is written but because He has shown me so in my life. On my visit, I felt His presence with me... and with it a release from the bondage of a life once lived. He gave me a redefinition of home.

This place I once lived is a part of me, it holds a place in my history but it does not define me. God defines me.

I stand in good company. Paul was able to shed his past of murdering Christians and later do great things for God. King David was able to repent from murder and adultery to then be called by God, a man after His own heart.

I am sure these men too received a redefinition of home. Christian Morgenstern once said, "Home is not where you live but where they understand you". I agree with Christian.

Home has become somewhat of a transient term for me... it changes from time to time, but is never with out God. And it is where "they" understand me.